May 8, 2019 1.38 pm This story is over 64 months old

Queen Victoria’s letter added to Tennyson collection

The letter has been hailed as a ‘fantastic addition’ to the collection

A personal letter from Queen Victoria to a famous Lincolnshire-born poet has been added to the Tennyson archive in the city.

Victoria wrote to Alfred Lord Tennyson to tell him of her ‘terrible sorrows’ after her youngest son Prince Leopold was killed in an accident three days earlier.

Lincolnshire County Council bought the two page letter dated back to March 31, 1884, during an auction at the Swann Auction Galleries in New York.

It came with the original envelope.

The document will be housed in The Tennyson Research Centre Collection at Lincolnshire Archives, the most significant collection on the poet in the world.

Councillor Nick Worth, executive member for heritage, said: “This letter is a fantastic addition to the Tennyson collection.

The first page of the letter.

“Not only does it underline the close friendship between Tennyson and Victoria, but it also offers an insight into her state of mind at an incredibly trying time.

Pages two and three.

Page four. The handwriting is difficult to read.

“I’m delighted we’ve been able to purchase it for the county, and would like to thank the Tennyson Society for their support in doing this.”

The Tennyson Research Centre opened in 2017 and houses other letters from Queen Victoria, Prince Albert and a copy of Through the Looking Glass that Lewis Carroll gave to Tennyson.

To arrange access to the Tennyson collection, email lincolnshire.archives@lincolnshire.gov.uk or call 01522 782040.