Historical Treasures
Britain, 19th century
A golden locket, purportedly given by Queen Victoria to her personal attendant — was their relationship all that it seemed?
For over 30 years, John Brown was Queen Victoria’s most important servant. He first came to the attention of the Queen when her and Prince Albert began renting the Balmoral estate, where Brown worked as a pony herder. The pair immediately became enamoured of Brown and he was given the position of personal servant to the Queen. However, following Prince Albert’s death in 1861, historians have speculated as to whether the pair began a relationship far more intimate and scandalous.
Brown was transferred (along with the Queen’s pony) to Osbourne in order that she remain exercising and healthy during her period of mourning. Brown’s duties were many, functioning as the Queen’s personal bodyguard as well as her servant. He once apprehended a man who approached her with a pistol, holding him until the police arrived.
Brown was known for being terse, speaking to the Queen in a manner in which it would not usually have been acceptable for a servant to do so — even occasionally referring to her as “woman”. Rumours spread about their relationship and one even purported that she had secretly bore his child. While it seems unlikely that such a tryst did occur between them, Victoria clearly held very strong feelings for her most faithful of servants.
In 2004, a rarely
