Tracy Borman: QUEEN VICTORIA OR, TO BE PRECISE,
HER MAJESTY VICTORIA, BY THE GRACE OF GOD,
OF THE UNITED KINGDOM OF GREAT BRITAIN AND IRELAND,
QUEEN, DEFENDER OF THE FAITH, EMPRESS OF INDIA.
SHE WAS THE OVERSEER OF BRITAIN’S GOLDEN AGE,
AN EXPANDING EMPIRE,
THE MOST RAPID INDUSTRIALIZATION KNOWN TO MAN,
UNPRECEDENTED TECHNOLOGICAL ADVANCEMENT,
AND THE FOUNDING OF THE MODERN WORLD.
Woman: THE CLASSIC IMPRESSION OF VICTORIA IS THIS WOMAN
THAT’S REMOVED SLIGHTLY FROM THE EMPIRE THAT SHE PRESIDES OVER,
BUT ACTUALLY SHE WAS A VERY PASSIONATE WOMAN.
SHE WAS WITTY. SHE WAS INTELLIGENT.
SHE WAS A CURIOUS PERSON.
SHE WAS INTERESTED IN PEOPLE.
Woman: QUEEN VICTORIA WAS VERY MUCH A YOUNG WOMAN OF HER AGE.
SHE ENJOYED HERSELF.
SHE WENT TO BALLS AND DANCES, AND SHE FLIRTED WITH MEN.
SHE WANTED TO DO WHAT HER PASSIONS DICTATED.
Man: WE ALL GREW UP KNOWING THE OLD VICTORIA A LOT BETTER,
YOU KNOW, THE STOUT GERMANIC WOMAN WITH HER WHITE VEIL
AND LITTLE CROWN AND OYSTER EYES AND BIG TUMMY,
BUT THERE’S A COMPLETELY DIFFERENT VICTORIA
WHO’S VIVACIOUS, WHO’S FLIRTATIOUS,
WHO LIKES TO PARTY--
COMPLETELY THE POLAR OPPOSITE
OF WHAT WE WERE LED TO BELIEVE QUEEN VICTORIA WAS.
Borman: IN THIS EPISODE,
WE EXPLORE THE YOUNG VICTORIA AND HER RACY MEDICINE CABINET,
THE SPECIAL SEX CHAIR
HER DELINQUENT SON AND FUTURE KING OF ENGLAND,
EDWARD VII, HAD MADE,
AND WE ALSO UNCOVER THE FASCINATION VICTORIA HAD
WITH ALL THINGS INDIAN, INCLUDING CURRY.
BUT BEHIND THE GRAND TITLES, WHO WAS THE REAL VICTORIA?
WAS PRINCE ALBERT REALLY HER ONLY LOVE,
OR WAS HER RELATIONSHIP WITH A YOUNG INDIAN SERVANT
MORE SPICY THAN THE CURRIES HE COOKED FOR HER?
WAS SHE REALLY THE STRAIGHT-LACED PRUDE
WHO DEFINED THE VICTORIAN AGE,
OR WILL A LOOK BEHIND CLOSED DOORS REVEAL
A SEEDIER, DARKER SIDE OF THE ERA,
ONE THAT INVOLVED LOTS OF DRINK AND DRUGS?
I’M TRACY BORMAN,
AND THIS IS THE PRIVATE LIFE OF QUEEN VICTORIA.
♪
THE FUTURE QUEEN VICTORIA WAS BORN HERE AT KENSINGTON PALACE
IN LONDON, ON THE 24th OF MAY, 1819.
SHE WAS BROUGHT UP AND SCHOOLED BY HER MOTHER,
PRINCESS VICTORIA OF SAXE-COBURG-SAALFELD,
AND BY ALL ACCOUNTS, IT WAS A LARGELY HAPPY CHILDHOOD,
BUT HER POSITION AS HEIR TO THE THRONE
MEANT THAT MANY IN HER IMMEDIATE CIRCLE
SAW HER AS A TICKET TO POWER.
SHE PUT HER OVERBEARING MOTHER IN THIS CATEGORY.
Rebecca Rideal: AS A YOUNG HEIR TO THE THRONE,
SHE DID LEAD A VERY CLOSETED LIFE,
AND SHE WAS KEPT COCOONED IN KENSINGTON PALACE
BY HER MOTHER AND HER MOTHER’S CLOSE FRIEND,
SO THIS FRUSTRATED THIS PASSIONATE YOUNG WOMAN.
SHE WAS WITTY. SHE WAS INTELLIGENT.
SHE WAS A CURIOUS PERSON.
SHE WAS INTERESTED IN PEOPLE.
Tony McMahon: THE VERY YOUNG VICTORIA,
THE GIRL, SHE’S BROUGHT UP IN KENSINGTON PALACE
IN A DELIBERATELY RESTRICTED SYSTEM,
THE KENSINGTON SYSTEM, IT WAS CALLED,
BY HER MOTHER AND HER MOTHER’S ADVISOR JOHN CONROY,
AND THEY WERE DOING IT DELIBERATELY TO CONTROL HER.
Borman: VICTORIA’S MOTHER INSTRUCTED HER
TO BEGIN KEEPING A DIARY.
IN REALITY, THIS WAS A METHOD OF CONTROL.
VICTORIA WROTE DOWN HER THOUGHTS,
AND THIS MEANT THAT HER MOTHER COULD READ THEM.
HOWEVER, SHE ENJOYED IT, AND SO IT BECAME A RITUAL
SHE WOULD STICK TO FOR THE REST OF HER LIFE,
WRITING AN AVERAGE OF 2,500 WORDS PER DAY
IN HER LETTERS AND DIARIES.
VICTORIA’S EARLY DIARY ENTRIES WERE NOT YET
THE REPOSITORY OF SORROWS THEY WOULD BECOME.
FOR EXAMPLE, ON HER BIRTHDAY IN 1833,
SHE WROTE, "TODAY IS MY BIRTHDAY.
I AM TODAY 14. HOW VERY OLD!
I WOKE AT HALF PAST FIVE AND GOT UP AT HALF PAST SEVEN.
I RECEIVED FROM MAMA A LOVELY HYACINTH BROOCH
AND A CHINA PEN TRAY.
FROM UNCLE LEOPOLD, A VERY KIND LETTER,
ALSO ONE FROM AUNT LOUISA AND SISTER FEODORA."
SHE GOES ON TO TALK ABOUT THE BALL HELD IN HER HONOR.
"I DANCED FIRST WITH MY COUSIN GEORGE CAMBRIDGE,
THEN WITH PRINCE GEORGE LEVEN, THEN WITH LORD BROOKE,
THEN LORD MARCH, THEN LORD ATHLONE,
THEN WITH LORD FITZROY-LENNOX, THEN WITH LORD EMLIN.
WE THEN WENT TO SUPPER."
Hallie Rubenhold: SHE ENJOYED HERSELF.
SHE WENT TO BALLS AND DANCES, AND SHE FLIRTED WITH MEN,
AND MOST IMPORTANTLY, SHE WAS ABSOLUTELY DESPERATE
TO BREAK FREE FROM HER MOTHER’S CONTROL,
AND SO SHE HAD THIS REBELLIOUS SPIRIT,
THIS REBELLIOUS STREAK IN HER.
SHE WANTED TO DO
WHAT HER PASSIONS DICTATED,
PROBABLY BECAUSE HER MOTHER HAD BEEN REINING HER IN SO TIGHTLY
FOR SO MANY YEARS.
Borman: ON THE 20th OF JUNE, 1837,
VICTORIA BECAME QUEEN, AGED JUST 18.
SUDDENLY SHE HAD POWER AND COULD DO AS SHE PLEASED.
SHE FELL IN LOVE WITH AND MARRIED HER COUSIN ALBERT
AND DISMISSED HER DOMINEERING MOTHER FROM BUCKINGHAM PALACE.
Rideal: SHE DID ENJOY SPENDING TIME WITH MEN,
AND SHE DID FLIRT.
