Thread by @WhiteHouseHstry

On April 29, 1865, Mary Lincoln received correspondence from Victoria, Queen of the United Kingdom. The letter came weeks after the assassination of President Lincoln at Ford’s Theatre, when Mary suddenly became a widow and single mother. 1/9

Image Credit: Library of Congress

Queen Victoria’s letter was an unexpected condolence, as the two had never met nor corresponded. 2/9

“Though a stranger to you,” she wrote, “I cannot remain silent when so terrible a calamity has fallen upon you and your country, and must personally express my deep and heartfelt sympathy with you under the shocking circumstance of your present, dreadful misfortune.” 3/9

Though urged by her advisors to write to the newly widowed Mrs. Lincoln, the Queen’s impetus for writing to the First Lady was personal in many ways. 4/9

Victoria had lost her beloved husband, Prince Albert, only four years earlier in 1861, and her profound grief became part of her identity. As such, the sympathy Queen Victoria felt for the grieving American first lady must have been deep and genuine. 5/9

She went on to write Mary Lincoln, “No one can better appreciate than I can, who am myself utterly broken hearted by the loss of my own beloved husband, who was the light of my life—my stay—my all.” The letter’s envelope was bordered in black, as was mourning custom. 6/9

Later that summer, Mary Lincoln responded to the Queen with gratitude, emphasizing: “I am deeply grateful for its expressions of tender sympathy, coming as they do, from a heart which, from its own sorrow, can appreciate the intense grief I now endure.” 7/9

Both Queen Victoria and Mary Lincoln would spend the rest of their lives mourning the loss of their beloved husbands. Though they would never meet in person, their shared trials made them kindred spirits. #WomensHistoryMonth 8/9

Learn more about Death in the White House in this episode of our podcast, The #1600Sessions 9/9: whitehousehistory.org/1600-sessions/…