1876 Prince Leiningen, Royal Yacht VICTORIA & ALBERT, Cherbourg, Queen VICTORIA
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1876 Prince Leiningen, Fine letter dated 6th April, 41 Pall Mall. S.W. to Sir Henry Ponsonby, Queen Victoria's Private Secretary, regarding the Royal Yacht VICTORIA & ALBERT, and proposal to use Cherbourg, to collect Queen Victoria after her visit to Coburg
My Dear Ponsonby,
Biddulph has just spoken to me about the yacht going into "Calais" or "Boulogue". The former place simply is an impossibility and the second is not safe on account of the size and length of ship and the strong tides which run across the entrance of harbour. Neither is Dover or Folkestone fit for the yacht to go alongside of on this side of water.
If any more questions are asked please let it be understood that I most positively decline and refuse to take the Victoria and Albert either to Calais or Boulogne, in fact into any harbours on that coast except Cherbourg or Antwerp.
What I predicted has happened: the Admiralty have published the most unjust and undeserved reprimand which they thought fit to send Welch and myself in December last. Just watch the row there now will be !!
Please let me know when convenient on what day and where H.M. will re-embark, as I have to inform the Admiralty officialy.Believe me to remain faithfully yoursLEININGEN. FROM QUEEN VICTORIA'S DIARY Entry Page 75 for 21st APRIL 1876 It had poured in the night. Did not sleep very soundly. At Meaux at 8.20. we stopped for breakfast for ½ an hour. The Cathedral looked very fine, as well as other Churches. At 9. 40 we were outside Paris, & here, just outside a small temporaryPage [76]Pavillion stood Maréchal Mc Mahon, the President, & Ld Lyons, accompanied by Gen: D'Absac (the President's A.D.C.) & Mr Adams Secy of the Embassy. The door of my saloon was opened & the Maréchal & Ld Lyons got in, the latter leaving almost directly & the former remaining. I asked him to sit down on the sofa near me. He has very white hair with a florid complexion, & seems robust & alert. He talked of his family & relations the Harcourts, &c — of everything appearing peaceable, saying "la France a view besoin de la paix". The interview lasted only a few minutes & then he left, & we proceeded on our way. We could see the streets of Paris & the Arch de Triomphe quite clearly. The lilacs & fruit trees were beautiful in the gardens in the suburbs. At ½ we got to Evreux, beautifully situated with a magnificent Cathedral. Had some luncheon, which had been brought in at Paris. ReachedPage 77Cherbourg at ½ p. 6, where the Admiral was very civil. Got at once into our barge, which was covered over & went on board the "Victoria & Albert". The rain cleared off & the evening was fine. After having a cup of tea, walked about on deck, & then went below. Beatrice & I dined alone. Ernst Leopold, 4th Prince of Leiningen (German: Ernst Leopold Victor Carl August Joseph Emich, Furst zu Leiningen; 9 November 1830 – 5 April 1904) was a German nobleman who served with distinction in the British Royal Navy. BiographyHe was the elder son of Carl, 3rd Prince of Leiningen and Countess Maria Klebelsberg. His father was the maternal half-brother of Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom. Ernst Leopold joined the Royal Navy in 1849.[1] He acceded to the title of Prince of Leiningen on his father's death on 13 November 1856. Promoted to Captain in 1860, he commanded HMS Magicienne and then HMY Victoria and Albert.[1] He served as Commander-in-Chief, The Nore in 1885–87,[2] was promoted to full Admiral in 1887[3] and retired from the Navy in 1895.He received the following awards:Knight Grand Cross of the Saxe-Ernestine House Order in 1855. Knight of the House Order of Fidelity and Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the Zähringer Lion in 1858. Knight Commander of the civil division of the Order of the Bath in 1863,[7] a Knight Grand Cross in 1866[8] and an honorary Knight Grand Cross in the military division in 1887,[9] amended to additional Knight Grand Cross later that year. Knight Grand Cross of the Ludwig Order in 1867. ] Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the Dannebrog in 1870. Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the Württemberg Crown in 1894.Marriage and issue.On 11 September 1858 in Karlsruhe he married Princess Marie of Baden (1834–1899), second daughter and seventh child of Leopold, Grand Duke of Baden and Sophie of Sweden. They had two children:.Princess Alberta of Leiningen (23 July 1863[14] – 30 August 1901)..Emich, 5th Prince of Leiningen (18 January 1866 – 18 July 1939) he married Princess Feodore of Hohenlohe-Langenburg on 12 July 1894. They have five childrenFURTHER INFO DEATH OF ADMIRAL THE PRINCE OF LEININGEN.We regret to have to announce the death of Admiral his Serene Highness the Prince of Leiningen, G.C.B., G.C.V.O., which occurred yesterday morning, after a short illness, at Amorbach, Bavaria.Ernest Leopold Victor Charles August Joseph Emich, Reigning Prince of Leiningen, Count Palatine of Mosbach, Count of Dürn, and Lord of Amorbach, Miltenberg, Bischofsheim, Boxberg, and Lauda, was born at Amorbach on November 9, 1830, and was the eldest son of Charles, Reigning Prince of Leiningen, a half-brother of her late Majesty Queen Victoria, through the second marriage of his mother, the Princess Victoria Maria Louisa of Leiningen, a daughter of the Duke of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld, to his Royal Highness the Duke of Kent, the fourth son of George III.The Prince entered the Navy in March, 1849, and as a midshipman in the Hastings, flagship of Rear-Admiral Austen, Commander-in-Chief in the East Indies, and then in the paddle-sloop Sphynx served during the second Burmese war, 1851-52, being present at the capture of Prome and other operations. In the latter part of 1853 he was appointed midshipman in the Britannia, the flagship of Vice-Admiral [James Whitley Deans] Dundas, the Commander-in-Chief in the Mediterranean, and on the outbreak of the war with Russia was fortunate enough to be selected for service with a small detachment of bluejackets, which, under the command of Lieutenant Glyn of the Britannia, were sent up the Danube at the end of June to man some small river gunboats at Rustchuk, then the headquarters of Omar Pasha, the Commander-In-Chief of the Turkish forces. Travelling rapidly on horseback from the coast the small party of seamen, with some 30 sappers, arrived at Rustchuk on July 10, three days after a small Turkish force had seized Giurgevo, on the opposite or northern bank of the Danube. Against this force Prince Gortschakoff was now moving with 70,000 men, intent on driving the Turks back across the river, and Omar Pasha, immediately turning the gunboats over to Lieutenant Glyn, directed him at all hazards to hold a creek which separated the Russian forces from the town. Checked in his advance by their fire, Prince Gortschakoff, uncertain as to the strength of the English force which he was now facing, hesitated. While he was hesitating, English and Turks were working hard, and the sappers under Captain Bent, R.E., assisted by the seamen, succeeded in throwing a bridge of boats across the river to Giurgevo; upon which Prince Gortschakoff, seeing he would have to deal with the whole Turkish army, fell back upon Bukarest, leaving the Turks masters of the lower Danube. For his services while employed with the Turkish army the Prince of Leiningen received from the Turkish Government a gold medal for distinguished service in the field, and was further promoted to lieutenant as soon as he had passed the necessary examinations. In April, 1855, he was appointed as lieutenant to the Duke of Wellington, the flagship of Rear-Admiral Dundas in the Baltic, and in that ship and the Cossack he took part in the bombardment of Sveaborg and other operations in the Baltic.As a captain, the Prince commanded, the Magicienne, one of the 16-gun paddle frigates in the Mediterranean, 1862-63, and from her was transferred to the command of the Royal yacht, which appointment he held until his promotion to rear-admiral on December 31, 1876. It was almost during the last year of his tenure of the command of the yacht that the unfortunate collision occurred between the Alberta, which on the evening of August 18, 1875, was conveying her late Majesty from Cowes to Portsmouth, and the small schooner yacht Mistletoe, resulting in the sinking of the latter and the drowning of Miss Peel, a young lady on board at the time, with the mate and one of her crew, while the sailing-master also succumbed to injuries he received from a falling spar. At the time of the collision the Alberta was crossing Stokes Bay, and on her bridge were the Prince of Leiningen, Commander Fullerton, and Staff-Captain Welch, who was navigating her. It may he mentioned that Captain Welch had had charge of the Alberta and her predecessor, the Fairy, for 27 years, during the whole of which long period not a single mishap had occurred to either vessel while in his hands, and it may be safely said that no more experienced or skilful navigating officer could be found anywhere.The Mistletoe, which was the property of a Mr. Hayward, of Manchester, had been cruising about Spithead all the afternoon, and there seems no doubt that she had edged down in order that the Royal yacht should pass close to her; immediately before the collision she was running with the wind well free ahead of the Alberta and steering an almost identical course, and it was, of course the duty of the Alberta to keep clear of her; but it was also equally the duty of those in charge of the Mistletoe, when they found