NEGRE Charlotte

VALERIO Aurélie

QUELLEC Juliette

The stay of Queen Victoria in Hyères

08/01/2013

1ère

S 2

Introduction:

At the time (19th century) Hyères was very popular, as a typical British Winter

Resort. Especially lots of wealthy people came there. The reasons for these visits were that, among others, many British doctors

spoke highly of the downwind place of Hyères, and said that it was the best place to cure pulmonary diseases (such as phthisis) thanks to its very warm climate.

It was indeed a very pleasant and sunny town, nearby the sea.

Furthermore, another factor was the improvement in transport, and the reduction of transportation time.

After the death of her grandson and her son-in-law, Queen Victoria decided to come to Hyères, among others to discover this well-known winter resort (the most famous of the French Riviera), but as she was mourning, it wasn’t an official visit but a private stay. Indeed, she didn’t want a big ceremony for her

arrival.

Contents :

1) Queen victoria (Biography & her influence)

2) The journey and her place of residence in Hyères

3) The Queen’s activities and entourage during her sojourn

Juliette Quellec

1) Queen Victoria

A) Biography :

Queen Victoria was the monarch of the United Kingdom from 1837 until her death. Moreover, from May 1st 1876, she got the title of Empress of India.

Named Alexandrina Victoria after her godfather, Tsar Alexander II of Russia, Victoria was born on May 24th, 1819, in London. She was the daughter of Edward, the Duke of Kent, fourth son of George III, and of Princess Victoria (from Germany).

Her father died when she was 8 months old, followed 6 days later by King Georges III. Then Georges IV (his son) became King, and then William IV (Georges IV’s brother). They all died very early.

Victoria, aged four Painting by Stephen Poyntz Denning, 1823

As a child she was educated at home by a governess, she learnt German, and she was particularly talented at drawing and painting.

She became Queen when William IV, her uncle, died, in 1837.

Juliette Quellec

Queen Victoria's coronation portrait, Painted by Franz Xaver Winterhalter, 1838

Supplied by Royal Collection Trust

Eventually she was crowned one year later, on June 28th 1838. She was then 19 years old.

Victoria's family in 1846 by Franz Xaver Winterhalter

In February 1840, Queen Victoria married her cousin Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg. During the next 17 years they had 9 children together (5 girls and 4 boys). They all married into royal and noble families across the continent.

left to right: Prince Alfred and the Prince of Wales; the Queen and Prince Albert; Princesses Alice, Helena and Victoria

In December 1861 Prince Albert died of typhoid (an infectious disease) at the age of 42, and Victoria sank into depression. She plunged into deep mourning: for the rest of her reign she wore black.

Victoria withdrew from public view until the end of the 1860s, spending much of her time up at her Castle in Scotland.

Juliette Quellec

Britain's monarch

became Empress of

India in 1876, and she

was fascinated by India

and retained Indian

servants.

Queen Victoria with

Indian servants

British India :

Victoria

Empress silver

Rupee (coin)

1877

Victoria died on 22nd January, 1901 at Osborne House, on the Isle of Wight. She

kept her duties until her death. Her reign had lasted almost 64 years which is the

longest in British history.

Juliette Quellec

B) A popular monarch, a strong influence :

So her reign of 63 years and 7 months is the longest of the British monarchs and

the longest of any Queen in history. This period is known as the Victorian era.

We must notice that the United

Kingdom was already a

constitutional monarchy, so the

Sovereign held relatively few

direct political powers.

However, Victoria attempted to

influence government policy and

she had an important role in the

choice of certain ministers.

She became also a national icon

and was almost the symbol of the

Empire.

The Victorian Era was a period of industrial, cultural, political, scientific, and

military change within the United Kingdom, and was marked by a great

expansion of the British Empire (with more and more colonies).

At the end of this period, Great Britain was said to have a worldwide empire so vast that people could say “the sun never sets on the British Empire”.

Yet, republicanism temporarily gained strength, notably because of her mourning after Albert’s death; however her popularity recovered in the last half of her reign.

