Tinkerbell :
💕 On Friday, May 12, 1876, Queen Victoria was at Windsor Castle, and her diary gives a detailed account of the day.
Here are the highlights:
* Early that morning, she learned that her daughter Princess Helena (“Lenchen”) had given birth to a son, Prince Harald of Schleswig-Holstein, at 1:30 a.m. The labor had been difficult, and Victoria was distressed to hear how much Helena had suffered and that the baby had nearly been lost.
* Later that morning, Victoria drove with her youngest daughter Princess Beatrice and the Duchess of Roxburghe to Kensington Palace to visit another daughter, Princess Louise.
* While there, Louise—who was an accomplished sculptor—worked on a bust of Queen Victoria, and Victoria sat for a short modeling session.
* Politically, Victoria noted that Prime Minister Benjamin Disraeli’s government had won a parliamentary vote by a majority of 108 on the controversial Royal Titles Bill. This bill would eventually allow Victoria to take the title “Empress of India,” although the title did not officially come into effect until 1877.
* In the afternoon, she received the new American Minister (ambassador) in a formal audience.
* She then held her third and final Drawing Room of the season—a large ceremonial reception attended by members of the royal family and hundreds of invited guests.
2026-07-02 01:20:49