the Royal yacht rapidly approaching, to keep steady on their course without altering their helm until the steamer had passed. Owing to the carelessness with which many yachts were sailed and the curiosity of people on board them to see the Queen, the Alberta on these passages was continually having close shaves, but, steaming fast, she answered her helm easily, and, as she was smartly handled, no accident had ever occurred. On the present occasion, Captain Welch naturally imagined that the Mistletoe would, in accordance with the rules of the road, keep steadily on her course, and as the Alberta approached he altered her helm to pass clear. Unfortunately the man at the helm of the Mistletoe seems to have lost his head at the rapid approach of the Alberta, and, putting his helm down, he threw her right across the latter’s bows with the disastrous results recorded. The unfortunate incident naturally caused great excitement at the time, and the handling of the Alberta was subjected to much hostile criticism, while so strong was the feeling at Portsmouth against the Prince of Leiningen and his officers that they had to be protected by the police on their way to and from the Court-house, where the inquest on the bodies of the victims was held. The coroner's jury brought in a verdict of manslaughter against the Prince and Captain Welch, but the bill was of course thrown out by the grand jury at the next assizes. On the other hand, the Court of inquiry which was held at Portsmouth fully exonerated the Prince and his officers, and there seems to be no doubt that this verdict was the just one.In the spring of 1880 the Prince of Leiningen was selected to succeed Rear-Admiral Waddilove as Second-in-Command in the Channel, but, Mr. Gladstone's Government coming into office before the appointment had been officially gazetted, Lord Northbrook, the new First Lord, took the very unusual step of cancelling it; so it was not until July 1, 1885, when he was appointed to the Command at the Nore, that the Prince had an opportunity of hoisting his flag, which he then flew for two years. This was his last service, and he retired under the age regulations in November, 1895. It was a great disappointment to the Prince that he never attained to the command of one of our active fleets, and there is no doubt that he felt keenly the slight put upon him by Mr. Gladstone’s Government in the revoking of his appointment.: Since he hauled down his flag at Sheerness the Prince has resided mostly at Amorbach. He married at Carlsruhe on September 11, 1858, the Princess Mary of Baden, who died on November 21, 1899, and by whom he had two children, Prince Emich Charles, who succeeds as Reigning Prince, and Princess Albertine, who died August 30, 1901. Prince Emich married in 1894 his second cousin, Princess Feodora Victoria Alberta of Hohenlohe-Langenburg, second daughter of his Serene Highness Hermann, Reigning Prince of Hohenlohe-Langenburg, whose mother was a half-sister of Queen Victoria. There are three sons and one daughter issue of the marriage - namely Princess Victoria, Prince Emich (who now becomes Hereditary Prince), born in 1896, Prince Friedrich, and Prince Hermann.The House of Leiningen is one of the princely families of South Germany who were mediatised after the Congress of Vienna, the founder of the line being John Philip Count of Leiningen, Dagsburg, and Hartenburg, who was born on December 25, 1539, but it was not until 1779 that the rank of Princes of the Holy Roman Empire was conferred upon his successors.Major-General Sir Henry Frederick Ponsonby GCB PC (10 December 1825 – 21 November 1895), was a British soldier and royal court official who served as Queen Victoria's Private Secretary Born in Corfu, he was the son of Major-General Sir Frederick Cavendish Ponsonby, an Anglo-Irish nobleman who was a senior commander in the British Army.He entered the army on 27 December 1842 as an ensign in the 49th Regiment of Foot. Transferred to the Grenadier Guards, he became a lieutenant on 16 February 1844, captain on 18 July 1848, and major on 19 October 1849. From 1847 to 1858 he was aide-de-camp to Lord Clarendon and Lord St. Germans, successively lord-lieutenants of Ireland. He served through the Crimean campaigns of 1855–56, becoming lieutenant-colonel on 31 Aug. 1855; for the action before Sebastopol he received a medal with clasp, the Turkish medal, and the Order of the Medjidie, 3rd Class.After the peace he was appointed equerry to Albert, Prince Consort, who greatly valued his services. On 2 August 1860 he became colonel, and in 1862, after the death of the prince, he was sent to Canada in command of a battalion of the Grenadier Guards which was stationed in the colony during the American Civil War. On 6 March 1868 he became a major-general.Ponsonby embellished letters to his children at Eton with a series