The Shadow of Great Britain-Chapter 1755 - 82: Rule, Britannia

Arthur was adjusting his hat brim, trying to cover up the embarrassment of just being nearly crushed. Hearing Victoria’s question, he was momentarily taken aback, then smiled.

"Your Highness, I didn’t expect you to be concerned about the voyage of the Beagle’s return. This afternoon when you were picking flowers in the garden, you told me the flowers were for His Majesty Leopold. Now I see, you were planning to surprise the sailors of the Royal Navy returning from their global voyage? How thoughtful of you."

Victoria listened to Arthur’s response, momentarily unable to make sense of it.

Arthur’s tone was calm, his eyes smiling, but Victoria always felt there was another meaning behind his words.

In fact, it’s no wonder Victoria overthought it, because this is precisely what Arthur taught her in her rhetoric classes: to be cautious with words and phrases and to understand the underlying meaning of every sentence, especially in public, where every statement carries political significance.

"I... I just..." She lowered her eyes, hesitantly looking at her empty hands.

Arthur didn’t explain further. He just stood there with a calm expression, as if waiting for her to make a choice.

Because now the matter was no longer simply about "who to give the flowers to."

Compared to Victoria, the Duchess of Kent, who was standing on the ceremonial platform, understood the weight of Arthur’s words better.

This young man, who once helped Victoria win the favor of Scotland Yard, didn’t directly help Victoria out of the situation, nor did he rush to correct the misunderstanding. Instead, he quietly built a step for Victoria to gracefully maneuver, transforming this inconsequential episode into a valuable PR opportunity, should she choose to take it.

The Duchess’s gaze slightly shifted toward the direction of the Beagle.

On deck, on those sun-beaten and wind-weathered faces, upon learning that the one presenting the flowers was Crown Princess Victoria, the sailors were all visibly touched and surprised.

The Royal Navy sailors may be rough, possibly lacking in etiquette, but this didn’t stop them from being awestruck by the Crown Princess’s gesture.

The young sailor who just smiled broadly as he received the flowers was still carefully holding that bouquet, apparently startled by the sudden change in the atmosphere at the scene.

Compared to giving the flowers to her uncle, presenting this bouquet to the sailors was certainly a better move than originally planned.

One should know that in today’s environment where the reform bill has been passed and party strife is intensifying, the Whig Party’s ability to maintain an advantage in court depends on its broad connections with the emerging class and the naval system.

Although the Whig Party had long expressed its full support for Victoria’s accession to the throne, there were still some small disagreements within the Royal Navy under the Whig system. Of course, this isn’t to say that the Royal Navy doesn’t support Princess Victoria’s succession, but rather, their support for Victoria isn’t because they particularly like the young girl, but because they dislike the Duke of Cumberland, Ernst Augustus Hanover, who is next in line after Victoria.

The reputation of this uncle of the Royals is almost universally avoided within the Royal Navy.

On the surface, he is a member of the Royal Family, a son of George III, a brother to George IV and King William IV, with legitimate bloodlines, ample qualifications, and even participated in the Anti-France War as a Cavalry Major General, where he nearly perished after being struck in the head by a stray bullet during a battlefield inspection.

But when it comes to the Duke of Cumberland’s military achievements, it’s really quite underwhelming.

After all, during the Napoleonic Wars, the Army’s most glorious achievements almost all occurred under the command of the Duke of Wellington in the Peninsular War.

As for the Duke of Cumberland, he mainly participated in some battles of the first Anti-France War where the Hanover and Austrian allied forces fought against France, and his performance in Belgium was not particularly commendable. So much so that when Cumberland flaunted his head scar as a military honor, those who disliked the Duke of Cumberland privately mocked that it was a "scar that was effortlessly obtained."

Of course, the Royal Navy’s dissatisfaction with the Duke of Cumberland isn’t just about his love for self-promotion; it’s more about how his views threaten the practical interests of many young officers in the Royal Navy.

Firstly, Cumberland is a typical old-guard Tory. He not only publicly opposed the 1832 Reform Bill but also often made grandiose speeches in the House of Lords, denouncing reform as a "betrayal of ancestral institutions," and even warned that it would "destroy the spirit of loyalty within the army."

This statement made the young officers of the Royal Navy furious because many among them were only able to rise from middle-class, technically specialized positions to Captain, or Navigating Officer due to naval reforms that preceded the Parliamentary reforms.

Though the Royal Navy is not entirely devoid of nepotism, unlike the Army’s almost hereditary buying and selling of positions, the Royal Navy, which prioritizes technical capability, can boldly claim that its promotions are relatively fair.

Even those officers in the Royal Navy with illustrious backgrounds do not favor the Duke of Cumberland’s rhetoric, as they’ve never considered themselves to have achieved their positions purely based on family background.

Each one of them, before becoming an officer, underwent rigorous Naval Academy training, at least six years of maritime apprenticeship, and the exceptionally low-pass-rate Navy Department exams.