An account of the Duke (Queen Victoria's second son) and his appointment as Commander-in-Chief at Devonport, Plymouth, 1890-93. From Devon Life, August 1977

Few British ports have a richer heritage in the country's history than Plymouth and Devonport, and they have frequently been visited by members of the royal family. Therefore it was only fitting that one of the first professional royal sailors should have completed his naval career as Devonport's Comrmander-in-Chief.

Prince Alfred, Duke of Edinburgh, second son of Queen Victoria, went to sea in 1858 at the age of 14. The next ten years proved particularly eventful in that he recovered from a near fatal attack of typhoid, was elected King of Greece (although political considerations forbade him to accept the throne), and undertook a thorough tour of Australia, during which he was shot and wounded in the back by a Fenian sympathizer. Though he never saw active service as a naval officer, he proved himself ‘a thoroughly practical sailor, and vigorous disciplinarian, (who) vase by his own merits in his profession to the rank of admiral,’ when appointed Commander-in-Chief at Devonport in 1890.

Arriving in the Vivid at 6 am on 4 August to take up his new post, he anchored off Mount Wise. Two hours later, he hoisted his flag on HMS Foudroyant, and the departing Commander, Sir William Dowell, received a salute of 17 guns. On landing, the Duke proceeded to Admiralty House, where Dowell presented to him the principal naval officers of the port. After lunching together, they took the dockyard train to Keyham for his reception by the guard of honour and his first ceremonial inspection of the Royal Naval Barracks. He then embarked on Vivid and watched the royal standard flying from the Devonport column while sailing out of the Sound for Cowes, on leave; while he was away, Admiralty House was to be altered to accommodate a larger domestic staff.

Not until the late London train pulled into Millbay Station on the evening of 16th September did he come to stay. The waiting crowd of 200 cheered him as he and his suite drove away, appropriately, to the Royal Hotel at Devonport, where he stayed the night. The following day, he moved into Admiralty House, where one of his first visitors was the Mayor of Plymouth, Alderman Henry Waring, introduced by the Flag-Lieutenant, Colin Keppel.

One of the topics Commander and Mayor discussed was the unveiling of the National Armada Memorial, an imposing bronze figure of Britannia on a pedestal overlooking the Hoe. The foundation stone had been laid by the Mayor during the tercentenary celebrations in 1888, and the completed monument was due to be unveiled by the Duke in his capacity as his mother's representative. The ceremony took place on Trafalgar Day, 21st October; though Plymouth did not officially recognise the day as an official holiday, 'it may safely be asserted that little business was done, the interest in the event being so great.' Despite the uncertain weather, by 10 a.m. crowds filled Union Street, Tavistock Road, and Exeter Street on their way to the Hoe, where the regiments and naval cadets were assembling, together with the civic dignitaries and local Members of Parliament. At midday, just as the clouds were threatening to open, it was announced that the Duke's arrival had been postponed by a quarter of an hour. Fortunately the rain held off, and at length a volley of nine-pounders boomed to announce his arrival with an escort of the 1st Devon Yeomanry. After he had unveiled the memorial and the choir had sung an anthem, the military bands struck up, to be all but drowned by the madly-cheering, flag-waving spectators, estimated to number over 50,000. The official company then proceeded to the Guildhall for a celebration luncheon and speeches which lasted well into the afternoon. On being called to address the guests, the Duke congratulated everyone responsible on the success of the proceedings, which commemorated 'one of the greatest events in our national history'.

