Queen Victoria Command (1 results)

Unbound Letter. Condition: Very Good. unpublished Letter. This seems to be a personal hand written letter from Queen Victoria at Windsor Castle to the Duchess of Sutherland signed Victoria R. dated Dec. 19th. 1862 to My dearest Duchess, I have been deeply touched by the gift of a Bible 'from many widows' & by the very kind & affectionate address which accompanied it and is all about this gift. And ends Believe me My dearest Duchess, Yours most affectionately Victoria R. .But as it has copy to the top, having made contact with the The present Queens Royal Archives, I have found it was infact most likely written by one of Queen Victoria's own ladies-in-waiting on the Queens behalf who did copies of the letter to the Duchess of Sutherland for each of the widows headed by a Mrs Clutterbuck, as the Duchess suggested that the Queen might care to acknowledge them with their own photographic/printed copy. But they were actually sent hand written copies as the Queens Royal Archives have two copies written be different hands. Condition; very good, minimal ageing, a few tiny dots (stain I think rather than fox) dirt to rear page that is blank without writing. Folded in 3. Hand writing is fairly easy to read after looking at it a while, but a few words not too easy. On hand made paper with watermark lines. Top left is a small blind embossed seal. Queen Victoria had lost her husband a year earlier on 14th December 1861, and spent the first weeks of her widowhood with the Duchess of Sutherland as her only companion. Then the Queen undertook her official government duties, but chose to remain secluded in her royal residences including Windsor Castle. So The Duchess of Sutherland was the Queen's closest confidante and personal friend. Harriet Elizabeth Georgiana Sutherland-Leveson-Gower, Duchess of Sutherland 1806 1868, was previously also Mistress of the Robes, i.e. the senior lady in the Royal Household responsible for the Queen's clothes and jewellery etc. from 1837-1861 (with breaks). The husband of the Dutchess was the 10th richest person in the Western world, he owned 1.4 million acres of land in Britain, including Dunrobin Castle, Trentham Hall, Cliveden and Stafford House (now called Lancaster House) only Tsar Alexander II of Russia owned more land. She also had her own world class Jewellery including necklace of natural pearls from around 1780 that Marie Antoinette the last Queen of France. As a token of good faith entrusted the pearls to the then Lady Sutherland, the wife of the British ambassador for safekeeping during their imprisonment and attempted flight from France on June 20th, 1791. The escape failed and Marie Antoinette met Monsieur Guillotine in 1793 . Found a great quote on the net about when Queen Victoria came to call on the Duchess of Sutherland, and the Queen famously remarked, "I have come from my home to your palace". The Duchess was also against American Slavery and very important in London High Society and philanthropic undertakings. Size: 17.75 x 11.25cm. Approx. Signed.