Social Victorians/People/Albert Edward, Prince of Wales

Also Known As

 * Albert Edward, Prince of Wales
 * The Duke of Lancaster, when traveling incognito
 * Bertie
 * King Edward VII of England
 * Teddy
 * Virtual International Authority File: 265340794

Overview
In his early account of him at Marienbad, Signmund Munz characterizes Edward VII as a social being:"his vocation was first and foremost social activity. He was a master of conviviality in the widest sense, and in consequence also a past-master of tact, knowledge of men, and worldly wisdom. And this delicate intuition and insight was the secret of his political success. Neither at home nor abroad did he flaunt England’s threatening power. The ship he sailed glided lightly over the waves of time, in striking contrast to his own heavy frame."

Milestones

 * Acceded to the throne, 22 January 1901
 * The scheduled coronation, postponed because of his appendicitis, 1902 June 26
 * Coronation, 9 August 1902

Family

 * Albert Edward, Prince of Wales (4 November 1841 – 6 May 1910)
 * Alexandra, Princess of Wales: "Alix" Alexandra Caroline Marie Charlotte Louise Julia (1 December 1844 – 20 November 1925)
 * Prince Albert Victor: Albert Victor Christian Edward, Duke of Clarence and Avondale (8 January 1864 – 14 January 1892)
 * Prince George: George Frederick Ernest Albert (3 June 1865 – 20 January 1936), later George V; married Princess Mary of Teck in 1893
 * Louise, Princess Royal: Louise Victoria Alexandra Dagmar (20 February 1867 – 4 January 1931); married Alexander Duff, 1st Duke of Fife, in 1889
 * Princess Victoria of Wales: Victoria Alexandra Olga Mary (6 July 1868 – 3 December 1935)
 * Princess Maud of Wales: Maud Charlotte Mary Victoria of Wales (26 November 1869 – 20 November 1938); married Prince Carl, later King Haakon VII, of Denmark on 22 July 1896
 * Prince Alexander John (6 April 1871 – 6 April 1871)

Victoria and Albert's children were sometimes called the Royal Mob.

Here is the Royal Family in 1880, painted in a style "after" James Archer, with Bertie apparently more prominent than Queen Victoria ("Royal Family In 1880". Licensed under Public domain via Wikimedia Commons http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Royal_Family_In_1880.jpg#mediaviewer/File:Royal_Family_In_1880.jpg). Note that this painting is not by Archer, only after him.

Relations

 * Queen Victoria, mother
 * Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, father
 * Much of the ruling class of Europe

Acquaintances

 * Sir Allen Young, the arctic explorer (introduced Lily Langtry to Bertie, 27 May 1877 )
 * Benjamin Disraeli
 * W. E. Gladstone
 * Lord Salisbury, Robert Arthur Talbot Gascoyne-Cecil, 3rd Marquess of Salisbury
 * Arthur Balfur
 * Julian Osgood Field (23 April 1852 – 1925)

Inner Circle and Close Friends and Relationships

 * Lord Esher, William Baliol Brett, 1st Viscount Esher (his best friend according to Leslie )
 * Sir Ernest Cassel
 * Luis Maria Augusto Pinto de Soveral, Marquês de Soveral: "Bertie [the Prince of Wales] had known him since 1884, but it was after 1897 that Soveral became a central figure at Marlborough House. In August 1899, he accompanied the prince to Marienbad for his cure, and Bertie found him a 'charming' traveling companion and 'a great resource.'"
 * Baron Hirsch, Maurice de Hirsch
 * Louisa, Duchess of Manchester and Duchess of Devonshire
 * Jennie, Lady Randolph Churchill (beginning in May 1886)
 * Theresa Susey Helen Chetwynd-Talbot Vane-Tempest-Stewart, Marchioness of Londonderry
 * Sir Christopher Sykes
 * Harry Chaplin
 * Consuelo Iznaga y Clement Montagu, Viscountess Mandeville, later Duchess of Manchester
 * The Sassoons
 * The Rothschilds — "[A]gainst much opposition from the landed aristocracy the Prince of Wales had become intimate with the Rothschild family and admitted them into his circle."
 * Hugh Cecil Lowther, 5th Earl of Lonsdale
 * Lord Curzon
 * Prince Louis of Battenberg (1876)
 * Charles Beresford (Charles William de la Poer Beresford, 1st Baron Beresford), Lieutenant Lord Charles Beresford (1876)
 * George Granville William Sutherland-Leveson-Gower, 3rd Duke of Sutherland (1876)
 * Lord Carrington, Charles Robert Wynn-Carrington (1876, less influential by 1905 )
 * Heneage Finch, the 7th Earl of Aylesford (1876)
 * Owen Lewis Cope Williams
 * George Charles Spencer-Churchill, Lord Blandford (eldest son of the Duke of Marlborough and brother of Randolph Churchill), became an enemy
 * Lord Randolph Churchill
 * Lord Hardwicke ("the Prince's dandy friend who had perfected the top hat"
 * Spencer Compton Cavendish, first Lord Hartington and later 8th Duke of Devonshire
 * Admiral John Fisher (by 1905 )
 * Private Secretary Francis Knollys (by 1905 )

