C 1892- WINDSOR CASTLE Sir James Reid, Doctor to Queen Victoria to A. Ponsonby

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C 1892- WINDSOR CASTLE Sir James Reid, Doctor to Queen Victoria to A. Ponsonby
This product data sheet is originally written in English.
Circa 1892-
WINDSOR
CASTLE Sir James Reid, Doctor to Queen Victoria to Arthur
Ponsonby
, brother of Frederick (Fritz)
Ponsonby
.
" CASTLE/
Nov 26,
Dear Mr
Ponsonby
,
It is very kind of you to invite me to dine with you tonight and to hear your concert afterwards.
There is nothing I should like better : but alas! I cant possibly manage it-The Queen requires me every evening just before her dinner and it would
inconveniance
her were I to propose to go out- in fact, were she to know that I prefered a dinner & Concert with you to doing my duty with her, She would think I had gone off my head!
I'm awfully sorry: but we are poor down-trodden slaves here, as your brother can tell you!. But I appreciate your kindness all the same- Yours very Sincerely James Reid"
Sir James Reid,
Bt
,
GCVO
,
KCB
, VD,
JP
(23 October 1849 – 28 June 1923) was a British doctor who served as physician-in-ordinary to three British monarchs, Queen Victoria, King Edward VII and King George V.
A physician, a Scotsman from
Aberdeenshire
and able to speak German, he fulfilled Queen Victoria's chief criteria for resident medical attendant under the supervision of her then physician-in-
prdinary
, Sir William Jenner. At the age of 31 years, he was given medical charge of the Royal Household at
Balmoral
.
Early life and education
James Reid was born in
Ellon
,
Aberdeenshire
on 23 October 1849, the eldest son of James Reid and his wife Beatrice Peter.[1][2][3] He was educated at Aberdeen Grammar School before gaining admission to the University of Aberdeen, where he was a gold medallist.[2][3] In 1869 he gained his masters in natural sciences and in 1872 his medical degree.[2][4] After two years of practising medicine in London, he travelled to Vienna, then a seat for elite medical training, where for two years he attended various medical courses covering gynaecology, diseases of the ear, nose and throat, skin disease, eye disease and syphilis, in addition to learning German.[2][5] In 1877, he returned to Scotland, and joined his father's practice in
Ellon
, where he worked for the next three years.
Royal household
As physician to the Queen, and on her instruction, Reid also attended to her "
Munshi
", Abdul
Karim
.[6][7] In 1894, along with others, he protested against the role of
Karim
in Queen Victoria's life.[8] On the question of the
Karim's
background, Reid noted in his diary that John
W
. Tyler, superintendent at the central jail in Agra, had informed him that he "had constantly seen the
Munshi's
wife and female relations in India, as they were never shut up there from public gaze, belonging as they do to quite a low class; and that the idea of their being in purdah was never dreamt of until they came to England as ladies".
The Queen became increasingly dependent upon Reid as she grew older. She wrote to him every day and when asked for advice by members of the House, it became common for her to reply "ask Sir James". In later years, Reid would become the main communicator between the Royal Household and the Queen in matters relating to the
Munshi
.
He attended to the Queen during her final days
days
.
On 19 November 1900, Vicky, Princess Royal and Dowager Empress of Germany, visited her mother, the Queen, at Osborne House. The Queen was gravely ill, and she told the royal physician that she looked very ill at Windsor. The Prime Minister was increasingly vexed by the pressures being exerted by the Boer War on the Queen; her health was breaking, and she was feeling 'wretched' at night. On the night of 16 December, Reid administered her three grains of
Trianol
to help her sleep
Reid was given strict instructions as to burying the Queen, including grave goods belonging to John Brown. He served her until her death, then Edward VII[14] throughout the whole of his reign and finally George V. in March 1909,
Bertie
fell ill, and Reid recommended a dose of radium; coughing from smoking cigars. Told the Kaiser that the King "was rapidly sinking."[15] On 6 March 1910, the King was treated for "acute cardiac distress" (heart disease). Reid's prognosis was possible pneumonia; but he recovered on 22 March. Reid decided to hide the facts from his family; and by 25 March, knowing the King was dying, gave a clean bill of health. The patient was permanently wheezing, asthmatic, and could not walk upstairs, ignoring the doctor's advice. By 5 May, the King was turning blue, and so Reid proposed strychnine as a heart stimulant
Later life
He became consulting physician to the King Edward VII Sanatorium at
Midhurst
.
In September 1916 Reid received instructions from London to travel to Wick, northern Scotland. There he received Prince Albert ('
Bertie
', 1895–1952), second son of the King, and the future King George VI. The prince had been taken ill with an abdominal complaint whilst serving as a midshipman on HMS Collingwood. He was transferred to Aberdeen on the hospital ship Rohilla. On 29 September an appendectomy was performed on him by surgeon to the royal household Sir John Marnoch with Reid in attendance.
Personal and family
Reid married, in 1899, the Honourable Susan Baring (14 Dec 1868 –4 Jul 1906), daughter of Edward Baring, 1st Baron Revelstoke. She had been Maid of honour to Queen Victoria 1898–1899. They had two daughters and two sons,[1] including Sir Edward Reid.
Awards and honours
In 1889, Reid was created Companion of the Most Honourable Order of the Bath (CB),[1][18] He then became Knight Commander of the Most Honourable Order of the Bath (KCB) in 1895,[1][19] a baronet in 1897,[1][20] and in 1901 was made Knight Grand Cross of the Royal Victorian Order (GCVO)
] Other honours include Prussian Order of the Crown (2nd Class) during the visit of Emperor Wilhelm II to the United Kingdom for the death and funeral of Queen Victoria in January–February 1901,[22] and an Honorary doctorate (LL.D) from the University of Glasgow, awarded to Reid in June 1901 during the university's 450th jubilee Celebrations.
Death and legacy
Reid died in post on 28 June 1923.
He is the subject of a 1987 biography by Michaela Reid, which has been reprinted several times.[25] The historian and writer Shrabani Basu used Reid's personal diaries, scrapbooks and photographs when researching her book about Queen Victoria and Karim, in which are several photographs from the Reid archives.[26] In the 2017 film Victoria & Abdul, based on Basu's book, Reid was portrayed by actor Paul Higgins.
:
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Circa 1892- WINDSOR CASTLE Sir James Reid, Doctor to Queen Victoria to Arthur Ponsonby, brother of Frederick (Fritz) Ponsonby. " CASTLE/Nov 26, Dear Mr Ponsonby, It is very kind of you to invite me to dine with you tonight and to hear your concert afterwards. There is nothing I should like better : but alas! I cant possibly manage it-The Queen requires me every evening just before her dinner and it would inconveniance her were I to propose to go out- in fact, were she to know that I prefered a dinner & Concert with you to doing my duty with her, She would think I had gone off my head!I'm awfully sorry: but we are poor down-trodden slaves here, as your brother can tell you!. But I appreciate your kindness all the same- Yours very Sincerely James Reid" Sir James Reid, Bt, GCVO, KCB, VD, JP
EAN
Does Not apply
Type
letter
Royal Residence
Windsor Castle
Royal/ Reign
Victoria (1837-1901)
Royal
Victoria (1837-1901)
Family Surname
Reid
City/Town/Village/Place
London
Royalty
UK Royalty
Era
1891-1900
Addressed to
Arthur Ponsonby
Letter From
Dr James Reid, Queen Victoria's Doctor
Document Type
Original Manuscript Letter