FT274

Most of us today think of Queen Victoria as an elderly, corpulent matron, dignified but forbidding-looking. But in 1838, she was young and not unattractive; just crowned Queen of her country, and still virginal and unmarried. Throughout Britain, there was widespread sympathy for, and curiosity about, the young Queen. Her coronation was viewed by huge and enthusiastic crowds, who were looking forward to her spring-like reign.
In 1838, there was no such thing as royal security. Queen Victoria’s court at Buckingham Palace was run on well-nigh mediæval procedures by a number of inert functionaries, and no person was directly responsible for her secur­ity.