Juliette Quellec

Her Golden and Diamond Jubilees were times of public celebration in all the British Empire. (1887 and 1897)

Queen Victoria’s

arrival at St. Paul’s

Cathedral during her

1897 Diamond

Jubilee celebration

Victoria's Diamond Jubilee celebrated the 60th anniversary of her accession to

the throne. At the time, Victoria was extremely popular.

She left her marks on people, and we can notice

that even today, Victoria Day is a Canadian holiday

and a local public holiday in parts of Scotland

(celebrated on Queen Victoria's birthday : May 24th).

Also, The Victoria Cross was introduced in 1856 to

reward acts of valour during the Crimean War, and

it remains the highest British, Canadian, Australian,

and New Zealand award for bravery.

Victoria Cross

It should be noted that in India and in London there are Memorials in honor of

Queen Victoria:

In Kolkata, India

In front of Buckingham Palace

Aurélie VALERIO

2) Her journey and her place of residence in Hyères

A) Queen Victoria’s journey

Queen Victoria came to Hyères from the 21st of March to the 25th of April 1892. She crossed the English Channel on a ship to meet the city of Cherbourg situated in the Basse-Normandie region.

Then she travelled during a whole day on a royal train, on the lines of the Paris-Lyon-Méditerranée company.

The company of railways from Paris to Lyon and the Mediterranean sea

Aurélie VALERIO This special train was composed of eleven carriages which included living rooms, bedrooms and a bathroom decorated with marble and crystal.

A French train at the time

This special train was composed of eleven carriages which included living rooms, bedrooms and a bathroom decorated with marble and crystal.

On the left, the Queen in the royal train carriage

Aurélie VALERIO The Queen arrived at Hyères’ station at 9 o’clock in the evening. She didn’t want an official reception but she was welcomed by the Prefect of the Var, Hyères’ mayor and the vice British consul. Hyères’ inhabitants were delighted to welcome Queen Victoria. They even put triumphal arches and decorations around the railway station and on her way to the hotels.

Triumphal arch at Hyères’ entry

B) The residence of Queen Victoria in Hyères

Her majesty settled down for some days in the luxury hotels of Alexandre Peyron. They were the Grand Hôtel of Costebelle, the Grand Hôtel of l’Ermitage and the Grand Hôtel of Albion.

Costebelle’s panorama

where Queen Victoria stayed in 1892

Aurélie VALERIO Queen Victoria sojourned on the first floor of the Grand Hôtel of Costebelle in flats composed of a bedroom, a restroom, a dining room, a dressing room, a boudoir and rooms for servants. The furniture was imported from Great Britain for the Queen’s comfort. Queen Victoria admitted she was delighted with her sojourn.

Chronicle of Queen Victoria’s sojourn

Charlotte NEGRE

3) The Queen's activities and entourage during her stay in Hyères

A visit at a time of deep mourning

When Queen Victoria arrived in Hyères, several deaths had just hit the royal family:

Prince Albert Victor, elder son and heir of the Prince of Wales, so the Queen's grandson, had died on January the 14th of influenza and pneumonia.

Then, just as she was about to leave for the French Riviera, her son-in-law Louis also died, compounding her pain.

That's why she decided to have her sojourn private, so she could rest and forget her pain, for a while; she refused any official ceremony or any local escort, and had the false surname of «Lady Balmoral» when she had her private trips in Hyères to keep her identity secret.

Charlotte NEGRE

Her entourage during her sojourn

During her sojourn, the Queen was accompanied by a part of the British court and her family, who also sojourned at Costebelle:

her daughter Beatrice and her husband (Henry of Battenberg); her son Arthur, his wife (the duke & the duchess of Connaught and Stratthearn) and their three children (Margaret,Patricia & Arthur); and finally by the duke and the duchess of Ruthland.

Queen Victoria was also accompanied by her personal court composed of:

.Baroness Lady Churchill, her dowager;

.her maid of honour Harriet Phipps;

.her secretary Lord Henry Ponsonby;

.her personal doctor, Dr Ried;

.her confident;

.her personal guard composed of about 10 turban-dressed Bongalo's men and by her famous bearded Scottish highlander bodyguard, who always wore a kilt and accompanied her during all her travels;

.her Indian Munshi servant, Hafiz Abdul Karim.

