Serving Victoria: Life in the Royal Household

She survived to a peaceful retirement with her own family, while the latter, married to a notoriously unfaithful governor-general of India, found early release from a short and evidently unhappy life after an attack of fever. The only child who had lost her father when she was only eight months old spent her life looking for and remaining attached to strong, commanding men to look up to and be guided by throughout her life.

These men would generally stand up to her and tell her what she needed to hear, in a way that her maidservants and own children, always in awe of her, never dared to. The fearless Reid and Davidson knew instinctively how far they could go with her. When most of the household were close to open rebellion because of her obstinate defence of the Munshi, Reid told her to her face that he had been questioned about her sanity, and threatened to resign from the royal household.

For one of the very few times in her life, she had to concede that she was in the wrong. Meanwhile the worldly-wise Ponsonby, an easy-going, liberal-minded man in politics as well as personality who like his wife had little time for pomp and stuffiness, treated his mistress with just the right balance of deference and humour.

Nevertheless he paid the price after years of overwork, and was forced to retire after a stroke left him a complete invalid for the last few months of his life. In the last few years there has been a gentle but noticeable trend of biographies of Queen Victoria and those close to her becoming less deferential. An admirable and wise personality though she was in many ways, it is apparent that she could be an unsympathetic employer as well as though not strictly relevant to the book in question a bad, even tyrannical mother.

In her last years when she was increasingly tired and ill, she would be ever more impatient of the needs of her staff to have occasional time off with their own families. Yet for all this, she was extremely tolerant of alcoholism among those who served her, though this was not extended to her own family and particularly not to her alcoholic second son Alfred, Duke of Edinburgh. When cellarmen and others disgraced themselves, partly out of boredom and partly out of temptation, she would make excuses for them and suggest that they be moved to different positions in the household, preferably those where the temptations of the bottle were less accessible.

Kate Hubbard has written a very entertaining book. Victoria took an endless interest in the lives of her servants and could be immensely thoughtful of their feelings but decided less so of their own desires and comforts, and particularly if she was in any way inconvenienced. She disliked her ladies and gentleman to marry, as this required a certain amount of adjustment in her household. Victoria was very much a creature of routine, to the point of utter tedium for her staff.

And with her long reign the longest in British history, many of these poor souls lived out the years of their retirement and old age serving their somewhat childlike monarch through all her whims and fancies, many dying 'in the harness', so to speak. But as Victoria might have retorted, if she had to, so should they. I was under the assumption that this was an expose to the kitchen and eating habits of chubby Queen Victoria and kin as I had heard the author interviewed on a national radio cooking show -- "serving" actually translates to six household servants, three men and three women, and their tedious, to put it mildly, lifestyles in not intimidating the royal egos.

Each page is an amazing collection of research, who went where, who was present, the weather, the clothing, the children, etc. House guests arrive and disappear like smoke. How in the world does an author collect such in-depth specific information? Try pages of it.

Dear Queen Vic seems to never want to be alone and has her noble ladies-in-waiting perched on couches outside her door around the clock ready to do whatever ladies-in-waiting do when summoned. I was struck with the story of how the poor attendant from nobilty none-the-less had to orchestrate all the queens coats, wraps, blankets, hats, and who knows what else, and then had to stand behind her seat at the opera for four and a half hours. You would think the bloody queen could at least offer her a chair.

Also enlightening was the Queen's relationship with servant John Brown, a love affair really, after Albert had died. Brown, a rough and tumble brawny dude who ran the royal dogs, won her heart and as a result let his position intimidate just about everyone in the royal household. And as Hollywood would have enjoyed, just before her coffin was screwed tight for eternity, his photo and a lock his hair were placed in her hand per her request despite other royal wishes. Wonder who washed the royal bedsheets? So court life in many ways sounds quite tediously boring but also quite enlightening when told from the point of view of the servants.

And one more thing, it's cold. She didn't like the castle warm so windows were left open, carriage rides were most always open air, and the idea of lighting a second fire was received with great demure enthusiasm but probably profound excitement around the corner. Pass the roast beast. I'm freezing and the Mountbattens are due at four. Mar 31, Zoeytron rated it liked it Shelves: If you love all things British, this book may be just the ticket for you.

With information gleaned from diaries and letters of Queen Victoria's staff, it is full of details about everything having to do with the Victorian court. From linen room women, to ladies of the bedchamber, surveyor of pictures, chimney sweeps, the stove and fire lighter, all the way to the royal rat killer - the hundreds of servants of the court are brought to life.

Queen Victoria was what we would refer to today as a micr If you love all things British, this book may be just the ticket for you. Queen Victoria was what we would refer to today as a micro-manager, or yes, even a control freak. Her instructions were neverending - what time to open the bedroom shutters, when to fetch a handkerchief, in what order to hand things to her, etc. Ironically, she was loathe to confront anyone face-to-face to address a transgression, but communicated her displeasure through a third party or with a note.

