Various Victorian love letters written by the mother and father of a former prime minister are being printed on-line for Valentine’s Day.
The letters had been written in 1843 by James Maitland Balfour, then MP for Haddington in East Lothian, and his bride-to-be, Lady Blanche Cecil, the daughter of the Marquess of Salisbury.
Their eldest son, Arthur Balfour, would go on to be prime minister between 1902 and 1905.
The letters had been amongst numerous papers purchased for the nationwide archives final yr by National Records Scotland (NRS).
Archivist Veronica Schreuder mentioned: “History already documents the union of these two immensely influential families but these private letters show us the tender young couple in love, eager that they would get on with each other’s families. We’re putting extracts online today so people can read them for themselves.”
One letter was dated 15 July 1843 – a month earlier than the couple’s wedding ceremony.
Mr Balfour proposed and he or she accepted, which triggered a flurry of excited letters between relations. There are congratulations from his mother and father, his brother-in-law and even her nine-year-old brother.
Mr Balfour wrote: “My dearest Lady Blanche, I can’t go away city with no likelihood of seeing you once more for a lot of months with out doing that which should both make me the happiest or most wretched of males.
“O Lady Blanche, I love you deeply fervently and O how happy should I be if I could only hope that that love was returned.”
Mr Balfour additionally mentioned of his household’s pleasure: “I am sure it will give you pleasure to see how delighted they are at the thought of having you for a sister and how they long to know and like you.”
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Ms Schreuder mentioned: “In some ways their story is a sad one as James Balfour died only 13 years later at the age of 36 from TB [tuberculosis] but it was also a successful marriage.
“They had eight kids: three daughters and 5 sons, who would all go on to guide influential lives. Their eldest son, Arthur, adopted within the footsteps of his uncle to develop into prime minister in 1902.”
The couple had been marred at Lady Blanche’s household residence, Hatfield House, in Hertfordshire, at ages 23 and 18.
The Duke of Wellington, then chief of the House of Lords, was among the many visitors and he gave them the usage of a property on his property for his or her honeymoon.
The couple went on to have a household residence at Whittingehame, East Lothian, and an property at Strathconon within the Highlands.
Source: information.sky.com”