Johanna Clara Louise, Baroness von Lehzen (3 October 1784 – 9 September 1870) was the governess and later companion to Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom.

Victoria's upbringing was dominated by the controlling Kensington System, implemented by the widowed Duchess of Kent and her comptroller Sir John Conroy.

Lehzen was a major influence on Victoria's character, in particular giving her the strength of will to survive her troubled childhood and life as a young queen.

[2][6][7] In her second marriage, Princess Victoria had married Prince Edward, Duke of Kent and Strathearn, who was, at the time, fourth in line for the British throne.

[2][3][11] The Duchess and her comptroller, John Conroy made the appointment not only because Lehzen was German (rather than English), but also because they believed she was unlikely to operate independently of their wishes.

[12][13] The historian Christopher Hibbert describes Lehzen as "a handsome woman, despite her pointed nose and chin, clever, emotional, humourless.

In response, her mother and Conroy persuaded the king to award them both titles, so that the princess would not be surrounded by commoners; Lehzen became a Baroness of the Kingdom of Hanover.

[26] King William appointed his friend, the Duchess of Northumberland, as Victoria's official governess in 1831, but the role was mostly ceremonial, and the princess continued to depend on Lehzen.

[24][27][28] During this time, Lehzen held no official position at court; despite her recently acquired title, her commoner status continued to be a hindrance.

[30][31] In 1835, the Duchess of Kent wrote her daughter a stern letter demanding that Victoria develop a more formal and less intimate relationship with Lehzen.

[28] Lehzen aided a weakened Victoria in her refusal to sign a document prepared for her by Conroy and the Duchess that would guarantee him a position when she became queen.

Contrary to the prevailing attitudes of the time, Lehzen, tutor Dr. George Davys, and others successfully encouraged Victoria to enjoy acquiring knowledge.

[36] Gaining an "enlightened education",[37] the princess learned to speak French, German, Latin, and English, liked history[38] and was taught economics, geography, mathematics, politics, art, and music.

[42] In her role, she was installed at Buckingham Palace as a sort of unofficial private secretary, served as chief liaison for the royal residences, and carried the household keys as a sign of her position;[43][44] her signature was required for all payments of tradesmen's bills.

[45] For the first few years of Victoria's reign, especially before her marriage to Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha in 1840, Lehzen had a very strong influence on the queen's outlook on both politics and personal matters, despite the fact that she did not overtly involve herself in state affairs.

Lehzen had opposed Coburg ambitions of Victoria marrying Albert, believing the princess to be a "second Queen Elizabeth, virgin and independent of male influence.

Lehzen placed it in the care of various staff as well as Sir James Clark,[55] despite Albert's objections that the physician was wholly unsuited to the post, having already discredited himself during the affair of Lady Flora Hastings a year previously.

She made a final attempt to defend Lehzen, describing her as a selflessly loyal woman who deserved to remain close to her former charge.

Reports of the cause varied; the court diarist Charles Greville noted she was leaving "for her health (as she says), to stay five or six months, but it is supposed never to return.

[67] After her departure, family adviser Baron Stockmar remarked of the affair that[I]t was not without great difficulty that the Prince succeeded in getting rid of [Lehzen].

[2] After Lehzen's death, Queen Victoria spoke of her gratitude for their relationship, but commented "after I came to the throne she got to be rather trying, and especially so after my marriage... [This was not] from any evil intention, only from a mistaken idea of duty and affection for me.

[72] Despite all of this criticism, the historian Gillian Gill describes how Lehzen was honest and frugal; even after Victoria ascended the throne, she seems to have made no demands for money or rank, preferring instead to simply be in the queen's company.

[4] The historian K. D. Reynolds adds that Lehzen was a major influence on Victoria's character and moral development, in particular giving the queen the strength of will to survive her troubled childhood and young queenship.