William Lamb, 2nd Viscount Melbourne and her mother's adviser, Sir John Conroy. Over the next four years Melbourne trained her in the art of politics, and the two became friends: Victoria was quoted as saying she considered him like a father (her own had died when she was only eight months old), and Melbourne's son had died at a young age. Melbourne was given a private apartment at Windsor Castle, and unfounded rumours circulated for a time that Victoria would marry Melbourne, 40 years her senior. Tutoring Victoria was the climax of Melbourne's career: the prime minister spent four to five hours a day visiting
Lady Caroline Lamb Lady Caroline Lamb Lady Caroline Lamb (née Ponsonby; 13 November 1785 – 25 January 1828), known as the Honourable Caroline Ponsonby until her father succeeded to the earldom in 1793, was an Anglo-Irish aristocrat and novelist, best known for her work Glenarvon, a Gothic novel. She is also known for her affair with Lord Byron in 1812. Her husband was The Hon. William Lamb, who later became Viscount Melbourne and Prime Minister. However, she was never the Viscountess Melbourne because she died before Melbourne succeeded to the peerage. She was the only daughter of Frederick Ponsonby, 3rd Earl of Bessborough,