After the visits of King Louis Philippe and the Emperor Nicholas of
Russia, Sir Robert Peel acknowledged that "Her Majesty was able to
meet every charge and to give a reception to the Sovereigns which
struck every one by its magnificence without adding one tittle to
the burdens of the country. I am not required by Her Majesty to press
for the extra expenditure of one single shilling on account of these
unforeseen causes of increased expenditure. I think that to state
this is only due to the personal credit of Her Majesty, who insists
upon it that there shall be every magnificence required by her
station, but without incurring one single debt."
When one remembers that the Queen had to superintend the household
arrangements of Buckingham Palace, Balmoral Castle, Osborne, and
Windsor, and that the latter alone gave employment, in one way and
another, to two thousand people, it can be realized that this was
a tremendous undertaking in itself. Method and neatness, first
instituted by the Prince Consort, were always insisted upon in place
of the disorder and waste which had reigned supreme before the Queen
became head of the household.
[Illustration: THE VICTORIA AND ALBERT MUSEUM, SOUTH KENSINGTON]
Before her life was saddened by the untimely loss of her husband the
Queen was the leader of English society, and her influence was, as
may be imagined, thoroughly wholesome and good.
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