Three items signed or related to Queen Victoria, which is highlighted by an ALS signed “VR,” four pages on two adjoining sheets, 4.5 x 7, black-bordered Balmoral letterhead, November 1, 1873, handwritten letter to “Leila,” the Countess of Erroll Eliza Hay, who held the office of Lady of the Bedchamber to HM Queen Victoria, in part: “Here is the photograph for…Forbes.—I so stupidly forget telling you that I mean to go to the Glassalt Shiel for 2 or 3 days on Tuesday & wish you to go with me…It has been a gt. support & comfort to me, as I stand—excepting for my good, & faithful [John] Brown, who honorable tho' he be, is the truest, kindest friend I have—& whose heart & head w'd do honour to the highest.”
The other two items:
Mailing envelope, measuring 5.25 x 3.5 folded, addressed in the hand of Queen Victoria, who writes “From, The Queen,” and adds the date below, “August -73.”
Large original funeral notice on the death of Queen Victoria, one page, 13.25 x 17, printed by Eyre and Spottiswood, and reading: “At the Council Chamber, Whitehall, The 29th day of January, 1901. By the Lords of His Majesty's Most Honourable Privy Council. Present: Archbishop of Canterbury. Lord President. Mr. C. T. Ritchie. It is this day ordered by Their Lordships that His Grace The Lord Archbishop of Canterbury do prepare Special Forms of Service in Commemoration of Her late Majesty Queen Victoria of Blessed and Glorious Memory, to be used in all Churches and Chapels in England and Wales, and in the Town of Berwick-upon-Tweed, either on the day of Her late Majesty's funeral or on the most convenient day within the octave. And it is hereby further ordered that His Majesty's Printer do forthwith print a competent number of copies of the said Forms of Service, that the same may be forthwith sent round, and read in the several Churches and Chapels of England and Wales, and in the Town of Berwick-upon-Tweed.” In overall fine condition.
John Brown was Queen Victoria's close personal attendant for many years, and the exact nature of their relationship has been the subject of much speculation over the years: the queen's daughters joked that he was 'Mama's lover,' and Edward Stanley, 15th Earl of Derby, wrote in his diary that Brown and Victoria slept in adjoining rooms 'contrary to etiquette and even decency.' Queen Victoria's journals and letters were expurgated following her death to remove anything that might upset the royal family, leading to even greater curiosity surrounding her relationship with Brown.
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