Chiswick Timeline of Writers & Books: a quick guide
Prince Albert came to Chiswick House less frequently than Queen Victoria – but in June 1844 he attended a celebrated grand fete held by the 6th Duke of Devonshire to welcome the Russian tsar, Emperor Nicholas 1st. Chiswick House: Famous people
The following description is taken from Chiswick House and Gardens: A History by Gillian Clegg:
Apart from the Tsar, it was attended by the King of Saxony, Prince Albert and around 700 members of the principal noble families in the land and described as ‘one of the most splendid fetes ever given in this country’.
The Imperial Standard was raised over the Summer Parlour and the Royal Standard over the Arcade and a 21-gun salute fired from a battery within the grounds. The bands of the Coldstream Guards and the Horse Guards simultaneously played the Russian national anthem.
After a tour round the house, the Tsar and 16 other important guests adjourned to the Summer Parlour which was fitted out like a 14th-Century military pavilion where they dined off silver plate. To commemorate his visit, Emperor Nicholas planted a cedar tree in front of the house to replace a cedar tree that had been blown down.
After the ‘dejeuner’, the royal party retired to the lawn. Here four giraffes were conspicuously on display and seem to have provided plenty of entertainment. On June 15th 1844, the Illustrated London News reported:
“The company dispersed in groups about the grounds – some few, among whom was the King of Saxony and his attendants, crossing the lake in boats manned by the duke’s watermen in in their state liveries, for the purpose of inspecting the giraffes, which were on the opposite shore. Before the King’s arrival, however, one of these animals waded across the water and joined the company; an incident which amused the Royal party.”
The Illustrated London News article said that the giraffes came from the Surrey Zoological Gardens and were about to be shipped to St Petersburg. Gillian Clegg concludes: The giraffes were probably those kept in a giraffe house and paddock where Upham Park Road is today, just north of Chiswick High Road, opposite Chiswick Lane.
Pictures from Local Studies, Chiswick Library; and Chiswick House & Gardens Trust.
AN Wilson spoke about his biography ‘Prince Albert: The Man Who Saved the Monarchy’ at the Chiswick Book Festival event at Chiswick House on Thursday September 12th 2019.
Queen Victoria in Chiswick
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