of illustrations in which he concealed the school's address. It was a family quirk continued by his son, Arthur Ponsonby, and recently revived by descendant Harriet Russell. His letters bore addresses appearing as doodled signposts in snowstorms or as huge envelopes shouldered by tiny people.He served as Keeper of the Privy Purse and Private Secretary to Queen Victoria. His appointment occurred on 8 April 1870, after the death of prior Private Secretary General Sir Charles Grey, who was "a son of Earl Grey, the Prime Minister" at the time and who was wife Mary Ponsonby's "Uncle Charles." Both Arthur and Mary Ponsonby contributed pseudonymously to magazines and newspapers of the day.On 6 January 1895 he was attacked by paralysis; in May he retired from his offices, and on 21 November he died at East Cowes on the Isle of Wight. He was buried at Whippingham.On 30 April 1861, he married Hon. Mary Elizabeth Bulteel, Maid of Honour to Queen Victoria and a daughter of John Crocker Bulteel (1793–1843) MP. The couple had five children:Alberta Victoria Ponsonby (6 May 1862 – 15 October 1945) Magdalen Ponsonby (24 June 1864 – 1 July 1934) John Ponsonby (25 March 1866 – 26 March 1952) Frederick Edward Grey Ponsonby (16 September 1867 – 20 October 1935) Arthur Augustus William Harry Ponsonby (16 February 1871 – 24 March 1946) Lady Caroline Lamb (née Ponsonby), his father's sister, had been married to Lord Melbourne, a crucial advisor to Queen Victoria during her first years on the throne Fresh to the Market Place, from Major-General Sir John Ponsonby's Collection For more from this collection see our shop category for SIR JOHN PONSONBY COLLECTION John Ponsonby (British Army officer)From Wikipedia, the free encyclopediaMajor-General Sir John Ponsonby KCB CMG DSO (25 March 1866 – 26 March 1952) was a British Army officer who commanded 5th Division during World War I Born the son of Sir Henry Ponsonby (Queen Victoria's Private Secretary), his Mother Hon. Mary Elizabeth Ponsonby, Maid of Honour to Queen Victoria and a daughter of John Crocker Bulteel.His brothers were Frederick Ponsonby, ( Assistant Private Secretary to Edward VII & GV), and Arthur Augustus William Harry Ponsonby, 1st Baron Ponsonby of Shulbrede, (British politician, writer, and social activist).Sir John was educated at Eton College, He was gazetted to the Royal Irish Rifles 16 November 1887, and to the Coldstream Guards 15 August 1888, becoming Lieutenant 29 June 1891. He was ADC to the Governor and Commander-in-Chief, South Africa, 10 August 1891 to 30 January 1895; served in operations in Matabeleland (Medal); was promoted to Captain 7 September 1898, and in that year served in Uganda (Medal), and again in 1899, during the operations against Kabarega (clasp). Captain Ponsonby served in the South African War, 1899-1902, on special service with the Rhodesian Field Force, 19 February 1900 to 7 July 1901. He was Adjutant, 5th New Zealand Regiment, 8 June 1900 to 1 January 1901; afterwards in command 1 January to 18 January 1901. From February to May 1900, be was employed with Mounted Infantry, and he took part in operations in the Transvaal, west of Pretoria, from July to 29 November 1900; operations in the Transvaal, February to June 1901; operations in Cape Colony, February to 31 May 1902. He was mentioned in Despatches [London Gazette, 10 September 1901]; received the Queen's Medal with four clasps, the King's Medal with two clasps, and was created a Companion of the Distinguished Service Order [London Gazette, 27 September 1901]: "John Ponsonby, Captain, Coldstream Guards. In recognition of services during the operations in South Africa". The Insignia were presented by the King 27 October 1901. He was promoted to Major 23 January 1904, and commanded the Guards' Depot 1 March 1905 to 28 February 1907. He became Lieutenant Colonel 28 October 1913. Lieutenant Colonel Ponsonby served in the European War, 1914—18; commanded the 2nd Guards Brigade, BEF, 26 August 1915 to 19 November 1916: was given the Brevet of Colonel 1 January 1916; commanded the Special Reserve Infantry Brigade 28 November 1916 to 7 March 1917; commanded the 21st Infantry Brigade, BEF, 8 March to 20 March 1917; became Colonel 20 March 1917; commanded the 2nd Guards Brigade, British Armies in France, 21 March to 21 August 1917; commanded the 40th Division, British Armies in France, 22 August 1917 to 3 July 1918; subsequently commanded the 5th Division, British Armies in France, 4 July 1918 to 1 April 1919; was promoted to Major General 1 January 1919. He was mentioned in Despatches; created a CMG in 1915, a CB in 1918, and was given the Brevet of Colonel.He went on to become General Officer Commanding 5th Division remaining in that role until the end of the War. After the War he became General Officer Commanding the Madras District of India. He retired in 1928.
