Princess Alice of the United Kingdom papers to and from her government ministers, while the Queen secluded herself from all public life. Alice was aided in this task by her younger sister Princess Louise. Although Princess Helena, Louise's elder sister, would normally have been selected to assist, her inability to go long without crying was held against her. Alice's matrimonial plans were begun in 1860 by her mother. Queen Victoria had expressed her wish that her children should marry for love, but this did not mean that her choice of suitors would necessarily be extended to anybody outside the royal houses of Europe. Raising a British
Helena, Marchioness of Northampton in London. In the funeral procession, she walked close behind the Queen's coffin, supported by the Lord High Treasurer and the Lord High Admiral of England. This is mentioned as apogee of her career. In July 1603, Helena and Thomas took part in the coronation of the new monarch, James I and his wife Anne of Denmark. Shortly afterward, they moved to Longford from plague-ridden London. The accession of James I meant that Helena was demoted from the new queen's privy chamber. However both occasionally served at the new Court and in other royal tasks. Helena brokered the king's relations