6. Queen Victorica Requested a Lock of John Brown’s Hair
In Victorian England, families who had lost members, especially children, often kept locks of the dearly departed’s hair as a keepsake. With an intense fascination with the occult and death during this time, it might not be unreasonable to assume that some used these specimens as a means of trying to communicate with them through mediums or psychics. For many, though, the gesture was probably more a means of preserving the person’s memory by protecting an aspect of his or her own body.
In addition to carrying with her in death a photo of her lover and a ring that he had given her, Queen Victoria wanted a lock of John Brown’s hair. When her son, King Edward VII, ascended to the throne, he had all vestiges of John Brown’s memory removed. However, he could not abolish the power that the man had held over his mother through their relationship; Dr. James Reid fulfilled her wish to preserve Brown’s memory and connection to her.
What is striking is that the queen saw no conundrum in her burial rites uniting her with both John Brown and Prince Albert in the afterlife. Hopefully, the two men were able to resolve any lover’s quarrel and were able to accept their places in the queen’s life.