Queen Victoria Writes the Duke of Wellington On the Death of Her Uncle, Ordering the Army to Go Into Official Mourning
The uncle, Ernest Augustus I, was the King of Hanover and a son of British King George III .
The Duke of Wellington was Britain’s most prominent military man of the age; his victory at Waterloo not only ended the era of Napoleon, but made Britain the most powerful and influential nation in Europe (indeed, in the world). He later served as prime minister and leader of the Conservative Party. In...
The Duke of Wellington was Britain’s most prominent military man of the age; his victory at Waterloo not only ended the era of Napoleon, but made Britain the most powerful and influential nation in Europe (indeed, in the world). He later served as prime minister and leader of the Conservative Party. In 1842, Wellington was named Commander in Chief of the British Army, a position he kept until his death in 1853. Wellington was close to the Queen and often carried out instructions on her behalf. He was godfather to one of Victoria’s children.
Ernest Augustus I was the Queen’s uncle and a son of King George III. He was the fifth son and eighth child of the former King, who reigned in both the United Kingdom and Hanover (now a part of Germany). As a fifth son, initially Ernest seemed unlikely to become a monarch, but Salic Law, which barred women from the succession, applied in Hanover and none of his older brothers had legitimate male issue. Therefore, he became King of Hanover when his niece, Victoria, became Queen of the United Kingdom, ending the co-monarchy between Britain and Hanover that had existed since 1714. Of course, the close family relationship continued, although the co-monarchy was relegated to history.
On November 18, 1851, Ernest Augustus, King of Hanover died, and Victoria was charged with officially and personally mourning her uncle.
Autograph letter signed, Osborne, November 23, 1851, to Wellington. "The Queen has received Field Marshal The Duke of Wellington’s letter of yesterday – and approves that a general order for the Officers of her army to wear Mourning for the late King of Hanover, should be issued, similar to the one which was issued on the occasion of the death of the Duke of Cambridge.” There is a docket on verso reading "Mourning for the Army, death of King of Hanover."
This is the first letter of Queen Victoria to the Duke of Wellington that we have ever carried, and the first we can find having reached the market in a decade.
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