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 1901. Her reign of 63 years and 21 ...

. She was born the youngest daughter of Sir

John Conroy Sir John Ponsonby Conroy, 1st Baronet, KCH (21 October 1786 – 2 March 1854) was a British Army officer who served as comptroller to the Duchess of Kent and her young daughter, Princess Victoria, the future Queen of the United Kingdom. Con ...

, 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 accounting and financial reporting of an organization. A financial comptroller is a senior-level executi ...

of the household of the

Duchess of Kent Duchess of Kent is the principal 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, the wife of Prince Edward. He inherited the dukedom o ...

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 K ...

, 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 set in Kensington Gardens, in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea in London, England. It has been a residence of the British royal family since the 17th century, and is currently the official L ...

, or Victoria was taken to visit the siblings at their home. Victoire was a few months younger than Victoria, and according to historian Carolly Erickson, Victoire was taller and prettier, with dark, hazel eyes, and small regular features. Aware of Victoire's inferior social rank, Victoria disliked her, and suspected 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 Lehzen (3 October 17849 September 1870), also known as Baroness Louise Lehzen, was the governess and later companion to Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom. Born to a Lutheran pastor, in 1819 Lehzen entered the household of ...

, 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 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