On 7th May 1877, Princess Helena gave birth to an unnamed stillborn son at Cumberland Lodge, Windsor.
“Very fine & bright. – Many telegrams & from Constantinople & elsewhere. – Walked with Marie & Beatrice down to the Mausoleum, then past Frogmore to the little Cottage, where we sat for a little while outside & it was quite hot. Drove back through the Gardens, where Jones met us & was lamenting over the loss of an immense deal of fruit owing to the severe frosts of the last nights. – Just after 1 got a telegram from Christian saying that Lenchen was taken ill, & they hoped I would come. Ordered the carriage, & after a hurried mouthful of luncheon drove off to Cumberland Lodge with Marie & Jane C. Found Christian at the door, as also Mis Gordon, who took me into the Library & could hardly speak for agitation. Things were not going quite well & Dr Priestley had been sent for. Waited for some time in the room next to Lenchen’s bedroom, & went in & out to her. She had been having a very hard time. Poor Christian wandered about in a great state at Dr Priestley not arriving. At 5 I went down to take a cup of tea, in the same room I had with poor dear Lenchen yesterday, when it seems she was already suffering. At length at 10 m. past 6, Dr Priestley arrived, who instantly came upstairs, & very shortly afterwards the child was born. Poor Lenchen kept asking if it was alive, which I much feared it would not be. Alas! Alas! it had never breathed. Too sad, & such a splendid child. After last year, for this to happen, is too tragic. I cannot help feeling that all was not done which should have been. It was such a splendid child & it was too piteous to see it lying there dead. Poor dear Lenchen was very exhausted by her long drawn out sufferings & naturally broken hearted at the loss of her Baby, but she was very brave & good. Christian was terribly upset. Left at ½ p. 7, carrying away with me a very sad recollection of what had occurred, but very grateful to God for having spared my dear Child, & that I had been able to be there to comfort & support her & poor Christian. — Only the Ladies dined.”
RA VIC/MAIN/QVJ (W) 7 May 1877 (PRINCESS BEATRICE’S COPIES) retrieved 1 May 2024
http://www.queenvictoriasjournals.org/
© Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II 2012 © Bodleian Libraries © ProQuest
How very sad. You’d think Princess Helena would hopefully have the same constitution as her mother in having babies. I hope Queen Victoria didn’t’ have any miscarriages.
I really enjoy when you blog about events that happened on the current date.
Luckily Victoria didn’t but she did often have difficult labours, followed by a prolapsed uterus so it could be that there was a gynaecological issue that Helena inherited