There was a small smattering of book titles of the day - Robinson Crusoe for one. There was much talk of a new novel entitled Jane Eyre, Charlotte Bronte apparently made reference to the Queen as 'a little, stout, vivacious lady, plainly dressed'. The Queen had a horror of religious extremes. She disapproved of widows remarrying. She loved her husband, Prince Albert, and depended on him to a fault.

After his death, the Queen never did fully recover her former spirit and a cloud of melancholy hung over the court.

Serving Victoria: Life in the Royal Household

On one occasion, upon hearing laughter coming from the castle smoking room, Queen Victoria hurriedly sent a note by a servant to the gentlemen in the room saying that 'it would be well if Mr. Ponsonby were cautioned not to be so funny'. Many little nuggets of information are to be had here. You must be ready to delve rather deeply into the minutiae of the innerworkings of the court, more than I would typically want.

For all of that, it was a surprisingly easy read. This was a first-reads giveaway. Jul 19, Neeuqdrazil rated it really liked it Shelves: I quite enjoyed this. It was an interesting read, and took a different look at Victoria than many other biographies use, although it uses many of the same sources the diaries and letters of her servants and attendants, primarily. This covered 6 major figures of Victoria's life - 3 from early in her reign, and 3 from late in her reign.

It also delved into Victoria's personality, through the lenses of those who attended her most closely - ladies-in-waiting, maids-of-honour, her physician, the De I quite enjoyed this. It also delved into Victoria's personality, through the lenses of those who attended her most closely - ladies-in-waiting, maids-of-honour, her physician, the Dean of Windsor her priest , and her private secretary.

It paints a picture of a woman who was both incredibly caring, and incredibly selfish. She would send gushing letters sympathising with former servants or the families of former servants when someone died, but became irate when her physician decided to marry, and denied him permission for some time. The sources seemed to be good - I didn't read all the notes or footnotes, but the bibliography was certainly thorough.

Jan 01, Jane rated it it was amazing Shelves: What a wonderful idea: The experiences of high-ranking courtiers, who were close enough to see how the queen and her family lived, who were not overawed by the world they found themselves in, and who, of course, left letters and diaries to speak for them. And from those documents Kate Hubbard has built a wonderful story, vividly written, chock full of details, and What a wonderful idea: And from those documents Kate Hubbard has built a wonderful story, vividly written, chock full of details, and utterly readable. Lady Sarah Lytton was a widow with a family to support when she came, reluctantly, to court to become a lady of the bedchamber to a young, unwed Victoria, and later she would rise to become the superintendent of the royal nurseries.

Charlotte Canning, a younger woman, with a fine mind and an artistic sensibility became a lady of the bedchamber some years later. Henry Ponsonby was that private secretary, a job for life, and his path crossed with those of James Reid, physician in ordinary, and Randall Davidson, domestic chaplain. Six very different characters, with different roles, and so the focus moves.

From the life of the queen with her ladies; to her marriage and the raising of her children; to her homes — Windsor for duty, Balmoral for love, and Osborne for recreation — and her travels; to political crises and her varied relationships with her prime ministers; to the extended periods of mourning and seclusion that followed the death of Prince Albert; to her relationships with John Brown and Abdul Karim; to her slow decline, her death and finally to the laying out of her body.

It might be sensible for maids of honour, single young women, to be restricted and chaperoned, but it seemed heartless that Lady Lyttleton was begrudgingly given so very little time to see her children and grandchildren, that James Reid was compelled to keep his engagement, late in life, to an eminently suitable lady-in-waiting secret … There was always rules, conventions, proprieties that must be kept, and when the queen became a widow, as she grew older and frailer, she became more demanding and completely oblivious to the feelings of those around her.

Henry Ponsonby struggled, as her sight failed, to make his writing bigger and clearer, to find heavier paper so that the ink would not show through … But, in spite all of this, Victoria was an engaging human figure. She loved her husband, her home at Balmoral, her fresh air. She struggled with life as a widow. She was vulnerable, and sometimes she made bad choices, but she could never admit that she was fallible. I realised that she was a woman who knew no other life, saw very little of the world, and who maybe would have been happier if she had.

I felt as much, sometimes more, for the people around her. Better to notice all of the details as you read. From drunken servants to appointing bishops!

This is a book full of engaging characters, fascinating details of their lives, and fresh perspectives on familiar pieces of history. The only thing it lacks are family trees and chronologies. This really is a fascinating book — I could happily go back to the beginning and read it all over again — and one that I can recommend.

May 27, Kilian Metcalf rated it liked it Recommended to Kilian by: If you think there is a sheen of glamour around living at court and serving royalty, this book will open your eyes. Queen Victoria was a dull, humorless, demanding and thoughtless woman. She was totally devoted to her husband and family, but thought nothing of depriving her household staff of contact with their families for months at a time. Most of them served her out a sense of duty and could not wait for their periods of service to come to an end.

