Britain's longest-serving monarch regularly wrote letters using "text speak".
Victoria, who reigned from 1837 to 1901 and who was the niece of the two previous monarchs, King George IV (who was Prince Regent before he became king because his father King George III was too ill to reign properly) and King William IV, regularly used contractions, such as ‘shd’ and ‘wd’ instead of ‘should’ and ‘would’.
The revelation comes in a series of letters that were handwritten by Victoria in the four years before her death in 1901 and were addressed to James Forbes, the man who was responsible for the running of Balmoral.
How Queen Victoria wrote using text speak: Letters reveal monarch regularly used modern-day contractions such as ‘shd’ and ‘wd’
22 August 2013
Daily Mail
Daily Mail
A cache of letters written during the last years of her life more than a century ago show that the monarch regularly used contractions
If your teenager drives you mad by using ‘text speak’, take heart – they may simply be emulating Queen Victoria.
A cache of letters written during the last years of her life more than a century ago show that the monarch regularly used contractions, such as ‘shd’ and ‘wd’ instead of ‘should’ and ‘would’.
For example, in one 1898 note about a visit to Balmoral she wrote: ‘I have never invited the Duke of Atholl to come over with his men and I think it wd. be better not to do so this year. It wd. entail the encampment of his men in our grounds wh. wd. be inconvenient.’
The revelation comes in a series of letters that were handwritten by Victoria in the four years before her death in 1901 and were addressed to James Forbes, the man who was responsible for the running of Balmoral.
The letters and other royal memorabilia have just been sold for £15,000 at auction in Edinburgh, £7,000 more than expected.
Experts at Bonhams said that the correspondence shows the Queen’s keen interest in the welfare of her staff and tenants and continued appetite for life despite her advancing years.
All the letters are written on the heavy mourning paper she adopted on the death of Prince Albert in 1861 and most are signed VR1.
They were sent from Windsor, Osborne and Nice as well as internally at Balmoral itself.
Henry Baggott, Bonhams book specialist in Edinburgh, said: 'These letters throw a fascinating light on the private Queen Victoria and show her to have been far kinder and more considerate than her rather forbidding public image suggested.'
He added that the letters give a particularly vivid impression of Victoria’s personality.
A series of letters hand written by Queen Victoria to the manager of Balmoral Castle fetched £15,000 pounds at auction
The revelation comes in a series of letters that were handwritten by Victoria in the four years before her death in 1901
Queen Victoria pictured in Windsor Castle writing in 1891. Letters she wrote have been sold for £15,000 at auction
She writes advising Forbes on how to handle the tricky minister at Balmoral: 'Be very careful to be exact & very discreet & keep out of rows (like the choir trouble) or writing in any of the papers wh.was one of Mr Sibald’s accusations last year.
'But I fear Mr S. is of a vindictive spirit and I rather fear, not very exact himself. At any rate you shd try & find out the story abt the Free Kirk Minister, as I am sure that that is a ‘mistake’.'
Queen Victoria was always solicitous about her staff whom she regarded as part of her extended family.
The collection also includes several items relating to Queen Victoria’s friendship with servant John Brown, which was the focus of the 1997 historical drama Mrs Brown starring Dame Judi Dench and Billy Connolly.
Bonhams expert Maria Baskhanova pictured with an 1898 letter from Queen Victoria stating 'I have never invited the Duke of Atholl to come over with his men and I think it wd. be better not to do so this year'
The letters written during the last years of her life more than a century ago show that the monarch regularly used contractions
He served as a companion to the Queen during her period of mourning in the Highlands following the death of her husband, Prince Albert, at just 42.
A bust of Brown is included, as is a heartfelt letter of condolence written by the Queen about the death of Lizzie Brown, the wife of William, John’s brother.
In it she writes: 'The death of dear excellent Mrs Wm Brown whom I was so very fond of and with whom I had been so intimate is real grief to me & I dare not think of how dreadfully I shall miss her. Her loss is really irreparable... Poor William I do pity so much for he is so helpless & dear Lizzie was everything in the world to him'.
Also included in the lot are items indicating the closeness of the relationship between the Forbes family and the Monarch.
Text messaging was used for the first time on 3 December 1992, when Neil Papworth, a 22-year-old British test engineer for Sema Group in the UK (now Airwide Solutions), used a personal computer to send the text message "Merry Christmas" via the Vodafone network to the phone of Richard Jarvis.
Last edited: