Royal correspondence concerning Queen Victoria's marriage

St James's Palace, 29 April 1840. An original letter in the Hawes family collection appears to be written in the name of Sir Henry Wheatley to William Hawes, conveying Queen Victoria's instructions to forward a commemorative item relating to her marriage to Prince Albert on 10 February 1840.

Original photograph

Handwritten letter dated 29 April 1840 concerning Queen Victoria's marriage, associated with Sir Henry Wheatley and Mr Hawes

Working transcription

St James's Palace
April 29th 1840.

Sir Henry Wheatley presents his compliments to Mr Hawes, and is honoured with the Queen's commands to forward to him the accompanying [word uncertain], intended as a memorial of Her Majesty's Marriage.

William Hawes Esq. [addressee written at the foot of the letter]

Working reading from the photograph; original spelling and ambiguous words require further palaeographic comparison. Do not treat bracketed readings as certain.

Context

Queen Victoria and Prince Albert were married on 10 February 1840. Sir Henry Wheatley (1777–1852) was Keeper of the Privy Purse and is documented in the Royal Archives' correspondence with Prince Albert. William Hawes was associated with the Chapel Royal, making a connection to official royal correspondence credible. The document shows that something commemorative was being forwarded to Hawes under the Queen's instructions; it does not, by itself, demonstrate that Hawes performed at the wedding or composed music for it.

Research cautions

This appears to be correspondence to William Hawes from Sir Henry Wheatley, not a letter sent by Hawes. The header appears to read St James's Palace rather than Lambeth Palace. The enclosed item has not been identified or located. The concluding name reads “William Hawes Esq.”, confirming the named recipient of the correspondence. The document has no clear evidence that it was personally handwritten by Wheatley.

References

Royal Collection Trust — Prince Albert correspondence with Sir Henry Wheatley

Family source: original letter photographed and supplied to the archive on 7 November 2026.