Adelaide of England (Queen)

Princess Adelaide, daughter of the Duke of Saxe-Meiningen, married William IV, King of England, in 1818, and was widowed in 1837.

In 1847, in view of her precarious health, her physicians advised her to spend the winter in a temperate climate. The widowed queen chose Madeira as the resort in which to shelter from the rigours of the English winter.

The civil governor of this district at the time was Councillor (conselheiro, honorary title of the royal council) José Silvestre Ribeiro, who prepared a fitting reception for the illustrious visitor, which greatly touched both her and the English colony resident here.

The British warship, the frigate Howe, anchored in our harbour on the morning of 2 November 1847, carrying Queen Adelaide. She came ashore at two o’clock in the afternoon to visit the house prepared for her lodging, returning on board the same day; only on the following day did she disembark and settle at the Quinta Vigia (‘lookout’), temporarily transformed into a royal palace. The queen landed at the Pontinha (‘little point’), where she received the homage of all the local authorities, who accompanied her to her residence.

The queen’s retinue consisted of her sister and brother-in-law, the Duke and Duchess of Saxe-Weimar, and their four children; the maid of honour Miss Seymour; the chamberlains Colonel Cornawall and his wife; the chaplain, the Revd G. F. Hudson; the physician Dr David Davis; the secretary and almoner (esmoler) T. T. Bedford; the duke’s secretary M. Hartey; and 32 servants.

After 5 months’ stay on this island, Queen Adelaide embarked on 11 April 1848 on the same ship that had brought her to Madeira. She had not only experienced a considerable improvement, thanks to the mildness of the climate, but also kept the fondest memories of the tranquil days she had spent on the island.

In 1849 the queen sent Councillor José Silvestre a magnificent silver piece in the form of a serpentine, exquisitely worked and engraved with the following words: ‘-Presented to his Excellency Senhor José Silvestre Ribeiro H. M. Majesty's Counsellor and Civil Governor of the Province of Madeira-’. ‘In grateful recollection of his civility and kind attention during her residence in Madeira by A. R.’ On one side it bears the English royal crown and, on the other, the name of Queen Adelaide.