Princess Alexandra was to come over to England in November to stay with the Queen. Prince Christian was to escort his daughter to Osborne but it was made clear to him that he was only to stay two nights. As soon as the party stepped on board the British ship Black Eagle, Princess Alexandra sat down to write the Prince her very first letter from British territory. A quarter-of-a-century later she vividly remembered how 'terribly frightened' she had been at the prospect of spending weeks alone with Queen Victoria in the gloomy seclusion of Osborne without even a lady-in-waiting of her own in whom she could confide. None of her alarm, however, showed in her face or bearing as she landed late on the foggy but moonlit evening of 5 November, to be greeted only by Princess Helena, known as 'Lenchen', and the little Prince Leopold, aged nine. 'The great representative of the House of England,' to use Lady Augusta's phrase, had been much worried about the bouquet entrusted to his care. All anxieties were forgotten, however, the moment Princess Alexandra appeared. Graceful, smiling, and apparently entirely at her ease, she immediately took the little boy in her arms and gave him a big kiss, thus initiating a loving brother-and-sister relationship which was to bring occasional flashes of brightness into Prince Leopold's short and deeply overshadowed life. The Princess always had the gift of shedding brightness around her; Queen Victoria admitted in her journal that as she welcomed her future daughter-in-law 'a gleam of satisfaction for a moment shone into my heart'.
In the weeks which followed the Queen found herself charmed by the girl's companionship and delighted by her grace and beauty. Of an evening she would sit alone with the Queen, listening to stories about the Prince Consort and the happy days now gone for ever and one evening, when they had been speaking of his last illness, she was so moved that she suddenly burst into tears and wept bitterly upon the Queen's shoulder. No wonder then that Queen Victoria should be in raptures, describing her as a pearl', 'a real blessing to me' and as 'one of those sweet creatures who seem to come from the skies to help and bless poor mortals and to brighten for a time their path'. Among all these exaggerated paeans of praise one phrase stands out in charming simplicity, 'she is so pretty to live with'. The good effect of the Princess's visit was very noticeable.
'Her bright joyous young presence has done much to rouse the poor dear Queen who seems doatingly fond of her and has her a great deal with her,' wrote Princess Mary Adelaide; 'we found a great change in the Queen who is able to smile and even laugh cheerfully at times.'
Queen Alexandra by Georgina Battiscombe.
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