Chapter 4. A British prince and a transnational life: Alfred, Duke of Edinburgh’s visit to Australia, 1867–68

At first glance, it might seem odd to describe the second son of Queen Victoria—that most secure and relatively sedentary of British monarchs—as leading a transnational life. Surely the only identity that really mattered, in Alfred’s eyes and others, was his status as the Queen’s son and heir, the second in line to the British throne?^[2]

Alfred’s royal status was certainly made much of in Australia. His familial relationship with Queen Victoria and his status as her proxy were stressed throughout his visit. Colonists sang ‘We love thee for thy father’s fame…And for thy mother’s sake!’ and noted that Alfred’s presence provided them with the ‘opportunity of expressing our devotion to Her Majesty’s throne and person’.^[3] Queen Victoria was also anxious that her son’s royal position be properly acknowledged.^[4] As we will see below, however, while Alfred could insist on strict protocol, he preferred to avoid it.

Photographic print: albumen silver carte-de-visite, on carte-de-visite. State Library of Victoria. Image no. a15044.

Alfred’s dislike of pomp reflected his own shyness and his awareness of the ambiguous position of minor royals within Britain. While there was public delight at their births and marriages, the cost of supporting the Queen’s numerous children caused increasing resentment. When combined with frustration at Victoria’s own absence from public affairs after the death of her husband, Prince Albert, public dissatisfaction with the royal family ran high. While Alfred wished to appear as a prince, he did not want to appear (and the British Government did not want him to appear) as a grasping one. Whatever the duke’s own views on his royal status, it was clear that at least some colonists considered him suitable monarch material. In 1863 the Victorian Premier, John O’Shanassy, proposed that Alfred become ‘King of Australia’. As Anita Callaway notes, this idea was revived in a transparency displayed in Melbourne during the duke’s visit.^[5]

While he often downplayed his royal status, Alfred emphasised his connections with one particular part of his mother’s kingdom: Scotland. This had nothing to do with his place of birth or family background (he was born in Windsor to Anglo-German parents), but everything to do with the royal family’s projection of themselves as British. In the early nineteenth century, the unpopular Anglo-German George IV fell in love with Highland Scots culture. Although the English population detested George for his excessive spending and shoddy attempt to divorce his German wife, they readily embraced his interest in tartans. George did more than set a new fashion: he attempted to create a new historical tradition. Even more dramatically, his niece Victoria and her German husband, Albert, embarked on a lifelong love affair with Scotland with the purchase of an estate at Balmoral.^[6] It was here that the couple chose to spend private time with their children, who grew up with firsthand (albeit selective) knowledge of Highland culture. Scotland represented a physical escape from English critics of their Germanness, and a means to consolidate their own claim to Britishness. For the royal family, then, Britishness, to an extent, was something that could be acquired, or at least assumed, via public display and private practice.

Alfred’s recently bestowed title of Duke of Edinburgh further cemented his connection with Scotland, but he seems to have pursued Scottish pastimes out of genuine interest.^[7] Scottish dancing, for example, featured prominently in Alfred’s entertainments ashore and aboard HMS Galatea. Numerous cartoons published in Sydney Punch and Melbourne Punch displayed Alfred’s enthusiasm, along with colonists’ often ludicrous attempts to keep up with him. In The Duke of Edinburgh’s Visit. Design for ye Illumination of ye Town Hall, for example, ‘Ye Mayor-Elect Practiseth ye Sword Dance’.^[8] Dressed in pseudo-Highland garb, the unfortunate politician manages to pierce his bagpipes with his sword while attempting to dance over crossed swords. Similarly, in Preparations for the Prince, ‘Miss Clementina Jones practices the Scotch Reel before the Gentleman borrowed from the Tobacconist. N.B.—She finds the prevailing fashion rather in the way.’^[9] Here a young woman’s desperate attempt to learn Scottish dancing in front of a kilted statue is handicapped by her overly long gown. Rather than demonstrating her dancing skills, she reveals her own vanity. Colonial women’s vanity was a popular theme of newspaper articles and cartoons, which widely ridiculed their attempts to impress the duke. In fact, of course, these Australian colonists were simply imitating the royal family’s own ‘invention of tradition’. This is one instance in which colonial attempts to identify with British culture largely failed. Other attempts would prove more successful.

Samuel Calvert. Print: wood engraving. State Library of Victoria. Image no. b49420.