Lady Flora Hastings
Flora Elizabeth Rawdon -Hastings, also known as Lady Flora Hastings ( born February 11, 1806 Loudoun Castle in Galston, East Ayrshire, † July 5, 1839 at Buckingham Palace, London) was a British nobleman and maid of honor ( Mistress of the Robes ) Victoria of Saxe- Coburg- Saalfeld, Duchess of Kent.
Their unjustified prejudice for an alleged illegitimate pregnancy sparked 1839 " Flora Hastings affair ", which cost the British Queen Victoria in the public view and sympathies.
Life
Lady Flora Hastings family is from the Scottish- English aristocracy. She was the eldest daughter of Francis Rawdon -Hastings, 1st Marquess of Hastings ( 1754-1826 ), a British general and governor-general of India, and his wife, Lady Flora Mure- Campbell ( 1780-1840 ), later Countess of Loudoun ( peeress in her own right). She received a comprehensive and excellent education, spoke several languages and was reflected in literature, music and painting interested.
In February 1839 made Lady Flora Hastings, maid of honor of Princess Victoria, Duchess of Kent and Strathearn, on Queen Victoria and her confidante, the Baroness Louise Lehzen, the impression that she was expecting a child. The talk about Lady Flora and John Conroy based on the fact that both a few weeks previously traveled with the day and night coach from Scotland to London. The personal physician to the Queen, Dr. James Clark seemed to confirm the suspicion that he in February Lady Flora, who for some time in treatment was with him because of their swelling, requesting it to be examined unclothed. He founded not medical, but with a reference to rumors at the court - at least it turned Lady Flora later Represent dismissed the request for Dr. Clark's back first, so they behaved so unreasonably as the doctor. Another maid of honor, Lady Portman let know by her husband, the Duchess, either accept the rumor, then Lady Flora had to go, or it does not agree, then it must be immediately removed from the world.
On 17 February, it came to the desired examination. It was made by Sir James Clark and his namesake Sir Charles Clark, the Lady Flora had named. Both doctors diagnosed an abdominal enlargement. What the cause of which might always be: Lady Flora was in a state of virginity, which was audited her. That did Sir James Clark does not depend on the Prime Minister over the old doctor from the famous Latin exceptional cases of conception of a Virgo intacta dish up, so not just the Mother of God was meant. The end of February conceptual Victoria nevertheless what they and himself was Lady Flora now guilty, and she received the maid of honor. Even with the Duchess of Kent was discussed and adjusted apparently the thing. In early March liked the Queen and her Prime Minister, William Lamb, 2nd Viscount Melbourne, who seemed at least according to Victoria's diary of Lady Flora's pregnancy still convinced cherish the hope that affair in which both had made no good figure, was over and buried.
But the family Hastings was not ready to forgive and forget. From Lady Flora some members of the clan learned the background, the nature of their treatment and the cool behavior of the monarch during the term of the rumor. After Lady Flora's mother had given her correspondence with the Prime Minister at the toryfreundliche press, Lord Melbourne had been publicly associated with the processes in the palace in combination. Only the birth of a child of Lady Flora could rehabilitate him, but that was so not expected, had now spread despite the incompetence of the doctors. They tried to push all responsibility to the disturbing nature, such as Lady Flora was beaten on the Baroness Lehzen as the originator of the rumor of Conroy's paternity. But the levity with which Melbourne thought about it, and the heartlessness that still showed Victoria even on his deathbed the maid of honor can be bad denied. On July 5, Lady Flora Hastings died. The autopsy revealed a lengthy liver disease; what the Court gossip had taken for pregnancy, had a malignant polyp.