Family conflict Louise returned to Britain with her husband on 27 October 1883. Queen Victoria had allocated them apartments at
Kensington Palace, and the couple took up official residence in the suite that was to remain Louise's home for the rest of her life. Louise resumed public duties in Britain, for example, opening St George's Gardens,
Bloomsbury on 1 July 1884, and Lorne his political career, campaigning unsuccessfully for the
Hampstead seat in 1885. In 1895, he won the
South Manchester seat, entering parliament as a
Liberal. Louise, unlike Lorne and his father, was in favour of
Irish Home Rule, and disappointed when he
defected from
Gladstonian Liberalism to the
Liberal Unionists. Relations between Louise and Lorne were strained, and, despite the queen's attempts to keep them under one roof, they often went their separate ways. Even when he accompanied Louise, he was not always received with favour at court, and the Prince of Wales did not take to him. Out of all the royal family, Lorne was the only one to be identified closely with a political party, having been a
Gladstonian liberal in the
House of Commons. Louise's relationship with the two sisters closest to the queen,
Beatrice and Helena, was strained at best. Beatrice had married the tall and handsome
Prince Henry of Battenberg in a love match in 1885, and they had four children. Louise, who had a jealous nature, had grown accustomed to treating Beatrice with pity on account of the queen's constant need for her. Beatrice's biographer, Matthew Dennison, claims that in contrast to Beatrice, Louise remained strikingly good looking throughout her forties. Louise and her husband were no longer close, and rumours spread about Lorne's alleged homosexuality. Thus, Beatrice was enjoying a satisfying sexual relationship with her popular husband, which Louise was not. Louise may have considered Prince Henry a more appropriate husband for herself. Certainly, following Prince Henry's death in 1896, Louise wrote that: "he [Henry] was almost the greatest friend I had—I, too, miss him more than I can say". In addition, Louise attempted to champion her late brother-in-law by announcing that she was his confidante and that Beatrice, a mere cipher, meant nothing to him.
Rumours regarding Louise From late 1865 to mid 1866, the royal family was guarded by 150
Scots Fusiliers. Officially, this was to protect the family from Fenian threats, but it was whispered by members of high society that Louise had fallen pregnant by Walter Stirling, the tutor of her brother Leopold. According to Louise's biographer,
Lucinda Hawksley, her son Henry was born in 1866 and shortly after the Queen's lawyers were summoned to her residence. The Queen's obstetrician Frederick Locock and his wife adopted a son named Henry, immediately after the meeting. Further rumours spread that Louise was having an affair with
Arthur Bigge, later
Lord Stamfordham, the queen's
assistant private secretary. Beatrice mentioned the rumours to the queen's physician, calling it a "scandal", and Prince Henry claimed to have seen Bigge drinking Louise's health at dinner. Louise denied the rumour, claiming that it was started by Beatrice and Helena to undermine her position at court. However, on Henry's death, relations between the sisters sporadically improved, and it was Louise, rather than the queen, who was the first to arrive at
Cimiez to be with the widowed Beatrice. Nevertheless, Louise's jealousy did not evaporate completely. James Reid, the queen's physician, wrote to his wife a few years later: "Louise is as usual much down on her sisters. Hope she won't stay long or she will do mischief!" Rumours of affairs did not concern only Bigge. In 1890, the sculptor Sir
Joseph Edgar Boehm died in Louise's presence at his studio in London, leading to rumours that the two were having an affair. According to historian
Lucinda Hawksley, the two had a long-lasting love affair. Boehm's assistant,
Alfred Gilbert, who played a central role in comforting Louise after Boehm's death, and supervised the destruction of Boehm's private papers, was rapidly promoted as a royal sculptor. Louise was also romantically linked to architect
Edwin Lutyens; her
equerry, Colonel William Probert; and an unnamed music master. However,
Jehanne Wake, Louise's biographer, argues that there is no substantial evidence to suggest that Louise had sexual relationships with anyone other than her husband. During Victoria's last years, Louise carried out a range of public duties, such as opening public buildings, laying foundation stones, and officiating at special programmes. Louise, like her eldest sister Victoria, was more liberally minded, and supported the
suffragist movement, completely contrary to the queen's views. Louise privately visited
Elizabeth Garrett, the first British woman openly to qualify as a physician. Queen Victoria deplored the idea of women joining professions, especially medicine, and described the training of female physicians as a "repulsive subject".
Louise as unconventional royal Louise was determined to be seen as an ordinary person and not as a member of the court. When travelling abroad, she often used the alias "Mrs Campbell". Louise was known for her charity towards servants. On one occasion, the butler approached her and requested permission to dismiss the second footman, who was late getting out of bed. When she advised that the footman be given an alarm clock, the butler informed her that he already had one. She then went so far as to suggest a bed that would throw him out at a specified time, but she was told this was not feasible. Finally, she suggested that he might be ill, and when checked, he was found to have
tuberculosis. The footman was therefore sent to
New Zealand to recover. On another occasion, when she visited Bermuda, she was invited to a reception and chose to walk rather than be driven. She became thirsty along the way and stopped at a house, where she asked a Black woman named Mrs McCarthy for a glass of water. Owing to the scarcity of water, the woman had to go some distance to obtain it, but was reluctant because she had to finish her ironing. When Louise offered to continue the ironing, the woman refused, adding that she was in a great hurry to finish so that she could go and see Princess Louise. Realising that she had not been recognised, Louise enquired whether McCarthy would recognise her again. When the woman said that she would have thought so, but was admittedly unsure, Louise replied: "Well take a good look at me now, so you can be sure to know me tomorrow at St. Georges." The princess clung to her privacy, and enjoyed not being recognised. Louise and her sisters had another disagreement after the death of the queen's close friend,
Jane Spencer, Baroness Churchill. Determined not to put her mother through more misery, Louise wanted the news to be broken to the queen gradually. When this was not done, Louise voiced sharp criticism of Helena and Beatrice. One month later, on 22 January 1901,
Queen Victoria died at Osborne House on the Isle of Wight. In her will, the queen bequeathed Kent House, on the Osborne Estate, to Louise as a country residence, and gave Osborne Cottage to Louise's youngest sister, Beatrice. Louise and Beatrice were now neighbours both at Kensington Palace and Osborne. ==Later life==