The Baroness Lehzen | |
|---|---|
 Portrait by Koepke for Queen Victoria, c. 1842 | |
| Known for | Governess and companion to Queen Victoria |
| Born | Johanna Clara Louise Lehzen 3 October 1784 Hanover, Electorate of Hanover |
| Died | 9 September 1870 (aged 85) Bückeburg, Principality of Schaumburg-Lippe |
Johanna Clara Louise, Baroness von Lehzen (3 October 1784 – 9 September 1870) 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 the Duke of Kent, fourth son of King George III. Five years later, Lehzen was appointed governess to his only child, Princess Alexandrina Victoria. The young princess became second-in-line to the British throne in 1827.
Victoria's upbringing was dominated by the controlling Kensington System, implemented by the widowed Duchess of Kent and her comptroller Sir John Conroy. Lehzen was strongly protective of Victoria, and encouraged the princess to be strong, informed, and independent from the Duchess and Conroy's influence, causing friction within the household. Attempts to remove the governess were unsuccessful, as Lehzen had the support of Victoria's royal uncles. "Dear, good Lehzen" soon came to supersede all others – including her own mother – in Victoria's eyes.
When Victoria became queen in 1837, Lehzen served as a sort of unofficial private secretary, enjoying apartments adjacent to Victoria. The queen's marriage to Prince Albert in 1840 led to significant changes in the royal household. Albert and Lehzen detested each other, and after an illness of the Princess Royal in 1841, Lehzen was dismissed. Her close relationship with the queen came to an end, although the two continued to correspond. Lehzen spent her final years in Hanover on a generous pension, dying in 1870. Lehzen was a major influence on Victoria's character, in particular giving her the strength of will to survive her troubled childhood and life as a young queen.