Painting
A small study for a large painting by the artist, now in the National Portrait Gallery, NPG 5487. The study records the arrival of Princess Alexandra of Denmark at Gravesend, 7 March 1863, immediately prior to her marriage to Prince Albert, the Prince of Wales and the eldest son of Queen Victoria. This was to take place on 10 March 1863 at Windsor Castle. It marks the moment when the Princess, accompanied by her family, stepped on to British soil. This followed her disembarkation from the royal yacht 'Victoria and Albert' after a crossing of the North Sea. The yacht was escorted by a squadron of British ships including the 'Revenge', the flagship of Admiral Smart who was in command of the Channel Fleet, and the armour-plated frigates 'Warrior', 'Resistance' and 'Defence'. The principal figures are portraits taken either from life studies, or, in the case of the Danish royal family, from photographs. Princess Alexandra is wearing a blue-mauve dress with a velvet fur-trimmed jacket and is accompanied by her family; King Christian IX of Denmark, Princess Dagmar, later Empress of Russia, Prince Frederick of Denmark, Prince George of Denmark and Queen Louise.
The painting incorporates over 50 figures, and shows Prince Albert, later Edward VII, leading his betrothed along the Terrace Pier towards the railway station. On either side of the foreground, girls dressed in white dresses and red shawls to represent the Danish colours, hold baskets of violets and primroses and scatter petals at Princess Alexandra's feet. 'The lllustrated London News' reported that the Prince of Wales and Princess Alexandra were received: 'in a tastefully-decorated reception-room by about 60 young ladies who scattered violets, primroses and sprigs of myrtle'. The Mayoress of Gravesend flanks the group to the left, and the Mayor with his staff of office to the right. The artist has placed himself in the crowd top right, wearing a white beard and facing to the left. He has raised his right arm and waves his top hat high to salute the arrival of the Princess.
The painting shows small pointed red banners with garlands of blue, pink and white roses festooning the pier. The smoke of the guns from the Shore Battery indicates a welcome salute. In the larger painting, the tall masts of the Royal Yacht fly both the Royal ensign and Danish flag and cheering sailors are positioned in the rigging. Princess Alexandra holds the bouquet presented to her by the Mayoress of Gravesend. Gravesend had a centuries old tradition as a place of departure and arrival for royalty and in 1858 had celebrated the departure of the Princess Royal to marry the Prince of Prussia. A popular destination for day trips from London, the town went to considerable expense to welcome the Princess to her new country, and the painting shows the covered awning and red carpet laid specially for the occasion. From Gravesend the Prince of Wales and Princess Alexandra travelled by train to London to prepare for their wedding. The sombre mood of the royal party may be attributed to the mourning still in effect following Prince Albert's death in 1861. The larger finished painting was exhibited at the Royal Academy in 1864.
Credit: National Maritime Museum, Greenwich, London, Caird Collection