The Kensington System
While Victoria was growing up at Kensington Palace, her mother relied on the advice and support of John Conroy. He hoped that by controlling Victoria as a child he would make her dependent on him when she finally became queen. He thought that she would give him great power, wealth and position at court.
While The Kensington System might have failed to make Victoria dependent or less stubborn and wilful, it was turning her into a highly educated and serious minded young woman, disciplined and hard working. Moreover she had been trained to be the centre of attention, always watched and always on show; this training was to stand her in good stead later.
Princess Victoria
Victoria was born in one of the ground floor rooms of Kensington Palace. Her mother was a German princess and her father was the fourth son of the King George III. A month earlier they had been living in a run down castle in Germany but had raced back to England to make sure their child was born on English soil.
Her mother (Duchess of Kent) and father (Edward Duke of Kent)
Queen Victoria’s father was Edward, Duke of Kent. When Victoria was only 9 months old, tragedy struck and her father died of a heavy cold leaving the little baby in line to the throne.
After her father’s death Victoria and her mother continued to live in Kensington Palace. The only problem was that the palace was falling down, dusty and filled with little black beetles which would eat up the curtains and scuttle in between floorboards.
Sir John Conroy
Given the position of ‘Comptroller of the Household’, Conroy devised what became known as The Kensington System: an elaborate set of rules and regulations for Victoria’s upbringing and education.
Governess - Baroness Lehzen
Victoria loved her governess, Baroness Lehzen, very much, even though she was very strict.
She taught her to read, write and sew, took her for walks and read her stories while she was being dressed each day. Victoria became closer to her governess than she was to her own mother.