Biddulph has just spoken to me about the yacht going into "Calais" or "Boulogue". The former place simply is an impossibility and the second is not safe on account of the size and length of ship and the strong tides which run across the entrance of harbour. Neither is Dover or Folkestone fit for the yacht to go alongside of on this side of water.
If any more questions are asked please let it be understood that I most positively decline and refuse to take the Victoria and Albert either to Calais or Boulogne, in fact into any harbours on that coast except Cherbourg or Antwerp.
What I predicted has happened: the Admiralty have published the most unjust and undeserved reprimand which they thought fit to send Welch and myself in December last. Just watch the row there now will be !!
Please let me know when convenient on what day and where H.M. will re-embark, as I have to inform the Admiralty officialy.Believe me to remain faithfully yoursLEININGEN. FROM QUEEN VICTORIA'S DIARY Entry Page 75 for 21st APRIL 1876 It had poured in the night. Did not sleep very soundly. At Meaux at 8.20. we stopped for breakfast for ½ an hour. The Cathedral looked very fine, as well as other Churches. At 9. 40 we were outside Paris, & here, just outside a small temporaryPage [76]Pavillion stood Maréchal Mc Mahon, the President, & Ld Lyons, accompanied by Gen: D'Absac (the President's A.D.C.) & Mr Adams Secy of the Embassy. The door of my saloon was opened & the Maréchal & Ld Lyons got in, the latter leaving almost directly & the former remaining. I asked him to sit down on the sofa near me. He has very white hair with a florid complexion, & seems robust & alert. He talked of his family & relations the Harcourts, &c — of everything appearing peaceable, saying "la France a view besoin de la paix". The interview lasted only a few minutes & then he left, & we proceeded on our way. We could see the streets of Paris & the Arch de Triomphe quite clearly. The lilacs & fruit trees were beautiful in the gardens in the suburbs. At ½ we got to Evreux, beautifully situated with a magnificent Cathedral. Had some luncheon, which had been brought in at Paris. ReachedPage 77Cherbourg at ½ p. 6, where the Admiral was very civil. Got at once into our barge, which was covered over & went on board the "Victoria & Albert". The rain cleared off & the evening was fine. After having a cup of tea, walked about on deck, & then went below. Beatrice & I dined alone. Ernst Leopold, 4th Prince of Leiningen (German: Ernst Leopold Victor Carl August Joseph Emich, Furst zu Leiningen; 9 November 1830 – 5 April 1904) was a German nobleman who served with distinction in the British Royal Navy. BiographyHe was the elder son of Carl, 3rd Prince of Leiningen and Countess Maria Klebelsberg. His father was the maternal half-brother of Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom. Ernst Leopold joined the Royal Navy in 1849.[1] He acceded to the title of Prince of Leiningen on his father's death on 13 November 1856. Promoted to Captain in 1860, he commanded HMS Magicienne and then HMY Victoria and Albert.[1] He served as Commander-in-Chief, The Nore in 1885–87,[2] was promoted to full Admiral in 1887[3] and retired from the Navy in 1895.He received the following awards:Knight Grand Cross of the Saxe-Ernestine House Order in 1855. Knight of the House Order of Fidelity and Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the Zähringer Lion in 1858. Knight Commander of the civil division of the Order of the Bath in 1863,[7] a Knight Grand Cross in 1866[8] and an honorary Knight Grand Cross in the military division in 1887,[9] amended to additional Knight Grand Cross later that year. Knight Grand Cross of the Ludwig Order in 1867. ] Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the Dannebrog in 1870. Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the Württemberg Crown in 1894.Marriage and issue.On 11 September 1858 in Karlsruhe he married Princess Marie of Baden (1834–1899), second daughter and seventh child of Leopold, Grand Duke of Baden and Sophie of Sweden. They had two children:.Princess Alberta of Leiningen (23 July 1863[14] – 30 August 1901)..Emich, 5th Prince of Leiningen (18 January 1866 – 18 July 1939) he married Princess Feodore of Hohenlohe-Langenburg on 12 July 1894. They have five childrenFURTHER INFO DEATH OF ADMIRAL THE PRINCE OF LEININGEN.We regret to have to announce the death of Admiral his Serene Highness the Prince of Leiningen, G.C.B., G.C.V.O., which occurred yesterday morning, after a short illness, at Amorbach, Bavaria.Ernest Leopold Victor Charles August Joseph Emich, Reigning Prince of Leiningen, Count Palatine of Mosbach, Count of Dürn, and Lord of Amorbach, Miltenberg, Bischofsheim, Boxberg, and Lauda, was born at Amorbach on