Königswinter near Bonn on the Rhine. The same company of boys At Königswinter, 1857.. went with him and the 8uite
was joined by Prince Albert's equerries, Col. Grey and Col. Ponsonby, as well as Charles Tarver, afterwards canon of
Chester, who was appointed to act as classical
tutor. No very serious study was
pursued, but the experiences were varied.
On the journey down the Rhine, the party
met the ill-fated Archduke and Archduchess
Maximilian of Austria, who were on their
honeymoon. From Germany the prince
and his companions went on to Switzerland. At Chamonix Albert Smith acted
as guide. The prince walked over the
Great Scheidegg, and Roundell Palmer
(afterwards Earl Selborne), who was
traversing the same pass, wrote with
enthusiasm in his diary of 'the slender fair
boy' and of his 'frank open countenance,'
judging him to be 'everything which we
could have wished the heir to the British
throne at that age to be' (Selbourne, Memorials, ii. 327). The prince also visited at the castle of Johannisburg the old statesman Prince Metternich,
who reported to Guizot that 'le jeune prince plaisait a tout le monde, mais avait l'air embarrasse et très triste' (Reid, Life of Lord Houghton).
Home again at the end of October, he enjoyed in the winter his first experience of hunting, going out with the royal buckhounds near Windsor. He found the sport exhilarating, and soon afterwards tried his hand at deer-stalking in Scotland. In January 1858 the festivities in honour of his elder sister's marriage with Prince Frederick of Prussia absorbed The Princess Royal's marriage, 25 Jan. 1858. the attention of his family. The marriage, prince attended the ceremony at St. James Palace dressed in highland costume (25 Jan.). He felt the parting with the chief companion of his childhood, but corresponded incessantly with his sister and paid her repeated visits in her new home. The close relations with the Prussian royal family which had begun with his baptism were thus greatly strengthened. On 1 April 1858 he was confirmed at Windsor by the archbishop of Canterbury, John Bird Sumner. 'Bertie,' wrote Confirmation, 1 April 1858. his father, 'acquitted himself extremely well,' in the preliminary examination by Gerald Wellesley, dean of Windsor. His mother described 'his whole manner' as 'gentle, good and proper,' epithets which well expressed his attitude towards religion through life. A few days later he made a short pleasure tour with his tutor to Ireland. It was his third visit to that country. He now extended his knowledge of it by going south to Killarney and leaving by way of Cork.
A further trial of the effect of absence from home was made in May. It was decided that he should join the army, and on 5 May 1858, with a view to preparing him for military service, he was sent to stay at in residence White Lodge in Richmond Park, the unoccupied residence of In residence at White Lodge, 1858. Lodge, 1858. the ranger, duke of Cambridge. A sort of independent household was there first provided for him. In view of the approach of manhood, his parents redoubled their precautions against undesirable acquaintances, but after careful investigation three young officers, Lord Valletort (the earl of Mount Edgcumbe's son), Major Christopher Teesdale [q. v.], and Major Lindsay, afterwards Lord Wantage [q. v. Suppl. II], were appointed to be the prince's first equerries. For their confidential instruction, Prince Albert elaborated rules whereby they might encourage in the prince minute care of his 'appearance, deportment, and dress,' and foster in him good 'manners and conduct towards others' and the 'power to acquit himself creditably in conversation or whatever may be the occupation of society.'
Already at fifteen he had been given a small allowance for the purchase of hats and ties, for which he carefully accounted to his mother. Now he was advanced to the privilege of choosing his own dress, and the queen sent him a formal minute on the sober principles which should govern his choice of material. To neatness of dress he always attached importance, and he insisted on a reasonable adherence to laws of fashion on the part of those about him. To the formalities of official costume he paid through life an almost ex-exaggerated attention. This quality was partly inherited from his grandfather, the duke of Kent, but was greatly stimulated by his parents' counsel. Gibbs was in chief charge at White Lodge, and intellectual society was encouraged. Richard Owen the naturalist was several times invited to dine, and Lord John Russell, who was residing at Pembroke Lodge, was an occasional guest. The talk ranged over many topics, but was hardly calculated to interest very deeply a boy under seventeen (Life of R. Owen). He spent some time rowing on the river, and attended his first
