What have members and supporters of OHCT got in common with Donald Trump?

Not much. But they have both attended events at The Orangery at Blenheim Palace recently.

The President was there earlier this year for a gala dinner, with the venue chosen for its splendour and the security it offered.

Security was rather less of an issue for people attending the OHCT annual Blenheim Lecture, and wonderful supper, last month.

Splendour abounded, however, not just in the surroundings but also the quality of the talk and the company.

Victoria: Liberation Through Heartbreak was the title of the lecture given by A. N. Wilson, the celebrated author and biographer, to a sell-out audience of 115 people.

Attendees heard him overturn the accepted narrative of Queen Victoria’s life – unhappy childhood, happy marriage, and inactive and secluded bereavement.

Instead, A.N. Wilson painted a picture of a passionate and lively woman who put up with a controlling and cheerless husband, and the exhausting births of nine children, because of her love for Albert: but who was then liberated after his death to become her own person and a much more active and involved monarch than history (ie Gladstone ) has led us to believe.

It was a stimulating and provocative lecture.

We are most grateful, not just to A.N. Wilson, but also to the Duke of Marlborough and his staff for their hospitality and welcome.