Bertie, Prince of Wales at Almina's Highclere in 1895 To Shoot
Bertie, Prince of Wales, visits Highclere Castle for a Shooting Party
George Edward Stanhope Molyneux Herbert, the 5th Earl of Carnarvon of Tutankhamun ilk and all his chums of the countryside type liked nothing better than to shoot, sail, shoot, dine well, shoot, whore, and speed recklessly about in the latest automobiles, oh, and did I mention they liked to shoot? At Highclere ( and on the other Herbert estates of Bingham, Bretby and Pixton) it was often mass shooting to merit comparison with the Chicago gangster period during bootlegging operations. There was the killing of thousands of partridges, pheasants, grouse, rabbits and other birds from off the expertly maintained coverts.
At Highclere Estate famous records for killing things were set involving the Earl’s close coterie of young guns, some participants being among the best shots in England, Princes Victor and Frederick Duleep Singh, Lord Ashburton (of the Barings-Bank family) and sharpshooter Peers of the era like Lord de Grey, Lord Ripon and not least Bertie, Prince of Wales, later Edward VII, who spent a few days with Carnarvon, at Highclere in 1895, shooting.
So uneasy was George Carnarvon about pleasing HRH and to ensure that Bertie actually hit something that he had upwards of 20,000 birds brought in specially from outside, to ensure the heir to the throne was not disappointed and guarantee he would secure a prize bag. Bad weather marred things slightly, but the 5th Earl and Countess of Carnarvon were given a near perfect accolade as new Royal hosts in their Castle and grounds. More details about Bertie's visit are in this short extract from The Life and secrets of Almina Carnarvon, by William Cross, FSA Scot.
Bertie At Highclere
To ensure the quality of game over the winter fields [ for the Prince of Wales' visit ] a dry run was staged by Lord Carnarvon on 26, 27 and 29 November. Over the course of the three days, shooters Princes Victor and Frederick Duleep Singh, Lord de Grey[i], Lord Ashburton, Lord Carnarvon and Henry Chaplin (the man who had destroyed Fred Wombwell’s friend, the Marquis of Hastings) quite literally made a killing: 16 partridges, 5,671 pheasants, 43 hares, 5,033 rabbits, four woodcock, two wildfowl and 38 other birds. This extraordinary shooting spree took place over the Beeches, Highclere Wood and Grotto beats. The other preserves were kept intact for the Royal visit. ;[ii]
The housekeeping preparations for the Prince's visit were left to Almina. A room at Highclere ( The Stanhope bedroom ) was suitably decorated with new panels and tapestries for the Prince, with some general refurbishment undertaken, including additional stabling. It is recorded by one of Almina’s intimates that Lord Carnarvon was “quite firm”[iii] with his wife and that “a great deal of prompting went on before the actual stay”.[iv] Almina was naturally apprehensive about the visit and meeting Bertie. As he, too, was a friend of Alfred de Rothschild, Almina wanted to ensure she impressed her future monarch.
Shortly after five o’clock on 17 December Bertie left Marlborough House, attended by Commander Hon. Seymour Fortescue, and drove to Paddington railway station and from there took the train to Highclere. The Princess of Wales stayed behind in London with her daughters at Marlborough House in the company of Prince Nicholas of Greece. The Royal Family had just commemorated the 34th anniversary of the death of Prince Albert (1819–1861) on 14 December, and on the 16th had celebrated the arrival of a new baby for the Duke and Duchess of York: George, who would one day be crowned King George VI.[v]
Bertie’s reputation was that of an august sportsman, but he was recovering from a painful eye caused when some grains of powder were blown into his right eye during an earlier shoot at Hall Barn, Buckinghamshire. But these distractions did not affect Bertie’s plans, although the weather took its toll. On 18 December the Prince and a large party shot over Highclere’s Bigg’s beat and the Warrens. The short hours and the dull damp weather cut back the day’s programme, which was abandoned after a downpour of rain. Carnarvon had gone to a great deal of trouble to ensure his coverts were stocked with 20,000 pheasants that were brought in at some expense from a Hampshire game farm.
[i] Later the Marquess of Ripon (1852-1923) shared with the Singhs and Lord Ashburton a passion for shooting game. He and Lord Carnarvon were a comfort to each other during the Great War. The Marquess lost his wife, Constance Gwladys Herbert, ( one of the Herberts of Lea ) in 1917. She was one of the patrons of Covent Garden Opera, her photograph albums in their special collection. Lord Carnarvon exhibited a “ striking portrait of Lord Ripon, with an ancient vase in his hands” entitled “The Connoisseur” at the Camera Club, Adelphi in 1916.
[ii] The Scotsman, 14 December 1895.
[iii] Leadbetter Collection.
[iv] Ibid.
[v] Hampshire Telegraph and Sussex Chronicle, 14 December, Pall Mall Gazette, 16 December and Morning Post, 18 December 1895.
[vi] The Times, 18 December 1895.
[vii] Leadbetter Collection.
[viii] Vogue Magazine, 1895.
Enquiries to williecross@aol.com
