Altar Cross given by Queen Victoria

One of the greatest events in the history of the plate of St George’s Chapel, Windsor Castle was the presentation of the Altar Cross by Queen Victoria in commemoration of her Golden Jubilee in 1887.  

This was the first time that a reigning Sovereign had presented a piece of plate since the Reformation.

The inscription reads:

                    VICTORIA
L.ANNOS.D.G.BRITT.REGINA.F.D.
                        D.D.D.
             MDCCCLXXXVII

The cross was designed by J.L. Pearson and made in London by Thomas Peard. 

Described in The Plate of St George’s Chapel, Windsor Castle by E Alfred Jones, M.A., F.S.A., as:

Altar Cross.  Silver, 29.1/4 inches high, enriched with 26 figures of saints: 

St John, King Alfred, St Louis, St Hubert, Our Lord, St Matthew, St Mark, St Nicholas, St Barbara, St Alban, St Martin, St Cuthbert, St Crispen, St Thomas of Canterbury, St Bede, St Anselm, St Luke, St Edward the Confessor, St Ethelreda, St  Margaret, St Edmund, King and Martyr, St Oswald, St Helena, St Hilda, St Edward, King and Martyr and St George.     

Canon Eastman, Master of the Fabric, reported in the Friends’ Report 1982-83, page 138, that restoration work had been undertaken to the High Altar Cross which had been given by Queen Victoria to commemorate her Jubilee in 1887.

He records that the cross was gold-plated on solid silver but that the gilt had become very tarnished over the years and condensation had seriously damaged the internal fittings.  The Cross has been repaired and regilded, and it is interesting to note that when it was removed from the chapel for repair, it was insured for £30,000.

Enid Davies, Assistant Archivist

Over the years, St George’s has seen a number of Royal occasions take place at the Chapel, all of which are recorded in the Chapel archives, and most recently being the wedding of Peter Phillips and Autumn Kelly in 2008.

However, Edward VII is the only monarch to have been baptised, married and buried in St George’s Chapel. He was baptised Albert Edward, Prince of Wales, on 25 January 1842 by the Archbishop of Canterbury. 21 years later, he would marry Alexandra Caroline Maria Charlotte Louisa Julia on 10 March 1863.

There had been national outcry at the thought that St George’s would host the wedding, as it was, according , according to The Illustrated Times, “Grey, crumbling, hoary and without almost ruinous in aspect”. The now grand ceremonial west steps at the time were narrow, unkempt and little more than a rubbish dump. St George’s was also considered too small, and Windsor too much of a backwater to be worthy of the wedding of the Prince of Wales; however as in most things, Queen Victoria got her way.

Wedding of Edward and Alexandra

Great anterooms were built over the mound to provide somewhere for the procession to gather, as well as offering something a little more spectacular than what was there at the time. These were hung with fine drapes, and Lady Augusta Stanley thought them “fitted up with the greatest taste”.

The day itself was a cold and frosty one, fitting for the air of solemnity and grief which went with the day, since it was less than 3 months since the death of Albert. Despite this, it was a grand occasion, with a gallery at the south end of the organ-loft specially built to accommodate the enlarged choir and an orchestra. Sir George Elvey arranged the music and composed the anthem “Sing unto God”. For Victoria, taking part in the service would have been too much, and she watched from above, as can be seen in this painting. For the rest of her life, she would watch services from this little room, originally built for Katherine of Aragon.

On his death in 1910, Edward VII was placed in the Royal Vault while work was finished on his tomb in the South Quire Aisle. After the death of Alexandra 15 years later, the two coffins were placed side by side in the sarcophagus, which has a lovely personal feel, depicting Edward’s favourite dog Caesar at his feet.

