A Queen in the Wild: Mary Elizabeth Lucy gets a glimpse of Queen Victoria

Quite interestingly, the Stafford House ball wasn’t the first time that Mary Elizabeth Lucy, Mistress of Charlecote, had come into contact with Queen Victoria. (Read yesterday’s post to learn more about the Stafford House ball)

In June 1829 Mary Elizabeth Lucy had been taking a gentle stroll around Kensington Gardens when her eldest son, William Fulke, ran from her side and over to a young girl who ‘was tossing hay with a little rake’. That girl was ten year old Princess Victoria of Kent, later Queen of Great Britain. Upon seeing Fulke the young princess declared “what a lovely boy!” as she picked him up and kissed him. Eighteen years later, Mary Elizabeth went for a drive of Hyde Park with her younger sons – Spencer, Aymer and Berkeley – after visiting the zoological gardens in Regent’s Park. Whilst they were out, the three boys began demanding that their mother show them the queen. Like any parent, Mary Elizabeth tried explaining that this wasn’t something she could do when Aymer excitedly called out ‘Here comes the Queen!’. To his mother’s surprise, Aymer was correct as the Queen’s carriage passed through the park, pulled by ‘four horses and outriders in scarlet liveries’. 

After this it would be three years before Mary Elizabeth faced any prospect of meeting royalty. In that time Emily had got married and William Fulke had passed away without an heir, putting Spencer in place as the head of the family. However, like his brother, Spencer was also underage when he inherited the estate, once again leaving Mary Elizabeth in charge.

Secured in her position at Charlcote for some time longer, Mary Elizabeth’s attention turned towards her youngest daughter, Carry, who was now 22 and without a husband. Due to the family’s status within society, it was deemed necessary to have Carry presented at court to mark her official ‘coming out’. I’ll be sharing the story of Carry’s presentation tomorrow, so stay tuned!

© Queen.Victoria.Roses 2026

This article is the intellectual property of Queen.Victoria.Roses and should not be COPIED, EDITED, OR POSTED IN ANY FORM ON ANOTHER WEBSITE under any circumstances unless permission is given by the author