Queen Victoria falls down the stairs at Windsor Castle, days before the death of John Brown

Known as setting of Prince Albert’s untimely death in 1861, Windsor Castle was once again the backdrop of Queen Victoria’s misery just twenty-two years later.

On 14^th March 1883 Queen Victoria left Buckingham Palace and travelled to Windsor Castle, accompanied by her Highland servant, John Brown. Upon arriving, the Queen instantly went to check on her haemophiliac son, Prince Leopold, who was suffering after recently injuring his leg. However, the 63-year-old monarch was oblivious that she, too, would soon be suffering from a similar injury.

Over the coming days Queen Victoria enjoyed her usual routine of going on daily drives, visiting her mother’s mausoleum, and attending family dinners. Saturday 17^th March was no different. The day was ‘fine & bright,’ encouraging the Queen and her youngest child, Princess Beatrice, to visit their collection of dogs in the nearby kennels. After returning to the castle, the Queen went to visit Leopold before taking luncheon with her friend, Empress Eugénie of France.

Going by her usual routine, Victoria was preparing for her afternoon drive with Susanna Stephania Innes-Ker, Duchess of Roxburghe, and the Honourable Mary Pitt, when, as she was going down the stairs, she ‘missed the last steps, & came down violently on one leg.’ The Queen adds to her journal that she had been unable to move for a short time due to excruciating pain in her knee. Never too far from his Queen, John Brown was quick to help. Despite the pain, Victoria was determined to go ahead with her drive and John Brown helped her into the carriage.

Following Victoria’s return to the castle it became apparent that her leg was no better, leading to Brown and a footman lifting her out of the carriage and supporting her to her room. Once Victoria had settled, the two royal physicians, Sir William Jenner and Dr Reid, came to assess the damage. That evening Victoria walked ‘with great difficulty’ into dinner, clutching onto Princess Helena for support. It was later discovered that her knee had begun to aggressively swell, causing her intense pain and difficulty in sleeping. The following morning Dr Reid returned to bandage the injury.

Over the coming days Victoria spent most of her time resting on her sofa in the company of her beloved Brown, who was ‘so attentive, helping me on & off the sofa’ and lifting her into her rolling chair so she could be pushed into the Audience Room to attend a Council meeting. Victoria was later rolled into Prince Leopold’s room for an update on his condition. In her journal she recalled how Leopold ‘was laying on the sofa, she [Leopold’s pregnant wife, Princess Helen] on another, & when I came in, as a 3^rd helpless creature. It had quite a ludicrous effect.’

As the days passed, Victoria’s agony continued to prevent her from going about her daily business. Accounts over what really happened vary as in her journal Queen Victoria notes how she was ‘unsuccessful’ at attempting to walk due to the pain, whilst the surviving journals of Dr Reid claim that he walked into her private rooms to find her standing and walking around with John Brown. Nonetheless, the Queen continued to be carried up and down stairs and in out of carriages by her Scottish companion and, as a twist of fate, it was Prince Leopold that was now visiting his injured mother.

 

There is much rumour over the nature of Queen Victoria’s relationship with John Brown, with many historians (and a decent amount of evidence) suggesting that they might have been secret lovers, with additional theories relating to a secret marriage and even a secret child! To anyone, no matter your historical interest or knowledge, it is obvious that Victoria favoured John Brown over her other servants. In her eyes Brown could do no wrong and for someone that was in deep mourning for her late husband (Prince Albert) and had strict boundaries over who could go near her, she was unusually comfortable with physical contact from the Scotsman. However, even John Brown wasn’t immune from the Queen’s demanding and self-centred nature.

On 25th March Queen Victoria found herself ‘vexed’ that Brown was unable to attend to her every need. Like Prince Albert, John Brown had spent two decades by Victoria’s side, pampering to her every need and never leaving her alone for longer than necessary. Now, aged 56, he found himself unwell and unable to leave his bed. In her journal Victoria notes that his face had suddenly swelled, and it was feared he was suffering from erysipelas. But of course, in Victoria’s mind Brown’s absence from her side was more of an inconvenience than a concern. ‘My leg,’ she writes, ‘[is] much the same’ and still prevented her from being able to walk. With Brown out of action, the maids helped the Queen into her rolling chair so she could be taken into the castle’s Red Drawing Room and listen to the Easter Hymns coming from the nearby Chapel. Despite not having Brown with her, Victoria found the courage to try a new pony chair and was able to go for a drive, with Princess Beatrice walking beside her side. That evening she was also rolled into the Oak Room for dinner.

It was now almost a fortnight since the Queen’s accident and whilst she still felt helpless ‘on account of my unfortunate leg,’ concerns were beginning to grow over the health of her dearest John Brown. ‘Poor Brown no better, in fact worse, & his mind rather wandering’ wrote the Queen on 26^th March. That same day she had attended her first family occasion since her accident. Alterations had been made in the chapel so she could attend the christening of Leopold’s first child, Princess Alice of Albany. Although she was still unable to stand, Victoria was still able to join in with the ceremony, as well as the celebrations which followed in the Green Drawing Room.

