Buckingham Palace.
"Darling, they have put this kind of toilet paper before me again, yet I have no choice but to sign it. I can practically hear them laughing at me."
Victoria felt that all the majesty of her position as Queen had vanished before this pack of politicians. She truly seemed to be nothing more than a stamp machine.
Prince Albert was in fact even more sensitive to this. He could clearly feel the royal family being gradually marginalized in politics.
But Prince Albert merely sighed, then said to his wife, "I understand how you feel, but this is the age of constitutional government. It is the progress of the times. We must learn to accept it.
Parliament has its own considerations as well. Restricting Russia can indeed prolong Britain's hegemony."
At that moment, Prince Albert abruptly changed his tone.
"But this is not a far-sighted plan. It is a foolish gamble."
Victoria's eyes immediately lit up. Her husband truly understood her; she did not think this was a wise move either.
Prince Albert continued.
"Those members of Parliament have lived comfortable lives for too long. They have no idea how cruel war can be. I have been to Ireland—it was practically hell on earth.
Yet according to the veterans accompanying me, the Irish rebellion was mere child's play. Fighting Russians and Austrians was a hundred, a thousand times crueler than that.
Chancellor of the Exchequer Gladstone's warning is not without basis either. This country has already reached the edge of a cliff: default on national debt, capital flight, social unrest.
If this continues, then any number of terrifying things could happen."
Naturally, Victoria understood what Prince Albert meant by terrifying things. It was the first time since ascending the throne that she had felt so helpless. She felt