SHE WAS A LITTLE BIT PROMISCUOUS OR CHEEKY AT THE VERY LEAST.
THIS CHANGED WHEN SHE MET AND FELL IN LOVE WITH,
HEAD OVER HEELS IN A WAY, WITH PRINCE ALBERT.
Rubenhold: SHE MET HIM ONCE, AND THAT WAS FINE, IN 1836,
AND THEN SHE MEETS HIM AGAIN IN 1839,
AND IT’S SUDDENLY LIKE,
WOW, IT STICKS THIS TIME, AND SHE JUST...
BASICALLY SHE WRITES IN HER DIARY, HE’S BEAUTIFUL, YOU KNOW.
HE HAS BEAUTIFUL BLUE EYES, AND HE HAS A BEAUTIFUL NOSE.
AND SHE COULD THINK OF NOBODY ELSE OTHER THAN ALBERT.
THAT WAS IT.
ALBERT WAS THE ONE FOR HER, AND SHE ASKED HIM TO MARRY HER.
Matt Green: THIS IS SURPRISING IN SOME WAYS
BECAUSE HE WAS QUITE A RETICENT FIGURE.
HE WASN’T PARTICULARLY CHARMING OR LOVING.
HE WAS THIS SORT OF HARDHEADED,
NO-NONSENSE GERMAN.
PERHAPS THAT WAS PART OF THE APPEAL.
BUT CERTAINLY HE SEEMED TO BE
A STABILIZING INFLUENCE UPON HER,
AND SHE DERIVED A CERTAIN KIND OF SECURITY FROM HIM AS WELL.
SHE DERIVED STRENGTH TO RULE WHAT WAS NOT JUST A COUNTRY,
BUT AN ENTIRE EMPIRE
THAT KIND OF SPREAD ACROSS THE ENTIRE GLOBE.
♪
Borman: VICTORIA DEDICATED HERSELF TO HER ROLE AS QUEEN
AND HAD A GENUINE CONCERN FOR THE WELFARE OF HER SUBJECTS.
SHE CAME INTO CONTACT WITH A YOUNG WINSTON CHURCHILL,
WHO SHE LIKED, AND IT WAS SAID
THAT THE PAIR WOULD CHEW GUM TOGETHER,
BUT THIS CHEWING GUM HAD A DIFFERENCE.
IT WAS LACED WITH COCAINE,
AND THIS WASN’T THE ONLY DRUG SHE WAS PARTIAL TO.
♪
DR. ROSEMARY LEONARD IS AN EXPERT
IN VICTORIAN MEDICINE AND HAS AGREED TO MEET ME
IN AN OLD VICTORIAN HOUSE IN KENSINGTON, LONDON,
AND SHOW ME SOME OF THE PARAPHERNALIA
THAT WOULD HAVE BEEN USED IN THE VICTORIAN ERA
AND PERHAPS, SOME EVEN SPECULATE,
BY QUEEN VICTORIA HERSELF.
SO, ROSEMARY, WE HAVE A DELIGHT
OF MEDICAL PARAPHERNALIA HERE,
CAN YOU TALK US THROUGH IT?
Rosemary Leonard: WELL, IN THE 19th CENTURY,
MOST PEOPLE SMOKED OPIUM,
AND THIS IS A WONDERFUL CONTRAPTION
WHICH IS LIKE A VICTORIAN HOOKAH PIPE.
SO, YOU WOULD HAVE YOUR PELLET OF OPIUM IN THE TOP THERE.
YOU PUT WATER IN THERE. THEN YOU LIT HERE AND THEN...
Borman: OH, IT WOULD TURN INTO BEAUTIFUL FUMES.
Leonard: WHICH YOU WOULD THEN GET YOUR MORPHINE OPIUM HIT.
Borman: AND WAS IT RUMORED THAT VICTORIA
OR PERHAPS HER DAUGHTER HELENA,
WOULD HAVE SAT THERE PUFFING ON THIS AMAZING OPIUM PIPE?
Leonard: NO. SHE DIDN’T LIKE SMOKING,
SO SHE TOOK HER OPIUM AS A TINCTURE.
MORE DELICATE.
THE TINCTURE, HOWEVER,
THE OPIUM WAS DISSOLVED IN 90 PERCENT ALCOHOL.
Borman: OH, GOSH! OKAY, SO VERY POTENT MIXTURE, THEN.
Leonard: VERY POTENT MIXTURE.
SO SHE WAKES, SHE’S GOT PERIOD PAIN,
SHE’S GOT A HEADACHE.
FIRST THING IN THE MORNING,
SHE HAS A SWIG OF HER LAUDANUM TINCTURE,
WHICH GIVES HER NOT ONLY HER HITS OF OPIUM
BUT ALSO, YOU KNOW, GIVES HER A HIT OF ALCOHOL
FIRST THING IN THE MORNING.
Borman: WOW, SO SHE WOULD ACTUALLY BE PROBABLY QUITE DRUNK
AT THE BEGINNING OF THE DAY IF SHE NEEDED TO TAKE THIS.
Leonard: YES. AND OF COURSE, LIKE, LIKE MORPHINE TODAY,
LAUDANUM, OPIUM, HIGHLY ADDICTIVE STUFF.
McMahon: THERE WAS OPIUM.
THERE WAS LAUDANUM, WHICH IS A MIXTURE OF OPIUM AND ALCOHOL,
WHICH PEOPLE BELIEVED COULD CURE ANYTHING.
SHE TOOK CHLOROFORM DURING CHILDBIRTH,
WHICH SHE SAID WAS HUGELY ENJOYABLE,
AND SHE’S EVEN SUPPOSED TO HAVE
WRITTEN AN ANONYMOUS REVIEW
FOR A NEWSPAPER FOR A PRODUCT
CALLED VIN MARIANI,
WHICH WAS A MIXTURE OF COCAINE AND ALCOHOL.
SO, QUEEN VICTORIA, I THINK BY ANY STANDARDS,
SHE LOVED HER DRUGS.
Leonard: IN THE VICTORIAN ERA,
THEY WERE MOVING ON TO ANESTHESIA.
THE DRUG THAT WAS USED WAS CHLOROFORM,
GOOD OLD CHLOROFORM.
IT COULD BE GIVEN VIA A MASK.
JUST FEEL THE WEIGHT OF...
Borman: OH, IT’S A LOT HEAVIER THAN I WAS EXPECTING.
WOW! AND SO THIS END OBVIOUSLY IS WHERE YOU BREATHE IN.
Leonard: YES, THAT’S THE MASK END,
AND THEN IT WOULD BE COMING IN VIA A PIPE.
Borman: OH, YES.
Leonard: THE GAS.
Borman: WOW!
Leonard: SHE HAD HER CHLOROFORM
FOR THE BIRTH OF HER LAST TWO CHILDREN,
SO SHE WOULD HAVE HER CHLOROFORM
DROPPED ON HER HANDKERCHIEF THERE,
WHICH SHE GENTLY PLACED OVER HER NOSE
AND BREATHED IN THE VAPORS.
Borman: I’LL JUST HAVE A VERY DELICATE SMELL OF THIS.
YES, EVEN FROM HERE, YOU CAN SMELL IT’S VERY STRONG.
BUT WHAT DID VICTORIA HERSELF THINK TO THIS NEW DRUG?
Leonard: SHE WROTE IN HER DIARY THAT THIS WONDERFUL DRUG
WAS SOOTHING, QUIETING, AND DELIGHTFUL BEYOND MEASURE.
Green: SHE WAS PARTIAL TO A BIT OF COCAINE CHEWING GUM
AND MARIJUANA AND ALL THE REST OF IT.
AND SHE ENJOYED BEING QUEEN.
SHE WASN’T THIS KIND OF DETACHED FIGURE
THAT WE HAVE A MENTAL PICTURE OF LATER ON IN HER REIGN.
