Only 5 years into her widowhood she was all but at the nadir of her popularity & the subject of intense gossip over her bond with John Brown. In her reaction to the Fenian panics she was at her most difficult in relations with her government: on the one hand she demanded the greatest security, on the other she refused the kind of close personal protection which would involve supervision of her private life.
On the 14 October The Times reported that it was hoped that the Queen would return south in early November & gave details of the size of operation involved. The Queen’s journey by train usually cost ‘upwards of £2,000’ (this in an age Wm H Russell went to report the American Civil war for The Times on a salary of £1200 a year) and took 19 hours.
The next day there was real alarm based on ’intelligence received’. Troops & experienced police were despatched to Balmoral, but nothing happened & nobody suspicious was found in the neighbourhood. The Times was annoyed even so: ‘If Her Majesty would consent to have an escort in driving out, the remotest grounds for uneasiness would be removed.'
The Queen eventually set off for Windsor on 1 November in a special London & North-Western train of 16 carriages, 422 feet long in all (not counting the engine). The whole train was fitted out with Mr Martin’s system of electric communication, so that guards & drivers would know at all times what was going on. These & other arrangements ensured that the train met with no obstructions of any kind on the long journey south.
Members of the public were kept away from Windsor station by police guards, but crowds who respectfully lined the streets outside were able to view the Queen, still dressed in her widow’s weeds, but otherwise enjoying apparently excellent health.
Links
The Times, Thursday, Oct 17, 1867; pg. 10; Issue 25944; col E
The Times, Monday, Nov 04, 1867; pg. 10; Issue 25959; col F
The Times, Thursday, Oct 17, 1867; pg. 10; Issue 25944; col E
The Times, Monday, Nov 04, 1867; pg. 10; Issue 25959; col F
