Grey, for some occult reason, opposed the Princess's receiving an
invitation to be present at a ceremony which had so much interest for her;
or that the Duchess of Northumberland, the governess of the Princess, took
the same extraordinary course from political motives. Finally, _The
Globe_ gave, on authority, an explanation that had been offered all
along in the midst of more sensational rumours. The Princess's health was
rather delicate, and the Duchess of Kent had, on that account, got the
King's sanction to her daughter's not being exposed to unusual excitement
and fatigue. The statement on authority was unanswerable, but while it
stilled one cause of apprehension it awakened another. After the untimely
death of Princess Charlotte, the nation was particularly sensitive with
regard to the health of the heir to the crown. Whispers began to spread
abroad, happily without much foundation, of pale cheeks, and a constitution
unfit for the burden which was to be laid upon it.



CHAPTER III.
YOUTH.


In the month of August, 1831, the Princess went with her mother to profit
by the soft, sweet breezes of the Isle of Wight. The Duchess and her
daughter occupied Norris Castle for three months, and the ladies of the
family were often on the shore watching the white sails and chatting with
the sailors. Carisbrooke and King Charles the Martyr were brought more
vividly home to his descendant, with the pathetic little tale of the
girl-Princess Elizabeth. We do not know whether the Queen then learnt to
feel a special love for the fair little island with which she has long been
familiar, but of this we are certain, that she could then have had little