 The historian who discovered the letter believed that it suggested that Victoria, in her mind, equated Brown's death with Albert's, and that she therefore viewed him as more than a servant, but also as a good friend and confidant.Whether Brown and Victoria were actual lovers, however, is not known.John Brown died, aged 56, at Windsor Castle on 27 March 1883, and is buried in Crathie Kirkyard, in the next plot to his parents and a number of his siblings.