You Read It Here First!

A mere days after my profile of Dean Stanley mentioned that in 1862 he escorted the then Prince of Wales on a trip to the Middle East, the Daily Telegraph has printed a photo of the party in Egypt.

I can't find it in the on-line issue to point you to, but it can be seen here at the Royal Collection's website.

The photo is going to be part of an exhibition 'Cairo to Constantinople: Early Photographs of the Middle East' at the Queen's Gallery, Palace of Holyrood, Edinburgh, from 8 March.  A press release can be read here.

The King's Dog

I had intended to blog about Caesar, Edward VII's dog, who won the hearts of the British people and caused the ire of Kaiser Wilhelm by being given prominence at the King's funeral in 1910.

However, in looking around on the web, I found that it's already been done so well that I can't better it. Read this, it's a good story (skip the comment though - most were written by people who think they were channeling their dogs).

Update on Bishop Brindle: Educating a Spanish Queen

 
The guys over at the British Medals Forum have identified Brindle's star as that of the Spanish Order of Isabella la Catolica.

There's even a good suggestion of why he should have received it:-

Princes Ena was Princess Victoria Eugenie of Battenberg (1887–1969), the daughter of Princess Beatrice, and thus a niece of Edward VII and grand-daughter of Queen Victoria.  She married King Alfonso XIII of Spain on 31 May 1906 .  As they were returning from the wedding, they narrowly escaped a bomb thrown from a high window; the explosion killed or injured many bystanders and members of the procession.

Queen Victoria Eugenia of Spain

As any OOS fan will tell you, in the above portrait, the queen is wearing what is technically known as a Stonking Great Tiara.

Random Fact: George V's Accent

George V was the first British King in over 200 years not the have a German accent.

I admit to being a little surprised when I read this and feeling I might have come across some caricature about the Royal Family.  Surely Edward VII as English as they came?

Well, it was from the near-impeccable source that is the Oxford Dictionary of British Biography, so I accept it.  Edward was bought up by a German governess and always spoke German with his father (when they were speaking, that is).