The atmosphere at court was claustrophobic, m If you think there is a sheen of glamour around living at court and serving royalty, this book will open your eyes. The atmosphere at court was claustrophobic, monotonous, and cold. Victoria thought cold air was healthy, so everyone shivered through their time there. She didn't approve of controversial conversation, so topics were limited to the weather and other equally inconsequential subjects. When Albert died, it became even worse as the Queen went into deep mourning and never emerged.

Her biggest delight was mourning the deaths of her very large extended family as they dropped off, and celebrating the anniversaries of their deaths year after year. That meant very few days were without some memento mori to bring tears to her eyes. The few servants who were able to see the woman under the crown, Scottish John Brown and Hindu Munshi, were thoroughly hated and resented by the rest of the staff. They may have been unhappy, but the reader of this well-written and well-researched book will enjoy reading about their misery and experiencing the schadenfreude of knowing that we are free of ever being pressed into similar service.

No wonder it took a deep soul-searching before anyone would enter her service. Oct 18, Merry Farmer rated it really liked it. Does it make me a total dork if I cried all through the description of Queen Victoria's death? Oct 31, E. Powell rated it really liked it Shelves: Queen Victoria presided over a vast household of servants but this is not a book about the drudgery of scullery maids and stable boys.

Instead, Hubbard concentrates on the top tier, the ladies and gentlemen often minor aristocracy who were closest to the Queen. She follows the lives of six of members of the royal household in detail. Through their diaries, journals and letters, Hubbard shows us the often tedious and claustrophobic life the Queen Victoria presided over a vast household of servants but this is not a book about the drudgery of scullery maids and stable boys.

Through their diaries, journals and letters, Hubbard shows us the often tedious and claustrophobic life they led. There are some interesting looking job titles such as Lady of the Bedchamber, but in reality this involved being a constant, uncomplaining companion, watching the Queen play skittles and accompanying her on carriage rides.

Such rules dictated how far the ladies were allowed to travel, imposing a regime not dissimilar to a prison. Hubbard also has an eye for detail. Many books have been written about Victoria and her reign. Hubbard brings a fresh, meticulously researched perspective on a woman who was simultaneously all-controlling and emotionally needy. Victoria even left detailed plans for her own funeral, along with a list of objects to be placed in her coffin.

Instructions were also left as to who could know about which objects. Her servants of course followed her instructions, loyal to the end. Hubbard has captured the atmosphere and relationships within this unique court beautifully. I received a free review copy of this book via the Historical Novel Society. This review or an edited version has appeared in the Historical Novels Review May 01, Elizabeth K. This is collection of letters and diaries pieced together from various members of Victoria's household - the middle and upper class people who filled administrative and personal aide type positions.

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It's strongest point is that it provides a great look into daily life, both at court and generally of the era. The picture it gives of Victoria herself is as a generally endearing, but sometimes annoying, great big whiner. The view, at least from these folks, who did know her quite intimately and in This is collection of letters and diaries pieced together from various members of Victoria's household - the middle and upper class people who filled administrative and personal aide type positions. The view, at least from these folks, who did know her quite intimately and in many cases, spent decades at court, gives the impression that she isn't at all shrewd or thoughtful beyond the petty details of her household in contrast to some theories I have seen that her naivete was a tool she used to rule effectively.

My biggest complaint is that it assumes the reader has mastered a great deal of detail about Victoria's reign, which maybe was intentional because I can see how this would appeal to people who already have a lot of information.

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And I would even say I have a fair bit of Victoriana under my belt. It was still challenging, for example, when the book would refer to the youngest child, but it wasn't clear what year it was or who would have been the youngest at that time. Or the Prime Ministers -- I know the main platforms of the famous ones, like Disraeli and Gladstone, but come on, throw me a bone on Palmerston at least.

Overall, I would recommend to people who are, in fact, THAT interested in Victoria, but it would be extremely tedious as an introduction. Enormously researched yet lacking in clarity, at least for those not well-versed in the life of Queen Victoria and her court, this is an interesting and rare take on a life and time of which so much has been written. The book paints portraits of many important members of the Queen's court, and highlights the extraordinary dullness and tiresome lack of logical order with which they had to put up.

To make things difficult for novices to Victoria's court, the book leaps right into its chronicling wi Enormously researched yet lacking in clarity, at least for those not well-versed in the life of Queen Victoria and her court, this is an interesting and rare take on a life and time of which so much has been written. To make things difficult for novices to Victoria's court, the book leaps right into its chronicling without explaining the roles of the lady-in-waiting, maid of honour, and other court people whose lives this book is about.

