Queen Victoria, Baby-Killer! December 8, 2016
Author: Beach Combing | in : Modern , trackback
Beach has to satisfy himself with a very short post today, not because he doesn’t have time but because he has not the slightest idea how to deal with the material at hand.
Great consternation, says the Bedford Times [unable to get the original], has prevailed amongst certain classes at Luton, from rumour that the Queen had ordered all children under five years of age to put to death, if the scarcity of provisions continued. One poor woman was seen weep bitterly at the contemplation of the probable calamity. Bel Prot Journ, 12 Jun 1847, 4.
Luton is an hour from London on a slow train. The ‘Queen’ in question was Victoria. But after that things get tricky… Scarcity of provisions was a factor even in the 19C in England: and Ireland was, in 1847, about to begin the most brutal experience in its history because of a lack of food. But where on earth would the rumour come from that Queen Victoria was going to get all King Herod on her subjects? Leaving aside the fact that 19C Britain would not have tolerated this and that Parliament not the Queen would have made this kind of a decision, the rumour is reminiscent, in a way, of some medieval gossip that give the state or the ‘crown’ exaggerated powers and interests in the private life of the peasantry. The classic example is the longstanding conviction among the French and some German peasants that the royal authorities wanted to tax sexual relations between men and women, including between husband and wife. This conviction and piffling ‘proofs’ led to periodic continental riots and rebellions. Weak but Beach can’t do any better. Can anyone else give a parallel for this delightful nonsense: drbeachcombing At yahoo DOT com
Beach also recalled a previous post on Victoria as a blood-guzzling goddess. Perhaps she has form.
8 Dec 2016: Loes makes a good point ‘the bloodcrazyness of poor queen Victoria is mirrored in David Icke’s reptilian dreams, that include Victoria. But, well, Icke wasn’t born in the 19th century, so this is not much use. Unless there was another of his kind living in Victorian times who reincarnated in Icke. Interesting thought. Crazyness is doomed to repeat itself.’
17 Dec 2016 Bob S writes: ‘I was interested in the rumour reported from Luton in 1847 that the Queen had ordered all children under five to be killed. Like you, I couldn’t find the Bedford Times source cited, the earliest reference I found online for the story being 29th May 1847 in the Northamptonshire Mercury under the headline “Marvellous Ignorance”. The paragraph was subsequently repeated in other papers all over the country over the next month under several headlines : “More Work for the Schoolmaster”, “Gross Ignorance and Credulity” “Popular Stupidity” and (surprisingly, perhaps) “Queen Victoria emulates Herod!” The rumour is mentioned in “The Married Live of Queen Victoria” by Clare Jerrold (1913) p. 148 in a chapter on the Queen and Ireland. (https://archive.org/stream/marriedlifeofque00jerruoft#page/160/mode/2up) in the context of Victoria’s inadvised actions during the Irish famine (ibid p.140ff). On 14th May 1847, in several Irish Papers, an article headed in one paper “Fasting in High Places”, publicised the fact that Queen Victoria had introduced restrictions on the food served in royal palaces. In such a context, the rumour of Queen Victoria’s order had fertile ground to be passed around.’
Here is a fragment from the book quoted by Bob
‘Really, the poor young Queen who was old enough, however, to have known better was most horribly ill-advised, for her next attempt to meet the case only plunged her people further into distress. It is not stated that this new idea was carried out for the health of the people, and it may just as likely have been another of the good, judicious Prince’s domestic economies. Two kinds of wheat, ‘firsts’ and ‘seconds,’ were in use, the first being Essex White and the seconds Baltic Red. Naturally, the inhabitants of the Palace were fed on the best wheat, which cost twenty-five per cent, more than the other. But now that the time of stress had arrived the following order was issued by the Queen and Prince, though only Her Majesty’s name was used: ‘Her Majesty, taking into consideration the present high and increasing price of provisions, and especially of all kinds of bread and flour, has been graciously pleased to command that, from the date of this order, no description of flour, except seconds, shall be used for any purpose in Her Majesty’s Household, and that the daily allowance of bread shall be restricted to one pound per head for every person dieted in the Palace. By Her Majesty’s command, Fortescue, Board of Green Cloth, May I2th, 1847.’ No wonder ‘Famine in High Places’ became a favourite headline in the papers, and sarcastic paragraphs appeared under the title of ‘Palace Bread.’ Think of the Marchioness of Douro and the Duchess of Sutherland, Lady Jocelyn and the Hon. Miss Stanley, each beautiful enough to live on a lemon ice for a twelvemonth in poetry being told that they are not to have more than a weekly couple of quartern loaves apiece until Baltic Red was down to 565. and Essex White had fallen to about 705!… That confidence in the Queen’s justice was shaken, particularly among the very ignorant, is shown by the following paragraph clipped from the Bedford Times: ‘Great consternation has pervaded certain classes at Luton from the belief in a rumour that the Queen had ordered all children under five years of age to be put to death if the scarcity of provisions continued. One poor woman was seen to weep bitterly at the contemplation of the probable calamity. . . . !’
Then Bob adds these three stories: I found an even earlier version of the story, also from the Hereford Times, published on 26th May 1847. The added sentence at the end about education is reflected in the headlines of some of the reports said to have come from Luton.
ROYAL DECREE EXTRAORDINARY ! —Some few days ago. a respectable, but unsophisticated matron from Madley, made the most diligent inquiries, publicly and privately, in this city, respecting- supposed Decree issued by the Queen, that consequence of the high price of food all children (” babbies”) under five years old, and all grown-up persons above seventy, should be put to death! It was difficult to convince her that it was a false report—she seemed to have no doubt of the fact, observing-, ” This is just as King Herod did, but thinks her Majesty should gie up her own ” babbies” as well as the rest. I be only 60, and be safe, but its terrible business. There is plenty of corn in the country, but the rich men and the farmers hoard’s it all up, and keeps it from poor critturs.” Strange as it may seem, the notion of an order having been given for the massacre of superfluous infants and helpless old people, is prevalent.—We know not whether there is adult school at Madley, but it is clear that such establishments are necessary there and elsewhere.
Extraordinary:
