Annie’s father, George Smith, moved from rural Lincolnshire to London to join the royal family’s household calvary. As such, he was present for the funeral of King William IV and the coronation of Queen Victoria in 1838, and for her marriage to Prince Albert in 1840.

George was romantically involved with a servant from Sussex, Ruth Chapman. However, soldiers in the British army were discouraged from marrying, and Ruth gave birth to a daughter out of wedlock, Annie Eliza Smith, in September of 1841. The situation put Ruth in the position of a soldier’s lover, a “dolly-wop.” She would have lost her job as a servant, but she would have been given a paying job doing laundry and sewing for the army.

Had George been assigned overseas, Ruth would have been left without any financial support. Like many dolly-wops whose husbands were stationed in a foreign country, Ruth would have likely had to find another partner in the army willing to take care of her and her daughter. Luckily, George instead remained in Britain and got permission to marry Ruth. They finally married on February 20, 1842. To help legitimize their daughter, the date of their marriage was backdated to two years, to before Annie was born.