Prince Alfred Ernest Albert 1844 - 1900

Prince Alfred Ernest Albert. Painted for Queen Victoria by Franz Winterhalter in 1865. Oil on Canvas Royal Collection.

During a visit to England in 1859-60 The Governor of the Cape Colony, Sir George Grey suggested to Queen Victoria that while her eldest son was about to pay a Royal Visit to America, (to inaugurate the Victoria Bridge across the St. Lawrence) Prince Alfred, her second son, should “confer a similar distinction” on South Africa and act as the Queen’s representative in the ceremony marking the commencement of the harbour improvements in Table Bay. Victoria concurred and Prince Alfred left England on 5th May 1860 aboard the steam frigate “Euryalus” arriving, via Bahia and Rio de Janeiro, in Simon’s Bay on 24th July. Alfred was still only sixteen but had already been in the Navy since the age of twelve.

After touring the Cape for seven weeks, on the 17th of September the Table Bay breakwater ceremony was held and Alfred pulled a trigger to release the first truck-load of rocks for its construction. On 19th of September after inaugurating the newly-completed Prince Alfred’s jetty he embarked on the Euryalus for the journey back to England via St. Helena, Ascension, Sierra Leone and The Azores.

A full account of his one-day visit to St. Helena is described in: “The progress of His Royal Highness Prince Alfred Ernest Albert through the Cape Colony, Kaffraria, the Orange Free State and Port Natal in the year 1860”. Published by Saul Solomon & Co. 1861 it is available to download at books.google.co.uk and edited extracts are given below

Saul Solomon was born on St Helena in 1817, left for South Africa with his family about 1830, and later became an MP for Cape Town and founder of The Cape Argus. His memorial is in St James’ Church, Jamestown.

Ten days after leaving Cape Town day the bold, cloud-capped peak of the island was descried on the horizon, and by eleven a.m. the Euryalus made her way into James' Town harbour. The bustling, loyal Saint Helena men were for once in their lives taken fairly by complete surprise. They had been expecting the Prince, indeed, for weeks before, but an arrival of a few days previous assured them that His Royal Highness could not possibly be there for some time to come. His Excellency the Governor was now at Plantation House, a few miles distant, and the Colonial Secretary, as his representative, proceeded on board to receive the Prince, to suggest that the landing should be delayed a little longer than had been contemplated, and to tender, in His Excellency's name, the services of Lieutenant-Colonel Knipe, Colonial Aide-de-camp, Captain Peile, Royal Artillery, and Captain Tayler, Saint Helena Regiment, as Aides-de-camp to His Royal Highness during his stay on the island. The Prince cordially accepted the proffered loyal compliment, though, as the time at his disposal for witnessing the "lions" of the place was to be brief, he preferred disembarking immediately. But in the short interval which did elapse since it was known that the frigate in the roads was Her Majesty's steamer Euryalus the aspect of the town was completely transformed as if by sudden magic. The flags and banners, bearing their appropriate mottoes, prepared so long in advance and afterwards laid aside in reserve, were now brought forth and over the head school of the Island appeared, in conspicuous characters, the graceful, simple salutation, "SALVE "FILI VICTORIA."

As the Prince's boat reached the wharf, where a great crowd of the inhabitants had assembled, and where the Saint Helena Regiment were mustered as a guard of honour, His Royal Highness was received by the Chief Justice and the principal officers of the Government and the garrison; a thundering salute was fired from the battery of the precipitous Ladder Hill; and having entered the Netherlands Consul's carriage, which was placed there at his disposal, the Prince proceeded onwards to the city, meeting on his route the Volunteer Rifle Company with presented arms, and hailed by enthusiastic cheers from the concourse of people. When near the drawbridge he was met by the Governor, Sir E Drummond-Hay, the Bishop, Dr. Claughton, and His Excellency's Aide-de-camp, Lieutenant-Colonel Knipe. Without waiting for the horses to be properly halted His "Royal Highness with one bound vaulted out of the carriage and shook hands with the Governor in the most cordial manner, and after a little talk they both stepped again into the vehicle and proceeded to the Castle. The sanctioned stay in Saint Helena was limited to that one day, and it was, therefore, of course determined to make the most of it with the least possible waste of time. Accordingly, within a few minutes after the arrival at the Castle a levee was announced, at which His Excellency the Governor presented the officers of the Civil Government and of the Volunteer Rifles, as well as the inhabitants; after which, again, Lieutenant Colonel Beatty, Royal Engineer Commandant, presented the officers of the garrison.

At one o'clock the Prince set out to visit Longwood, with all its memories of the First Napoleon. On arriving there the scene that presented itself was a widely different one from what it had been but four short years before. Then the house in which the great ex-Emperor lived was in a wretchedly dilapidated plight; the room in which he had been laid out in state was converted into a barn, filled with heaps of corn, a threshing machine, and other farming implements; the walls were covered with the unknown names of ambitious aspirants to immortality who had visited the scene; and the bed-rooms, including that in which Napoleon died, had been sacrilegiously transformed into a common stable. As one of the many results, small as well as great, of the recent entente-cordiale between the neighbour nations, this disgraceful state of affairs at Saint Helena has ceased to exist. The residence has been restored much after its original fashion and is kept in the most perfect order; the grounds around are carefully dressed; and the vacant tomb itself is reverently attended to by Monsieur De Rougement, the French official gardien and conservateur specially appointed by Napoleon III, with the willing consent of Her Majesty's Government. On the arrival of Prince Alfred here he was received by Mr. N. Solomon, the acting Vice-Consul for France, who presented Monsieur De Rougement with all fitting ceremony and the young Sailor inspected the house with manifest interest. Returning from these scenes, the Prince and his suite were entertained by their French host to a sumptuous dejeuner, after which the whole party proceeded to James' Town. The next event in the programme of the day was the presentation of new colours to the Saint Helena Regiment. The ceremony was conducted with ample success and eclat, having the added interest of a solemn consecration of the colours and the men who bore them by the Lord Bishop of the Island. The address of the Prince to the regiment was brief, but frank and hearty, and the response of the commanding officer was in the same appropriate strain. Next His Royal Highness proceeded from the Parade to the Castle, to receive addresses from the inhabitants generally, from the clergy of the place, and from the community of liberated Africans settled on the Island. The address of the inhabitants, which was presented by a deputation, spoke forth in glowing language the undoubted loyalty and the honourable self-exaltation of the enterprising Islanders. We quote the following as a sample of it:

"For upwards of two centuries this Island has formed a part of the dominions of the British Sovereign; and, though isolated by our natural position, we feel, and exult in feeling, that we form a component portion of an Empire whose glory has never been surpassed and are subjects of a Sovereign who, secure in her People's love, may well be the proudest that ever graced a throne.

"We regard ourselves as contributing to the strength and security of the British Empire by the advantages with which Nature has endowed our Island. The trade-wind blowing "constantly over us, the depth of water and safe anchorage of our harbour, the numerous springs of purest water afforded by our mountain slopes, the fertility of our cultivated valleys,—all these have combined to obtain for our island the title of' The Inn of the Ocean.

Here the tempest-tossed mariner from the East and the soldier enfeebled by the burning clime of India find an agreeable spot for comfort and refreshment; hither the wrecked and destitute have ofttimes fled for aid and shelter, readily accorded; hither the captured African is brought, and his shackles fall as his feet touch our strand, and he is instructed in that service which is perfect freedom. The traveller, the man of commerce, and the man of science find here a place of pleasant sojourn; and to such our hospitality is ever most cheerfully extended.

His Royal Highness, in his reply, expressed regret that he knew so little of the Island yet, but hoped that in the future exercise of his profession he might have many opportunities of renewing and extending his acquaintance with it.

Next was read, by Bishop Claughton, the address from himself and his diocesan clergy, which, with appropriate variations, was mainly in the same strain as that from the general community. And finally came the following and the most interesting of all from the liberated Africans, of whom a deputation were there assembled to present it:

"We are glad when we see the Son of our Queen, for we can tell him how happy we are that we are her subjects, and how many blessings we enjoy under her rule. And we "hope that Your Royal Highness will tell Her Majesty that we say this, because we know that it is owing to her and her people that we were set free from slavery and delivered from cruel masters, and are now able to get our living by our own labour.

And we wish to say that we have been taught the good religion, which we believe has both made the English people so strong and caused them to think of us in our land, where we were suffering such cruelty and sorrow.

And will Your Royal Highness tell the Queen that we have looked upon the face of her Son, and shall not forget him, and that for Her Majesty and her husband and all the "Royal Family we shall always pray to God through Jesus Christ.

By this time the afternoon was well spent, and shortly after six the Prince, attended as before, set out to the Governor's country residence at Plantation, where a large company had been invited to meet His Royal Highness at dinner. This comfortable and spacious mansion is distant some four miles from the town, and is situated in a rich valley, which, with its abundant avenues of oaks and firs, may be considered as the garden of the Island. On the Prince's arrival here the whole of the Saint Helena Militia were mustered and drawn up on the lawn in front. As His Royal Highness approached the infantry presented arms, the artillery fired a salute, and their band played out "God save the Queen," for all which marks of loyalty and respect the young Prince warmly complimented the corps and their commanding officers.

While these events were proceeding at Plantation, signals were hoisted from the loftiest signal-hill, conveying the information all over the Island that at nine o'clock His Excellency would give a ball at his town residence in the Castle, and this, according to previous arrangement, was the somewhat novel and peculiar fashion of the invitation. But novel and peculiar though it was, it certainly was perfectly successful; and punctually to the appointed hour the ball-room was amply filled, and dancing was commenced without delay. At a quarter to ten the Prince, with the Governor, arrived from Plantation. The town was brilliantly illuminated in all directions; the streets were filled with cheering Islanders; and at the entrance to the Castle a guard of honour was posted in waiting for the Royal Visitor. But the scene which showed immeasurably finer than any on the Island, and that might well compare with the best of the sort he had seen in Africa, was arranged as he proceeded down the steep slope to the town. The long street through which he passed was lit up with a thousand Chinese lanterns. At a given sign the Great Inclined Plane, or so-called Ladder to the precipitous battery rocks six hundred feet above, was illuminated by chains of blue lights; while innumerable rockets shot up into the sky from the highest summit of the mountain. As the Prince entered the ball-room, dancing, of course, immediately ceased, and, the company rising, the band of the Saint Helena Regiment performed the National Anthem. A few minutes more were spent in receiving and replying to an address from the Masons of the Island; when dancing was again resumed, in which the Prince, like a young sailor as he was, joined with right hearty vigour. But the time fixed for embarkation was drawing rapidly nigh; and at a quarter to twelve His Royal Highness left the ball-room, leading Lady Drummond-Hay on his arm, the band, meanwhile, again striking up " God save "the Queen." From the ball-room to the wharf the distance was short, and, accompanied by the Governor and a numerous staff, he arrived there within a few minutes after midnight. Approaching the landing-place, he was lighted to the jetty by blue lights, and while he bade a cordial farewell to Sir Drummond Hay and his immediate friends, the assembled crowd cheered vehemently. As, in the dense darkness, the boat rowed slowly off from the Old Rock, loud, loyal cheers for the Prince and for the Queen followed it across the waters, and within a few minutes more the Royal Mid was again on board the Euryalus, and early next morning the frigate was bowling with a fair breeze on her way northward.

 

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