A scrapbook of mementoes of Queen Victoria’s childhood collected by her German governess, including lockets of her hair and fabric from her wedding dress, is to be auctioned in Berlin. Photograph: Fotostudio Bartsch / Grisebach, Berlin“We know that Queen Victoria sent a lot of hair samples, and that this was very typical of the time,” Golenia said. “But this is the largest number of her hair samples to be found in one place – except perhaps for the pillow on which she died. Lehzen, who was born in Hanover, became governess to the young Victoria at Kensington Palace when she was five years old. The gravestone which Victoria had erected over Lehzen’s grave bears the inscription: “Dedicated in gratitude to the faithful mentor of her youth by Victoria, Queen of Great Britain”.

Source: The Guardian November 27, 2017 06:00 UTC