Page:Life of Her Majesty Queen Victoria (IA lifeofhermajesty01fawc).pdf/86

 marle sit at the top of the coach, or under the coach, behind the coach, or wherever else Her Majesty pleases." The Bill for the Prince's naturalization contained a clause enabling the Queen to give him precedence over all other members of the Royal Family. The King of Hanover furiously raged, together with some of his Royal brothers. Objections were raised in the House of Lords. The Duke of Wellington thought it was unnecessary to settle the Prince's precedence by law, and that the Queen could settle it by placing the Prince next herself on all occasions. This common-sense view would have been sufficient for ordinary people; but the fact that the House of Lords allowed the precedence clauses of the Naturalization Bill to drop seems to have caused no little trouble and annoyance. The Queen has added a note to the "Life of the Prince Consort," in which she says: "When I was first married, we had much difficulty on this subject, much bad feeling was shown; several members of the Royal Family showed bad grace in giving precedence to the Prince, and the late King of Hanover positively resisted doing so." The law of England has provided for the precedence of a Queen Consort, placing her above all other subjects, and giving her rank and dignity next her husband; moreover, relieving her of the legal disabilities of a feme-covert; but the law takes no cognizance of the possible existence of a husband of a Queen Regnant. As fas as his legal position was concerned, the Queen's husband had no rank except what belonged to him as second son of the Duke of Coburg. Greville looked up the authorities, and wrote a pamphlet on the subject, urging that the husband of the Queen ought to have precedence over all other persons. He thought the Tory party had made a serious mistake in the line they had taken in the matter. It was calculated, he