The phrase, allegedly said by the British queen of his daughter before her first wedding night, is widely known. We checked whether such a “grandmother of Europe” said.
In March 2006, the famous Ukrainian politician Yulia Tymoshenko I admitted: “I am often asked on the Maidans:“ Where is your female pride, if you are, after everything that happened, are you ready to stretch out your hand to the president? ” And I tell one story for this. Queen Victoria instructs her daughter in front of a wedding night with a not very attractive man: "Close your eyes and think about England." So I am ready to close my eyes. ”
This quote is also attributed to the Queen Victoria writer and journalist Denis Dragunsky (repeatedly) and authors of resources such as "Picabu","Pulse" And "Express Gazeta". It can be found in books "Riddles of history. Monarchs-long life","Bad girls who changed the world" And "The mainland". Nowadays in the West, this attribution is largely known for the sensational novel by Margaret Etwood "The story of the maids".
About the morals of the era, which is still the queen's life They called it Victorian, many books have been written and a huge number of films have been shot. A special place in this system of the foundations occupied A woman whose life was burdened with a huge number of prescriptions and restrictions. The family of the monarchs was no exception, because dynastic marriages, as you know, were infrequently by love, but were of great strategic importance for both countries. And regarding the princess who most often appears in this story (The eldest daughter of the queen, also Victoria), the quoted approach would be very clear. After all, she married the future emperor of Germany Frederick III and became the mother of William II. It is unnecessary to say how important relations with Prussia were for the UK, which later became the core of the united German state.
But if we try to trace the history of this statement in the press, we will find that neither in the 19th century (and Victoria is the rules until 1901), nor even at the beginning of the 20th century it is found there. Opinion is widespread (for example, this claims The well -known quotation researcher Konstantin Dushenko) that such an entry first appeared in the diary of the aristocrats of Lady Hillingdon (1857–1940) in 1912: “I am glad that now Charles calls my bedroom less often than before. <...> And when I hear his steps at my door, I go to bed, close my eyes, spread my legs and think about England. ”
However, modern researchers skeptical Relate to this second attribution. It goes back to the book of Jonathan Gerthan-Hardy, published in 1972, The rise and fall of the British nanny, where the above phrase became the epigraph of one of the chapters. The author of the quote there is a certain “Lady Hillingham”, which turned into a real historical figure in later books - Lady Hillingdon. Only now the specialists did not find any diary of Lady Hillingdon, so such the origin of the statement should be considered unreliable.
But reliably It is knownthat on May 18, 1943, a note about the family of former British Prime Minister Stanley Baldwin appeared in The Washington Post. It, in particular, said: “The son of Stanley Baldwin tells the story of the times when his sister met with a young man who wanted to marry her. She asked her mother of advice in case a young man wants to kiss her. “Do the same as me,” said the mother, recalling the beginning of her novel with a man who was supposed to become the Prime Minister. “Just close your eyes and think about England.”
To date, no one knows if this conversation has really happened. However, it was the article in the leading American publication that became the first swallow in the popularization of the statement, in which the actors changed over time, and it itself became winged.
Photo on the cover: Wikipedia.
Incorrect attribution of quote
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