Kingdom of Dahomey, West Africa
King Gezo (Derek Ezenagu) would not like to anger the "great white Queen" means the Captain can take the girl as a gift. Not much changed there!
Victoria (Jenna Coleman) played piano all the time when little, as an only child she had to break the silence. Albert (Tom Hughes) demands a Christmas carol as it's his fave time of year.
Victoria is given an African Princes to look after and she wants to treat her as part of her own family. She won't accept her as a gift but as a Princess of Royal blood and in the season of charity and good will, she will also be taking in an orphan. Handed over by Captain Forbes (Ben Lamb) and his wife, Mrs Forbes (Catherine Steadman) who has enjoyed having a child under their roof. However everyone such as her mother (Catherine Flemming) and Albert object to this as she is not a part of their family no matter how hard she tries. Albert particularly stressing Sarah (Zaris-Angel Hator) won't be happy here and isn't. But Victoria doesn't listen as she is determined to make her fit in, in a way harking back to her own childhood and how she was neglected by her mother. The only one who cared for her was Lehzen, as Victoria misses very much.
As part of the Christmas celebrations, Albert has invited the family to the palace, not so much since he wants to see any of them, especially not Leopold (Alex Jennings) but since he wants his children's Christmas to be just as happy as he remembers it, giving them happy memories to remember too. As he tells Ernst (David Oakes) his fond memory is when their parents stood by the Christmas tree and it was all lit up, with their mother's face glistening in the light. As he takes Ernst along to cut down trees. Ernst having his own problems still with the arrival of Princess Gertrude of Mecklenburg-Strelitz (Nina Pavlovic) whom he is meant to marry. Leopold not caring about his condition even if his children may be born deformed. It's all about wealth, power and position of course. But he cannot be with someone he doesn't love and alas the dilemma being that he cannot be with the one he loves either.
The Duchess of Buccleuch (Diana Rigg) thinks it a good idea if Wilhelmina (Bebe Cave) throw herself at Lord Alfred (Jordan Waller) since she is not happy at seeing Harriet so unhappy. The Duchess adding it is better to be a widow than an old maid and suggests Alfred would make a suitable match. Of course Wilhelmina always wanted Alfred before Drummond got in the way.
To top it all off at the Cinderella opera, Victoria finds the Duke of Cumberland (Peter Firth) is here and he makes reference to the diamond necklace Victoria is wearing as it happens to belong to his late mother, her grandmother. Wilhelmina having to give Alfred a hanky as he dries his tears at the opera. Cumberland even shows Victoria the legal document where it states all his mother's worldly possessions were to be passed down to him. Victoria adding she may not be versed in the law but she is aware that possession is nine tenths of it and refuses to give up the necklace. She wants Albert to have a look at the will, but he thinks it is rightfully his and should be returned.
Albert caught up in the festivities and wanting trees hung from the ceiling, a tree for all the six tables and presents under it. Making it a grand affair. Bringing home the German traditions of Christmas with trees, lights, and oranges. As well as mentioning cards with delightful pictures on them. How quaint! And how Martin Luther decided on a tree with lights in his house after he saw the stars lighting up the sky. Sarah is unhappy as he said and she has nightmares about home and missing her mother. Victoria takes her out shopping and she buys a doll for her. As when Victoria was little she only had dolls as her friends and no one else. Harriet (Margaret Clunie) suggests Victoria pose for a portrait for Albert's present as the artist, Winterhalter, will bring out the goddess in her. (Had to laugh at that considering we'd just had David in Venus in Fur: a veritable feast of goddesses being mentioned in that!!) whereas Albert has his own creation up his sleeve, he commissions a crown to be made for Victoria with emeralds being her birthstone (mine too ha!) As her mother frowns upon the portrait, Victoria with her hair down to one side, perish the thought as if Albert isn't seen her all bare and naked!!
It snows and the Royal party heads for a spot of ice skating on the frozen lake, but Harriet refuses Ernst's help with her skates, ruing over the Princess being here and she ignores him after falling down and he tries to explain to her. Albert is happy with his sleighing antics with the children and Victoria builds a snowman with Sarah. With them both having their disagreements, as she refuses to believe that Sarah is unhappy here and should return home. Victoria cries as Sarah wanders the palace in the dark and comes across the parrot which reminds her of her own home again and she tells Victoria how Mrs Forbes told her that crying solves nothing. Instead she made a funny face which she tells Victoria to try. Also Victoria doesn't miss her mother but she misses Lehzen. As Albert and Victoria argue over why Sarah doesn't have a table of her own, she listens to them. As well as writing a letter to Mrs Forbes wishing she could be making current buns in the kitchen with her.
