[TENNYSON ALFRED]: (1809-1892) English Poet Laureate. VICTORIA: (1819-1901) Queen of the United Kingdom Great ...

[TENNYSON ALFRED]: (1809-1892) English Poet Laureate. VICTORIA: (1819-1901) Queen of the United Kingdom Great Britain & Ireland 1837-1901. An exceptionally fine A.L.S., The Queen, in the third person, four pages, 8vo, Windsor Castle, 26th February 1873, to Alfred Tennyson, on black bordered mourning stationery. The Queen writes, in full, 'Though Lady Augusta Stanley has already conveyed the expressions of the Queen's warmest thanks for high admiration of the beautiful Epilogue he has so kindly inscribed to herself, she wishes to repeat again herself to Mr. Tennyson these feelings on the occasion of the arrival of the copy of the very fine new edition of the Idylls of the King. Pray accept the renewed thanks of the Queen for the noble, heart stirring words addressed to her, & which were a complete surprise. It would give the Queen much pleasure, could she, some day, when he is within reach of Windsor, show him the Mausoleum she has raised over the Earthly remains of her dear Husband whom he knew how to appreciate & so beautifully described - as she feels sure he would admire it & think it worthy of Him who wore "…The white flower of a blameless life". She also hopes that Mr. Tennyson will not find Osborne too far a drive from Osborne'. Accompanied by the original envelope hand addressed by Queen Victoria and signed ('The Queen') by her to the lower left corner. A letter of remarkable content and association. Some very light, extremely minor age wear, VG £2000-3000
Idylls of the King is a cycle of twelve narrative poems by Tennyson which were published between 1859 and 1885 and retell the legend of King Arthur. The poems were dedicated to the late Prince Albert, consort of Queen Victoria, and in the very brief final section of the work Tennyson praises Queen Victoria, and her recently deceased husband, and prays that she, like Arthur, is remembered as a great ruler long after her reign is over.
Provenance: The present letter is accompanied by the original Sotheby's description, clipped from their catalogue (lot 440, 22nd July 1980) which states that it was the first letter written by Queen Victoria to Alfred Tennyson.
Indeed, this is the first of only eleven letters from the Queen to the Poet Laureate recorded by American Book Prices Current as having appeared at auction, and the earliest in date. The other recorded letters range from 1883-90 and cover subjects including her children Prince Leopold and Princess Beatrice, John Brown, the death of General Gordon and her suggestion that Tennyson might try to persuade William Gladstone to retire from politics.
In their description Sotheby's also state that 'Tennyson visited the Mausoleum at Windsor on 6 March. In her journal the Queen recorded her satisfaction with the meeting: "….When I showed him some of the details of the decorations in the building he said the whole effect was very beautiful & worthy of what it was intended for…"'