ADDRESS OF CONDOLENCE TO THE QUEEN. (Hansard, 18 March 1861)

§ EARL GRANVILLE

My Lords, I have a melancholy duty to perform; but I have, at least, the satisfaction of knowing that I carry with me the concurrence of all parts of the House. We all know the feelings of loyalty and affectionate devotion to the Queen which are entertained, not in this House only but by the whole country, and, therefore, I have no occasion to say how warmly all sympathize with Her Majesty on the present occasion. My Lords, I have to move an Address of Condolence to Her Majesty on the great domestic affliction which has befallen her in the death of her mother. Your Lordships are all aware that her late Royal Highness the Duchess of Kent, after a brief period of domestic happiness with her second husband, the Duke of Kent, was left in this country the guardian of that illustrious lady under whose beneficent rule we have the happiness to live. Since that melancholy event, with the exception of the loss of her eldest son, a few years ago, her life has been one of great prosperity and success. From the moment of her arrival in this country she enjoyed great popularity among all classes of the people down to the close of her existence the other day. She had the gratification of seeing her first family gain general esteem and respect, and received in the closest bonds of friendship and affection in their exalted position of life; and she had the satisfaction of seeing one of her grandchildren greatly distinguishing himself, even to the risking of his life, in the naval service of the country which she had adopted. She had further the satisfaction of beholding her youngest brother profit- 2144 ing, not only by his own ability in administration, but by the information as to constitutional Government which he had acquired in England, to lead a friendly neighbouring country to the full appreciation of free and liberal institutions. The great historical event, however, in the life of her Royal Highness is her charge of the only child of her second marriage. In the twelfth year of Her Majesty's life her Royal Highness was unanimously chosen by Parliament as the Regent of the country, in the event of the Sovereign's death while his successor was in her minority. Many of your Lordships may recollect that admirable speech of Lord Lyndhurst on the subject of the Regency, in which he dwelt on the manner in which, up to that time, her Royal Highness had conducted the education of her child, and which particularly pointed her out for the important and responsible duty which she was then appointed to perform. Six years afterwards she saw that daughter, at the early age of eighteen, almost before she had arrived at the years of womanhood, placed in the most difficult and responsible position which any one of her age and sex could possibly occupy—the ruler of one of the greatest kingdoms in the world. In her daughter's reign she beheld the beneficial effects of her previous education, and the influence of those personal qualities which she had fostered and developed. Soon after she saw her daughter, of her own free choice, contract a marriage which has been of great advantage to this country, and which has led to a degree of domestic happiness not to be surpassed in any sphere of life. She saw her daughter reign for nearly a quarter of a century during times of national glory and prosperity quite unexampled. She saw her bring up a numerous family in a manner that gives us the promise that her children will emulate her own private and public life. She had the satisfaction of seeing her eldest granddaughter, by her excellent qualities and liberal accomplishments, gain the attachment of the heir of a neighbouring ally, and give birth to a son who will probably one day become the Sovereign of that country. She had seen the other children of the Queen visiting various parts of the world, and strengthening by their personal behaviour that respect for the Royal family of England which prevails so widely, and which, if I am not misinformed by my noble Friend behind me (the Duke of Newcastle), amounts in the colonies, which are 2145 connected with us by every tradition of birth and history, to a feeling of the most profound veneration and affection for the Queen. Her Royal Highness, having seen all this, had lived beyond the period which the Psalmist tells us is allotted to the age of man; and showed at the close of her long life, by the presence of her family, singular patience and resignation under a most cruel malady. It must appear to your Lordships that all these reflections are of consolation to the Queen. Your Lordships cannot be unaware how strong were the ties which bound together the illustrious mother and daughter, how deep are the domestic feelings of the Queen, and how few trials of this sort she has experienced. You may, therefore, readily conceive the profound affliction into which our Sovereign is now plunged; and when I ask you to agree to this Address of Condolence, I feel assured that you will do so not as a mere matter of routine, nor yet as a mere proof of that loyalty of which there can be no question in this House, but as an expression of your genuine, heartfelt, and respectful sympathy with our gracious Sovereign in her present grief. My Lords, I beg to move— That an humble Address be presented to Her Majesty to condole with Her Majesty on the Death of Her Royal Highness the Duchess of Kent, and to express to Her Majesty the sincere Regret of this House at that melancholy Event; and to assure Her Majesty that this House will ever feel the warmest Interest in whatever concerns Her Majesty's domestic Relations; and to declare the ardent Wishes of this House for the Happiness of Her Majesty and of Her Family.

§ THE EARL OF DERBY

I am sure, my Lords, that speaking on behalf of noble Lords on this side of the House, I may express their entire concurrence in the sentiments that have been expressed by my noble Friend opposite. It is hardly necessary that I should say anything with respect to the Address itself, because I am convinced, with my noble Friend, that that Address will be sanctioned unanimously by the House, not as a matter of form and ceremony, but as an expression of the fullest sympathy and affection, which not only pervades this House, but extends itself to all the people of Her Majesty's dominions. Her Majesty, in the course of her happy reign, has so closely identified herself with the interests of her people, has so completely twined around the Throne the loyalty and affections of her subjects, and has made their feelings and wishes so far the guide of her own feelings and wishes, 2146 that it is impossible that any event interesting in the slightest degree Her Majesty's feelings should not at the same time call forth the warm and cordial sympathy of the whole people. We rejoice in any circumstance which can add to Her Majesty's happiness. We regret that even the slightest cloud should for a moment overshadow her. We cannot, then, withhold the fullest tide of our sympathy and the expression of our loyal affection at a moment when Her Majesty is visited by an affliction the very deepest which has yet befallen her—an affliction which involves all the purest, dearest, and deepest affections of our nature. I am satisfied that your Lordships will give a cordial and ready support to the Address of Condolence. And although no one can doubt that under such circumstances as the present Her Majesty must derive some consolation from the reflection that during the whole period of her life she has discharged the duties of a daughter in the same exemplary manner as she has fulfilled the duties of her private, social, and public life, I cannot but entertain the hope that it may be some alleviation to Her Majesty's deep affliction to be assured that she carries with her not only the entire sympathies of this House but the deep affection and cordial participation in her sorrow of the whole of her attached and devoted people.