How are we supposed to know all these things unless the author gives us SOME explanation of them!? It would also have been helpful to have family trees, and a list and brief description of the main players—so many names are listed, and it would be easier on the reader to have a list to consult, instead of incessantly flipping back and forth to remember whether some Lord or other was chamberlain or foreign secretary or lord-in-waiting or something else entirely!

The constant names and name changes and staff changes are difficult to follow. Irksomely, the book occasionally jumps back and forth chronologically. This makes for a challenging read for those not well-versed in the events of Queen Victoria's—and Albert's and the children's and all the various peers'—life. In the end, this book is overly verbose, detailed and yet very often lacking explanation, and yet as much as possible with those faults, a solid piece of biography. Jan 21, Mlg rated it really liked it Shelves: This book about Queen Victoria's household, started off a little slowly.

Once Victoria came into her own as queen, it picked up. Victoria emerged as a sort of beady eyed headmistress who was obsessed with household rules and regulations. Albert managed to keep her somewhat under control, but once he died, she became really obsessive. Her need to have her servants near at all times led to them calling their time with her "incarceration". Victoria worked her titled ladies so hard that many of them This book about Queen Victoria's household, started off a little slowly.

Victoria worked her titled ladies so hard that many of them had nervous breakdowns. Victoria loved the cold and would've been happy living in a freezer. She kept things so cold "bracing" that even the felt on the billiard table froze. The book is interesting because we see Victoria's reactions to the people of her time: Prime ministers, writers, and events like The Great Exhibition.

There are a lot of juicy tidbits on John Brown and his brothers The court seemed to be a place of horrible boredom where "rows" and gossiping were the main forms of entertainment.

Victoria was no intellectual. After Albert's death she took little interest in governing and became fixated on her own needs, instead of what the country needed. In everything, her needs were the most important. Even the engagement of a servant would vex her for weeks. When she died, she was almost blind and unable to walk. Jun 23, Shawn Thrasher rated it liked it.

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I can't remember the last time I read a book about Queen Victoria and her brood that I didn't enjoy, and this one was no different. That said, Serving Victoria was kind of all over the place. Nominally about life in the royal household, the book occasionally skated into biography and politics before skating back. This is a sharper, more pointed book than some others I've read, particularly towards the queen's children, who don't come out of this looking particularly nice.

I suppose Hubbard's acc I can't remember the last time I read a book about Queen Victoria and her brood that I didn't enjoy, and this one was no different. I suppose Hubbard's access to unpublished diaries and letters provided some new glimpses into the foibles of the Victorian royal family; Hubbard is particularly mean girlish about the numerous daughters of the queen, who sound like they are all modeled on the Queen of Hearts from Alice or at very least the Duchess.

If you've never read anything at all about Queen Victoria, this is probably not the place to start. Jan 11, Penny rated it liked it. I think this could be a pretty good book. However, I am reading a 'free, uncorrected Chatto and Windus proof' and it's driving me nuts. I thought I could cope with it, but sentences and passages keep repeating, the punctuation is all over the place, and it's no good, I can't carry on with it!

There are no illustrations either as there would be once it was published properly. I'll recycle this edition and return to a proof read one at a later date. Dec 22, Anne rated it it was ok. Another one I didn't finish. Got through just one chapter, truth be told. My interest in the functioning of royal households isn't as keen as I thought it was, it turns out. Really, the only thing about royal households that interests me is Queen Elizabeth's corgis.

May 22, Jake rated it liked it. Didn't go into nearly as much detail as one could wish. Felt more like six mini-biographies joined together than a description of the workings of Victoria's Court. Which may be what it was supposed to be, but not what I was looking for. Dec 15, Karyn rated it liked it. Dry, but still fascinating. Mar 10, Jean rated it really liked it. Don't be misled by the "Upstairs, Downstairs" references on the cover. This book is based on letters, journals, and reminiscences of members of Victoria's "household"--Ladies in Waiting, Physician in Ordinary, etc.

Nothing super new here, but an interesting perspective. My favorite nugget was an account of the Prince Consort saying he would have to do Scottish dancing I. Much more playful than th Don't be misled by the "Upstairs, Downstairs" references on the cover. Much more playful than the general picture we have of Albert.

Feb 18, Lori rated it liked it Shelves: I wish I could give this a better rating. I was looking forward to reading this book since I find it interesting to read about the people who was in service to Royalty. For me this book could be a bit boring and read like a text book. I thought it was supposed to be through the eyes of the persons who was in service to Queen Victoria.

Although the writer took some of her writing from diaries and writings of the persons who worked for the Queen it read nothing like what I thought. It writes abou I wish I could give this a better rating. It writes about the persons and their positions to the Queen and Consort. Such as Sarah Littleton who worked in the nursery. Charlotte Canning,Lady of the bedchamber. Mary Ponsonby, Maid of Honor.