On April 29, 2011, the day of Prince William of Wales’ marriage to Catherine Middleton, Buckingham Palace announced that as a special mark of favour, Queen Elizabeth II was pleased to confer a dukedom on Prince William. His titles would be Duke of Cambridge, Earl of Strathearn and Baron Carrickfergus.

Prince George, Duke of Cambridge, The Illustrated London News, August 10, 1850.Prince George, Duke of Cambridge, The Illustrated London News, August 10, 1850.

The conferral of these titles continued the established tradition of awarding members of the Royal Family titles from each of the three kingdoms that make up the United Kingdom: England, Scotland and Ireland. This was not the first time the dukedom of Cambridge had been created; in fact, it was the fifth creation of the title. The previous Duke of Cambridge was Prince George (1819-1904), grandson of King George III and cousin of Queen Victoria.

Since Princess Victoria and Prince George were of similar age, both being born in 1819, it was widely thought that they might marry, however, neither party seemed to favour the idea. Prince George’s view that ‘arranged marriages were doomed to failure’ was no secret, and in fact he had his way in defiance of the Royal Marriages Act of 1772 which, among other conditions, required the consent of the King and Parliament for princes under 25.

In 1847 he privately married his mistress Louisa Fairbrother by whom he had already fathered two illegitimate children (she had also had two children by other men) and who was pregnant with Prince George’s third child. Louisa called herself “Mrs Fairbrother” and later “Mrs Fitzgeorge”, the duke’s children being George, Adolphus and Augustus Fitzgeorge. Since Prince George died without legitimate issue the dukedom became extinct.

This feature records Prince George, Duke of Cambridge’s four known visits to Malta in the 19th century.

The Prince embarked on a military career and in November 1837 received the rank of colonel in the British Army. From October 1838, he was posted to Gibraltar where he came under the command of Governor Sir Alexander Woodford, who had commanded the Infantry Brigade in Malta from 1825 to 1827.

It was during Prince George’s posting in Gibraltar that he made his first tour of the Mediterranean, arriving in Malta on April 30, 1839, on board HMS Actæon and staying on the island until May 16.

On landing at the Marina, the 20-year-old Prince was received by the Governor, his staff and a guard of honour from the 39th regiment. His Royal Highness then rode on horseback to the Palace where he was received by another guard of honour, this time from the 47th Regiment.

While in Malta the Prince was the guest of Governor Sir Henry and Lady Bouverie at the Palace in Valletta. The Prince’s time in Malta was largely taken up by naval and military reviews; his visit coinciding with the Governor’s half-yearly inspections of the various regiments quartered on the islands.

On May 13, the Prince inspected the Maltese Regiment with which he was impressed, noting in his diary: “I must say I was quite astonished at it, because the regiment is so very detached that they can but very seldom exercise.”

The Prince’s overall impression of Malta was that it was an extraordinarily strong fortress; however, its extensive fortifications rendered it extremely costly to keep them in proper order.

The Prince’s visit was not wholly taken up by military duties; the London Times reported on June 3 that His Royal Highness honoured the officers of the garrison with his presence at a ball given at the Auberge de Provence, at which he danced with the daughters of Rear-Admiral Sir John Louis. The Prince also found time to attend the opera and partake of a picnic at the Chief Secretary’s country villa, Girgenti Palace.

Group photograph with Duke of Cambridge (seated third from left) and Governor Borton (seated third from right).Group photograph with Duke of Cambridge (seated third from left) and Governor Borton (seated third from right).

Prince George’s second visit to Malta, as Duke of Cambridge, was less auspicious. At the start of the Crimean War the duke received command of the 1st Division of the British Army in the Crimea, consisting of the Guards and the Highland brigades. Although the Guards did stop in Malta on their journey to the Crimea the Prince took a different route (through Vienna) and there is no record of the Prince having stopped in Malta on his way to the Crimea.

