Description:The third Duke of Sutherland visited India as part of the Royal Suite accompanying the Prince of Wales in 1875. Amongst the many documents relating to the third Duke’s time abroad is a personal diary which the Duke kept from 1875-1876. Much of interest can be found inside, including newspaper cuttings, a calling card, diary entries and a memorandum of proposed dates for the visit. Through such information we can see the scheduled departures from and arrivals to the different areas of interest and the days on which important figures such as the Maharaja and native chiefs received the Royal Suite. Ceremonial events upon arrival are also described with elephant processions and fireworks being mentioned frequently throughout.
The diary entries, however, reveal much more than the itinerary of events as they give an indication as to the Duke’s emotions and opinions during the trip. The first entry states that he was very sad to leave London and a later entry declares that after the Duke had ‘read important papers about Egypt & its future prospects’ he looked forward ‘to seeing it a free country before long’.
The entries also provide details about the many journeys made, including timings, the weather and picturesque views, the Duke noting that the ‘Buttanical gardens about the best in the world’. He adds that between Brindisi there were ‘vine leaves all colours’ but that the weather in Egypt was ‘too hot to sleep well at night’.
The Dukes’ entries tell us much about not only himself but of the other members of the Suite and those they met. In October 1875 the Prince of Wales was unwell, the Duke describing him as ‘sick’ along with ‘several’ others. A later entry for 5th February 1876 mentions that ‘Prince Louis’ had ‘broken his collar bone’.
The Duke’s diary would make fascinating reading for anyone with an interest in the Duke’s travels abroad.
The image above shows the entry for 31st October 1875. Other entries mentioned are from: 13th January 1876, 5th February 1876, 16th October 1875, 3rd December 1875 and 1st November 1875.