Alfred, Duke of Edinburgh (1844–1900) was the second son and fourth child of Queen Victoria. He joined the navy in 1858 and in 1867 received command of HMS Galatea. Alfred was the first member of the royal family to visit Australia; arriving in Adelaide in October 1867 and proceeding to Melbourne, Tasmania, Sydney and Brisbane. While attending a picnic at Clontarf in March 1868, Alfred was shot by a man named Henry O’Farrell and seriously wounded. He recovered, and returned to England in June 1868. During his second visit in 1869, Alfred dedicated hospitals in Sydney and Melbourne commemorating his survival of the assassination attempt. He became an Admiral of the Fleet in 1893 and gained the title of Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha in that year. He died in Germany in 1900.
Collection: National Portrait Gallery, Canberra
Purchased 2020
Accession number: 2020.14
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