SO, IN THAT SENSE,
THE SECRET VICTORIA, IF YOU LIKE,
IS AS IMPORTANT AS THE LATER, MORE RESTRAINED ONE.
♪
Borman: PERHAPS THE YOUNG QUEEN
DID ENJOY LIFE A LITTLE TOO MUCH,
BUT THE REALITY WAS THAT THESE WERE TURBULENT TIMES,
AND THREATS TO NOT JUST THE MONARCHY
BUT WORLD LEADERS WERE VERY REAL.
BEING HEAD OF STATE IN THE 19th CENTURY
WAS A VERY DANGEROUS OCCUPATION.
DURING VICTORIA’S LIFETIME, ASSASSINATION ATTEMPTS WERE MADE
ON NEARLY EVERY MAJOR EUROPEAN RULER AND HEAD OF STATE,
INCLUDING THE HIGH-PROFILE MURDER
OF CZAR ALEXANDER II OF RUSSIA,
WHILE ACROSS THE POND,
ABRAHAM LINCOLN WAS SHOT IN THE HEAD AT POINT-BLANK RANGE.
THIS SURGE IN POLITICAL MURDER MEANT SECURITY WAS TOP PRIORITY
FOR A WOMAN WHO LIVED HER LIFE
STARING DOWN THE BARREL OF A GUN.
ON THE FIRST ATTEMPT ON HER LIFE IN JUNE 1840,
VICTORIA WROTE, "AS WE HAD JUST LEFT THE PALACE,
ABOUT HALFWAY UP THE ROAD, I WAS DEAFENED
BY THE LOUD REPORT OF A PISTOL,
AND OUR CARRIAGE INVOLUNTARILY STOPPED.
WE LOOKED ROUND AND SAW A LITTLE MAN ON THE FOOTPATH
WITH HIS ARMS FOLDED OVER HIS BREAST,
A PISTOL IN EACH HAND.
AND BEFORE HALF A MINUTE ELAPSED,
I SAW HIM AIM AT ME WITH ANOTHER PISTOL.
I DUCKED MY HEAD,
AND ANOTHER SHOT, EQUALLY LOUD, INSTANTLY FOLLOWED."
Dominic Selwood: VICTORIA’S REIGN WENT THROUGH
A STRIKING NUMBER OF PHASES.
IN THE VERY EARLY DAYS, SHE WASN’T POPULAR.
THE PUBLIC WANTED TO KNOW WHAT SHE WAS DOING WITH HER MONEY,
WHO SHE WAS, WHY SHE WAS MARRYING ALBERT.
THERE WERE MANY THINGS PEOPLE WEREN’T HAPPY WITH,
AND THE POLITICS WAS VERY TURBULENT,
AND THIS GAVE RISE TO HOSTILITY,
AND THERE WERE SEVEN ASSASSINATION ATTEMPTS
ON HER LIFE, ALL OF WHICH SHE SURVIVED.
Borman: FEW PEOPLE KNOW MORE ABOUT ROYAL SECURITY
THAN DAI DAVIES,
A RETIRED CHIEF SUPERINTENDENT OF THE METROPOLITAN POLICE
AND FORMER HEAD OF THE ELITE ROYAL PROTECTION SQUAD,
WHOSE JOB IT IS TO GUARD THE ROYAL FAMILY TODAY.
SO, DAI, THERE WERE QUITE A FEW
ASSASSINATION ATTEMPTS ON VICTORIA, WEREN’T THERE?
Dai Davies: WELL, THERE WERE INDEED.
AT LEAST SEVEN TO MY KNOWLEDGE.
BUT, OF COURSE, SHE WAS STALKED BY MANY, MANY MORE.
IN THAT FIRST YEAR,
WHEN SHE CAME TO THE THRONE AS A YOUNG 18-YEAR-OLD,
THERE WERE, TO MY KNOWLEDGE,
AT LEAST 30 DIFFERENT KIND OF INCIDENTS,
STALKING WE CALL IT NOW.
Borman: REALLY?
Davies: BUT MEN WERE OBSESSED WITH HER LOOKS.
THEY WERE OBSESSED WITH THE YOUNG QUEEN,
AFTER ALL THOSE HANOVERIANS THAT CAME TO THE THRONE,
WHO WEREN’T REALLY LIKED,
SO THIS WAS A FRESH START WHEN SHE WAS 18.
Borman: NOW, CAN YOU TALK US THROUGH?
OBVIOUSLY YOU’RE, YOU’RE AN EXPERT IN ROYAL SECURITY.
WHAT WERE THE SECURITY MEASURES LIKE IN VICTORIA’S DAY?
Davies: WELL, FRANKLY THEY WERE PRETTY POOR,
AND THAT’S EVIDENCED BY THE FACT THAT EDWARD JONES,
BOY JONES OR "IN WE GO" JONES, WHO WAS 14,
ACTUALLY GOT INTO BUCKINGHAM PALACE
AT LEAST THREE TIMES.
Borman: REALLY?
Davies: BUT IN TRUTH,
HE GOT IN ABOUT A DOZEN TIMES AT LEAST,
AND, OF COURSE, HE WAS CAUGHT FIRST TIME IN 1838.
VICTORIA WASN’T THERE THAT TIME.
AND ON DECEMBER 3rd,
HE WAS CAUGHT BY THE NIGHT WATCHMAN,
AND HE WAS COVERED IN GREASE.
HE HAD STOLEN SOME ITEMS FROM THE MASTER OF THE HOUSEHOLD,
AND IT’S ALLEGED, HER KNICKERS.
Borman: OH, REALLY?
Davies: NOW, WHETHER THAT’S TRUE OR NOT,
BUT HE WASN’T CHARGED WITH THAT.
AND DO YOU KNOW, UP UNTIL VERY RECENTLY,
IT WASN’T AN OFFENSE TO GO INTO ROYAL PREMISES?
SO BOY JONES EVENTUALLY CAME BACK, AND HE DID IT AGAIN.
THIS TIME HE GOT THREE MONTHS HARD LABOR.
McMahon: EDWARD JONES IS ONE OF THE BIG TABLOID STORIES
OF QUEEN VICTORIA’S REIGN.
HE GETS INTO BUCKINGHAM PALACE,
AND HE’S CAUGHT BASICALLY
STEALING QUEEN VICTORIA’S UNDERWEAR
AND A REGIMENTAL SWORD.
HE’S THEN SENT TO PRISON,
AND THEN THE MOMENT HE GETS OUT, HE’S BACK IN AGAIN,
AND HE’S FOUND ACTUALLY UNDERNEATH THE SOFA,
SKULKING, AND THEN HE’S SENT TO PRISON AGAIN,
AND THEN HE MAKES HIS WAY BACK, AND THIS KEPT GOING ON AND ON.
Rubenhold: EDWARD JONES WAS THIS VERY PECULIAR CHARACTER
WHO MANAGED TO REPEATEDLY
BREAK INTO BUCKINGHAM PALACE
AND TRIED ON THE CROWN,
SAT ON THE THRONE,
SLEPT IN A SERVANT’S BED, HID UNDER THE SOFA,
EVEN IT’S SAID THAT READ
SOME OF VICTORIA’S PRIVATE CORRESPONDENCE.
HE WAS OBSESSED WITH THIS, HE WAS OBSESSED WITH HER,
WITH THIS SECRET LIFE BEHIND PALACE DOORS,
AND THE ONLY WAY THEY COULD GET RID OF HIM
WAS, WAS ACTUALLY TO SEND HIM OFF,
TO DEPORT HIM TO AUSTRALIA.
Borman: SO, DAI, WITH ALL OF THESE VARIOUS ATTEMPTS
ON VICTORIA’S LIFE, WAS SHE EVER ACTUALLY HARMED?
Davies: YES, SHE WAS.
THE WORST WAS BY A CHAP CALLED ROBERT PATE, IN PICCADILLY,
WHERE HE MANAGED TO HIT HER, GET CLOSE TO HER
AND HIT HER THREE TIMES ON THE HEAD WITH A SILVER CANE.
