A pious childhood
British monarchs have seldom had happy childhoods, and Albert Edward, the future King Edward VII but known throughout his life as Bertie, was no exception. Victoria and Albert were young and passionately determined to raise their children well, but this determination was so grim in its earnestness and so unyielding in its idealism that it served rather to thwart than encourage the growth of their nine children.
The regime devised for Bertie as heir to the throne was especially uncompromising. No effort was made to make him feel like a normal child - in fact he was seldom allowed to play with other boys of his own age - and his tastes and interests were ignored. Fears that he might turn out like his 'wicked' Hanoverian uncles, of whom the most notorious was George IV, led to strict discipline. What would be called Attention Deficit Disorder today - uncontrollable behaviour and resistance to academic methods of teaching - was dealt with in ways that would make a modern liberal wince.
'Bertie grew up with the belief that he was a disappointment equalled only by his conviction of his uniqueness as heir to the throne.'
It was clear to Bertie throughout his childhood that he could never measure up to the ideal set by his stern, pious father. 'None of you can ever be proud enough of being the child of such a Father who has not his equal in this world - so great, so good, so faultless,' Victoria wrote to Bertie in a typical letter. He would always fall below that standard of perfection, and it is not hard to imagine that he soon resolved not to bother trying. He was petulant, disobedient and rude, highly excitable and prone to tantrums; in his mother's words, 'so idle and weak'.
The young prince was also gregarious, loyal and observant, with, according to his tutor, a keen sense of right and wrong and a good memory. But these qualities apparently impressed no-one, and Bertie grew up with the belief that he was a disappointment equalled only by his conviction of his uniqueness as heir to the throne. Living up to his father's example was a hard enough start to life, but the fact that Victoria blamed her beloved Albert's death on Bertie - the stress of their son's 'fall', or first encounter with a prostitute, had, she believed, caused the illness from which Albert died - blighted him forever. For the rest of his life Edward struggled with the double burden of knowing she blamed him, and feeling her unjust for doing so.
Albert had believed that Bertie would be steadied by marriage, so Victoria determined to marry him off as quickly as possible. His bride, the beautiful Princess Alix of Denmark, was disappointingly deaf and lacked the vivacity Bertie admired in women. Although they were happy enough together, she held no sway over her husband and her role as wife was limited to child-bearing and attractive appearances on state occasions.
Published: 2001-07-01
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