On this day in history : 1st July 1969 – Prince Charles is invested Prince of Wales by his mother, Queen Elizabeth II, at Caernarfon Castle, in North Wales….
Caernarfon Castle prepared for the Investiture
Prince Charles had been created the Prince of Wales on the 26th of July 1958, when he was just 9-years-old – but it was 11 years later, when he was 20, that his investiture took place…. It is a title traditionally given to the eldest son of the reigning monarch…. Prince Charles is the longest serving Prince of Wales in British history, making him the longest waiting heir ever to become monarch….
The tradition began in 1301, when King Edward I of England gave the title to his son, Prince Edward (later to become King Edward II)…. It was after deposing the last native Prince of Wales, Llewelyn ap Gruffudd, following the conquering of Wales….
Millions of people watched the investiture of Prince Charles on television and huge crowds were attracted to Caernarfon – and to the castle which had seen the investiture in 1911 of Edward VIII before him….
Image credit : Journalist Geoff Charles – National Library of Wales CC0Image credit : Journalist Geoff Charles – National Library of Wales CC0
The centuries old custom involved the Secretary of State for Wales, who read the Letters Patent in Welsh…. The Queen then bestowed upon Charles a sword, coronet, ring, the gold rod and the kingly mantle…. Prince Charles then took his oath….
“I, Charles, Prince of Wales, do become your liege man of life and limb and of earthly worship and faith and truth I will bear unto thee to live and die against all manner of folks”….
On this day in history : 30th June 1956 – ‘I’mWalking Backwards for Christmas’ by the Goons enters the British music charts – six months after Christmas….
The Goons – Fair use
During the 1950s the BBC was one of the biggest employers of musicians – but it also played contemporary music in the form of records…. At the same time new technology had arrived making it possible to pre-record programmes, rather than everything going out live…. In early 1956 negotiations began between the BBC, the copyright licensing organisation Phonographic Performance Ltd (PPL) and the Musicians’ Union – who wanted restricted recorded music…. However, talks broke down resulting in the 1956 Musicians’ Strike….
Radio comedy shows of the time, of which the Goon Show was one, had their roots in the old music hall performances – and so their format was expected to have musical breaks…. One episode of the Goon Show that was recorded during the Musicians’ Strike was episode 13 of series 6, ‘The Great Tuscan Salami Scandal’ in February 1956…. The plot involved Ned Seagoon attempting to prevent a war with the other side of the Spaghetti Curtain by tracking down the missing breeding pair of ground-to-ground salami missiles that had been fitted with war heads….
With no professional musicians available something had to be done to fill the void that should have contained a musical interlude…. So to prevent radio-silence Spike Milligan quickly composed a song, which he then performed accompanied by Peter Sellars….
The original song was only about 50 seconds long but proved extremely popular with the audience and the Goon team realised they could be on to something….
Image : Pinterest
After signing with Decca in the Spring of 1956 the song was revamped and added to – and then quickly released so it could be got into the shops…. It reached No.4 in the UK charts – and was also released in the States – but was not received with the same enthusiasm (not everyone gets British humour)….
I’m walking backwards for Christmas, Across the Irish Sea, I’m walking backwards for Christmas, It’s the only thing for me....
Ive tried walking sideways, And walking to the front, But people just look at me, And say it’s a publicity stunt....
I’m walking backwards for Christmas, To prove that I love you....
On this day in history : 29th June 1916 – British diplomat Sir Roger Casement, an Irish patriot, is sentenced to death for his part in the Easter Rising against British rule in Ireland….
Sir Roger Casement – National Library of Ireland
Casement was the British consul in Portuguese East Africa and was well regarded and respected for his work…. He published his Congo report in 1904 which led to major changes in the Belgian rule of the Congo and his Putumayo report of 1912 gained him a knighthood….
In 1912 he retired to Ireland due to ill health as a result of the malaria he had contracted from his time in the Congo…. Although Casement came from a Protestant background he sympathised with the Irish Catholic Nationalists…. In 1913 he helped form the Irish National Volunteers and travelled to New York in 1914 to promote the cause and raise money for the Volunteers from among the large Irish community in New York….
After the outbreak of World War 1 Casement travelled to Berlin via Norway – he considered himself an ambassador for Ireland…. The idea was that if Germany would supply guns to the Volunteers and provide military leadership the Irish would revolt against the English diverting attention away from the war with Germany….
However on arriving in Germany in November 1914 he discovered the German government were not willing to risk an expedition to Ireland…. Another blow was that the majority of Irish prisoners of war being held in Germany, who he had intended to recruit to the cause, refused to give their support…. To add to all of this he could only secure a fraction of the guns he was hoping for….
Casement at around the time of his time in Germany – Public domain
When he learned that an uprising had been planned for the Easter of 1916 he knew that without the full quota of weapons and the lack of military support that he had to get back to Ireland to try and prevent it…. He returned on board a German submarine, departing on the 12th of April and was dropped off in County Kerry on the 21st of April – just 3 days before the planned uprising….
However, on his return Casement was suffering from a bout of malaria and was too weak to travel…. The British, who had been intercepting German radio communications, knew that there was something afoot and that there was going to be an attempt to land arms in Ireland…. Casement was quickly found and on the 24th of June he was arrested and taken to London….
At his highly publicised trial on the 29th of June Casement was found guilty of treason, sabotage and espionage – and sentenced to hang…. He was also stripped of his knighthood….