IT CAUSED HUGE BRUISING, CONCUSSION,
AND YET SHE WENT TO THE THEATER THAT NIGHT,
WHICH SHOWS THE CHARACTER OF THE WOMAN.
Borman: WHAT A WOMAN, INDEED.
[BABY CRYING]
IN NOVEMBER 1840,
THE ROYAL COUPLE’S FIRST CHILD, VICTORIA,
WAS BORN HERE IN BUCKINGHAM PALACE.
DESPITE THE FACT THAT THE QUEEN
WOULD GO ON TO HAVE NINE CHILDREN,
SHE ABSOLUTELY HATED BEING PREGNANT
AND WASN’T MUCH OF A FAN OF THE RESULT, EITHER.
WHERE KIDS WERE CONCERNED,
VICTORIA JUST WASN’T THE MATERNAL KIND.
McMahon: VICTORIA AND ALBERT HAD A VERY LIVELY SEX LIFE,
IT HAS TO BE SAID.
THEY WERE EXTREMELY CLOSE IN TERMS OF THEIR PERSONALITY.
SHE WAS SOMETIMES IRRITATED
BY HIM TRYING TO EXERCISE POLITICAL POWER,
BUT THEY WERE EXTREMELY CLOSE,
AND I THINK SHE WAS VERY HAPPY.
Rubenhold: SHE REALLY LOOKED UP TO HIM
FOR ALL SORTS OF GUIDANCE,
AND HE WAS HER PARTNER EVERY STEP OF THE WAY,
AND THEY WERE VERY SEXUALLY COMPATIBLE AS WELL.
THEY REALLY LIKED SEX, AND SHE REALLY LIKED SEX,
BUT WHAT SHE DIDN’T LIKE
WAS THE PREGNANCIES THAT RESULTED FROM THE SEX,
AND SHE DIDN’T LIKE RAISING BABIES INTO CHILDREN.
SHE DIDN’T LIKE THOSE VERY TRADITIONAL FEMININE THINGS,
BUT SHE REALLY ENJOYED THE INTIMACY WITH ALBERT.
♪
Borman: IN NOVEMBER 1841,
VICTORIA’S SECOND CHILD, ALBERT, KNOWN AS BERTIE, WAS BORN.
BERTIE WOULD GROW UP IN A VERY DIFFERENT MOLD TO HIS PARENTS.
HE WAS A PLAYBOY
WHO ARGUABLY TOOK AFTER HIS GREAT-UNCLE, GEORGE IV.
HE WAS A PARTY ANIMAL
AND A MEMBER OF THE SO-CALLED MARLBOROUGH HOUSE SET,
NAMED AFTER HIS LONDON RESIDENCE.
HE FOUND PLEASURE IN THE CONQUEST OF ARISTOCRATIC WOMEN,
AND THIS LED THE GROUP
TO INDULGE IN A BIT OF WIFE SWAPPING.
BUT IN 1890, HE TOOK IT EVEN FURTHER,
COMMISSIONING A PIECE OF FURNITURE TO MAKE IT EASIER
FOR HIM TO ENJOY THE COMPANY, SHALL WE SAY,
OF SEVERAL WOMEN AT THE SAME TIME.
McMahon: BERTIE SEEMS TO BECOME QUITE A LOUCHE FIGURE.
HE FELL IN LOVE WITH PARIS.
HE LOVED THE WHOLE VIBE OF THE CITY,
AND I THINK THAT KIND OF THEN
INFECTED THE WAY HE APPROACHED SEX, APPROACHED RELATIONSHIPS.
YOU KNOW, HE HAD THESE VERY DECADENT AFFAIRS WITH ACTRESSES.
Rubenhold: BERTIE BECAME EVERYTHING THAT VICTORIA HATED.
HE LOVED WOMEN, LOVED SEX,
WAS OUTRAGEOUS IN HIS LIFESTYLE.
HE LIVED A LAVISH LIFESTYLE.
HE ATE. HE PARTIED.
HE DID EVERYTHING HE WASN’T SUPPOSED TO DO.
♪
Borman: JANE RIDLEY IS A HISTORIAN AND AUTHOR
WHO KNOWS ALL ABOUT BERTIE’S WILD BEHAVIOR
AND HAS AGREED TO SHOW ME
A QUITE REMARKABLE ITEM FROM HIS LIFE.
OH, MY WORD.
WELL, THIS LOOKS LIKE QUITE AN EXTRAORDINARY CONTRAPTION.
NOW THE MIND IS ALREADY BOGGLING OVER EXACTLY HOW THIS WAS USED.
SO THIS IS A REPLICA.
Jane Ridley: YES, THIS IS A REPLICA.
THE ORIGINAL IS IN PARIS.
Borman: OH, WE STILL HAVE THE ORIGINAL.
THAT’S INTERESTING.
AND IT WAS MADE ESPECIALLY FOR BERTIE?
Ridley: IT WAS MADE ESPECIALLY
FOR BERTIE, AND IT WAS KEPT
AT THIS VERY GRAND PARIS BROTHEL
CALLED LE CHABANAIS.
Borman: WOW!
WELL, I AM GOING TO HAVE TO,
I THINK, STAND IN BERTIE’S FOOTSTEPS
BECAUSE CLEARLY WHAT--
HOWEVER ELSE IT WORKS, THIS IS WHERE HE STOOD.
WE HAVE TWO SORT OF GOLD IMPRINTS FOR HIS FEET,
ONE THERE AND THE OTHER THERE.
NOW, AM I ABOUT THE SAME HEIGHT AS BERTIE?
Ridley: WELL, HOW TALL ARE YOU?
Borman: I’M 5’11".
Ridley: ALL RIGHT. WELL, HE WAS 5’8".
Borman: OKAY.
Ridley: AND, AND VERY MUCH CONSIDERABLY STOUTER.
Borman: INDEED. IS THIS WHY THE CHAIR WAS BUILT,
BECAUSE OF HIS, HIS GIRTH, TO SORT OF HELP IT?
Ridley: YES, WELL, THAT’S WHAT I’VE READ, YES.
THAT IT MADE THINGS EASIER FOR HIM.
Borman: SO HE’D HAVE STOOD HERE.
THE LADY WOULD HAVE BEEN IN WHATEVER POSITION HERE.
I MEAN, THESE LOOK A BIT LIKE STIRRUPS, DON’T THEY?
Ridley: THEY LOOK HORRIBLY GYNECOLOGICAL.
Borman: THEY DO, RATHER.
AND THEN THESE ARE FOR BERTIE TO...
Ridley: I DON’T ENVY THAT LADY.
Borman: HOLD ON TO-- NO, INDEED.
AND THEN SO ONE LADY THERE, AND WHAT’S GOING ON UNDERNEATH?
BECAUSE IT’S STILL QUITE PLUSH, ISN’T IT?
Ridley: YES, IT IS.
IT’S STILL VERY UPHOLSTERED, AND I THINK THAT THERE WAS
PROBABLY ANOTHER WOMAN UNDERNEATH.
Borman: OH, THE MIND BOGGLES, REALLY.
Rubenhold: THE SEX CHAIR THAT BERTIE USED
IS REALLY QUITE AN EXTRAORDINARY CONTRAPTION,
AND IT’S UPHOLSTERED, AND IT HAS ARMS,
AND IT REALLY TAKES A LOT OF IMAGINATION
TO TRY TO FIGURE OUT EXACTLY WHERE EVERYBODY WOULD BE GOING
AND AT WHAT TIME, AND BEARING IN MIND
THAT HE WAS VERY HEAVY AT THIS POINT IN HIS LIFE.
McMahon: CLEARLY, THE INTENTION WAS
THAT A WOMAN WOULD LIE ON THE LOWER ONE,
A WOMAN WOULD LIE ON THE HIGHER ONE
WITH HER FEET IN THE STIRRUPS,
AND THEN BASICALLY EDWARD COULD
ALTERNATE BETWEEN THE TWO WOMEN,
AS HE SAW FIT.
