The Grave of Sir Henry Ponsonby
The grave of the chaplain who was present at Queen Victoria's death. He served a Queen and two Kings
The Grave of TRH Prince Louis & Princess Victoria (The Grandparents of HRH Prince Philip, The Duke of Edinburgh)
Very poignantly, three young cadets at Osbourne Naval School are buried at the edge f the graveyard. In 1919 they died form Spanish Flu and are buried in a line.
The War memorial
The Roll of Honour of those killed in World War I - The first being Prince Maurice, son of Princess Beatrice and grandson to Queen Victoria
Queen Victoria's chair in the Royal Pew
The Battenberg Tomb
A replica of Princess Beatrice's wedding dress
The grave of Uffa Fox
The Churrch hall
On the Isle of Wight, near Osborne House is Whippingham.
It's there you will find the lovely church of St Mildred.
Built by Queen Victoria for worshipers in the area, it has a lot of royal connections. Prince Albert worked alongside the architects to create the church you see today.
Here Queen Victoria's daughter, Beatrice (nicknamed 'Baby') was married to Prince Henry of Battenberg in 1885.
It is also where they are both buried in the Battenberg Chapel.
Its somewhere, along with Osborne I have wanted to visit for a long time.
On arrival (as its a very busy church on the royal Isle of Wight tour!) coaches are always booked in to visit! So we went to the Church Hall for some food and refreshments.
Its a lovely little Hall , staffed by volunteers. Serving cakes, sandwiches and savouries with hot and cold drinks. There's also a small souvenir stall!
Inside the church it is indeed very small. There are monuments on the walls to the Royal Family.. The largest being to Prince Albert, the Prince Consort.
The Battenberg Chapel, behind a gated wall, is indeed lovely. Also in niches on the wall are other members of the Milford Haven family.
Opposite is the Royal Pew. Here you can see the original chair Queen Victoria when she visited the church to worship.
Outside in the graveyard are the Graves of TRH Prince Louis and Princess Victoria. The grandparents of Prince Philip, The late Duke of Edinburgh. Amongst their children were Lord Louis, Mountbatten of Burma, Princess Alice and Princess Louise (later Queen of Sweden)
Members of the royal household (lower and senuor in titles!) are also buried in the graveyard. Including Sir Henry Ponsonby, Queen Victoria's Private Secretary. Alongside him, is the grave of the Queen's Chaplain. He was with the Queen when she died.
I was fortunate to be given a guided tour of the graveyard by one of the knowledgable guides (who told ne he was writing a book on all those buried there 'to put flesh on the bone' A book to look out for! Some 'ladies of the night' are also buried there. Aristocratic ladies who were on call for the King! (Edward VII)
Uffa Fox , the english Boat designer is buried there.
Nearby are three cadets from Osborne Naval School. They died from Spanish Flu in 1919 and are all buried there, in a row
It was a lovely pre-cursor to my visit to
Osborne House.....................
The church is open 10am - 4pm April to September/ October on Monday to Thursdays. Though do check first so you are not disappointed,
Photographs (C) Paul Ratcliffe
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