eirs of his own)”. (Erickson, P.16, 1997) Conroy could see himself as the chief adviser to the future Queen Victoria, the father-figure who would be the girls enemy, the "power behind the throne" of her reign, and he did all he could to prepare his glorious future. In 1827, the heir to the throne, the Duke of York, died, followed in 1830 by his brother King George IV. Now only the frail life of King William IV, already in his sixties, stood between the Princess Victoria and the Throne. By 1830 the Duchess of Kent -- or rather, Conroy -- had plans already in progress in case the princess should succeed while still a minor. Victoire, should be her daughter's regent should Victoria come to the throne before she reached the age of eighteen. In fact, by the modern standards of royal training, Victoria's education was somewhat deficient. Lehzen, and the visiting tutors, who were brought in, gave the child a good background in English, French and German. More interesting to the Princess were her music and dancing lessons, and she actually chose to learn Italian from her passion for the Italian opera. Her reading in history, however, was immense. At 15 she was immersed in Clarendon's dry History of the Rebellion and Sully's Memoirs, so that though she was taught no political theory or philosophy, Victoria came to have a good appreciation of the mistakes and achievements of past rulers. Apart from her tutors, Victoria's contacts with the outside world were few in her early years. Conroy persuaded the Duchess of Kent to discourage visits from the royal family, who might, he feared, either woo Victoria's affections away from her mother or enquire too closely of his own influence. Occasionally, the Princess might be allowed to attend a children's ball or a little girl might be brought in to play with her. “You must not touch those, they are mine,” declared the Princess to a child who wanted to play with the royal toys, “and ...
