ROYAL YACHTS
Above: Royal Barge by William Kent, one of the elaborately decorated rowing barges that were used from the time of George IV to Queen Victoria
secondment from the Royal Yacht. The King and Queen regularly visited Virginia Water whenever the Court was at Windsor. The miniature warships would be illuminated and moored off the Chinese temple to provide the perfect backdrop for special dinners which sometimes culminated in a fireworks display. George IV had taken great pleasure in sharing the delights of the lake with his young niece, Princess Victoria. As Queen, she brought important guests to Virginia Water including the French King Louis Philippe. It also became the setting for happy family events such as the birthday celebrations for her husband Prince Albert. Describing the scene on Virginia Water, following a dinner in the Chinese Temple to mark her mother’s birthday in 1842, Queen Victoria wrote in her journal, “The smallest frigate was towed round, all lit up, which had a very pretty effect, – the band playing Rule Britannia and the guns of the [fort] Belvedere saluting.” When the Queen saw a copy of the sketch depicting this scene in The Illustrated London News, she cut it out, and added it to her personal journal with the following words, “Eveng of Aug 17 – Very Like.” Captain David Welch assumed responsibility for the
lake’s royal flotilla following his appointment as Keeper of Her Majesty’s Boats and Other Vessels at Virginia
Left: The Royal Brig was based at Virginia Water from 1904 to 1919
Water in September 1861. He was nominally attached to HM Yacht Alberta and initially based in Portsmouth before moving to a cottage overlooking the lake. A year later, he had to handle the issue of Royal Adelaide’s future when a routine survey highlighted her poor condition. The Admiralty was reluctant to spend £3,000 on a replacement unless it was going to be regularly used by the Royal Family. The Queen settled the issue by retaining Royal Adelaide as an ornament on the lake rather than an active sailing vessel. She remained until October 1877, when she was finally condemned by the Admiralty and broken up. The Prince of Wales, later King Edward VII, subsequently presented her 22 brass guns to the Royal Yacht Squadron.
From the mid-19th century onwards, the lake’s fleet included some of the craft presented to members of the Royal Family. For example, the future Edward VII received an Indian launch from Calcutta in 1876, while his son, the future George V, was given a Canadian birch- bark canoe by the lumbermen of Ottawa Valley in 1901. As King, Edward VII commissioned the lake’s final miniature warship so that his grandchildren could learn how to sail. To minimise its cost, a 42ft (12.8m) cutter was converted into a 10-gun brig by Sheerness Dockyard in 1904. Known simply as Brig, she remained in use until 1919, when a survey found her to be riddled with dry rot. As a youngster, Edward VIII, later the Duke of
Windsor, enjoyed spending time in small boats on the lake with his siblings and subsequently raised eyebrows in the early 1930s by roaring around Virginia Water in speed boats. Despite these antics, during his brief reign in 1936 he authorised the disbandment of the lake’s royal flotilla as part of an economy drive in the royal household. Of the surviving craft the Royal Barge went to Portsmouth Dockyard, while the small Royal Barge and the 12ft (3.7m) dinghy Prince George were given to the Training Ships Arethusa and Mercury.
Next month: The Sailor Kings, Edward V11 and George V 54 CLASSIC BOAT MARCH 2012
© THE ROYAL WINDSOR
WEBSITE.COM
THE ROYAL COLLECTION © 2011 HER MAJESTY QUEEN ELIZABETH II
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76 |
Page 77 |
Page 78 |
Page 79 |
Page 80 |
Page 81 |
Page 82 |
Page 83 |
Page 84 |
Page 85 |
Page 86 |
Page 87 |
Page 88 |
Page 89 |
Page 90 |
Page 91 |
Page 92 |
Page 93 |
Page 94 |
Page 95 |
Page 96 |
Page 97 |
Page 98 |
Page 99 |
Page 100