Borman: DO WE KNOW ANYTHING ABOUT THE LADIES
WITH WHOM HE CONVERSED ON THIS CHAIR?
Ridley: WE DON’T KNOW EXACTLY
WHO WAS ON THIS CHAIR.
I MEAN, BUT WE KNOW THAT THEY
WOULD HAVE BEEN THE GRANDEST
AND MOST GLAMOROUS
OF PARISIAN COURTESANS.
Borman: WOW, SO HE WAS QUITE SELECTIVE
IN THE LADIES HE CHOSE.
WELL, I THINK, I THINK THAT’S ENOUGH OF ME
REENACTING BERTIE’S MOVEMENTS.
I’M JUST INTERESTED BECAUSE
HE IS SUCH A, A BON VIVEUR, ISN’T HE?
HE’S ENJOYING HIMSELF. IT’S NOT JUST FOR SHOW.
Ridley: WELL, I THINK THERE’S AN ELEMENT
OF SORT OF MASCULINITY, OF DISPLAYING YOUR PROWESS
AS A LOVER WITH THIS KIND OF THING.
IT’S ALL QUITE PUBLIC.
IT’S NOT FURTIVE, IT’S NOT HIDDEN, BUT HE DOES ENJOY IT.
THERE’S ABSOLUTELY NO QUESTION ABOUT THAT, CERTAINLY.
Borman: DOES HIS MOTHER KNOW WHAT HE’S DOING?
Ridley: I’M SURE SHE WOULD HAVE DEEPLY SHOCKED
IF SHE’D SEEN THIS THING, QUEEN VICTORIA.
♪
Borman: IN DECEMBER 1861,
VICTORIA’S BELOVED HUSBAND ALBERT DIED.
VICTORIA WENT INTO A PERIOD OF MOURNING FOR MANY YEARS,
AND SHE WAS TO WEAR BLACK FOR THE REST OF HER LIFE.
SHE COMMISSIONED THIS INCREDIBLE MEMORIAL
TO THE LOVE OF HER LIFE
AT A COST OF 10 MILLION POUNDS IN TODAY’S MONEY.
McMahon: I THINK IT’S IMPOSSIBLE TO UNDERESTIMATE
HOW BIG AN EFFECT THE DEATH OF PRINCE ALBERT
HAD ON QUEEN VICTORIA.
SHE WAS THERE AT THE MOMENT OF HIS DEATH,
AND SHE HELD HIS HAND, AND FOR THE REST OF HER LIFE,
SHE HAD A PLASTER CAST OF HIS HAND IN HER BED,
WHICH SEEMS RATHER MORBID.
AND SHE SAID IN A LETTER TO HER DAUGHTER, VICKY,
"I CAN’T LIVE WITHOUT HIM.
I WANT TO BE PRESSED AGAINST HIM AND FEEL HIS HEART BEATING."
Rubenhold: MONARCHS ARE PEOPLE LIKE ANYBODY ELSE,
AND THEY HAVE FEELINGS,
AND PART OF THEIR JOB IS TO RESTRAIN THOSE FEELINGS
AND TO BE A LEADER, A RULER,
BUT VICTORIA DIDN’T CARE ABOUT THAT IN HER GRIEF,
AND SHE SOUGHT SOLACE, AND SHE SOUGHT COMPANY,
AND SHE SOUGHT TO BE WHO SHE WAS.
♪
Borman: IT’S CLEAR HOW MUCH THE DEATH OF ALBERT AFFECTED HER
BY THE FACT THAT SHE DIDN’T WRITE IN HER DIARY
FROM THE DAY OF HIS DEATH UNTIL THE NEW YEAR OF 1862,
WHEN SHE WROTE THIS EMOTIONAL ENTRY--
"HAVE BEEN UNABLE TO WRITE MY JOURNAL
SINCE THE DAY MY BELOVED ONE LEFT US,
AND WITH WHAT A HEAVY BROKEN HEART
I ENTER ON A NEW YEAR WITHOUT HIM.
MY DREADFUL AND OVERWHELMING CALAMITY GIVES ME SO MUCH TO DO
THAT I MUST HENCEFORTH MERELY KEEP NOTES
OF MY SAD AND SOLITARY LIFE."
Rubenhold: VICTORIA WAS COMPLETELY DEVASTATED
BY ALBERT’S DEATH.
IT WAS SOMETHING SHE NEVER RECOVERED FROM.
SHE TOTALLY RETREATED FROM SOCIETY.
SHE WOULDN’T ENGAGE IN ANY STATE FUNCTIONS.
SHE WOULDN’T MEET AMBASSADORS.
McMahon: SHE STARTS TO TRANSFORM INTO THE VICTORIA THAT WE KNOW.
SHE DRESSES IN BLACK FOR THE REST OF HER LIFE.
SHE RETREATS COMPLETELY FROM PUBLIC LIFE
TO THE POINT WHERE, IN FACT, SHE GOES OFF TO BALMORAL.
SHE JUST GETS OUT OF LONDON. SHE IS NOT SEEN.
SHE’S AN INVISIBLE FIGURE, AND WHEN SHE IS SEEN AGAIN,
SHE HAS BECOME WHAT WE KNOW AS QUEEN VICTORIA.
♪
Borman: WITH ALBERT DEAD, VICTORIA SPENT
AN INCREASING AMOUNT OF TIME AWAY FROM LONDON, IN SCOTLAND.
AND IT WAS HERE THAT SHE BECAME CLOSE, IT’S SAID,
TO HER GILLY AND PERSONAL SERVANT JOHN BROWN.
Green: IT WASN’T QUITE AS SIMPLE AS QUEEN/SERVANT.
WE RECENTLY HAVE DISCOVERED FROM LETTERS THAT HAVE BEEN UNEARTHED
THAT SHE WOULD SIGN HER LETTERS
ON OCCASION MRS. BROWN,
RATHER THAN QUEEN VICTORIA,
SO IT SEEMS AS THOUGH THERE WAS A CERTAIN KIND OF PARITY,
AND ON SOME LEVEL,
THEY THOUGHT THAT THEY WERE EQUALS,
AND I SUPPOSE THAT SHOWS THAT THE YOUTHFUL SPARK
THAT HAD BEEN SO MUCH IN EVIDENCE
BEFORE THE DEATH OF ALBERT
HADN’T QUITE BEEN EXTINGUISHED.
Rideal: WHO KNOWS WHETHER SHE WAS IN LOVE
OR WHETHER IT WAS JUST NICE TO HAVE A COMPANION,
BUT SHE FINDS A DEEP CONNECTION WITH A SERVANT,
AND IT STARTED THROUGH HIM HELPING HER OUT, YOU KNOW,
PERHAPS INTO HER CARRIAGE,
AND, UM, AND THEN IT GREW INTO SOMETHING MORE PROFOUND
AS TIME PROGRESSED.
♪
Borman: THE RUMOR MILL WENT INTO OVERDRIVE,
AND STORIES SOON STARTED CIRCULATING
THAT THERE WAS SOMETHING MORE TO THEIR RELATIONSHIP.
REPUBLICAN JOURNALS BEGAN TO SPREAD THE IDEA
THAT THEY HAD SECRETLY MARRIED,
AND EVEN WITHIN THE ROYAL FAMILY,
BROWN WAS JOKINGLY KNOWN AS MAMA’S LOVER.
Rubenhold: IT WAS AN INCREDIBLY UNORTHODOX RELATIONSHIP
BECAUSE OF OBVIOUSLY THE DISPARITY IN RANK,
AND HE WAS THIS VERY LOWLY SERVANT,
AND HERE WAS THE QUEEN OF ENGLAND.
SHE WAS VERY, VERY VULNERABLE AT THIS TIME.
THIS WAS A REAL DESPERATE ATTEMPT
TO FIND SOLACE IN THE COMPANY OF ANOTHER MAN.
