Flora Elizabeth Hastings (Campbell)

1806 - 1839  (33 years)

• Name	Flora Elizabeth Hastings (Campbell)
  Born	1806
  Gender	Female
  Died	1839
  Person ID	I3780	Admin Kevin's Chiefly Lines
  Last Modified	12 Jun 2022

  
  

  Father	Francis Rawdon Hastings, Marquis of Hastings,   d. 28 Nov 1826
  Relationship	natural
  Mother	Flora Mure, Countess of Loudoun,   b. Aug 1780,   d. 8 Jan 1840  (Age 59 years)
  Relationship	natural
  Married	12 Jul 1804
  Family ID	F1447	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

  
  

• Notes

  It was the sister of George, the seventh Earl, Lady Flora Hastings, whose unhappy life severely shook the monarchy and Whig government in 1839. Queen Victoria had come to the throne in 1837 at the tender age of 18. She was determined to change what she saw as the undesirable laxity of the Regency court of which her mother, the duchess of Kent, was perceived to have been a part. Victoria fell out with her mother whom she felt was more concerned with her own affairs than the good of Great Britain for which Victoria, guided by Prime Minister Lord Melbourne, felt responsible. Lady Flora Hastings was a Lady of the Bed Chamber to the Duchess of Kent. In the background was Sir John Conroy, Comptroller of the Duchess of Kent's household, and, it seems, concerned to promote his own as well as her interests. Queen Victoria was shocked to learn that, apparently, Lady Flora and Conroy travelled by coach together from Scotland without a chaperon. Shortly after, Lady Flora Hastings contracted a liver disorder, one of the outward effects of which appeared to suggest a pregnancy and Court gossip raged. Medical opinion confirmed her illness but her family were understandably angry at the way Lady Flora had been treated and Lord Melbourne, in a rare failing, did not deal with the matter adequately. There was a surge of public indignation in Lady Flora's favour and Queen Victoria's early popularity vanished in a few weeks as a result of her perceived mistreatment of Flora Hastings. When Lady Flora later became ill and her stomach swelled, Victoria and her court came to the shocking conclusion that she was pregnant. Lady Flora protested her innocence but the Queen made her submit to a painful and humiliating medical examination. Although it turned out that she was indeed a virgin, and suffering from stomach cancer, Lady Flora's name was never completely cleared. There was a reconciliation in June 1839 when, virtually on her death bed, Lady Flora thanked the Queen (still in her teens) for her help shown during her illness and received from the Queen the Lady Flora bracelet which is still in the family. Lady Flora's grave is in Loudoun Old Parish Kirk.