The Duke was present at the battles of the Alma, Balaclava and Inkerman as well as at the siege of Sevastopol. It would seem that the rigours of the campaign and the witness of widespread slaughter shattered both the physical and mental health of the sensitive duke. Today we might say that he suffered a mental breakdown.

The Prince’s overall impression of Malta was that it was an extraordinarily strong fortress; however, its extensive fortifications rendered it extremely costly to keep them in proper order

After his medical board inspection he was advised to take sick leave to recuperate. It would have proved embarrassing to him and the Royal Family if he returned home ahead of his troops so he chose to spend some time in Malta. Here he could ideally recover sufficiently to return to the Crimea or see how matters developed before negotiating his return to England.

Prince George arrived in Malta on January 6, 1855, staying at the Grand Bretagne lodging house rather than at the Palace as Governor William Reid’s guest. He sought seclusion, attempting to find peace and rest as much as to avoid the ignominy of returning prematurely from the battlefront.

The local newspapers reported that the Duke was “in very indifferent health”, commenting that he attended divine service on Sundays in St Paul’s Anglican Church. Although Queen Victoria desired him to return to the Crimea his military colleagues were not averse to him returning home. The Duke left Malta on January 22 bound for England.

The Duke of Cambridge, Field Marshal and Commander-in-Chief of the British Army, 1879. Photo: Turner & Co.The Duke of Cambridge, Field Marshal and Commander-in-Chief of the British Army, 1879. Photo: Turner & Co.

Despite the experiences he suffered during the Crimean War the Duke was appointed General Commanding-in-Chief of the British Army in 1856, and with Queen Victoria’s strong support held this position until he was forced to resign against his wishes in November 1895. He had been promoted to Field Marshal in 1862.

The Duke’s third visit to Malta occurred in 1878. After just over 20 years of peace the Russians again attacked Turkey in 1877, and as a deterrent the British government sent approximately 7,000 troops from India to Malta just in case they might be needed in eastern Europe. The Duke of Cambridge travelled out to Malta in June 1878 to inspect the assembled troops.

A photograph features the Full Dress Parade of the Malta Division and the Indian Expeditionary Force, together consisting of some 1,200 to 14,000 troops, held at the Floriana Parade Ground on the afternoon of June 17. The Duke was impressed, recording: “I was immensely pleased and struck by the native troops, fine men, charming horses, and all most efficient. The march past was admirable in all its details.”

Another photograph shows the Duke of Cambridge with the Governor, Sir Arthur Borton, and the officers commanding the Indian Expeditionary Force. (For more information see ‘Governor Arthur Borton and the 1878 Indian contingent in Malta’, The Sunday Times of Malta, October 11, 2015).

Full Dress Parade, Floriana, June 17, 1878.Full Dress Parade, Floriana, June 17, 1878.

The Duke of Cambridge next visited Malta in January 1891; however, this was to be a very brief visit for the purposes of inspecting the fortifications.

On December 27, 1890, the Duke, writing to Governor Sir Henry Augustus Smyth, stated: “I shall gladly avail myself of Lady Smyth’s and your kind invitation to be your guest at the Palace when I get to Malta.”

However, the Prince informed Smyth that he was travelling “incognito” as Lord Culloden (using one of the titles granted to him according to the previously mentioned royal tradition). By avoiding his official title the Prince was signaling his desire to avoid official duties en route. However, he confirmed his desire to step into an official role in Malta, for which he added “I bring uniform so as to inspect the fortifications in detail in my official capacity.”

The Duke landed in Malta on January 29 and started his official business. On Saturday, January 31, His Royal Highness inspected the Royal Malta Regiment of Militia on the Floriana Parade Ground. The battalion was formed up in line, and after the usual salute the Commander-in-Chief accompanied by Governor Smyth, and his staff walked down the ranks.

