The relocation to London
The life of a servant in the 19th century often meant having to leave their home environment in order to work in the house of a noble family. For Prince Albert’s employees his marriage to Queen Victoria necessitated relocating to a completely foreign country. It meant a long-term separation from family, friends and homes.
Albert’s servants dealt with the move in different ways. Some of them adapted completely to their new home, married an Englishwoman and founded a family here in England. Others returned to their home after several years of faithful service without having put down any roots, while others brought their future spouses with them to England to start a family over here. From the latter category some also returned to Germany, although we don’t yet know for all of them whether their children stayed and settled in England or not.
In a letter, dated 4th December 1839, Albert explained to his step-grandmother Caroline who he wanted to take with him to England:
“… A huge number of people from home and abroad want to go with me and be employed.
The following persons will go with me: as secretary the financial councillor Schenk my former English language teacher who was with the deceased Duke of Kent as his secretary for 10 years. As librarian Dr. Praetor a young scholar and professor from here. As head groom the famous […] Meyer from Dresden. As a valet Cart. As hairdresser the French C. v. Papa de Virginy, as cook K. Müller who was with the blessed Mama, 2 hunters (Wilke from Gotha, Benda from here). My current footman Dehler and my two current grooms, Röting and Greußlach. My adjutant will be the same Seymour who accompanied me to Italy during the winter; he is already here. …”
Along with an English private secretary, Victoria and Albert always employed a German one. The German private secretary was responsible for the German correspondence, and also had to serve as Albert’s librarian. Albert employed four German private secretaries during the twenty years he lived in England – Dr Eduard Prätorius, Dr Friedrich Carl Meyer, Dr Ernst Becker and Dr Carl Ruland. In addition to them and his personal servants, Albert engaged a number of other people. Three German artists whom he regularly commissioned played a special role – Franz Xaver Winterhalter, Ludwig Grüner and Carl Haag. They all lived temporarily in England. Finally, there were two people who occupied an extremely important position in Albert’s life – Councillor Johann Christoph Florschütz, his former teacher, and Baron Christian Friedrich von Stockmar, his closest advisor. Both became Albert’s lifelong friends but did not move to England.