Victoria and Disraeli by Theo Aronson

Author:Theo Aronson [Aronson, Theo]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Lume Books
Published: 2020-12-22T00:00:00+00:00

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There was magic in abundance during the year 1868. For from February to November that year Disraeli was Prime Minister.

The Queen was all approval. ‘Mr Disraeli is Prime Minister,’ she wrote to Vicky. ‘A proud thing for a Man “risen from the people”.’ The description might not have been accurate (Dizzy certainly did not consider himself ‘risen from the people’) but the fact that he had gained this eminent position helped bolster the Queen’s belief in the worth of the lower, and the uselessness of the upper, classes. Like good, honest Brown, Mr Disraeli had proved his worth.

It was, in fact, the Queen who had been responsible for Dizzy’s elevation. Since the beginning of 1868 it had become clear that the Conservative Prime Minister, Lord Derby, would not be able to carry on much longer. His attacks of gout had become more severe and more prolonged. He could not hope to remain on the political scene much longer. And so, in January, the Queen had decided to act. She invited Disraeli to spend a couple of days at Osborne. There, in confidence, she asked him if he would be prepared to succeed Lord Derby as Prime Minister. She did not need to ask twice.

‘The most successful visit I ever had: all that I could wish and hope,’ wrote a triumphant Dizzy to Mary Anne. ‘I was with the Queen an hour yesterday. She spoke of everything without reserve or formality.’

It was, he said, ‘a brilliant day here’.

However, for a few weeks longer, the brilliance had to be kept subdued. Derby had not yet resigned. Late in February he wrote to the Queen, recommending Disraeli as his successor. He assured Victoria that Disraeli ‘would not shrink from undertaking the duty; and that he, and he only, could command the cordial support, en masse, of his present colleagues.’

But still Derby did not resign. With admirable, if agonizing, patience, Dizzy waited. The deadlock was finally broken by the Queen herself. She asked Derby to resign immediately. By 25 February 1868 Disraeli was Prime Minister.

The news sent a ripple of disapproval through the stiffer-backed sections of society. ‘We are all dreadfully disgusted at the prospect of having a Jew for our Prime Minister,’ wailed Lady Palmerston. And Lord Clarendon, who had always disliked Disraeli, reported to the Duchess of Manchester that ‘Mrs Dizzy is wild with delight and says to everybody “you know Dizzy always was the Queen’s pet”. That would be a strange tale if it was true, which it is not.’

Lord Clarendon was wrong. Or, at least, he would soon be proved wrong. Dizzy was well on his way to being the Queen’s pet.

On 26 February, Disraeli wrote one of his courtly letters to the Queen. All he could offer, he said, was devotion. It would be his delight and duty to render the Queen’s work as easy as possible. Even had the Queen not been gifted with great ability (‘which all now acknowledge’) her experience had given her a judgement which few living persons, and probably no living prince, could rival.

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