The Royals attend the staff party downstairs as Victoria dances with Penge (Andrew Schiller). Ernst wants to dance with Harriet but she refuses and he chooses Cleary (Tilly Steele) instead, as well as shutting out the Princess. That'd would've made Cleary's Christmas!! ha. Wilhelmina notices Alfred isn't dancing with the maids so she dances with him herself as the Duchess of Buccleuch looks on very happy. Leopold admonishes Ernst for rejecting the Princess who is leaving for home. Since marrying for love won't make him happy. Harriet sneaks in to his room in her undies and as they frolic about on the bed, Ernst can't bring himself to go through with it and wreck her life. Instead he dismisses her by saying he's "only interested when the fruit is forbidden!" Leopold finds her crying and knows she's been with Ernst and tells her about his affliction. Which as we know, should have been Ernst's to tell not his.
Wilhelmina gives Alfred a lock of Drummond's hair which his fiance had sent to her. It is rightfully his and inside it reads 'surpassing the love of a woman.' He later proposes to Wilhelmina saying there are other kinds of love. Victoria finds Sarah is missing and looks for her outside at the lake. Where she sees Albert skating as he suddenly falls through the cracking ice. She tries to rescue him but can't break the ice, fearing losing him, he suddenly resurfaces crashing through the ice. As Albert sings Christmas carols jovially, Ernst comes in and takes one of the especially hand-crafted baubles Albertd had made in Bohemia. Fearing he might drop it, he does on purpose and breaks the news to Albert that the fun he remembers that Christmas wasn't a happy memory at all. It was the Christmas their mother left them and the glistening were her tears. Their Christmas wasn't so happy after all and he stomps away. Ernst always being the level-headed, pragmatic brother, except when it came to his love life.
Victoria sends Sarah away to live with the Forbes again and gives her the parrot to look after. Ernst apologizes to Alfred for his behaviour and tells him of his condition. How he went to Paris after their father died and being just like him, he came away with this disease. Alfred wants to know why he didn't tell him sooner and Ernst adds since he's older he should've known better. Having a different reaction from him than he did with Leopold who spoke more of the proclivities of their father. Harriet also tells Ernst she knows of the mercury and she wants to be by his side more than anything, which is all they can do, as he holds her. Leopold suggests Albert should speak with Cumberland regarding the necklace but Albert thinks it should be returned. Victoria telling Albert of how Cumberland would want her to die so he could become king and how she slept in her mother's room for 18 years incase he tried to dispatch her. Alfred not wanting Leopold here but only invited him since it is Christmas.
At the Christmas celebration, Cumberland comes around again with a change of mind and says he doesn't want the necklace. Albert knowing Leopold was behind this but he says the Duchess had more to do with it knowing that he keeps an apartment at St James's Place as it belonged to the crown. Albert still thanks him and Victoria asks Cumberland to stay. Her mother saying she always tried to do her best for her. Exchanging their gifts Victoria loves the emerald encrusted crown and Albert thinks the portrait exquisite. He knows she misses Lehzen who would be her only support and enjoyment at Christmas when she was little, with her box of cherries, but he says they are grown up now, no matter how much she would like to have her back. Oh Albert she was more than a mother figure to her, she was also her friend and confident. Sometimes he came across as being so out of touch with Victoria's feelings, just as he was with Ernst's, not knowing there was something wrong with him, especially when eh smashed the bauble. Being right as there's more to life than mere trinkets and happy memories which are not shared by everyone.
Meanwhile life downstairs takes a turn for the better for Mrs Skerrett (Nell Hudson) and for Penge, but their fortunes don't last long. Penge invests in the Leeds Thirst Railway line which isn't to be and loses his life savings. Whilst Skerrett inherits from a paternal uncle she never knew about. However it's actually slaves in the US that have been left to her, but she can't keep them. Even if Francatelli (Ferdinand Kingsley) says they could start their own hotel. She wants them to be set free and the pompous Lincoln's Inn lawyer says she should get the advice of a man before she does that. Penge and Skerrett drowning their sorrows in wine. However Penge says that anyone should have the right to make their own decisions. They are servants but they are not slaves. She also tells Francatelli this who states he would have told her to do the same had she come to him. He proposes to her asking if she'll accept a man with only a pastry brush to his name. If they find out, they'll be dismissed, but she doesn't care as they want each other.
Thus ended the saga of a Victoria(n) Christmas with the usual fare of unrequited, unwanted and doomed love. Two engagements, two rejections, and Victoria and Albert always doing what is right even if it takes them a while to see it. The title of course referring to the carol God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen as is the season, it was all about what men wanted. Thus Skerett being told to get advice from a man, not having a mind of her own. Though Victoria gets her own way, would she have taken her in if she hadn't been of 'Royal' blood, highly unlikely, if at all. As for Skerrett being given property, of course 'comfort and joy' was no reflection of humanity and what it was like to actually be comfortable and joyful. An episode highlighting slavery and the wrongful machinations of men, if only just touching upon it since it was meant to be about Christmas after all.
Albert was the only one who have designed a tiara for his wife back in 1845 reflecting his creativity and more so his love. Though where those jewels were pillaged from was anyone's guess. Of course tis only TV and I jest at this point in time. But Alfred is still not over his grief as he wears his black armband under his shirt, though he could have worn it under his jacket. If only they hadn't intended to show him shirtless. In a similar scene (almost) Ernst still has his rash and more despair to overcome. Never fear though as Victoria Will Return...
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