The influence of the latter over the Queen was so envied that when she died, her son, King Edward, ordered palace guards to destroy all the correspondence she used to send to her servant in order to erase all the record of their affectionate relationship.

Queen victora and her Indian attendant Hafiz Abdul Karim

Charlotte NEGRE

Activites the Queen enjoyed to do in Hyères and its surroundings

The Queen had a good and beautiful weather so she could take advantage of it to visit and discover Hyères and its surroundings, which she began to do as early as the day following her arrival. Her walks took up most of her days, as for most other winter tourists and for the inhabitants of the Riviera.

The days of the Queen were organised in the following way:

In the mornings, after having her breakfast and after having ruled some business, she went for a walk around the Costebelle hill.

She was often comfortably seated

on a “ barouche” (carriage) drawn

by a donkey, but sometimes she

went on foot.

Accompanied by her attendants, she went through the woods and paths of Costebelle, visiting the neighbouring properties, to which the neighbours had, for the occasion, permitted access.

Queen victoria on her small donkey

barouche,accompanied by her attendants

Charlotte NEGRE

She visited several times, for examples, Mr Amène's orange-groove, Mr Villard's villa Kermès Gardens, the count of Guinchen's palm-trees villa and garden (which had been specially made for the use of the Queen and her small donkey carriage), but she also visited the castle of San Salvadour (photo), the St Pierre des Horts castle, Mrs Harding's Costebelle villa, Alexis Godillot's aquarium (situated on the beach), ..

Saint Pierre des Horts castle Villa des palmiers, around 1863

She also really enjoyed visiting the fields of roses which she could smell the scents of.

Charlotte NEGRE

In the afternoons, she mainly visited Hyères and its surroundings, and discovered a new place nearly each day, having little trips.

She stopped several times at L'Almanarre to have a cup of tea next to the sea in the small hut of Mrs and Mr Peyron, the owners of the Costebelle hotels, were the Queen sojourned.

From Toulon to les Bormettes in la Londe, to Sauvebonne, to la Garde, to la Crau ( especially la Castille), to le Pradet, she visited a lot of places and many villas made available to the Queen and her family by their proprietors.

The cabanon of l'Almanarre ,Peyron family archives

On the 31st of March, she took part in an organised sale at the hotel Albion to

raise money for the Anglican chapel. She symbolically bought a photograph of

Louis Cartigny, last veterant of Trafalgar, who died at 101, just before the

Queen's arrival.

Conclusion:

Victoria is the Queen of the United Kingdom since she accedes to the throne

in June 20th 1837, and she becomes the Empress of India in 1876.

Victoria is the Queen who has had the longest reign in the world.

She is active and authoritarian, and she symbolizes all over the world a

strong British power that has the vastest colonial empire of the world.

Her visit to Hyeres was strictly private, at the “Grand hotel de Costebelle”,

from March 21st to April 25th, 1892.

Queen Victoria’s sojourn was the culmination of the English touristic presence

in Hyères and a lot of people wanted to see where the Queen had stayed.

Moreover, she appreciated her stay very much. Indeed, on the 26th of April

1892, there was an official release in The Times which said: “Her Majesty left

Costebelle with regret, having enjoyed her stay in the beautiful country very

much and having met with the greatest attention and kindness during her

sojourn at Hyères. The way that has been respected her desire to live in

private has greatly contributed to her wellbeing and her satisfaction.”

During her sojourn in Hyères, the Queen’s activities were about the same as

the simple wealthy winter tourists’, the major difference came from the grand

entourage she had.

So she appreciated her stay very much, however she never came back.

This unique sojourn left its mark on Hyeres’ inhabitants’ memory, (even now,

it remains on their memory), as it represents for them a bright era, and as it

was exceptional to have this kind of visit…

And also, this sojourn links even more the resort of Hyères to Victorian

England, and there has been an important impact on the city of Hyères and

its inhabitants.

A kind of pilgrimage (“Victoriamania”) followed her visit which helped Hyères

to remain attractive for some more time.

Thus, this coming marked the apogee of this prestigious era of Hyères as a

resort.