Eleanor Cracknell (Assistant Archivist)

On 25 June 1892 ‘Buffalo Bill’ and his Wild West show gave a command performance at Windsor Castle in front of Queen Victoria.  She recorded in her journal the entertaining events of the day [Royal Archives VIC/MAIN/QVJ/1892: 25 June]:

‘At 5…we went on to the East Terrace, & watched from a tent, open in front, a sort of “Buffalo Bill” performance, on the Lawn below.  It was extremely well arranged, & an excellent representation of what we had also seen 5 years ago at Earl’s Court.  There were Cow Boys, Red Indians, Mexicans, Argentinos taking part, & then a wonderful riding display by Cossacks, accompanied by curious singing, & a war dance by the Indians.  There were extraordinary buck jumping horses, shooting at glass balls by Col: Cody (Buffalo Bill), & [a] display of cracking huge long whips.  The whole, was a very pretty, wild sight, which lasted an hour.  At the conclusion of the performance, all advanced in line at a gallop & stopped suddenly.  Col: Cody was brought up for me to speak to him.  He is still a very handsome man, but has now got a grey beard.’

The Times records that on 25 June 1892 the Queen witnessed from the East Terrace of Windsor Castle a performance of ‘a party of the Wild West Company, consisting of American Cowboys, Mexicans, Cossacks of the Caucasus, Gauchos, and Sioux Indians, under the direction of Colonel Cody [Buffalo Bill].’

Philip Frank Eliot, Dean of Windsor (1891-1917), was invited by the Queen to attend.  He described the event in a letter to his mother dated the following day:

‘It was really a very pretty sight.  The performance took place on the lawn in front of the East Terrace … and the Queen and all the guests etc. sat on the Terrace itself.  Unfortunately it was a dull evening, with no sun.  Certainly they performed some wonderful feats of horsemanship.  The Queen suggested that her equerries might try to ride the ‘bucking’ horses! but they were not willing.’

Eleanor Cracknell (Assistant Archivist)

Monument to Gerald Wellesley, Dean of Windsor, 1854-1882

Gerald Wellesley, born on October 31st 1809, was Dean of Windsor and Register of the Most Noble Order of the Garter from 1854 to 1882. He was the third son of Henry, 1st Baron Cowley, and nephew to Arthur, 1st Duke of Wellington. Wellesley was a highly respected man; Archbishop Davidson (one of Wellesley’s successors as Dean of Windsor) saw him as “one of the most trusted of Queen Victoria’s friends.”

His monument lies in the North Quire Aisle in St George’s Chapel. It is made out of white carrara marble on which is the recumbent figure of Gerald Wellesley. The monument was unveiled by Queen Victoria on 1st December 1884.

However, for many years there has been confusion as to whether Dean Wellesley is actually buried in the Chapel or not. The Dictionary of National Biography and the St George’s Chapel Historical Monograph, The Deans and Canons of Windsor (1950) state that he is buried here, but there is no entry for this in either the Burial Fees Register [SGC XIX.89] or in the Burials Register [SGC R.2] itself. Contemporary articles in The Times newspaper indicate that his funeral took place at Stratfield Saye, the home of the Dukes of Wellington. Does that mean he was buried there too?

The answer is provided by Queen Victoria herself. In her journal for the 23 September 1882, she notes ”The dear Dean, by his own desire, was to be laid to rest in the churchyard at Strathfieldsaye, where he had spent his early years as a Clergyman.  We grieve much that he should not rest at Windsor.”
[Royal Archives VIC/MAIN/QVJ/1882: 23 September]

Matthew Alexander & Matthew Bush, Windsor Boys’ School

February 4th 1901

The funeral procession on the West Steps

The Body of Her most Excellent Majesty, Victoria by the Grace of God of the United Kingdom of Great Britain & Ireland Queen, Defender of the Faith & Empress of India, was conveyed from Osborne to Portsmouth on Friday Feb. 1st 1901, & on the following day it was conveyed from Portsmouth to London & from London to Windsor into St George’s Chapel, where a Funeral Service was held conducted by The Archbishop of Canterbury, The Bishop of Winchester & The Dean of Windsor. The Body was then placed in the Albert Memorial Chapel where it remained until Monday Feb 4th 1901. on which day it was conveyed to the Royal Mausoleum at Frogmore, where it was interred in the Royal Sarcophagus by us Randall Winton: P.F. Eliot, Dean of Windsor

Extracted from the Burials Register

Eleanor (Assistant Archivist)