Lord Charles Beresford - Naval and Parliament Careers

Naval and Parliament Careers

Beresford joined the Royal Navy in 1859 aged 13, following preparatory education at Stubbington House School, and started his training as a cadet at the naval training academy HMS Britannia; successfully completing his passing-out examination in March 1861. He was immediately appointed a midshipman on the flagship of the Mediterranean fleet, the steam three-decker Marlborough. Beresford described the Marlborough as "the smartest and happiest ship that ever floated". Beresford left the Marlborough in Spring 1863, and was appointed to the Defence in the summer of 1863. The Defence was one of four new ironclads serving in the Channel Squadron; Beresford was unhappy in the Defence, which he described as "a slovenly, unhandy tin kettle, which could not sail without steam... and which took minutes instead of seconds to cross topgallant yards". Beresford got into debt, his father consulted Admiral Eden, who arranged for Beresford's transfer in mid-1864 to the steam-corvette Clio, where Beresford would be the senior midshipman, which it was hoped would develop Beresford's sense of responsibility. In Spring 1865, the Clio visited the Kingdom of Hawaii (then known as the Sandwich Islands); it was then that Beresford first met Nancy Wahinekapu Sumner, one of Dowager Queen Emma's courtladies. Beresford and Sumner became friends, and continued their friendship through correspondence. Later in 1865, Beresford was transferred to the steam-corvette Tribune, which was commanded by Lord Gilford and was one of the smartest ships in the navy at the time. Beresford was promoted to acting sub-lieutenant in January 1866. A month later Beresford was transferred to the steam-frigate Sutlej, the flagship of the Pacific Squadron. Beresford passed his seamanship examination to qualify for lieutenant on board the Sutlej, which he left later in 1866. Beresford did a gunnery course on the Excellent, a hulk in Portsmouth harbour. Beresford broke a bone in his foot whilst mismounting a gun on the Excellent, an injury that caused him pain for the rest of his life. Beresford joined the Research still as a sub-lieutenant in 1867, and then in the summer of 1868 was one of the sub-lieutenants on the royal yacht Victoria and Albert. Beresford joined the steam-frigate Galatea, commanded by Queen Victoria's son the Duke of Edinburgh, and toured the world, witnessed executions in Japan and got tattooed. On a visit to the Kingdom of Hawaii in 1869, Beresford met Nancy Sumner again. He proposed to her, but she refused due to their social and racial differences.

He entered Parliament as a Conservative in 1874, representing County Waterford and retained his seat until 1880. Some difficulties arose with the Lords of the Admiralty, who objected to a junior officer debating the navy publicly in the House of Commons. Beresford's parliamentary career was saved by the intervention of the Prime Minister, Benjamin Disraeli, who feared the loss of the seat to an opposition party, should Beresford be forced to resign. Whilst an MP he continued to serve in the navy, becoming a commander in 1875.

In 1874, Beresford was one of thirty-two aides chosen to accompany the Prince of Wales on a tour of India. Victoria objected, on the grounds of his bad reputation, but he remained at the Prince's insistence. The tour was a lively mixture of social engagements and animal hunts. The Prince insisted on dressing for dinner, even in the jungle, but allowed the concession of cutting off the tails of their evening coats, creating the dinner jacket. He was aide-de-camp to the Prince of Wales, later Edward VII, from 1875 until 1876.

During his service under Edward VII, he became involved in an affair with Daisy Greville, Countess of Warwick (i.e., Frances Brooke), with whom Edward VII was also involved romantically. The affair strained his friendship with Edward VII, even though Edward himself was married to Alexandra of Denmark.