Only three weeks after these festivities occurred a naval disaster which was to involve the whole of Plymouth from the Commander-in-Chief downwards. On 8th November HMS Serpent, a new cruiser carrying a local crew of 176, steamed out of the Sound on foreign service. Two nights later, in pitch darkness, she was wrecked off the north coast of Spain; only three survived. The misery of the mothers, widows and orphans touched the Duke deeply. Immediately he enlisted the aid of Major Quill, the local secretary of the Soldiers' and Sailors' Families Association, Agnes Weston, the founder of the Royal Sailors' Rests, and her helpers. The Rest at Devonport was at once declared a sanctuary to which the bereaved could flock for help. As President of the Relief Fund, he helped to trace all the stricken families, and at the end of November convened a public meeting in the Guildhall to call for public subscriptions. Over the next few weeks, many citizens became involved in fund-raising activities. A benefit drama performance at the Theatre Royal was patronised by the Duke and his officers, and collected £40. By February 1891 nearly £12,000 had been raised. Every family affected by the tragedy was considered, widows and mothers were pensioned, and a sum of money invested at compound interest was set aside for each child. It was a task requiring weeks of hard work and skilled organisation by the helpers, but nobody did more to coordinate the administration of the Relief Fund than the Commander-in-Chief whose eyes were filled with tears as he reflected on the sufferings of the women and children whose menfolk had so recently been familiar faces around Devonport.

Before the year was out, he was joined by his wife and family. His haughty wife Marie, born a Russian Grand Duchess, revelled in her position as one of the leading ladies in Plymouth; moreover it enabled her to escape from her in-laws, whom she disliked intensely. It call be assumed that her arrogance and undisguised distaste for nearly everything English did not endear her to those whom she met in the Three Towns. Their 15-year-old son, another Alfred, was commissioned in the 2nd Volunteer Battalion Devonshire Regiment, although it was largely an honorary position accorded him in view of his father's command. He spent most of his time in Coburg, as second in succession to his great-uncle, the reigning Duke.

The Commander-in-Chief’s three elder daughters, with ages from 14 to 12, likewise lived and studied more in Germany than in England, although they spent their vacations in Devon. The youngest, Beatrice, was only six and almost inseparable from her mother. The eldest, Marie, later the colourful Queen of Roumania, always treasured her memories of Devonport as her last taste of English life before her marriage. In her memoirs she paid tribute to 'that beautiful county of Devonshire, so enchanting with its hills and dales, its rivers and forests, its steep roads and high hedges, beautiful gardens and quite southern vegetation.' She was less charitable about Admiralty House, which she thought was very dull; her chief memory was of the small garden at the back, the scene for 'quarrelsome games of croquet.' Yet she and her sisters never tired of rowing, sailing and swimming off the shore, or playing with their contemporaries, the three daughters of the General-in-Command, who lived opposite.

Barely a week of the Duke's three-year term of service passed without some reference to him in the local press. He inspected quarterly the Royal Naval Barracks at Keyham, as well as training ships and naval contingents at the port. In addition, he welcomed visiting foreign vessels, as in April 1891 when a German squadron of four ironclads - a grim portent of coming events - sailed into the Sound, in whose honour he hosted a banquet at the Royal Marine Barracks, Stonehouse. He also extended his to the cultural life of the area. A lifelong violinist and music lover, he joined the Plymouth Orchestral Society and regularly played in its concerts at the Guildhall. He also procured the then unprecedented honour of a visit and two concerts from the Royal Orchestral Society, whose President he was. From time to time he attended plays at the Devonport Royal Theatre.

With a touch of sadness he performed his last public duty as Commander on 1st June 1893 - the opening of a bowling alley at the Royal Naval Barracks, Keyham, provided on his own suggestion for the ratings. Mastering his feelings, he declared it open and completed two rounds of bowls with a high score. It was a fitting end to his career at Plymouth, although this time no armada lay in wait. Instead, that evening he sat down with all the Captains and Commanders in port to a farewell dinner at the Royal Hotel, Devonport, where he thanked them for making the last three years so successful.

Two days later, a large muster of naval and military officers and a vast crowd of civilians gathered at North Road Station to see him off. He arrived in his new uniform as Admiral of the Fleet, accompanied only by his Secretary and Flag Lieutenant; as the train was quarter of an hour late, he spent the time chatting with his successor, Admiral Sir Algernon Lyons, and his erstwhile colleagues. His departure was accompanied by the strains of the National Anthem and prolonged cheering.

That August, he succeeded his uncle as Duke of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha, but spent part of every autumn in England; he never missed an opportunity on his visits of renewing his acquaintance with the fellow-officers he had known at Devonport. ‘Nowhere will deeper sorrow be felt for the Duke's death than in the West,’ wrote the ‘Western Evening Herald’ on his death in July 1900.