“There was a good deal of fog, early before breakfast, but it gradually became clearer. – At 11, we set off for the City. I feel I cannot attempt properly to describe the splendour of the whole scene, of the procession, or of the proceedings in the Royal Exchange, so I will confine myself only to remarks, observations, & these are all of the most pleasing kind & most gratifying nature. I wore a dress of white & silver brocade with big Diadem taken to pieces & used to trim the dress, my diamond fringe & necklace being arranged as a Diadem, with the little diamond Crown behind, thus: Albert was in the uniform of Captain [mss drawing] of the Artillery Company. Ly Canning & Ld Jersey were in the State Coach with us. The day cleared & there were occasional gleams of sunshine to light up the brilliant cortège. There was an escort of Life Guard, Yeomen of the Guard, walking footmen & grooms surrounded the Coach, drawn by the stately prancing Creams, & there were 6 other carriages. The troops, Life Guards, Blues, Lancers, were statoned at distances. The thousands & thousands of people, who crowded the streets, windows, & housetops, everywhere, were indeed a very striking light. The loyalty & enthusiasm with which we were received was most gratifying. We can see that we are dearly beloved, & (as the Papers very prettily put it) more so than any other Sovereign, from the fact of our happy domestic life, which I all owe to my beloved Albert. He is so beloved & respected by all the influential people, by the bulk of the Nation, the only ones who are inimical being a few fashionables of doubtful character, who would prefer Albert leading a dissolute, disreputable life to being a devoted & exemplary husband, pure & moral, – in the highest degree. – At the City Boundary, the Ld Mayor brought the Sword of State, with uncommonly good grace to the carriage, & carried it throughout the whole ceremony. His name is Maquay & he is extremely gentlemanlike. We reached the Royal Exchange, a fine & imposing building, at ½ p. 12. The scene here, was very fine, – The acclamations of the people, – the playing of Bands, the ringing of bells, – all, very striking, – & quite moved me. The slow procession rowed the Quadrangle, beautifully decorated in Encaustic) was very stately & impressive. We found Mama & Uncle Cambridge in the room in which the Chair of State was prepared, & here we received the Address. In returning my answer to the Ld Mayor, I said: “It is my intention to raise Yr Lordship to the rank of Baronet, in commemoration of this day.” We then proceeded with Mama & Uncle Cambridge (who always leads her immediately behind us) & our Ladies, to 2 private rooms where we waited until the “Dejeuner’ was announced, where we moved on to the so called Lloyd’s Room. the Ld Mayor preceding us. I sat between Albert & Uncle Cambridge The ‘Dejeuner’ was splendid, & put me in mind of the City Driver in 37, only this time I had my beloved Albert with me, which made everything so much pleasanter. The Toast, the Ld Mayor gave out exceedingly clearly & well, – from behind my chair, being prefaced by a flourish of trumpets, & they were most enthustastically received. Immediately arterwards we went for a few moments to our rooms, & then formed a procession to the Quadrangle, where in the open part in the centre of the tessellated pavement, I read the following Declaration, surrounded by numbers of people: It is “my royal will & pleasure that this building be hereafter called the Royal Exchange.” This was followed by a flourish of trumpets, & tremendous applause. It was indeed an eventful ceremony & peculiarly interesting to me as but 2 years ago Albert had laid the foundation stone. We returned in a Dress Carriage with a pair of horses & there was no walking procession, as before. We reached Buckingham Palace, amidst the cheers of the assembled multitudes, shortly after 3, & were highly gratified & pleased. At ½ p. 4 was left Buckingham Palace & return to Windsor getting there at ½ p. 5. We found all the Chicks well. — No one extra to dinner, during we talked much of the days proceedings. Had great fun afterward with some new games, (new to us) which Albert brought back from Germany. -”
Citation:
RA VIC/MAIN/QVJ (W) 28 October 1844 (PRINCESS BEATRICE’S COPIES) retrieved 27 October 2024
