Military or Naval
ANGLESEY
(Henry William Paget, 1768-1854, M.P., Field Marshal, 2nd Earl Uxbridge, 1st Marquis)
Autograph Letter Signed to 'Messrs Waterfield and Balfour',
saying it would have given him infinite gratification to meet the wishes of the Members of a School of which I am proud to have been a Scholar, but does not feel able to apply to Prince Albert to obtain the sanction of Her Majesty the Queen for the performance of the Annual Westminster Play, previously to the Funeral of her late Majesty , Queen Adelaide, who had died on 2nd December, when it is probable that all public Theatres will be closed, in a P.S. signed 'A.' on another matter, he feels he is not a competent authority upon the cases in question and advises them to consult the Dean [William Buckland], together with the Marquis's engaging engraved portrait by I. Thomson after Sir William Beechey, from the European Magazine, 1st October 1821, showing him head and shoulders, in profile but turning towards the artist, 8½ x 5½ in margins 9½ x 6½, the letter 4 sides 4to., Beau Desert, Staffordshire, 4th December
Item Date: 1849
£425
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Background
At Waterloo the Marquis, then Lord Uxbridge, commanded the Anglo-Belgian cavalry, contributing to the victory but losing his right leg. In a garden near the church at Waterloo there is a monument to the leg which is buried there. He was made Field Marshal in 1846 and at the time of his death was the only Field Marshal outside the royal family. William Waterfield, (1832-1907), was Captain of Queen's Scholars and Captain of the School. In 1850 he went to Haileybury for two years to prepare for the Bengal Civil Service, like many of his family, which has supplied a record number of Westminsters over the years. Edward Balfour, (1833-1866), Queen's Scholar, was distinguished as head of list to Christ Church, Oxford, and as a cricketer. In 1858 Prince Albert and the Prince of Wales attended the famous Latin Play (at the end of Play Term, the first of the school year), but not Queen Victoria, who thought the subject matter 'very improper'.
two tiny pinholes at top of side 3, some original offset on side 4, portrait a trifle browned in places and remargined with one corner trimmed
Stock No. 55426
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