Sexual and Romantic Partners
We cannot know for certain the exact nature of Bertie's relationships with the many (perhaps 27, perhaps as many as 55) women he was close to in his life outside his marriage, but general agreement exists that he was likely involved in sexual relationships with the following women:
 * 1) Nellie Clifton
 * 2) Harriet Mordaunt
 * 3) Hortense Schneider (1867)
 * 4) Princess Jeanne de Sagan, Duchess of Talleyrand-Périgord (mostly when Bertie was in France; not in England)
 * 5) Giulia Beneni ("La Barucci"), Giulia Barucci
 * 6) Susan Pelham-Clinton
 * 7) Sarah Bernhardt
 * 8) Lily Langtry (late 1877 to June 1880)
 * 9) Patsy Cornwallis-West
 * 10) Mrs. Luke Wheeler?
 * 11) Daisy Greville, Countess of Warwick (Countess of Brooke before her husband became Earl of Warwick) (beginning about 1889)
 * 12) Georgina Elisabeth Moncreiffe Ward, Countess of Dudley
 * 13) the Comtesse de Pourtalés
 * 14) the Duchesse de Mouchy
 * 15) Jennie Jerome Spencer-Churchill, Lady Randolph Churchill
 * 16) Lady Susan Vane-Tempest (is this the Marchioness of Londonderry?)
 * 17) Fanny Ronalds
 * 18) Margaret, Mrs. Ronald Greville, Lady Violet Greville's daughter in law
 * 19) Agnes Keyser
 * 20) Alice Keppel

Enemies (on and off, over time)

 * George Charles Spencer-Churchill, Lord Blandford (eldest son of the Duke of Marlborough and brother of Randolph Churchill) (1876)
 * Lord Randolph Churchill (1876)
 * Sir William Gordon-Cummings (after June 1891)

Those Present at the Tranby-Croft Party, September 1890

 * Arthur Wilson
 * Mary Wilson
 * Ethel Wilson and Edward Lycett Green
 * Lord and Lady Coventry, George William Coventry, 9th Earl of Coventry and Lady Blanche Craven Coventry
 * Lieutenant-General Owen Williams and his wife Nina
 * Sir William Gordon-Cumming
 * Sir Christopher Sykes
 * Tyrwhitt Wilson and his wife
 * Lord Edward Somerset and his wife
 * Captain Arthur Somerset (Lord Edward Somerset's cousin) and his wife
 * Lieutenant Berkeley Levett
 * Reuben Sassoon

Organizations and Social Networks

 * The "Marlborough House Set"

1870s

 * Sir Allen Young (introduced Lily Langtry to Bertie, 27 May 1877 [not sure how close Young was to Bertie]

1876

 * Prince Louis of Battenberg
 * Lieutenant Lord Charles Beresford
 * George Granville William Sutherland-Leveson-Gower, 3rd Duke of Sutherland
 * Lord Carrington, Charles Robert Wynn-Carrington
 * Heneage Finch, the 7th Earl of Aylesford
 * George Charles Spencer-Churchill, Lord Blandford (eldest son of the Duke of Marlborough), became an enemy
 * Lord Randolph Churchill, became an enemy

1880s

 * Jennie Jerome Spencer-Churchill, Lady Randolph Churchill (beginning in May 1886)

1889

 * about this time, Daisy Greville, Countess of Warwick (Countess of Brooke before her husband became Earl of Warwick), became Bertie's mistress

1890s

 * 1890, the baccarat game occurred
 * 1891, Lord Charles Beresford challenged Bertie's relationship with Beresford's sister Daisy Greville, Countess of Warwick, and their relationship was damaged permanently.
 * 1897 July 2, Friday, Bertie attended the Duchess of Devonshire's fancy-dress ball

Telling Events
1868 January 15 – April 7, the Prince and Princess of Wales set out (from Copenhagen) for a tour of Egypt. Mrs. Grey was Alex's Lady in Waiting, Lady Carmarthen with Colonel Keppel taking the children back to London.