Casement was hanged at Pentoville Prison on the 3rd of August 1916 – on the day of his execution he was, at his request, received into the Catholic Church…. He was buried in the prison cemetery but in 1965, after many formal requests had previously been refused by the British government, he was repatriated to Ireland…. Here he was given a state funeral and buried with full military honours in the Republican plot of Glasnevin Cemetery, Dublin….
On this day in history : 28th June 1838 – The Coronation, at Westminster Abbey, of Queen Victoria – in a five hour long botched service full of mis-fortunate mishaps….
Sir George Hayter – Public domain
Victoria came to the throne after the death of her uncle, William IV, on the 20th of June 1837…. She was 18 years old and her Coronation took place a year later…. With a year to plan such an event one would imagine things to run smoothly on the day – but this was not entirely to be the case….
When writing in her diary to record the day Victoria remarked “I shall remember this day as the proudest of my life”…. There would have been those who remembered the day for very different reasons – but indeed Victoria had every right to feel proud – and not least for the way she managed to hold it together….
Sir George Hayter – Public domain
It could perhaps be said that Victoria was more than a little responsible for some of the difficulties of the day herself…. There had been very little rehearsal for the ceremony – she had only visited the Abbey on the eve of the Coronation and even then only after persuasion from Prime Minister Lord Melbourne…. She insisted she knew what she was meant to be doing – saying she understood where to stand and when to move throughout the ceremony – although it is highly likely she had forgotten half of it by the time came….
As the day dawned clusters of people began to gather in London…. With the advent of the railways it had become easy for people to travel – soon the numbers had swelled to some 400,000 – lining the route to Westminster Abbey….
The Gold State Coach – Image credit: Steve F.E. Cameron – own work – CC BY-SA 3.0
The lengthy service involved two changes of dress for the Queen and when not needed for the proceedings it had been arranged that the royal party should retreat to St. Edward’s Chapel…. Whilst a chapel in every sense of the word it certainly did not resemble one on this occasion…. The altar was piled with plates of sandwiches and bottles of wine….people’s possessions and paraphernalia were littered everywhere…. Victoria was quite appalled at the state of the place….
Placing the crown upon the Queen’s head went more or less according to plan – but it is a shame the same cannot be said for the Coronation ring…. The ring had been sized to fit Victoria’s little finger but the Archbishop forced it on to her ring finger…. After the ceremony Victoria had to painfully struggle to remove it – having to resort to soaking her hand in iced water to reduce the swelling….
The Bishop of Durham then gave her the ceremonial orb at the wrong time in the ceremony and the Bishop of Bath and Wells managed to turn over two pages of the order of service and missed out a crucial chunk of the proceedings – Victoria had to be called back so that it could be repeated….
If it wasn’t her bishops giving her grief it was her Lords…. As the peers came before the new Queen to pay their respects one in particular, Lord John Rolle, Devon’s wealthiest landowner at the time, came a right cropper! As he mounted the steps leading up to her he tripped – and in an action truly befitting his name – he dramatically rolled back down to the bottom…. Luckily he was unhurt – well, maybe his pride was a little dented – and he was determined to fulfil his duty….so started the ascent again…. Showing concern Victoria rose and went down the steps to meet him…. It was an act that was seen as being both gracious and kind by many – but there were those who were not willing to show such kindness towards his Lordship….
“Then the trumpets braying, and the organ playing, And the sweet trombones, with their silver tones, But Lord Rolle was rolling; ‘twas mighty consoling To think his Lordship did not break his bones!” - Mr Barney Maguire
After this catalogue of events a new programme was put together ready for the next Coronation…. Thankfully they got it right the next time – but then they did have 63 years to plan it….
Coronation of Queen Victoria by Edmund Thomas Parris – Public domain
On this day in history : 27th June 1746 – Flora MacDonald helps Bonnie Prince Charlie escape to the Isle of Skye, dressed as an Irish maid, following his defeat by the English at the Battle of Culloden….
The Battle of Culloden by David Morier – Public domain
Prince Charles Edward Stuart, better known as Bonnie Prince Charlie, was the grandson of King James II of England…. Charlie was to lead the Second Jacobite Uprising to overthrow King George II in 1745…. But 1746 saw the defeat of the Jacobites at the Battle of Culloden Moor….and Charlie was forced to run or face certain death….
After two months he arrived at the outer Hebridean island of South Ulst – and it was here that he was to meet 24-year-old Flora MacDonald…. Even though the man she was due to marry and her stepfather were both loyal soldiers under King George she agreed to help the Prince – even if somewhat reluctantly to begin with….
Portrait of Flora MacDonald by artist Allan Ramsay – Public domain
Flora managed to persuade her stepfather, who was in charge of the local militia, to allow her to travel to the mainland accompanied by a couple of servants and half a dozen boatmen…. Only one of the ‘servants’ – an Irish spinning maid by the name of ‘Betty Burke’ – was actually Bonnie Prince Charlie in disguise…. And instead of travelling to the mainland the little boat made its way to Kilmuir (now known as Prince’s Point) on the Isle of Skye….
They spent the night hiding in a cottage and the following day made their way on foot to Portree…. From here Charlie was able to find a boat to take him to the island of Raasay – and then he was able to escape to France….
Portrait of Charles Edward Stuart by artist Allan Ramsay – Public domain
Flora however faced arrest and was imprisoned at Dunstaffnage Castle in Oban – before being moved for a short time to the Tower of London…. She was eventually released in 1747 and she returned to Scotland….
“Speed Bonny boat like a bird on a wing, Onward the sailors cry, Carry the lad that’s born to be King, Over the sea to Skye”....
Cottage Capers 