Having drank to the health of her granddaughter one day, the next Victoria faced increasing anxieties over John Brown. There are mixed accounts on whether Victoria ever visited Brown during his illness, with some sources stating that she did, while others say she was unable to go to his room on account of her leg. Her journals also prove to be unreliable source when it comes to this time period as many of Victoria’s thoughts and feelings towards John Brown were later edited and removed by Princess Beatrice. However, we do know that Victoria wasn’t present when Brown took his last breath on the morning of 29^th March. It was Prince Leopold that had the unthinkable task of breaking the news to his mother. Victoria was understandably devastated, consoling in her journal, ‘[I] am terribly upset by this loss, which removes one, who was so devoted & attached to my service & who did so much for my personal comfort. It is the loss not only of a servant, but of a real friend.’

Over the next few days Victoria’s condition appears to worsen as she describes not sleeping and feeling weak. This could be taken as being her leg that was causing the discomfort but it is also possible that it was caused by the extreme grief which had befallen on her once more. According to her journals there were days where she noted that the physical discomfort appeared to be easing, but on others she relapsed into extreme discomfort. Despite the passing of his own father just days before that of John Brown, Dr Reid remained by Victoria’s side, assessing and bandaging her leg every night before she slept. By the 12^th April Victoria had made more attempts to walk, pushing a chair in front of her for support. Whilst she was making progress, the Queen couldn’t help but feel disheartened to find that the pain had returned, having ‘made it worse, by trying to walk yesterday’.

On 17th April Victoria left Windsor and travelled to Osborne House on the Isle of Wight. Despite John Brown’s now permanent absence, Victoria continued to be carried from her train carriage into her horse drawn carriage and onto the Royal Yacht ‘Alberta’ for the journey across the Solent. While staying at Osborne, the Queen’s leg, under the direction of Dr Reid, was bathed with hot sea water. But despite the attempts to quicken the healing process, the usually adventurous monarch found herself frustrated by the ‘great trial’ of constantly having to rest.

After a month of difficulty, the Queen’s leg appeared to be getting stronger. She still struggled to get down stairs without being carried and was usually rolled around the ground floor rooms. However, she was making progress, and by 1^st May, she was able to move around her private rooms using just two sticks. On 8^th May, Victoria and her family left Osborne and returned to Windsor. She had originally been meant to attend a Drawing Room in London but was once again unable to go as a result of her leg, causing Princess Beatrice to go in her place. That same day Victoria went out in her pony chair and was carried up into Prince Albert’s mausoleum at Frogmore. Further attempts at walking were made at Windsor and the Queen finally managed to walk into luncheon on 11^th May.

 

Having spent several nights being awoken by the cramp in her leg, Victoria remained reluctant to postpone her trip to Balmoral Castle in Scotland. The royal entourage left on 25^th May, arriving the following morning. That same day Victoria went out in her pony chair to Crathie Kirkyard near Balmoral to visit the remains of her beloved John Brown. In her journal she writes that she ‘was carried to my good Brown’s grave, & put some flowers there. It upset me very much, as does this first return to Balmoral, without him, & I realise more & more what I have lost in that devoted servant & friend, who I am without for the first time since 34 years. With him no longer there, to think of my comfort & enjoyment, as he always did.’

Having once again returned to Balmoral after spending the summer months at Osborne, Queen Victoria was still struggling from joint pain, particularly in her troublesome leg. By this time multiple treatments had already been attempted but after a trip to Alix-Les-Bains in France for her own physical rest bite, Princess Beatrice had a new suggestion… massage.

While she was away, Beatrice had met a French masseuse named Charlotte Nautet, who had proved successful in helping the Princess with her own ailments. After discussions with the Queen and Dr Reid, it was decided that Charlotte would travel to Balmoral to treat the Queen. According to Victoria, Charlotte was ‘a nice, cheerful looking person, with dark hair & eyes, wearing a white cap & apron, quite the typical, French “Paysanne”.’

The massage began in the morning of 27th August before the Queen had left her bed. New to the concept of massages, Queen Victoria muses the process in her journal, noting how ‘she [Charlotte] rubs my arms, legs, thighs & back, moving every muscle & joint, backwards & forwards, & kneading the muscles & limbs. This done, I was rolled up in flannel, & remained quite still in bed for ¼ of an hour.’ While she goes on to complain that the experience had made her ‘very late, & feel tired,’ the massage spears to have served its purpose. These encounters continued daily for the next couple of weeks and Victoria seems to have grown accustomed to the sensation, describing it as ‘tiring, but not unpleasant.’

While Victoria’s leg healed to a degree, it never truly recovered and the Queen relied heavily on a walking stick for the remainder of her life.

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