Chatham Division Royal Marines and Royal Visits

The Royal Marines were based at Chatham for over 200 years. From 1775 until 1950 the Chatham Division of Royal Marines occupied barracks on a site adjacent to the southern end of the Dockyard. During this time, the Chatham Division was visited by a number of royal guests.

The image above shows Queen Victoria’s second son, H.R.H. Prince Alfred, the Duke of Edinburgh & Saxe-Coburg Gotha presenting new colours to the Chatham Division of the Royal Marines on the 22nd June 1896 at the Royal Marines Officers' Mess in Chatham.  Prince Alfred (centre), standing with divisional officers outside the Mess. This photograph was originally published in the journal, The Navy & Army Illustrated, in 1896. Prince Alfred had become the Honorary Colonel of the Corp of Royal Marines in 1882. He had served as a career sailor having entered the Royal Navy in 1858. The prince became an Admiral of the Fleet in 1893, when he died seven years later, he had spent over 40 years in the Royal Navy.

Image © Chatham Historic Dockyard Trust