The Universal Register

Book Two

Constitution Hill

1840 to 1841

A wreath of white orange blossom, browning at the edges, and a plain gold wedding ring on black crepe, beside a black-bordered letter whose red seal, stamped with a crown, is broken in two. Crown on the Potomac Constitution Hill Book Two 1840 to 1841

June 1840. Queen Victoria, twenty-one, four months married and four months with child, is driving up Constitution Hill when a young man steps out of the crowd and fires two pistols at her carriage. In our history he missed. In this one he does not, and every Crown she held passes to her uncle, the King of Hanover, sixty-nine and the most hated man in England.

Constitution Hill follows five men through the eleven months after: the husband who has no place without her; the Prime Minister who must govern for a King he distrusts; the King who observes every form and tests every one; and, an ocean and thirty-eight days behind the news, the Governor-General and the Prime Minister of America, who have to find out whether they have a King at all.

Each chapter opens with a short extract from the Universal Register, the encyclopedia of the world the book is set in. The extracts are quoted from the Register as it stands; the chapters show what happened in the rooms it was not in.

Begin reading: Chapter One, Queen's Weather → Characters

Part One: The Wedding (February to June 1840)

  1. 1 Queen's Weather Prince Albert. Published 4 October 2026.
  2. 2 A Wedding Present Henry Clay. Published 4 October 2026.
  3. 3 A Majority of Nine Lord Melbourne. Published 4 October 2026.
  4. 4 The Right Hand John Quincy Adams. Published 4 October 2026.
  5. 5 By Heart Prince Albert. Published 4 October 2026.

Part Two: Constitution Hill (June to July 1840)

  1. 6 A Hundred Yards Prince Albert. Published 4 October 2026.
  2. 7 Five Hours John Quincy Adams. Published 4 October 2026.
  3. 8 Liege Lord Lord Melbourne. Published 4 October 2026.
  4. 9 The Child to Come Henry Clay. Published 4 October 2026.
  5. 10 An Old Soldier Ernest I. Published 4 October 2026.
  6. 11 Chief Mourner Prince Albert. Published 4 October 2026.
  7. 12 Charter Day John Quincy Adams. Published 4 October 2026.
  8. 13 His Majesty's Pleasure Lord Melbourne. Published 4 October 2026.

Part Three: The Crossing (July to August 1840)

  1. 14 The British Queen Henry Clay. Published 4 October 2026.
  2. 15 In His Own Hand Ernest I. Published 4 October 2026.
  3. 16 Heirs and Successors John Quincy Adams. Published 4 October 2026.
  4. 17 Le Roy le Veult Lord Melbourne. Published 4 October 2026.
  5. 18 A Council of Whoever Is in Town Henry Clay. Published 4 October 2026.
  6. 19 Make Known John Quincy Adams. Published 4 October 2026.

Part Four: The First Winter (August 1840 to January 1841)

  1. 20 Twenty-One Prince Albert. Published 4 October 2026.
  2. 21 The Confidence of the House Lord Melbourne. Published 5 October 2026.
  3. 22 A House in Scotland Ernest I. Published 5 October 2026.
  4. 23 One at a Time Henry Clay. Published 5 October 2026.
  5. 24 A Paper Royal Highness Prince Albert. Published 5 October 2026.
  6. 25 It Is My Duty John Quincy Adams. Published 5 October 2026.
  7. 26 In the Proper Form Ernest I. Published 5 October 2026.
  8. 27 Seventy Henry Clay. Published 5 October 2026.
  9. 28 By Water Prince Albert. Published 5 October 2026.
  10. 29 By Violence Lord Melbourne. Published 5 October 2026.
  11. 30 God Save the King Ernest I. Published 5 October 2026.