Louise Lehzen, Date of Birth, Place of Birth, Date of Death

    

Louise Lehzen

governess, adviser and companion to Queen Victoria of England

Date of Birth: 03-Oct-1784

Place of Birth: Coburg, Germany

Date of Death: 09-Sep-1870

Profession: governess

Nationality: Germany

Zodiac Sign: Libra


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About Louise Lehzen

  • Johanna Clara Louise Lehzen (3 October 1784 – 9 September 1870), also known as Baroness Louise Lehzen, was the governess and later companion to Queen Victoria. Born to a Lutheran pastor in Hanover, in 1819 Lehzen entered the household of the Duke of Kent, fourth son of King George III.
  • Five years later, Lehzen was appointed governess to his only child, Princess Alexandrina Victoria.
  • The young princess became second-in-line to the British throne in 1827.
  • Victoria's upbringing was dominated by the controlling Kensington System, implemented by the now widowed Duchess of Kent and her comptroller Sir John Conroy.
  • Lehzen was strongly protective of Victoria, and encouraged the princess to be strong, informed, and independent from the Duchess and Conroy's influence, causing friction within the household.
  • Attempts to remove the governess were unsuccessful, as Lehzen had the support of Victoria’s royal uncles.
  • "Dear, good Lehzen" soon came to supersede all others–including her own mother–in Victoria’s eyes. When Victoria became queen in 1837, Lehzen served as a sort of unofficial private secretary, enjoying apartments adjacent to Victoria.
  • The Queen's marriage to Prince Albert in 1840 led to significant changes in the royal household.
  • Albert and Lehzen detested each other, and after an illness of the Princess Royal in 1841, Lehzen was dismissed.
  • Her close relationship with the queen came to an end, although the two continued to correspond.
  • Lehzen spent her final years in Hanover on a generous pension, dying in 1870.
  • Lehzen was a major influence on Victoria's character, in particular giving her the strength of will to survive her troubled childhood and life as a young queen.

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