7. Queen Victoria
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In the late Victorian era, a movement called Spiritualism, in which people talked to ghosts, became popular with all social classes in Great Britain. Many of the era’s greatest figures participated, including Queen Victoria herself. The queen and Prince Albert, her husband, were deeply interested in Spiritualism, regularly attending seances and other psychic meetings.
When Albert died in 1861, Victoria was devastated. Grieving in the only way that made sense to her, she searched for a medium who could help her make contact with her dead husband. She knew that many mediums were frauds but finally found one who seemed genuine: Robert James Lees, a 13-year-old medium who claimed to channel the spirit of Albert.
She sent her courtiers to investigate the young medium. After impressing them with impossible-to-know details of Albert’s personal life, Lees was invited to see the queen at Buckingham Palace.
He went to the palace nine times. Each time, Victoria was left completely at his whim, prompting her to ask him to become resident medium of her royal household. The boy refused, promising that she could continue communicating through Albert’s former gun boy, John Brown. For more than 30 years, Brown remained Victoria’s medium, having a complete hold over her.
After Brown’s death, the queen wanted to publish a study of his seances. But her courtiers convinced her that public knowledge of her reliance on a medium might damage her reputation. She agreed not to publish the study, and the history of Victoria’s interest in Spiritualism was swept under the rug.
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