Queen Victoria's black child
Julius Garga
by Rajeev Syal
Revealed: the black orphan Victoria took to her heart
THE secret of who amused Queen Victoria is about to be revealed. The
notoriously dour monarch was entranced by a little African orphan whom
she virtually adopted at Windsor Castle.
The story of the friendship between Britain's monarch and Sally Forbes
Bonetta, a survivor of a tribal massacre in west Africa, casts new
light both upon Victoria and her imperial subjects.
It has been uncovered by Arnold Gordon, 63, who has spent years
unravelling half-remembered and largely disbelieved stories of a
distant relative who once played in the royal parks and grounds of
Windsor.
Gordon, a charity director, pieced together her life using documents
from Windsor, the Church Missionary Society in London, and Cheltenham
Ladies' College.
Until now, the story behind the fragments of letters, diaries and
pictures has been overlooked by historians.
Gordon, whose family history will be shown on BBC2's Black Britain
programme next week, said his interest had been inspired by childhood
tales from his grandmother about her distant cousin and the grand
queen.
"I thought it was all in the imagination of an old lady, but then I
discovered the truth was even more remarkable," he said.
Sally's long journey began in 1850 when Captain Frederick Forbes, a
naval officer and friend of the queen, was sent to the Gold Coast in
Africa to dissuade the King of Dahomey (now Benin) from capturing and
selling slaves from Christian colonies.
The queen, then just 31, was known to detest slavery. On her orders,
Forbes spent several days reasoning with and pressuring the African
king to give up the trade.
As he was preparing to leave, the king presented him with a gift
calculated to please the White Queen: "An intelligent, good-tempered
(and need I hardly add) black girl about six or seven years old,"
Forbes wrote.
The girl's family had been killed in a massacre days before the
presentation. Forbes decided to take her to England and named her
after the ship on which she sailed, the Bonetta.
He took the child to meet the queen and the monarch was enchanted. The
queen wrote in her diary: "She is seven years old, sharp and
intelligent, and speaks English. When her bonnet was taken off her
little black woolly head and big earrings gave her true negro type."
Newspapers in Windsor began to write about the visitor, whose colour
was a startling novelty in the town. Victoria paid for her to stay in
lodgings in the town, where she was brought up as an upper-class
English schoolgirl.
Bonetta was a regular visitor to the castle. In another diary entry,
two months after their first visit, Victoria wrote: "After luncheon
Sally Bonetta came . . . she showed me some of her work. It is the
fourth time I have seen the poor child who is really an intelligent
little thing."
Sally's health became a royal obsession as the court believed black
people could not live in cold climates. One letter, from the royal
treasurer to the Church Missionary Society, proclaimed: "Her Majesty .
. . has been informed that the climate of this country is often
fatally hurtful to the health of African children and the Queen is
therefore conscious that this child should be educated in one of Her
Majesty's dependencies upon the coast of Africa."
It was decided Bonetta should be sent to a top missionary school in
Sierra Leone, along with specially chosen Christian guardians, who
were paid with regular donations and presents from Windsor.
Bonetta stayed in contact with the queen and returned to Britain after
completing her education. She met a wealthy Nigerian merchant who
sought royal permission for their marriage in 1862. It was granted and
the newlyweds moved to Sierra Leone.
A year later, Bonetta presented to the queen her daughter, Victoria,
named after her guardian. The queen wrote in her diary: "After
luncheon, saw Sally, now Mrs Davies, and her dear little child, far
blacker than herself. A lively, intelligent child with big melancholy
eyes."
Bonetta continued to visit, but in August 1880 a more dramatic entry
was written in the queen's diary. "Grieved and shocked to hear that
poor Sally was hopelessly ill at Madeira," she wrote.
Sadly, her entry the next day read: "Saw poor Victoria Davies, my
black godchild, who learnt this morning of the death of her dear
mother. The poor child was dreadfully upset and distressed . . . I
will give her an annuity."
So the queen again took charge of the family. After the child's father
was consulted, it was decided to send young Victoria to Cheltenham
Ladies' College for [[sterling]]100 a year. There she thrived and was doted
on by
the monarch. When young Victoria passed her elementary piano exam, the
queen granted teachers and pupils a holiday.
In 1891, Victoria married Dr John Randle, and together they moved to
Freetown, Sierra Leone, and had two children. When the queen died 10
years later, Victoria sent messages of support to the royal family.
Last week The Sunday Times tracked down another branch of the family
tree in Sierra Leone. Willie Randle, whose great uncle is believed to
have married Victoria, has also been told stories of the success of
the family, but remained unclear when they finally lost touch with
British royalty. "My relatives were wealthy and had a lot of land in
Freetown and were well respected in the community," he said.
Professor Stanley Weintraub, author of books on Queen Victoria, said
the find highlighted the fascination she had for the black and Asian
people of her empire. "This confirms that Queen Victoria was
fascinated with the colonies and, unlike many of her subjects,
believed passionately in the commonwealth of people."