Becoming Queen
“Becoming Queen tells the astonishing story of Queen Victoria’s passionate youth, her bitter struggle with her mother - and how her life was shaped by the death of her forgotten cousin, Princess Charlotte, the queen who never was.” So goes the blurb for Kate Williams’ book of the same name. One supposes that an account of Queen Victoria is more popular (read, saleable), but in this book of three parts, it is actually Princess Charlotte who emerges as the more interesting character and real ‘heroine’ of the book.
The first part deals with Charlotte, only daughter of King George IV and successor to the English throne, while parts two and three are to do with Victoria, and how she ultimately ends up queen. The book is easily accessible to the lay reader. In fact, sometimes, it is written too simply - readers who like to have the author’s assertions borne out by the facts will be a little disappointed; there are notes at the end, but I thought much of the author’s writing, for instance on the emotions of the princesses or on the (to modern readers) incredible child-raising theories of the time would have fared better with a footnote offering more details.
Having said that, it is a breezy read and interesting enough, especially the first part enthusiastically highlights the warped institution that the British monarchy had become. For fans of the Georgette Heyer novels, there is a bonus in that this part is all about the essentially hedonistic nature of the Regency era (so called because George IV served as the Prince Regent for a really long time, while his ailing father refused to die and give him the kingship). It places that hedonism - the focus on endless entertainment, living above one’s means and obsession with fads and fashions - in the context of the social and political turmoil of the time. The aristocracy doesn’t come off very well when seen against the poverty of most of the country, and it is indeed something of a surprise that the French Revolution doesn’t have a repeat here.
It is in this situation that Princess Charlotte grows up. The focus is on politics, having mistresses (for women - replace that with clandestine affairs) and showing your importance by getting Parliament to give you as big an allowance as possible. Children, naturally are at the bottom of the heap when it comes to attention, although, technically, having an heir is of the greatest importance. Williams really manages to make the first part come alive, placing Charlotte’s life in the context of the dysfunctional royal family she is born into.
Parts two and three are readable too, although attention is focused solely on Victoria’s conflicts with her mother (and her aide, Sir John Conroy). This places us in the position of viewing Victoria solely as a cloistered and rebellious daughter, while I thought it would have been more interesting to know about her views on other things. For instance, she presided over the monarchy’s really becoming ceremonial rather than functional. What were her views about it? We don’t learn much. Her relationship with her husband Albert, I thought was another angle that could have been explored in greater detail. As queen, she is all powerful, and yet, lives in an age where women were taught express obedience to their husbands and indeed, husbands expected to be able to command. The book does mention briefly that Victoria seems to feel some guilt at being a woman and the more powerful person in the relationship, but I thought there could have been more.
Overall, worth a read, but somewhat superficial - don’t expect to really get your teeth into how these princesses became who they did.
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Is this the basis for that Young Victoria movie?
Ams - don’t think so - at least nothing mentions that.