A touching incident occurred at Wady Haifa on 3rd March. The party were at dinner, when the King and Queen took a fancy to a little boy whom they saw watching the torches, which were always fixed in the ground on shore wherever the Royal dahabeah stopped for the night. On being questioned, the child said that his father was dead, his mother had married again, and he had not a friend in the world. He was delighted with the idea of going with the party, and so he was engaged as a pipe cleaner. The only property he had was a white linen shirt and a white cap. Mrs. Grey describes him as an intelligent ugly little boy, not very black, but rather bronzed, and wearing a large silver ring in one ear. ... / As for the little Nubian boy, who was added to the party at Wady Haifa, he turned out much too sharp and difficult to manage, so, instead of bringing him to England, the King decided to start him in life with a donkey, as one of the numerous donkey boys so common in Egypt.

Stanley Weintraub and other more recent historians note that the 10-year-old Ali Achmet went back to England with the royal couple. He was “a pretty, black, turbaned figure” who was baptized at Sandringham and who served coffee wearing his turban and a silver earring. “Along the Nile the boy had survived by stealing,” according to Stanley Weintraub, and “[a]t Sandringham, despite earnest Christian instruction, he would continue his depredations at a higher level until he was removed to a clergyman’s care — in effect, house arrest.”

The tour of Egypt ended on 7 April when the group set sail for the Crimea.

1869 April 20 – 1870 March 2, the Mordaunt v. Mordaunt, Cole & Jonstone divorce proceedings in which the Prince of Wales testified as a witness.

1874 September 26 – 1876 May 11, the Prince of Wales toured India, Malta, Brindisi (Italy) and Greece, accompanied by Owen Williams (as equerry and aide-de-camp), Arthur Ellis, Dighton Probyn, Charles Beresford, Charles Harbord, 5th Baron Suffield, Francis Knollys, William Howard Russell, Heneage Finch, 7th Earl of Aylesford, and Augustus FitzGeorge. While he was traveling in India, one of his companions, Lord Aylesford, learned that his wife was eloping with the George Spencer-Churchill, Marquess of Blandford, Lord Randolph Churchill's brother, the future Duke of Marlborough. He left the tour suddenly, causing a rift with the Prince of Wales. On 1877 May 22, Heneage Finch, 7th Earl of Aylesford and Edith Peers-Williams Finch separated. In 1881, Guy Bertrand was born, the son of Edith Peers-Williams Finch (Owen Williams' sister) and George Spencer-Churchill, Marquess of Blandford ; he was baptized in 1883 as Heneage Finch, 7th Earl of Aylesford.

1883 May, Bertie organized the founding of the Royal College of Music.

1886 May 16, Sunday, Albert Edward, Prince of Wales, recovering from his conflict with Randolph Churchill in 1876, agreed to attend a dinner party hosted by Jennie Churchill. Bertie had attended a dinner in March 1884 that included the Gladstones and Lord and Lady Randolph Churchill, his first meeting with them since 1876. ...another two years elapsed and Lord Randolph had become Secretary for India before the Prince could bring himself to enter the Churchill home. On this occasion Blandford also attended, and Jennie, the bewitching Jennie, was thirty-two — approaching the age at which the Prince really appreciated his lady friends. The date was May 16, 1886, and it proved her most successful dinner party because so much was at stake.

1890 September, the "Royal Baccarat Scandal," which began at the home of Arthur Stanley Wilson, father of Muriel Wilson. Sir William Gordon Cumming was accused of cheating at baccarat at Sir Arthur Wilson’s country house, Tranby Croft. Daisy, Countess Warwick was implicated as the source when word got out about the illegal baccarat game and Sir Cummings’ cheating, earning her the nickname “Babbling Brooks." Owen Williams was croupier and also, with George Coventry, 9th Earl of Coventry, intermediary between the scandal and the Prince of Wales.

1891 June, the Tranby Croft trial, about William Gordon-Cumming's cheating at baccarat at a party attended by the Prince of Wales.