After marching past the battalion was put through the manual and firing exercise by Major Strickland, Count della Catena, followed by a few battalion movements under their commanding officer. Before departing the Duke called the officers to the front and congratulated them along the following lines:

“Colonel Gatt and officers of the Malta Militia, I am very much pleased with what I have seen today. I am fairly astonished at what you have done. You are a young regiment, and as an old soldier and a man of experience I honestly can tell you that there was nothing that I could remark that was not properly done.”

The following day the Duke attended a dinner given by the officers of the Royal Malta Militia at their Mess Room at the Palace. The militia furnished a guard of honour in the Palace courtyard and the regimental band played during the dinner. Before leaving, His Royal Highness thanked Colonel Gatt and the officers of the Regiment for their hospitality. After alluding to the remarks he made the day before and thanking his hosts for a pleasant evening, he bade the officers good night and departed at 11pm.

On February 4, the officers of the Garrison gave a sumptuous ball at the Auberge de Provence in honour of the Commander-in-Chief and we are informed that the revelry continued until close to 4am the following day.  The Duke left Malta in the small hours of Monday 9-Tuesday, February 10.

Prince George’s final visit to Malta took place in 1895 when the Duke was 76 years old. He arrived on Monday, March 4, and was welcomed by Governor Arthur Fremantle and his staff in the usual manner. The Prince was accompanied to Malta by General Sir Reginald Gipps, General Albert Williams, Major General Heriot Maitland, Lord Algernon Lennox and Major Davidson. A fine photograph by Ellis records the Duke’s stay at the Palace.

The Duke performed many official functions during his week-long stay in Malta; space does not allow for much detail here so just a couple of events will be described.

On the day of his arrival the Duke was guest of honour at a small dinner party at the Palace. The scrap album belonging to Captain John Spencer Ewart, assistant military secretary to the Governor, contains a rare seating plan for this event. It shows that Lady Fremantle was seated to the left of the Duke, and working clockwise, were Admiral Culme-Seymour, Mrs Knowles, General Sir James Heriot Maitland, Captain Egerton, Prince Louis of Battenberg, Lady Lennox, General Knowles, Prin­cess Louis of Battenberg, Governor Fremantle, Mrs Maitland, General Albert Williams, Captain John Spencer Ewart, Major Davidson, Lord Lennox, Sir Reginald Gipps and Lady Culme-Seymour. Despite the gender imbalance, the Governor’s staff ensured that the Duke and the Governor, arguably the two most important people attending the dinner, had the benefit of female company to their left and right.

Seating plan for dinner at the Palace on March 4, 1895.Seating plan for dinner at the Palace on March 4, 1895.

The Duke inspected the Royal Artillery, the Royal Malta Artillery (under the command of Colonel Speranza) and the Royal Malta Regiment (under Colonel Vella) on the Floriana Parade Ground on Saturday, March 9. The following day, Lt-Colonel Vella and the officers of the Royal Malta Regiment hosted a dinner for the Duke of Cambridge. Among the guests were the Governor, Count Strickland, General Williams, Colonel Speranza and Captain Ewart. Before departing, the Duke addressed the officers in the following flattering terms:

“Gentlemen, I am very much pleased to have had the opportunity of dining with you here tonight, both for your company’s sake and the excellent dinner you have given me. . .  I am very much astonished to see how well the regiment manoeuvred, more especially as it is difficult to attain efficiency without frequent con­cen­tration. . . I am glad to see you, Colonel Vella, surrounded by such a fine set of officers and young gentlemen, and I am sure that they will not only continue to take an interest in the efficiency of the regiment and our profession, but that in case of emergency they will be ready to prove their loyalty to the Crown. Gentlemen I thank you very much and wish you good evening.”

His Royal Highness left Malta on March 11. As he boarded HMS Ramillies, the flagship of the Mediterranean Fleet, the Royal Ensign was hoisted aloft and a salute of 21 guns was fired, while the remainder of the men-of-war in port manned and dressed ship. At 10.30am Ramillies got under weigh and sailed out of the harbour, salutes being fired by the other ships.

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