Selwood: WE WILL NEVER KNOW THE DETAILS OF THE RELATIONSHIP
BETWEEN VICTORIA AND MR. BROWN, BUT IT’S ABSOLUTELY CLEAR
THAT HE WAS INCREDIBLY IMPORTANT TO HER.
ROYAL HISTORIANS, BEING ROYAL HISTORIANS, SAY
THAT IT WAS ALL VERY PROPER,
AND THIS WAS A RELATIONSHIP WITH A SERVANT,
BUT ONE ONLY HAS TO LOOK AT HER LETTERS
FOR THE TENDERNESS THAT COMES THROUGH.
ONE ONLY HAS TO READ OTHER PEOPLE’S ACCOUNTS AND DIARIES
OF THE WAY THEY BEHAVED TOGETHER,
SO THERE’S ABSOLUTELY NO DOUBT
THAT THIS WAS AN INTRINSICALLY IMPORTANT RELATIONSHIP
IN HER LIFE.
Borman: TOGETHER FOR OVER 30 YEARS,
THE QUESTION AS TO WHETHER
VICTORIA’S RELATIONSHIP WITH BROWN WAS A SEXUAL ONE
WILL ALWAYS CONTINUE TO DIVIDE HISTORIANS.
IN A LETTER TO BROWN, VICTORIA WROTE,
CHARACTERISTICALLY IN THE THIRD PERSON,
"PERHAPS NEVER IN HISTORY
WAS THERE SO STRONG AND TRUE AN ATTACHMENT,
SO WARM AND LOVING A FRIENDSHIP
BETWEEN THE SOVEREIGN AND SERVANT.
STRENGTH OF CHARACTER AS WELL AS POWER OF FRAME,
THE MOST FEARLESS UPRIGHTNESS, KINDNESS, SENSE OF JUSTICE,
HONESTY, INDEPENDENCE, AND UNSELFISHNESS,
COMBINED WITH A TENDER, WARM HEART
MADE HIM ONE OF THE MOST REMARKABLE MEN."
JOHN BROWN DIED IN 1883,
AND THE QUEEN COMMISSIONED A STATUE IN HIS MEMORY.
Green: AFTER THE DEATH OF JOHN BROWN,
SHE SHUTS DOWN MENTALLY, PHYSICALLY, PSYCHOLOGICALLY,
AND IT SEEMS THAT TO COPE WITH THIS EMOTIONAL BLOW,
SHE TURNS TO FOOD, ALMOST LIKE AS A COMFORT,
AND SHE BEGINS, LIKE, EATING RAVENOUSLY,
MUCH MORE THAN BEFORE,
AND, IN TIME, SHE FINDS HERSELF MUCH WIDER THAN SHE IS TALL.
SHE WAS ONLY 4’9".
AND THIS SEEMS TO BE A DIRECT CONSEQUENCE
OF THAT SECOND HEARTBREAK WITH JOHN BROWN.
Rideal: ONE OF THE THINGS THAT’S, THAT IS THE MAIN PART
OF BEING A MONARCH IS THIS LONELINESS.
IT’S A ROLE THAT YOU CARRY YOURSELF,
AND SO SHE IS THE CONSTANT THROUGHOUT HER LIFE.
PEOPLE COME AND GO, LOVES COME AND GO,
AND IT MAY BE ABSOLUTELY DEVASTATING FOR HER,
BUT SHE CONTINUES, SHE FIGHTS ON,
SHE LIVES TO SEE ANOTHER DAY.
♪
Borman: IN 1887, THE YEAR OF THE GOLDEN JUBILEE,
24-YEAR-OLD ABDUL KARIM WAS ONE OF TWO MEN SELECTED
TO BECOME SERVANTS TO THE QUEEN
FROM THE JEWEL IN THE CROWN OF THE BRITISH EMPIRE, INDIA.
THE QUEEN TOOK TO HIM ALMOST IMMEDIATELY,
AND HE RAPIDLY BECAME HER CLOSEST CONFIDANT,
FILLING THE SHOES OF JOHN BROWN.
Green: THERE’S A HUGE AGE GAP BETWEEN THESE TWO.
THEY FORM A VERY CLOSE BOND,
AND SHE BEGINS TO BECOME INFATUATED
WITH SORT OF INDIAN FOODS
AND KIND OF INDIAN FASHIONS AND JUST THE INDIAN WAY OF LIFE,
SO ALL OF A SUDDEN, THE KIND OF PRIM AND PROPER BRITISH FOOD
IS SORT OF CLEARED AWAY,
AND SHE, SHE DOESN’T MIND ORDERING
HER SORT OF WHITE COURTIERS OUT OF THE ROOM
WHILE SHE KIND OF FORMS THIS EVER CLOSER BOND
WITH ABDUL KARIM,
AND IT SEEMS AS THOUGH SHE’S REGAINING
SOMETHING OF THAT LUST FOR LIFE
THAT WAS SO EVIDENT IN THE PRE-ALBERT DAYS.
SHE WANTS TO EMBRACE THE UNKNOWN AND TRY NEW THINGS.
Rubenhold: IT’S A VERY INTIMATE ASSOCIATION.
IT’S ALMOST A MOTHER-AND-SON RELATIONSHIP,
AND THEY SHARE SO MUCH,
AND YET THEY HAVE NOTHING OUTWARDLY IN COMMON AT ALL.
SHE’S VERY ABSORBED IN THIS RELATIONSHIP,
WHICH GIVES HER SOLACE, WHICH GIVES HER COMFORT
AND SOMETHING THAT SHE CAN CONNECT WITH.
BEING A MONARCH IS VERY LONELY,
AND WHAT SHE WAS SEARCHING FOR, TOWARDS THE END OF HER LIFE,
WAS A DEEP, MEANINGFUL CONNECTION
WITH SOMEBODY THAT WASN’T A MINISTER,
SOMEBODY WHO DIDN’T HAVE AN ULTERIOR MOTIVE,
AND, AND HERE HE WAS.
Borman: SOON, KARIM BECAME FAR MORE TO VICTORIA
THAN A MERE SERVANT.
HE BEGAN TO TEACH HER URDU,
AND THE PAIR BECAME INSEPARABLE.
HE WAS PROMOTED AND BARELY LEFT HER SIDE.
AND ONE DAY, A NEW AND EXCITING SMELL
BEGAN TO FILL WINDSOR CASTLE-- CURRY.
MARC MELTONVILLE IS AN EXPERT ON VICTORIAN CUISINE
AND HAS AGREED TO RUSTLE UP A CURRY
THAT HER SERVANT, ABDUL KARIM, ACTUALLY MADE FOR THE QUEEN.
OKAY, MARK, WHAT DO WE HAVE HERE?
Marc Meltonville: I’M MAKING A CURRY.
Borman: REALLY! AND WHAT... FOR VICTORIA?
Meltonville: YES, YES. A MID-VICTORIAN CURRY RECIPE.
WE’RE TOLD ONE THING ABOUT QUEEN VICTORIA,
THAT SHE HAD SIMPLE TASTES, WHICH WAS CERTAINLY TRUE.
SHE LIKED VERY MUCH SIMPLE, WHOLESOME FOODS,
BUT SHE LIKED SPICY FOOD, TOO.
Borman: AND IS THAT THANKS TO ABDUL KARIM?
Meltonville: YES.
HE WOULD HAVE HELPED FOCUS HER ATTENTION ON INDIA.
SHE WAS VERY PROUD OF BEING EMPRESS OF INDIA
AND EMBRACED EVERYTHING INDIAN,
FROM HER STAFF, HER FRIENDS, AND THE FOOD.
A LOT OF PEOPLE SAY THERE WAS A CURRY ON THE TABLE EVERY DAY.
I DON’T THINK IT QUITE GOES THAT FAR, WHEN YOU LOOK AT THE MENUS,
BUT SHE, SHE LOVED HER CURRIES,
AND UNFORTUNATELY IT PLAYED INTO ONE OF HER PROBLEMS WITH FOOD.
