The Enduring Link

The prospect of racing against members of the Royal Family has helped increase participation in yachting as a whole at several key points in the sport’s history. The Prince Regent, later King George IV, initiated the Royal Family’s links to yachting at Cowes in the summer of 1817 when he instructed Sir Charles Paget to approach The Yacht Club, later The Royal Yacht Squadron (RYS), on his behalf and reveal his wish to become a member. Sir Charles conveyed the Prince Regent’s interest in the two-year-old organisation within a brief letter that was written onboard the recently commissioned HM Yacht Royal George whilst lying off Brighton. “Sir, The Prince Regent desires to be a member of the Yacht Club, and you are to consider this as an official notification of His Royal Highness’s desire.” On receiving the letter, The Yacht Club held a special meeting in East Cowes on 15 September, which passed a resolution to express the Club’s appreciation of the honour accorded by the Prince’s interest. To provide a token of his status as a member, two copies of the Club’s signal books were richly bound in red morocco and despatched to His Royal Highness.

That summer also marked the public debut of Royal George during The Prince Regent’s visit to Brighton to inspect John Nash’s progress with the transformation of his beloved Royal Pavilion. Crowds turned out along the resort’s sea front to catch their first glimpse of the new Royal Yacht. Sadly, the weather conditions proved too much for the Royal party and Royal George’s inaugural cruise from Brighton lasted only a few hours and inspired one wag to write the neo heroic poem, “Address to the Royal George yacht.” A flavour of its contents is provided by the opening and concluding lines:

“Hail, gaudy Ship, what wonders hast thou done,

To tempt to sea our Monarch’s eldest son!

To keep the sea at such a time were vain –

You therefore brought the Regent back again.”

A year later, the Royal Family’s connection with The Yacht Club was strengthened by The Duke of Clarence, later William IV, and The Duke of Gloucester becoming members. In 1819, The Prince Regent announced that he would visit Cowes as part of his cruise along the south coast from Brighton to Plymouth in Royal George. However, the Prince was so taken with the Solent’s beauty that he rented a cottage on the beach at Cowes and did not venture any further west. Following his ascension to the Throne in 1820, George IV approved the Club’s petition to be known as The Royal Yacht Club, thus becoming the first such organisation in the country to be granted the honour of a Royal prefix.

In August 1821, George IV returned to Cowes in Royal George and was accompanied by HM Yacht Royal Sovereign, which had been built for his father in 1804, two frigates, three brigs of war, three sloops and the private yachts Pearl, Louisa and Falcon. When the squadron sailed past Cowes it received a royal salute from the castle, which became the RYS’s home in 1858, and continued to head towards the Needles before sailing back to anchor off the royal cottage. As the Squadron prepared to anchor, the men of each escorting warship manned the rigging while passing the Royal Yacht. The King acknowledged their loud huzzas by taking off his cap and subsequently remained on deck for most of the day so that he could be seen by the local people. He even bowed to the passengers onboard the Southampton steamboat when it passed the Royal Yacht. The visit helped to establish Cowes as an increasingly fashionable seaside resort and generate further interest in yachting.

In 1830, George IV was succeeded by his younger brother The Duke of Clarence as William IV. As a long standing member of the Royal Yacht Club, the new king maintained the Royal Family’s links to the sport of yachting. In July 1833 he approved the Club’s second change of title to become the Royal Yacht Squadron and its coat of arms. Four years later, the RYS signalled the passing of its second Royal Patron by using its battery to fire seventy two minute guns as a final mark of respect.

The Royal Family’s relationship with the sport of yachting entered a new phase during the reign of Queen Victoria when her eldest son, The Prince of Wales, later King Edward VII, decided to become a regular participant. His passion for the sea had been triggered by childhood cruises with his parents in HM Yacht Victoria & Albert from Cowes to Wales, Ireland and Scotland. Memories of the inaugural race for the America’s Cup on 23 August 1851 may have also left a lasting impression on the Prince. As a nine year old boy, he joined his parents onboard Victoria & Albert to watch the outcome of this historic event. As the Royal party waited for the competing yachts to return, Prince Albert and his son, who was dressed in a white sailor suit, were rowed ashore which caused quite a stir onboard the nearby passenger boats. Later on, the Royal Family was acknowledged by America’s crew who lowered the Ensign and removed their hats as they passed the anchored Royal Yacht off Alum Bay on their way to victory.

Twelve years later, the Prince accepted the Royal Yacht Squadron’s (RYS) invitation to become its Patron in succession to his father and purchased the first of his yachts in 1866. The 37 ton cutter Dagmar, named after his sister-in-law, was followed by the 40 ton cutter Alexandra in 1871, the 40 ton cutter Princess in 1872 and the 38 ton small screw steamer Zenobia in 1873. A year later, the Prince succeeded the late Lord de Ros as Commodore of the Royal Thames YC (RTYC). His Royal Highness subsequently accepted the Presidency of the Yacht Racing Association in 1881 and was elected Commodore of the RYS in 1882. He retained all three appointments until his accession to the throne at which point he became Admiral of the RYS and Patron of the RTYC.

In the meantime, the Prince started racing in the Solent following his purchase of Gilbert Moss’ two year old schooner Hildegarde in 1876. The Prince preferred to sail onboard his yachts as a spectator rather than taking a hands on role, so he appointed John Nicholls as Hildegarde’s skipper. It proved to be a winning combination with victory in a closely fought race for the Town Cup in heavy weather at Cowes in 1876. A year later, the 199 ton Hildegarde secured the Prince’s first Queen’s Cup in similar conditions which led to a momentary easing of the RYS’s cast-iron rules by allowing ladies to rush on to the platform to witness the nail biting finish.

The Prince enjoyed his next success with the 102 ton cutter Formosa. She had been built for Mr F Sloane Stanley in 1878 and immediately challenged the dominance of the old Solent favourites Arrow and Vol-au-Vent in her debut season. Although she won a second Queen’s Cup for her Royal owner in 1880 he only kept Formosa for two years before transferring his racing flag to the 210 ton schooner Aline. Like Hildegarde, Aline had been built by the Gosport yard of Camper & Nicholson. She was commissioned by Charles Sabine Thellusson as an improved version of his previous schooner Georgina and named after his eldest daughter. In the wake of America’s victory of 1851 it had been considered essential to fit schooners with raked masts, yet Aline’s were nearly vertical and she was one of the first schooners to have a running bowsprite. Her successful racing career began in style by winning the 1860 Queen’s Cup. Thellusson sold her to Sir Richard Sutton in 1872. She subsequently passed through the hands of the Earl of Hardwick and the Marquess of Hastings prior to being purchased by The Prince of Wales in 1882. Despite her racing pedigree, The Prince mainly used her for cruising until he sold her to Prince Ibrahim Halim Pasha in 1895.