November 9, 1830, and was the eldest son of Charles, Reigning Prince of Leiningen, a half-brother of her late Majesty Queen Victoria, through the second marriage of his mother, the Princess Victoria Maria Louisa of Leiningen, a daughter of the Duke of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld, to his Royal Highness the Duke of Kent, the fourth son of George III.The Prince entered the Navy in March, 1849, and as a midshipman in the Hastings, flagship of Rear-Admiral Austen, Commander-in-Chief in the East Indies, and then in the paddle-sloop Sphynx served during the second Burmese war, 1851-52, being present at the capture of Prome and other operations. In the latter part of 1853 he was appointed midshipman in the Britannia, the flagship of Vice-Admiral [James Whitley Deans] Dundas, the Commander-in-Chief in the Mediterranean, and on the outbreak of the war with Russia was fortunate enough to be selected for service with a small detachment of bluejackets, which, under the command of Lieutenant Glyn of the Britannia, were sent up the Danube at the end of June to man some small river gunboats at Rustchuk, then the headquarters of Omar Pasha, the Commander-In-Chief of the Turkish forces. Travelling rapidly on horseback from the coast the small party of seamen, with some 30 sappers, arrived at Rustchuk on July 10, three days after a small Turkish force had seized Giurgevo, on the opposite or northern bank of the Danube. Against this force Prince Gortschakoff was now moving with 70,000 men, intent on driving the Turks back across the river, and Omar Pasha, immediately turning the gunboats over to Lieutenant Glyn, directed him at all hazards to hold a creek which separated the Russian forces from the town. Checked in his advance by their fire, Prince Gortschakoff, uncertain as to the strength of the English force which he was now facing, hesitated. While he was hesitating, English and Turks were working hard, and the sappers under Captain Bent, R.E., assisted by the seamen, succeeded in throwing a bridge of boats across the river to Giurgevo; upon which Prince Gortschakoff, seeing he would have to deal with the whole Turkish army, fell back upon Bukarest, leaving the Turks masters of the lower Danube. For his services while employed with the Turkish army the Prince of Leiningen received from the Turkish Government a gold medal for distinguished service in the field, and was further promoted to lieutenant as soon as he had passed the necessary examinations. In April, 1855, he was appointed as lieutenant to the Duke of Wellington, the flagship of Rear-Admiral Dundas in the Baltic, and in that ship and the Cossack he took part in the bombardment of Sveaborg and other operations in the Baltic.As a captain, the Prince commanded, the Magicienne, one of the 16-gun paddle frigates in the Mediterranean, 1862-63, and from her was transferred to the command of the Royal yacht, which appointment he held until his promotion to rear-admiral on December 31, 1876. It was almost during the last year of his tenure of the command of the yacht that the unfortunate collision occurred between the Alberta, which on the evening of August 18, 1875, was conveying her late Majesty from Cowes to Portsmouth, and the small schooner yacht Mistletoe, resulting in the sinking of the latter and the drowning of Miss Peel, a young lady on board at the time, with the mate and one of her crew, while the sailing-master also succumbed to injuries he received from a falling spar. At the time of the collision the Alberta was crossing Stokes Bay, and on her bridge were the Prince of Leiningen, Commander Fullerton, and Staff-Captain Welch, who was navigating her. It may he mentioned that Captain Welch had had charge of the Alberta and her predecessor, the Fairy, for 27 years, during the whole of which long period not a single mishap had occurred to either vessel while in his hands, and it may be safely said that no more experienced or skilful navigating officer could be found anywhere.The Mistletoe, which was the property of a Mr. Hayward, of Manchester, had been cruising about Spithead all the afternoon, and there seems no doubt that she had edged down in order that the Royal yacht should pass close to her; immediately before the collision she was running with the wind well free ahead of the Alberta and steering an almost identical course, and it was, of course the duty of the Alberta to keep clear of her; but it was also equally the duty of those in charge of the Mistletoe, when they found the Royal yacht rapidly approaching, to keep steady on their course without altering their helm until the steamer had passed. Owing to the carelessness with which many yachts were sailed and the curiosity of people on board them to see the Queen, the Alberta