1891, another Prince of Wales scandal: Lady Charles Beresford intercepted a letter from Daisy, Lady Brooke (later Countess of Warwick) to Lord Charles Beresford that revealed a sexual relationship between them. She showed it to a number of people, including the Prince of Wales, Charles Beresford’s brother, Lord Marcus Beresford and George Lewis, solicitor to many in Society and then got pregnant by Lord Brooke, Daisy's husband. The Prince of Wales intervened in the affair to preserve the marriages and appearance of propriety, causing a permanent enmity between him and Charles Beresford. The sexual relationship between Daisy and Bertie followed.

Events
1852 May 7, Bertie, at 11 years old, was named a British Knight of the Golden Fleece, considered a "Foreign Honor."

1865 March, Bertie invited Natty and Alfred de Rothschild to a royal levée, where Lord Sydney mispronounced Rothschild, as if they were foreign; Bertie corrected his pronunciation in front of the Rothschilds, as if to reprimand Lord Sydney for his bad manners.

1871 October, "At Londesborough Lodge near Scarborough, where Lady Londesborough gave a royal house party in October 1871, not only [41/42] were the bathrooms few but the drains seeped into the drinking water. Several guests, including the Prince [of Wales] and his groom and Lord Chesterfield, contracted typhoid fever. When Chesterfield and the groom died, the doctors abandoned hope for the Prince." He recovered on 14 December 1871.

1880 July 13, Tuesday, Marlborough House Garden Party (no names yet)

1881 April, the long, complex event that was the funeral of Benjamin Disraeli, Lord Beaconsfield

1881 July 14, beginning about 2 p.m., Garden Party at Marlborough House

1881 July 22, Friday, Marlborough House Party, evening party

1882 March 18, Saturday, dinner party at Marlborough House.

1882 July 13, Thursday, the Prince and Princess of Wales hosted a Garden Party at Marlborough House for the Queen.

1883 May, the long, complex event that was founding of the Royal College of Music

1883 July 21–23, Saturday through Monday, can't tell for sure which day, afternoon: Garden Party at Marlborough House. The newsprint on the first page is very damaged, but it gets better on the next page.

1884 March, Albert Edward, Prince of Wales attended a dinner that included the Gladstones and Lord and Lady Randolph Churchill, his first meeting with them since 1876.

1884 July 25, Friday, Garden Party at Marlborough House (mostly the people reported as present were family and their attendants, but the reporting was not complete, maybe because I haven't done the Morning Post article yet).

1885 July 24, Friday, the Prince and Princess of Wales hosted a ball at Marlborough House.

1886 May 16, Sunday, Albert Edward, Prince of Wales, recovering from his conflict with Randolph Churchill in 1876, agreed to attend a dinner party hosted by Jennie Churchill. On this occasion Blandford also attended, and Jennie, the bewitching Jennie, was thirty-two — approaching the age at which the Prince really appreciated his lady friends. ... [This event] proved her most successful dinner party because so much was at stake.

1886 July 10, Saturday afternoon, Garden Party at Marlborough House in honor of the Queen; Princess Louise wasn't there, but Fanny Ronalds was.

1886 July 21, Wednesday, Ball at Marlborough House

1887, May –, the American Exhibition in London

1887 June 3, Friday, beginning about 11 p.m., State Concert at Buckingham Palace hosted by the Prince of Wales and the Princess of Wales.

1887 June 24, Friday, an Evening Party at Buckingham Palace hosted by the Prince and Princess of Wales.

1888 June 6, Wednesday beginning about 11 p.m., Arthur Collins and Lady Macnamara attended Princess Louise at a State Ball at Buckingham Palace hosted by the Prince and Princess of Wales.

1889 May 31, Friday, beginning about 11 p.m., the Prince of Wales and the Princess of Wales hosted a State Concert at Buckingham Palace; Arthur Collins, Robert H. Collins and his wife, and Arthur Sullivan were there, among many others.

1889 July 4, Thursday, Marlborough House Garden Party, attended by Queen Victoria and the Shah.

1889 July 27, Saturday, Marlborough House Party.

1890 July 4, Friday, Arthur Collins attended a State Ball at Buckingham Palace that had been ordered by the Queen (who was still in Scotland?), led by the Prince and Princess of Wales; along with Lady Sophia Macnamara, Collins attended Princess Louise and the Marquess of Lorne. Dancing commenced at 11:00 p.m., and a number of dignitaries were present.

