"I am _quite_ clear," she said, "that she ought to be taught to have
great reverence for God and for religion, but that she should have
the feeling of devotion and love which our Heavenly Father encourages
His earthly children to have for Him, and not one of fear and
trembling; and that the thoughts of death and an after-life should
not be represented in an alarming and forbidding view, and that she
should be made to know _as yet_ no difference of creeds, and not think
that she can only pray on her knees, or that those who do not kneel
are less fervent and devout in their prayers."

On November 21, 1840, the Queen's first child, Victoria Adelaide Mary
Louisa, the Princess Royal, was born. The Prince's care of his wife
"was like that of a mother, nor could there be a kinder, wiser, or
more judicious nurse." Only for a moment was he disappointed that
his first child was a daughter and not a son.

The children were all brought up strictly and were never allowed to
appear at Court until a comparatively late age. They were all taught
to use their hands as well as their heads, and at Osborne, in the
Swiss cottage, the boys worked at carpentering and gardening, while
the girls were employed in learning cooking and housekeeping.
Christmas was always celebrated in splendid fashion by the family,
and the royal children were always encouraged to give as presents
something which they had made with their own hands. Lessons in riding,
driving, and swimming also formed part of their training, for the
Queen was wise enough to realize that open-air exercise was very
necessary for the health of her children.

In 1846 the question arose as to who should educate the Prince of