QUEEN VICTORIA ATE TOO QUICKLY.
Borman: OH, RIGHT.
Meltonville: SHE WAS TERRIBLE FOR IT.
SO, WHAT SHE DOES IS, IF YOU’RE SITTING DOWN TO DINNER WITH HER,
SHE GETS HER PLATE OF FOOD FIRST. SHE’S QUEEN.
SHE DOESN’T WAIT FOR YOU. SHE STARTS IN THERE WITH IT,
AND WHEN SHE’S HAD ENOUGH, SHE DOES A WAVE, AND IT’S GONE,
AND IF YOU’RE AT THE END OF THE TABLE
AND HAVE ONLY JUST GOT YOUR BIT OF CURRY, THAT’S GONE AS WELL,
SO YOU HAVE TO BOLT IT DOWN.
Borman: AND HOW SIMILAR ARE THEY
TO THE CURRIES THAT WE’D EAT TODAY?
Meltonville: VERY. THEY’RE BASICALLY A MADRAS.
ALL THE RECIPES ARE VERY SIMILAR.
THEY TELL YOU TO TAKE YOUR MEAT OR FISH.
THERE’S A LOT OF FISH CURRIES.
Borman: OH, REALLY?
Meltonville: ALL THE WAY THROUGH THE DIFFERENT FISHES
AND A LOT OF BITS--
CALF’S HEAD CURRY, CALF’S FOOT CURRY.
ANYTHING YOU COULD IMAGINE
THAT THEY’RE GOING TO PUT INTO A STEW,
IT GOES IN THE CURRY.
McMahon: QUEEN VICTORIA, YOU HAVE TO REMEMBER,
WAS THE EMPRESS OF INDIA,
AND THAT WAS THE JEWEL
IN THE CROWN OF THE EMPIRE,
SO SHE HAD SEVERAL
INDIAN SERVANTS,
BUT THERE WAS ONE PARTICULAR
SERVANT, ABDUL KARIM,
THE MUNSHI, AS HE BECAME KNOWN,
WHO STARTED TEACHING HER HINDI AND URDU.
SHE WAS ALWAYS INTO LANGUAGES,
BUT THEY ALSO TALKED ABOUT PHILOSOPHY.
THEY TALKED ABOUT HISTORY.
HE EVEN INTRODUCES HER TO CURRY.
CURRY ENDS UP ON THE MENU.
IT WASN’T NEW TO ENGLAND,
BUT IT ENDS UP BEING A REGULAR BRITISH MEAL,
IF YOU WANT, AT THIS TIME.
Rideal: THERE WAS A BIG AGE GAP BETWEEN THESE TWO PEOPLE,
BUT THAT DOESN’T MEAN TO SAY
THAT ABDUL KARIM DIDN’T GET ANYTHING FROM THIS.
I MEAN, HE WAS BEING INTRODUCED TO THE QUEEN OF ENGLAND.
BUT ALSO FOR QUEEN VICTORIA,
THIS WAS A PERSON THAT HAD NEW CONVERSATIONS,
INTERESTING THINGS THAT HE COULD OFFER HER AS WELL,
THE INDIAN CULTURE AND DIFFERENT TYPES OF FOOD
THAT SHE’D NOT EXPERIMENTED WITH BEFORE.
SO THERE WERE THINGS THAT BOTH SIDES GOT FROM THIS FRIENDSHIP.
Borman: OKAY, SO NOW IT’S TIME FOR THE TASTE TEST, I THINK.
Meltonville: YEP, YOU NEED A SPOONFUL OF CURRY,
AS IT WOULD HAVE BEEN ENJOYED BY QUEEN VICTORIA.
Borman: MMM, THAT’S DELICIOUS.
Meltonville: NOT BAD AT ALL.
AND THE SPICE COMES THROUGH SECOND.
Borman: IT’S STARTING TO GET HOTTER IN MY MOUTH.
THAT IS ACTUALLY QUITE SPICY, ISN’T IT?
Meltonville: YES, YEAH.
Borman: AND SHE WOULD HAVE EATEN IT THAT HOT?
Meltonville: WE KNOW SHE LOVED HER CURRIES,
AND SHE HAD INDIGESTION RATHER A LOT.
Borman: THERE REALLY IS NO WONDER.
AS A CONSEQUENCE OF HER DIET AND LACK OF EXERCISE,
VICTORIA PUT ON A PHENOMENAL AMOUNT OF WEIGHT,
AS SO MANY PHOTOS OF THE QUEEN SHOW.
KENSINGTON PALACE HAS A UNIQUE AND TELLING PIECE
OF VICTORIA’S CLOTHING,
WHICH IS KEPT AWAY FROM THE PUBLIC GAZE,
IN ITS STOREROOM.
SENIOR CURATOR DEIDRE MURPHY AGREED TO SHOW IT TO ME.
I CANNOT WAIT TO SEE WHAT YOU’RE ABOUT TO REVEAL.
WOW!
SO, THESE ARE QUEEN VICTORIA’S, WHAT, BLOOMERS, KNICKERS?
WHAT DO WE CALL THEM?
Deidre Murphy: THEY’RE HER DRAWERS,
UM, AND THEY...
SHE WORE THEM VERY LATE IN HER LIFE.
THEY DATE FROM AROUND 1900,
SO JUST THE YEAR BEFORE SHE DIED.
THANK YOU.
AND THERE THEY ARE.
Borman: WOW!
NOW, NOT BEING RUDE, BUT THEY’RE QUITE A SIZE, AREN’T THEY?
Murphy: UM, THEY ARE QUITE A SIZE.
WE HAVE TO REMEMBER THAT, AT THIS POINT,
SHE’S 80 YEARS OLD, HAVING HAD 9 CHILDREN,
AND THIS IS WELL BEFORE THE ERA OF WOMEN GOING TO THE GYM
TO HAVE SIZE 8 BODIES.
Borman: SO SHE WOULDN’T REALLY HAVE EXERCISED MUCH IN HER LIFE.
Murphy: NO, AND SHE ALSO HAD, VERY EARLY ON,
DEVELOPED A REPUTATION FOR OVEREATING.
UM, BUT THEY’RE A REALLY PERSONAL
AND ACTUALLY QUITE FASCINATING SURVIVAL
FROM HER PERSONAL WARDROBE.
Borman: IT’S AMAZING TO THINK
THESE WERE ACTUALLY NEXT TO VICTORIA’S SKIN.
I MEAN, THERE WAS NOTHING UNDERNEATH THESE.
THEY’RE QUITE ROOMY, AREN’T THEY?
I MEAN, THEY’RE SORT OF OPEN HERE.
THEY’RE RATHER LIKE KIND OF CURTAINS, AREN’T THEY?
IS THAT WHAT WOMEN WOULD HAVE WORN AT THE TIME?
Murphy: THIS IS WHAT WOMEN WOULD HAVE WORN AT THE TIME.
IT’S ABSOLUTELY TYPICAL.
THEY WORE OPEN DRAWERS,
AND THE PURPOSE REALLY WAS TO BE WORN FOR WARMTH.
THEY WOULD BE WORN UNDER QUITE VOLUMINOUS SKIRTS,
AND IN A NORTHERN EUROPEAN OR BRITISH CLIMATE,
UM, A PAIR OF DRAWERS LIKE THESE
WOULD HELP ENORMOUSLY WITH, WITH THE COLD,
PROTECTING THE QUEEN FROM THE COLD.
Selwood: VICTORIA WAS NOT TALL.
SHE WAS LESS THAN FIVE FOOT,
AND PHYSICALLY, TOWARDS THE END OF HER LIFE,
SHE HAD STOPPED TAKING CARE OF HERSELF,
AND THAT’S VERY EVIDENT.
AND IT MAY WELL BE, I’M NO PSYCHOLOGIST,
BUT IT MAY WELL BE THAT SHE WAS DESPERATELY UNHAPPY,
AND THAT WAS ONE OF THE SIGNS OF IT.
Rideal: THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN OLDER VICTORIA
AND YOUNG VICTORIA IS ACTUALLY QUITE STARK.
WE’VE SEEN THE PICTURES OF HER.
SHE PUTS ON AN AWFUL LOT OF WEIGHT.
SHE RETREATS INTO HERSELF.
SHE’S NOT THIS FUN, FRIVOLOUS CHARACTER OF HER YOUTH ANYMORE.
SHE IS THIS PERSON THAT PERHAPS HIDES
BEHIND THE BLACK ROBES OF GRIEF
THAT SHE CONTINUES TO WEAR
THROUGHOUT THE REST OF HER DAYS, ACTUALLY.
Borman: HOW DO WE KNOW THEY’RE VICTORIA’S?
HOW CAN WE BE SURE?
Murphy: WELL, UM, THEY...
WE, WE PURCHASED THEM AT AUCTION
AND BY DESCENT FROM A FAMILY OF A TRUSTED STAFF MEMBER
WHO RECEIVED THEM AS A GIFT FROM QUEEN VICTORIA,
SO THE DOCUMENTARY EVIDENCE SHOWS US THAT.
BUT ALSO THERE’S THIS MONOGRAM
VERY BEAUTIFULLY EMBROIDERED AT THE WAIST.
THAT’S A VR WITH A CROWN.
Borman: IT’S SUCH A PRIVILEGE TO SEE SUCH A PERSONAL MEMENTO
OF ONE OF OUR MOST ICONIC QUEENS, SO THANK YOU.
Murphy: A PLEASURE.
♪
Borman: ON THE 22nd OF JANUARY, 1901,
QUEEN VICTORIA DIED, AGED 81.
IN KEEPING WITH HER WISHES,
SHE WAS GIVEN A MILITARY FUNERAL
AND WAS BURIED IN A WHITE DRESS WEARING A WEDDING VEIL.
SHE WAS ALBERT’S LOVING WIFE, EVEN IN DEATH.
VICTORIA HAD WRITTEN SOME 60 MILLION WORDS
IN HER DIARIES, AS WELL AS COUNTLESS LETTERS,
SO YOU WOULD THINK HER PRIVATE LIFE
WOULD BE THERE FOR ALL TO SEE, BUT NO.
WHEN SHE DIED, HER CHILDREN WORKED HARD
TO COVER UP ANY POTENTIAL EMBARRASSMENTS,
AND SO HER DIARIES WERE ALTERED,
AND FEW ORIGINALS IN HER HAND SURVIVE.
HER SON BERTIE INHERITED THE THRONE OF ENGLAND AS EDWARD VII
AND ORDERED ALL EVIDENCE OF HER RELATIONSHIPS
WITH JOHN BROWN AND ABDUL KARIM DESTROYED,
GOING SO FAR AS TO SEND AGENTS TO INDIA.
Green: WELL, THE FATE OF ABDUL KARIM IS VERY TELLING
ABOUT HOW THE MONARCHY OPERATES
BECAUSE HERE’S SOMEONE THAT WAS AS CLOSE
AS ANYONE POSSIBLY COULD BE TO THE QUEEN, TO THE EMPRESS,
AND SHE PROMISED HIM JEWELS, SHE PROMISED HIM LAND,
SHE PROMISED HIM TITLE.
IT WAS CLEAR SHE WAS GOING TO DIE BEFORE HE WOULD,
BUT HE WAS MADE ALL THESE PROMISES,
AND HE SINCERELY BELIEVED THEM, BUT THE MINUTE SHE DIED,
NONE OF THESE PROMISES WERE KEPT.
THEY WOULD NOT LET THIS KIND OF ALIEN FROM INDIA,
WHO WAS COOKING HIS CURRIES FOR QUEEN VICTORIA,
THEY DIDN’T WANT HIM ANYWHERE CLOSE TO THE NEXT MONARCH,
ANYWHERE CLOSE TO INFLUENCING THE GOVERNMENT
OR ANYTHING LIKE THAT.
Rubenhold: THE MONARCHY, THOSE AROUND THE QUEEN,
UM, THOSE AROUND, UH, EDWARD,
WHO WAS ABOUT TO TAKE THE THRONE,
SAID THIS WAS UNACCEPTABLE,
AND INSTEAD OF GIVING HIM THESE THINGS,
THEY BASICALLY GAVE HIM A ONE-WAY TICKET BACK TO INDIA,
AND THEY GOT RID OF HIM, AND THEY CLEANED UP THIS MESS
SO THAT THE BRITISH MONARCHY,
THE MACHINERY OF MONARCHY, COULD CHURN ON.
AND HE JUST STOOD IN THE WAY,
AND YOU DON’T STAND IN THE WAY OF THIS MACHINE.
♪
Borman: THE EVIDENCE OF THE EXCITING, FUN-LOVING,
AND AFFECTIONATE QUEEN IS MOSTLY GONE,
BUT IT’S CERTAINLY NO LONGER FORGOTTEN,
AND PERHAPS IT DOES REVEAL THE TRUTH
ABOUT THE REAL QUEEN VICTORIA.
McMahon: I THINK OUR MEMORY
OF QUEEN VICTORIA
SINCE SHE’S DIED
HAS BEEN WHAT WE’VE SEEN
IN THE STATUES--
THE STATUE ON THE MALL,
THE STATUE IN COUNTLESS CITIES
AROUND THE WORLD.
IT’S THIS BIG, LARGE LADY, HUGE WAIST,
MORBIDLY OBESE, BASICALLY, AT THE END OF HER LIFE,
AND WHAT WE DIDN’T KNOW ABOUT HER
BUT WE’RE JUST STARTING TO DISCOVER,
I MEAN, THROUGH SOME OF THE TV DRAMAS,
THROUGH SOME OF THE RESEARCH,
SOME OF THE LETTERS THAT HAVE COME OUT IN RECENT YEARS
IS THIS YOUNG VICTORIA WHO WAS VERY DIFFERENT,
WHO WAS VERY FLIRTY, WHO WAS VERY INTELLIGENT,
WHO WAS VERY CHATTY.
IT’S A COMPLETELY DIFFERENT PICTURE.
WHETHER OR NOT THAT KIND OF CANCELS OUT THE OTHER VICTORIA,
WELL, WE’LL HAVE TO WAIT AND SEE.
Rideal: THE THING THAT VICTORIA HAD WHICH ALL MONARCHS HAVE
IS THIS STRANGE DUAL PERSONALITY.
THEY HAVE THEIR PRIVATE LIFE, AND THEY HAVE THEIR PUBLIC LIFE,
AND I THINK IN THE PAST
WE’VE TENDED TO OVERLOOK VICTORIA’S PRIVATE LIFE,
MORE SO THAN OTHER MONARCHS
BECAUSE THERE’S BEEN THE IMPRESSION
THAT IT’S NOT THAT INTERESTING.
WELL, ACTUALLY IT IS,
AND SHE WAS A VERY INTERESTING WOMAN.
SHE WAS FULL OF BEANS, FULL OF LIFE,
AND SHE ENJOYED THE COMPANY OF MEN AND WOMEN,
MEN MORE SO, THROUGHOUT HER LIFE.
♪
Borman: WHILE IT’S CLEAR THAT THERE’S MORE TO VICTORIA
THAN THE GRAND TITLES AND POPULAR IMAGES WOULD SUGGEST,
PERHAPS WE’LL NEVER KNOW THE WHOLE TRUTH,
BUT I’LL LEAVE YOU WITH THIS--
VICTORIA WAS BURIED WITH SEVERAL
MEMENTOS OF THOSE DEAR TO HER.
ON ONE SIDE OF HER WAS
A CAST OF PRINCE ALBERT’S HAND,
AND ON THE OTHER, HIDDEN
UNDER A BOUQUET OF FLOWERS,
A PHOTOGRAPH OF JOHN BROWN.
I’LL SEE YOU NEXT TIME.