1890 July 15, Tuesday, Marlborough House Garden Party.

1890 September, the "Royal Baccarat Scandal," which began at the home of Arthur Stanley Wilson, father of Muriel Wilson.

1891 June, the Tranby Croft trial, about William Gordon-Cumming's cheating at baccarat.

1891 June 3, beginning about 11 p.m., Wednesday, Arthur Collins is listed as having been invited to a State Ball at Buckingham Palace hosted by the Prince and Princess of Wales.

1891 June 17, 11 p.m., Wednesday, a State Concert at Buckingham Palace hosted by the Prince of Wales and the Princess of Wales.

1891 June 25, Thursday night, a State Concert given by command of the Queen occurred at Buckingham Palace, led by the Prince and Princess of Wales. Victoria wasn't present.

1891 July 9, Thursday, Garden Party at Marlborough House (more than 3,000 people present)

1891 July 10, Friday, beginning about 11 p.m., a ball at Buckingham Palace hosted by the Prince and Princess of Wales in honor of the German Emperor and Empress.

1893 July 5, Wednesday, Marlborough House Garden Party (don't have names in yet)

1894 May 28, 11 p.m., Monday evening, Collins attended a State Concert at Buckingham Palace hosted by the Prince of Wales and Princess of Wales.

1894 Jun 8, Friday, a State Ball at Buckingham Palace.

1894 July 2, Monday, beginning about 11 p.m., a State Ball at Buckingham Palace hosted by the Princess and Princess of Wales.

1895 May 30, Thursday, about 11:00 p.m., by order of the Queen a State Ball was given at Buckingham Palace.

1895 June 14, Friday, about 11:00 p.m., by command of the Queen a State Concert was given at Buckingham Palace.

1896 May 6, Wednesday, dinner party at Marlborough House, more intellectuals than usual.

1896 June 29, Monday, 11:00 p.m., a State Concert held at Buckingham Palace.

1897 May 28, Friday, 11:15 p.m., a State Concert at Buckingham Palace.

1897 June 4, Friday, beginning about 11 p.m., Arthur Collins is listed as having been invited to a State Ball at Buckingham Palace hosted by the Prince and Princess of Wales.

1897 June 24, Thursday, a State Evening Party at Buckingham Palace.

1897 June 25, Friday night, a reception at Buckingham Palace hosted by the Prince and Princess of Wales.

1897 July 2, Friday, Louise Cavendish threw her famous fancy-dress ball at Devonshire House in London. The Prince of Wales (#1 in the list of attendees) was dressed as a Knight Hospitaller of Malta.

1897 July 8, beginning about 11 p.m., Thursday, Arthur Collins attended a State Ball at Buckingham Palace hosted by the Prince and Princess of Wales.

1898 June 7, beginning about 11 p.m., Tuesday, a State Ball at Buckingham Palace hosted by the Prince and Princess of Wales.

1898 June 20, Monday, 11 p.m., a State Concert at Buckingham Palace.

1898 July 1, Friday, 11 p.m., a State Concert at Buckingham Palace hosted by the Prince and Princess of Wales.

1899 June 2, Friday, a State Concert given at the command of the Queen occurred at Buckingham Palace, led by the Prince and Princess of Wales, the Queen not present.

1899 August, "Soveral accompanied the prince to Marienbad for his cure, and Bertie found him a 'charming' traveling companion and 'a great resource.'" (479 [of 918])

1902 June 24, Bertie is diagnosed with appendicitis, cured with an incision into his abdomen, by Sir Frederick Treves, assisted by Joseph Lord Lister, bringing this surgery into the medical mainstream.

1902 June 26, the day of the scheduled coronation, postponed because of Bertie's appendicitis.

1902 August 9, the coronation: Bertie was crowned Edward VII, not using the name Albert Edward, which Victoria had wanted.

Note: I have a list of names of everybody who attended one of these events one time or another. Arthur Collins wasn't invited to the Marlborough House parties, at least he's not showing up there the way he was at the Buckingham Palace events, though should check the Morning Post. Also, skipped the Queen's drawing rooms and levees, as they may have been more about who needed to be presented, more about entry into the aristocracy than people's social networks?

1903 Spring, the Prince of Wales "sailed for Portugal on the Victoria and Albert, taking with him seventy pieces of luggage. In addition to Charles Hardinge and Fritz Ponsonby, he brought the Marquis de Soveral, the Portuguese minister. These men composed an inner court, but of the three, only Soveral was privy to Bertie's plans. Bertie made his entry into Lisbon wearing his uniform as colonel of a Portuguese cavalry regiment, an exceptionally short jacket that 'was not becoming to a stout man,' as it revealed a large expanse of breeches. ... Etiquette dictated that only the two kings could sit while all others had to stand, enduring not one a pigeon-shooting competition but also the gala opera that followed. The King [of the U.K.] was not impressed by the Portuguese nobility, who he thought looked 'like waiters at second-rate restaurants.' They all had hopes of receiving the Royal Victorian Order, wrote Ponsonby, 'but as the first three are said to be disloyal and it would be difficult to give it to No. 4, none of them were given it.'[7]" (535–536 [of 918])

1904, Twelfth Night, 6 January, "Bertie and Alix attended Louise Devonshire's Chatworth Twelfth Night house party for the first time as King and Queen (they had stayed often as Prince and Princess of Wales) in 1904. Balfour was also present. While the King rode off to the shoot on his cob, the prime minister played golf. For the convenience of the King (but not, apparently, the prime minister), a telegraph wire was temporarily run into the house and a private office fitted up. ... Alix was the party's life and soul. On the last evening she danced a waltz with Soveral, and then everyone took off their shoes to see what difference it made to their height. Daisy Pless, who excelled in the private theatricals, noted in her diary that 'The Queen took, or rather kicked hers off, and then got into everyone else's, even into Willie Grenfell's old pumps. I never saw her so free and cheerful — but always graceful in everything she does.'" (551 [of 918])

Annual
"January and February would be spent at Sandringham."

"In mid-March Albert Edward always visited the French Riviera en garçon for five weeks, spending a few days in Paris at either end so that he could call on his friends and, as time went by, have their children and eventually their grandchildren presented to him."

At the end of April "the Prince, refreshed rather than otherwise by six solid weeks of dinners and festivities in the South of France, would return to Marlborough House."

May, June and July were the London "season."

At "the end of July," the Prince of Wales "went to Cowes for a few weeks' sailing."

"After Cowes he generally proceeded to a health spa in Germany or Austria before returning to Abergeldie, near Balmoral, for grouse shooting and deerstalking."

For some years, the Prince of Wales visited the Earl and Countess of Warwick for a country-house week-end or week-long party. It was annual by 18 October 1895 (details in 1895).

The birthdays of the Prince of Wales (9 November) and the Princess of Wales (1 December) "were always spent at Sandringham and so was Christmas.

Costume at the Duchess of Devonshire's 2 July 1897 Fancy-dress Ball
At the Duchess of Devonshire's 2 July 1897 fancy-dress ball, Edward Albert, Prince of Wales was dressed as Grand Master of the Order of Knights of the Hospital of Saint John of Jerusalem (called Knights Hospitalier) of Malta in the court of Queen Elizabeth and sat at the head of Table 1.

His costume was "supplied by Mr. Alias, of Soho-square. Mr. W. Clarkson "supplied the wigs and headdresses for the Royal Family."  The Prince of Wales allowed his costume to be copied for the production of The White Heather at the Drury Lane theatre.

The Prince of Wales's portrait in costume was photogravure #8 in the album presented to the Duchess of Devonshire and now in the National Portrait Gallery. The printing on the portrait says, "H.R.H. The Prince of Wales as Grand Prior of the order of St John of Jerusalem." The portrait of him in costume (left) appears to be the same image as the one included in the album, but this one is from a postcard produced by Lafayette, the photographer at the ball, who had a Royal Warrant.

The Order of Knights of the Hospital of Saint John of Jerusalem were a military organization founded originally in the early 12th century in the context of the Crusades against Muslims. The Prince of Wales was dressed as the leader of the organization in Elizabethan times.

Newspaper Descriptions of the Prince of Wales's Costume
The Prince of Wales is mentioned and his costume described in nearly every newspaper report on the ball.
 * "The Prince of Wales, as Grand Master of the Knights Hospitallers of Malta, wore a doublet and trunks of black Genoese velvet, the latter slashed with grey. On the left breast the Maltese Cross was embroidered in white satin, and his Royal Highness wore the Orders of Malta and the Garter. His narrow high hat was encircled by a jewelled chain, and bore the cross in front, with white plumes floating at the back, and he wore black velvet hose and high black 'turretted' boots, St. Crispin gloves, and a velvet cape embroidered with the cross."
 * "The Prince of Wales, as Grand Master of the Knights Hospitallers of Malta, wore a doublet of black brocaded velvet, with the white cross of the order on the breast, and trunks of black satin slashed with grey, and there were high-turreted black kid boots. The sword handle in the form of a cross was jewelled, and the Order of St. John of Jerusalem was worn.
 * "The Prince of Wales, as Grand Master of the Knights Hospitalier of Malta. (Elizabethan period.) Pourpoint of black Epinglé velvet, richly embroidered steel and black jet tiny beads with passementerie of jet. Trunks formed of bands of black Epinglé velvet, embroidered steel over full bouillonné of steel gray silk. Mantle of black Sicilian silk with white Cross of Malta. Hauts de chausse, black silk sword belt of black velvet with steel mountings. Sword, black scabbard, steel belt with Cross of Malta in white enamel. High turreted top boots. Crispin gloves, hat and feathers with diamond Cross of Malta. Order, Riband of Order of Malta with jewelled Cross of Malta. Order of the Garter with pale blue riband round neck. Ruff."
 * The Prince of Wales was "in the costume of a Knight Hospitaller of Malta, a black velvet dress with a high crowned hat"
 * "Knight Hospitaller of Malta. Black velvet, with large Maltese crosses of white satin worked on the cloak and brocaded doublet; trunks of velvet slashed with black satin; high crowned hat with large Maltese cross in diamonds in the front, white ostrich feathers at the back, and a silver chain round the crown; high boots to match."
 * "The Prince of Wales was noble habited as Grand Master of the Knights Hospitallers of Malta in the Elizabethan period, wearing black velvet embroidered in steel and jet, the blue ribbon of the Order of the Garter round his neck."
 * "The Prince of Wales as a Grand Master of the Knights Hospitallers of Malta, in the time of Elizabeth, had chosen a costume of black velvet slashed with steel-grey silk and embroidered with steel and jet, the white cross of Malta on his mantle of black silk, and a black hat and feathers, with a diamond Maltese cross."
 * "The Royalties mustered in great force. The Prince of Wales looked a very genial and easy-going Grand Master of the Knight Hospitaller of Malta. The black dress, with touches of white, was distinguished, and made a good foil to the fairy-like dress of the Princess, who was a vision of loveliness as Queen Margot of Valois, dressed in gold embroidered white satin, and with a gold and jewelled train."
 * "THE PRINCE OF WALES as Grand Master of the Knights Hospitaller of Malta. (Elizabethan period.) Pourpoint of Black Epingle [sic] velvet, richly embroidered steel and black jet tiny beads, with passementerie of jet. Trunks formed of bands of black Epinglé [?] velvet embroidered steel over full bouillonné of steel grey silk. Mantle of black Sicilian silk with white cross of Malta. Hauts de chausse, black silk sword belt of black velvet with steel mountings. Sword, black scabbard, steel belt, with cross of Malta in white enamel. High turretted top boots. Crispin gloves, hat and feathers with diamond cross of Malta. Order — Ribbon of Order of Malta, with jewelled cross of Malta. Order of the Garter, with pale blue ribbon round neck. Ruff."
 * "His Royal Highness wore a very becoming costume — especially appropriate in view of the activity he has always displayed in charitable works — the dress of a Grand Master of the Knights of St. John of Jerusalem. The pourpoint was of black velvet, embroidered with rubies and beads of steel and jet. The trunks were of similar material, ornamented with steel. His sword belt also was of black velvet with steel mountings, while the haft of the sword was a Maltese cross enamelled in white. Top boots, Crespin gloves, hat and feathers, and mantle of black Sicilian silk, with White Cross of Malta, completed the attire. His Royal Highness wore the Diamond Cross of Malta, and the Orders of the Sartu and Malta."
 * "The Prince of Wales, as Grand Master of the Knights Hospitallers of Malta, wore a doublet of black brocaded velvet, with the white cross of the Order on the breast, and trunks of black satin slashed with grey. The sword handle, in the form of a cross, was jewelled, and the Order of St. John of Jerusalem was worn."
 * "Of the noblemen and gentlemen who sought the aid of Alias, H.R.H. the Prince of Wales was very appropriately attired as Grand Master of the Knights Hospitaller of Malta (Elizabethan period), in a pourpoint of black épinglé velvet, richly embroidered steel and black jet; trunks formed of bands of black épinglé velvet, embroidered steel; mantle of black Sicilian silk, with white cross of Malta; high turretted top boots; crispin gloves, hat and feathers with diamond cross of Malta. Orders, ribbon of Order of Malta, with jewelled cross of Malta. Order of the Garter, with pale blue ribbon round neck, and ruff."
 * This description accompanies a flattering line drawing of the Prince in costume (Top left, with walking stick and sword, signed “Rook”): "P RINCE OF W ALES, as Grand Master of the Knights Hospitalier [sic] of Malta (Elizabethan period). — Pourpoint of black épinglé velvet, richly embroidered steel and black jet tiny beads, with passementerie of jet; trunks formed of bands of black épinglé velvet, embroidered steel over full bouillonné of steel-grey silk; mantle of black Sicilian silk, with white cross of Malta; hauts de chausse, black silk; sword-belt of black velvet with steel mountings; sword, black scabbard, steel belt with cross of Malta in white enamel; high turretted top-boots; Crispin gloves, hat and feathers, with diamond cross of Malta; Order, ribbon of Order of Malta with jewelled cross of Malta; Order of the Garter, with pale blue ribbon round neck; ruff. Made by Alias, 36, Soho-square."
 * "At the Duchess of Devonshire's ball, on the 2d inst., the Prince of Wales looked as if he had stepped out of a masterpiece by one of the old painters. His wig, which completed a correct make-up as Knight of Malta, was specially made and fitted by that favoured 'Royal Perruquier' Mr Willie Clarkson."
 * "The Prince of Wales as the Grand Master of the Knights Hospitaliers of Malta, was in black velvet embroidered in jet and steel and slashed with grey silk. A white ruff, the blue ribbon of the Garter, and the Order of St. John of Jerusalem relieved the somber character of the dress."

