The Wild Princess: A Novel of Queen Victoria's Defiant Daughter

The Incident at Vauxhall Bridge, as it came to be known at Scotland Yard, was hushed up by orders of the prime minister to minimize any positive press for the Fenians. All the public ever learned was that radicals managed to blow up a bridge and by doing so delayed the queen’s arrival at the church. The two dynamiteers responsible, reported the London Times, were so inept that they managed to blow themselves up in the boat they’d used to plant the bomb. Happily, the press noted, other members of the queen’s family who had planned to travel along the parade route had been ill and, unable to attend the ceremony, were out of harm’s way.

Missing from the story in the newspapers around the world was the fact that Victoria’s magnificent coronation coach was destroyed in the attack and had to be rebuilt from scratch. It was later used by Victoria’s great-granddaughter, the young Queen Elizabeth II, for her coronation. Very few people knew it wasn’t the original.

In 2003, the grandson of a Dr. Edward Locock attempted to prove he was a direct descendant of Queen Victoria, with rights to the throne, claiming that his grandfather was the illegitimate child of one of the royal princesses. But the good doctor had requested his body be burned at his death along with his private papers, the ashes strewn over the rose garden at Osborne House. Therefore nothing could be proved and the case was dropped from the court dockets. Why Locock chose this odd location for his remains to be returned to the earth, requiring special permission from the British Parks Service, no one seems to know. Except, it was said, the doctor cherished a love of roses.

To My Readers

What’s real and what’s make-believe? Here are a few hints. . . .

Yes, the royal family depicted in this story did exist. Queen Victoria ruled the longest of any British monarch to this date—sixty-three years. She and her husband, Prince Albert of Saxe-Coberg and Gotha, a first cousin, had nine children—four princes and five princesses. All of the children eventually married, and their offspring, in turn, produced rulers and enriched the noble bloodlines of many European countries. (See “Queen Victoria and Prince Albert’s Children and Grandchildren” on page viii.)

Much controversy surrounds Princess Louise (later also, the Duchess of Argyll) and her marriage. She was a beloved and respected royal both in her own country and in Canada, where she accompanied her husband, Lorne, on his appointment as governor general of the Dominion of Canada. Gossip, but never proof, surfaced regarding the marquess’s sexual preferences, but, in fact, he and Louise never had children. Another rumor whispered that Louise was unable to have children as a result of a botched abortion during her teenage years. But again, there is no proof. She was affectionately known in the queen’s court, and among the queen’s subjects, as the “wild child” of the royal brood. Her studies (at her own insistence) at the National Art Training School in Kensington (renamed the Royal College of Art) helped her become one of the few recognized female artists of her day.

Stephen Byrne is the fictional hero this author believes Louise deserved. Although various romantic liaisons were suspected during her lifetime, I know of no historian who has successfully confirmed that she indulged in romantic affairs. However, we do know that Louise spent a good deal of time away from Lorne, encouraged by him “for her health,” visiting various spas in Europe; she often traveled great distances on her own. Louise particularly loved Bermuda. The exquisite Hamilton Princess hotel on the island was named after her and opened in 1885. It would be difficult to believe that this fourth and high-spirited princess never experienced passionate love. Thus I gave her the dashing American Civil War hero Stephen Byrne.

The Fenians were a particularly militant group of Irish radical separatists, and they did blow up part of Parliament and various other buildings in London to make their point. Many attempts were made to assassinate Queen Victoria by different political factions. More than one theory exists of a plot to murder HRM on the occasion of her Golden Jubilee in 1887. In Fenian Fire, author Christy Campbell presents evidence that high-placed members of the British government actually planned to assassinate Victoria and blame it on the Fenians.

If you wish to learn more about Princess Louise’s real life, try checking out these books:

Princess Louise—Queen Victoria’s Unconventional Daughter, by Jehanne Wake (London: Collins, 1988)

Victoria’s Daughters, by Jerrold M. Packard (New York: St. Martin’s Press, 1998)

Darling Loosy—Letters to Princess Louise 1856–1939, ed. Elizabeth Longford (London: Weidenfeld & Nicolson, 1991)