Victoire Maria Louisa, Lady Hanmer (''née'' Conroy; 12 August 1819 – 9 February 1866) was a childhood companion of the future

Queen Victoria Victoria (Alexandrina Victoria; 24 May 1819 – 22 January 1901) was Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until Death and state funeral of Queen Victoria, her death in January 1901. Her reign of 63 year ...

. She was born the youngest daughter of

Sir ''Sir'' is a formal honorific address in English for men, derived from Sire in the High Middle Ages. Both are derived from the old French "" (Lord), brought to England by the French-speaking Normans, and which now exist in French only as part ...

John Conroy Sir John Ponsonby Conroy, 1st Baronet, KCH (21 October 1786 – 2 March 1854) was a British military officer best known for serving as comptroller to the Duchess of Kent and her young daughter, the future Queen Victoria. Born in Wales to Iri ...

, who served as the

comptroller A comptroller (pronounced either the same as ''controller'' or as ) is a management-level position responsible for supervising the quality of accountancy, accounting and financial reporting of an organization. A financial comptroller is a senior- ...

of the household of the

Duchess of Kent Duchess of Kent is the principal Courtesy titles in the United Kingdom, courtesy title used by the wife of the Duke of Kent. There have been four titles referring to Kent since the 18th century. The current duchess is Katharine, Duchess of Kent ...

and the young princess.

Life

Victoire and her siblings were among the few companions the young princess Victoria was allowed. The princess grew up in the controlling

Kensington System The Kensington System was a strict and elaborate set of rules designed by Victoria, Duchess of Kent, along with her attendant, Sir John Conroy, concerning the upbringing of the Duchess's daughter, the future Queen Victoria. It is named after ...

, managed by John Conroy and the Duchess of Kent. Victoire saw Victoria most often. The Conroy children came to

Kensington Palace Kensington Palace is a royal residence situated within Kensington Gardens in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea in London, England. It has served as a residence for the British royal family since the 17th century and is currently the ...

, or Victoria was taken to visit the siblings at their home. Victoire was a few months younger than Victoria, with dark, hazel eyes, and small regular features. Victoria disliked her, suspecting that Victoire reported their activities to John Conroy. Victoria soon began referring to Victoire as "Miss. V. Conroy" in her journals, a sign of displeasure. Victoria was aware that Conroy intended her to reward Victoire and her sister Jane with positions once she became queen. The princess also felt insulted that Conroy often boasted that his daughters "were as high as her". Victoire appears in the princess' journals and watercolours as a person "frequently noted but never analyzed," in contrast with Victoria's writings of her governess

Louise Lehzen Johanna Clara Louise, Baroness von Lehzen (3 October 17849 September 1870) was the governess and later companion to Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom. Lehzen was born to a Lutheran pastor Joachim Friedrich Lehzen (1735-1800) and his wife, Ma ...

, for instance. Carolly Erickson conjectures that had Victoire been "warm and friendly" to the princess, the "lonely" Victoria would have liked rather than disliked and distrusted her. Erickson does acknowledge however that Victoire was placed in an awkward position: while she was the daughter of Victoria's hated enemy, Victoire was still forced into contact with the princess. Little otherwise is known of Victoire. Some time after her coronation in 1837, the new queen allowed financial support to be given to Conroy's widow and children. Victoire married Sir Wyndham Edward Hanmer, 4th

Baronet A baronet ( or ; abbreviated Bart or Bt) or the female equivalent, a baronetess (, , or ; abbreviation Btss), is the holder of a baronetcy, a hereditary title awarded by the British Crown. The title of baronet is mentioned as early as the 14th ...

on 10 March 1842. They had one son, Sir Edward John Henry Hanmer, 5th Bt. (15 April 1843 – 3 May 1893).

References

Works cited * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Conroy, Victoire 19th-century English women 19th-century English people 1819 births 1866 deaths Daughters of baronets Wives of baronets