The "Court" and Households of the Prince of Wales

 * Gladstone sent him papers so that he would be better informed
 * According to "Edward VII" in Wikipedia, "From 1886, Foreign Secretary Lord Rosebery sent him Foreign Office despatches [sic], and from 1892 some Cabinet papers were opened to him."

Household of Albert Edward, Prince of Wales

 * Lieutenant Colonel Owen Williams, close friend and equerry (1876)
 * Sir Francis Knollys, private secretary to the prince and groom of the bedchamber
 * Baron Suffield, lord of the bedchamber
 * Earl of Gosford, lord of the bedchamber
 * Sir Dighton Macnaughton Probyn, Comptroller and Treasurer
 * Harry Stonor, groom of the bedchamber
 * Duke of Abercorn, Groom of the Stole
 * 9 equerries, including Baron Wantage (who probably promoted Arthur Collins?)
 * Sir William Jenner, Physician in Ordinary
 * Sir James Paget, Surgeon in Ordinary
 * Earl of Ducie, Lord Warden of the Stanneries
 * Earl of Leicester, Keeper of the Privy Seal
 * C. A. Cripps, Attorney General
 * Colonel Sir Robert Kingscote, Receiver-General

Households as of the Coronation in 1901
Raymond Lamont-Brown says that the following people from "The Separate Royal Households, 1901" make up a "key checklist for social networkers like Alice Keppel and Agnes Keyser." For Edward VII,


 * Gen. Right Hon. Sir Dighton Macnaughton Probyn, "personal"
 * Edward Hyde Villers, the Earl of Clarendon, Lord Chamberlain's department
 * Sidney Herbert, the Earl of Pembroke and Montgomery, Lord Steward's department
 * W. Cavendish-Bentinck, Duke of Portland, Department of Master of the Horse
 * There were other departments as well, of course.

Questions and Notes

 * 1) These people used nicknames all the time. In this case, Albert Edward, Prince of Wales was "Bertie" until he became king and then immediately became "Teddy" because he was now Edward.

General Background

 * "Edward VII." Wikipedia. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/King_Edward_VII Accessed 10 June 2014.
 * Thom, Adam Bisset, compiler. The Upper Ten Thousand: An Alphabetical List of All Members of Noble Families, Bishops, Privy Councillors, Judges, Baronets, Members of the House of Commons, Lords-Lieutenant, Governors of Colonies, Knights and Companions of Orders, Deans and Archdeacons, and the Superior Officers of the Army and Navy, with Their Official Descriptions and Addresses. London: George Routledge and Sons, 1875. Google Books.
 * Thom, Adam Bisset, compiler. The Upper Ten Thousand: An Alphabetical List of All Members of Noble Families, Bishops, Privy Councillors, Judges, Baronets, Members of the House of Commons, Lords-Lieutenant, Governors of Colonies, Knights and Companions of Orders, Deans and Archdeacons, and the Superior Officers of the Army and Navy, with Their Official Descriptions and Addresses. London: George Routledge and Sons, 1875. Google Books.