on these passages was continually having close shaves, but, steaming fast, she answered her helm easily, and, as she was smartly handled, no accident had ever occurred. On the present occasion, Captain Welch naturally imagined that the Mistletoe would, in accordance with the rules of the road, keep steadily on her course, and as the Alberta approached he altered her helm to pass clear. Unfortunately the man at the helm of the Mistletoe seems to have lost his head at the rapid approach of the Alberta, and, putting his helm down, he threw her right across the latter’s bows with the disastrous results recorded. The unfortunate incident naturally caused great excitement at the time, and the handling of the Alberta was subjected to much hostile criticism, while so strong was the feeling at Portsmouth against the Prince of Leiningen and his officers that they had to be protected by the police on their way to and from the Court-house, where the inquest on the bodies of the victims was held. The coroner's jury brought in a verdict of manslaughter against the Prince and Captain Welch, but the bill was of course thrown out by the grand jury at the next assizes. On the other hand, the Court of inquiry which was held at Portsmouth fully exonerated the Prince and his officers, and there seems to be no doubt that this verdict was the just one.In the spring of 1880 the Prince of Leiningen was selected to succeed Rear-Admiral Waddilove as Second-in-Command in the Channel, but, Mr. Gladstone's Government coming into office before the appointment had been officially gazetted, Lord Northbrook, the new First Lord, took the very unusual step of cancelling it; so it was not until July 1, 1885, when he was appointed to the Command at the Nore, that the Prince had an opportunity of hoisting his flag, which he then flew for two years. This was his last service, and he retired under the age regulations in November, 1895. It was a great disappointment to the Prince that he never attained to the command of one of our active fleets, and there is no doubt that he felt keenly the slight put upon him by Mr. Gladstone’s Government in the revoking of his appointment.: Since he hauled down his flag at Sheerness the Prince has resided mostly at Amorbach. He married at Carlsruhe on September 11, 1858, the Princess Mary of Baden, who died on November 21, 1899, and by whom he had two children, Prince Emich Charles, who succeeds as Reigning Prince, and Princess Albertine, who died August 30, 1901. Prince Emich married in 1894 his second cousin, Princess Feodora Victoria Alberta of Hohenlohe-Langenburg, second daughter of his Serene Highness Hermann, Reigning Prince of Hohenlohe-Langenburg, whose mother was a half-sister of Queen Victoria. There are three sons and one daughter issue of the marriage - namely Princess Victoria, Prince Emich (who now becomes Hereditary Prince), born in 1896, Prince Friedrich, and Prince Hermann.The House of Leiningen is one of the princely families of South Germany who were mediatised after the Congress of Vienna, the founder of the line being John Philip Count of Leiningen, Dagsburg, and Hartenburg, who was born on December 25, 1539, but it was not until 1779 that the rank of Princes of the Holy Roman Empire was conferred upon his successors.Major-General Sir Henry Frederick Ponsonby GCB PC (10 December 1825 – 21 November 1895), was a British soldier and royal court official who served as Queen Victoria's Private Secretary Born in Corfu, he was the son of Major-General Sir Frederick Cavendish Ponsonby, an Anglo-Irish nobleman who was a senior commander in the British Army.He entered the army on 27 December 1842 as an ensign in the 49th Regiment of Foot. Transferred to the Grenadier Guards, he became a lieutenant on 16 February 1844, captain on 18 July 1848, and major on 19 October 1849. From 1847 to 1858 he was aide-de-camp to Lord Clarendon and Lord St. Germans, successively lord-lieutenants of Ireland. He served through the Crimean campaigns of 1855–56, becoming lieutenant-colonel on 31 Aug. 1855; for the action before Sebastopol he received a medal with clasp, the Turkish medal, and the Order of the Medjidie, 3rd Class.After the peace he was appointed equerry to Albert, Prince Consort, who greatly valued his services. On 2 August 1860 he became colonel, and in 1862, after the death of the prince, he was sent to Canada in command of a battalion of the Grenadier Guards which was stationed in the colony during the American Civil War. On 6 March 1868 he became a major-general.Ponsonby embellished letters to his children at Eton with a series of illustrations in which he concealed the school's address. It was a family quirk continued by his son, Arthur Ponsonby, and recently revived by descendant Harriet Russell. His letters bore addresses appearing as doodled signposts in snowstorms or as huge envelopes shouldered by tiny people.He served as Keeper of the Privy Purse and Private Secretary to Queen Victoria. His appointment occurred on 8 April 1870, after the death of prior Private Secretary General Sir Charles Grey, who was "a son of Earl Grey, the Prime Minister" at the time and who was wife Mary Ponsonby's "Uncle Charles." Both Arthur and Mary Ponsonby contributed pseudonymously to magazines and newspapers of the day.On 6 January 1895 he was attacked by paralysis; in May he retired from his offices, and on 21 November he died at East Cowes on the Isle of Wight. He was buried at Whippingham.On 30 April 1861, he married Hon. Mary Elizabeth Bulteel, Maid of Honour to Queen Victoria and a daughter of John Crocker Bulteel (1793–1843) MP. The couple had five children:Alberta Victoria Ponsonby (6 May 1862 – 15 October 1945) Magdalen Ponsonby (24 June 1864 – 1 July 1934) John Ponsonby (25 March 1866 – 26 March 1952) Frederick Edward Grey Ponsonby (16 September 1867 – 20 October 1935) Arthur Augustus William Harry Ponsonby (16 February 1871 – 24 March 1946) Lady Caroline Lamb (née Ponsonby), his father's sister, had been married to Lord Melbourne, a crucial advisor to Queen Victoria during her first years on the throne Fresh to the Market Place, from Major-General Sir John Ponsonby's Collection For more from this collection see our shop category for SIR JOHN PONSONBY COLLECTION John Ponsonby (British Army officer)From Wikipedia, the free encyclopediaMajor-General Sir John Ponsonby KCB CMG DSO (25 March 1866 – 26 March 1952) was a British Army officer who commanded 5th Division during World War I Born the son of Sir Henry Ponsonby (Queen Victoria's Private Secretary), his Mother Hon. Mary Elizabeth Ponsonby, Maid of Honour to Queen Victoria and a daughter of John Crocker Bulteel.His brothers were Frederick Ponsonby, ( Assistant Private Secretary to Edward VII & GV), and Arthur Augustus William Harry Ponsonby, 1st Baron Ponsonby of Shulbrede, (British politician, writer, and social activist).Sir John was educated at Eton College, He was gazetted to the Royal Irish Rifles 16 November 1887, and to the Coldstream Guards 15 August 1888, becoming Lieutenant 29 June 1891. He was ADC to the Governor and Commander-in-Chief, South Africa, 10 August 1891 to 30 January 1895; served in operations in Matabeleland (Medal); was promoted to Captain 7 September 1898, and in that year served in Uganda (Medal), and again in 1899, during the operations against Kabarega (clasp). Captain Ponsonby served in the South African War, 1899-1902, on special service with the Rhodesian Field Force, 19 February 1900 to 7 July 1901. He was Adjutant, 5th New Zealand Regiment, 8 June 1900 to 1 January 1901; afterwards in command 1 January to 18 January 1901. From February to May 1900, be was employed with Mounted Infantry, and he took part in operations in the Transvaal, west of Pretoria, from July to 29 November 1900; operations in the Transvaal, February to June 1901; operations in Cape Colony, February to 31 May 1902. He was mentioned in Despatches [London Gazette, 10 September 1901]; received the Queen's Medal with four clasps, the King's Medal with two clasps, and was created a Companion of the Distinguished Service Order [London Gazette, 27 September 1901]: "John Ponsonby, Captain, Coldstream Guards. In recognition of services during the operations in South Africa". The Insignia were presented by the King 27 October 1901. He was promoted to Major 23 January 1904, and commanded the Guards' Depot 1 March 1905 to 28 February 1907. He became Lieutenant Colonel 28 October 1913. Lieutenant Colonel Ponsonby served in the European War, 1914—18; commanded the 2nd Guards Brigade, BEF, 26 August 1915 to 19 November 1916: was given the Brevet of Colonel 1 January 1916; commanded the Special Reserve Infantry Brigade 28 November 1916 to 7 March 1917; commanded the 21st Infantry Brigade, BEF, 8 March to 20 March 1917; became Colonel 20 March 1917; commanded the 2nd Guards Brigade, British Armies in France, 21 March to 21 August 1917; commanded the 40th Division, British Armies in France, 22 August 1917 to 3 July 1918; subsequently commanded the 5th Division, British Armies in France, 4 July 1918 to 1 April 1919; was promoted to Major General 1 January 1919. He was mentioned in Despatches; created a CMG in 1915, a CB in 1918, and was given the Brevet of Colonel.He went on to become General Officer Commanding 5th Division remaining in that role until the end of the War. After the War he became General Officer Commanding the Madras District of India. He retired in 1928.
He lived at Haile Hall near Beckermet in Cumbria
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