Bognor's Royal Connections

When Sir Richard Hotham first came to this area to recouperate from illness, he decided it would be an ideal place to build a seaside resort where people could come to regain their good health. He also believed that his resort would rival Brighton and attract the much-needed Royalty. His aims have been achieved over the years, with several members of the Royal family staying here, but unfortunately none during his lifetime.

From 1808 to 1811 the first royal child to arrive was in fact Princess Charlotte who, when she was 11 years of age, stayed with her governess, Lady de Clifford, at the Dome.

Princess Charlotte was the only child of the Prince Regent and Princess Caroline of Brunswick. In fact Charlotte was the prospective heir to the throne, but on 5th November when at the age of 21 years she died giving birth to her stillborn son. The towns’ people fondly remembered Charlotte as a happy and sociable child.

“Memoirs of Charlotte Augusta, Princess of Wales,” published in 1818 by Robert Huish recounted, “Dressed like the simple lady, it was highly pleasing to see her tripping down to Richardsons, the bakers, about the time when she knew his buns were ready; and entering the shop, would sit and partake of them, and talk to the worthy baker about his business, as if she took an active interest in his concerns.” This shop was actually situated on the corner of Mead Lane and Upper Bognor Road; and by the 1830s had been given a Regency front and named “The Warren.”

Her interest in Bognor continued after her early holidays and she personally approved a new schoolhouse for the Jubilee School and generously made a large donation towards the costs. Her friend, the Earl of Arran, laid the foundation stone on September 2nd 1817.

Sadly, within three months Charlotte had died but the school became a memorial to her. In 1964 there were suggestions that a drinking fountain be erected as a memorial to Princess Charlotte but this never materialised.

On the corner of the High St. and Gloucester Road, once stood a cottage owned by Mr. Munday, the Cobbler, later to be known as The Tuck shop and this is where in the late 1820s it was reputed that Princess Victoria bought
her first pair of boots.

Princess Victoria was the only daughter of the Duke of Kent and Victoria of Saxe Cobourg and was brought by her mother to holiday in Bognor between 1825 and 1830, staying at Bersted Lodge. Later in life in a letter to her private secretary Lord Teesdale she asked after “Dear little Bognor.”

In 1911 Princess Marina, aged 5, stayed with her sisters, Olga and Elizabeth in Bognor with their English governess. They were to stay in Sidlaw Terrace. Princess Marina was again to visit the town when she came to inspect St. John’s church in 1943. Within two years she was to seek a place for her three children to recover from measles, because of her memories she sent them to Bognor Regis. The Duke of Kent, Princess Alexandra and Prince Michael stayed at the Carlton Hotel, with their French governess, and their mother Princess Marina visiting them at weekends. Princess Alexandra has kept up her association with the town and been willing to return for various events over the years.

In July 1968 Princess Alexandra came to Bognor Regis in her roll as Patron of “Action for Blind People” when she opened the Russell Hotel for the Blind & Partial Sighted. She returned in 1993 to celebrate the 25th anniversary.

In 1929 whilst George V was recuperating at Craigweil House, his grand daughter Elizabeth joined him and Queen Mary for a holiday by the sea. She was four years old and many photographs appeared in the newspapers of the time, showing her making sandcastles. Marion Crawford the Royal Governess wrote “The Little Princesses” and recounted, “it was wonderful to see them together, the bearded old man and the polite little girl holding on to one of his fingers. When he was so ill, part of the tonic his doctors recommended for his convalesence was her presence. She went down to join him in Bognor. It was the first time she had ever been to the sea. She used to play on the sand while the old King sat in the sunshine watching her.” It was also reported that Queen Mary went to Burgess’s Bazaar in Waterloo Square to buy sand moulds for the little princess. This is by far the most famous and lengthy stay by any member of the Royal Family, here in Bognor.

Sir Arthur du Cros placed Craigweil House at the disposal of the Royal family. The house at Aldwick had been built at the beginning of the 19th century and was described as being a ‘substantial mansion in the Elizabethan style, with balconies and terraces looking directly over Aldwick Bay.’

The lawns swept down to the beach with 200 yards of private promenade. The house, which stood within its own grounds, covered 15 acres and was half a mile from the main road. This was ideal for the police who were protecting the King during the visit. One of the main attractions of the house was that many of the windows faced south, which meant that they caught the maximum sun available to help the King’s convalescence. However the weather was not that accommodating because within six days of his arrival the weather turned colder and soon the grounds were under several inches of snow, which remained for a further three weeks.

When King George V returned to Windsor, Sir Arthur Du Cros handed Craigweil House over to the Bognor Town Council for a period of 12 days to allow members of the public to visit the house. During this period 15,827 people roamed throughout the house, visited the King’s bedroom, sat in his chair and viewed the sandcastle built by his granddaughter in the grounds.

His granddaughter is now Queen Elizabeth II.

In 1966 Princess Margaret was to continue the trend and sent her two children, Viscount Linley and Lady Sarah Armstrong Jones to the seaside to enjoy the thrill of making sandcastles. Two years later Princess Margaret was again to visit the town and be given a tour of the resort by the Town Councillors. She was also shown how holidaymakers were enjoying their seaside excursions with a tour of the Butlin Holiday Camp, which had only been recently opened in 1960.
I suspect that some people who now live on the site of Craigweil House are not fully aware of the implications of their site. I am also aware that for many people the renaming of Bognor to Bognor Regis was unacceptable as the King had stayed at Aldwick, and visited the area and especially the church in Pagham regularly, whilst he only visited Bognor, it is alleged for approximately 40 mins. Whatever the reasons, we now have a name that to some is a Music Hall joke, to others a status symbol. However whatever your beliefs, King George V and Queen Mary did stay in the locality to continue the trend of Royal visits, much as Sir Richard Hotham had intended in the 1790s.

Princess Charlotte, Princess Victoria and Princess Elizabeth all had their historical place in relation to the throne when they holidayed in Bognor.

I am sure that over the years there have been visits by other young royals, which were not recorded, for a variety of reasons. It is therefore possible that Prince William and Prince Harry visited Bognor Regis, when their grandfather Earl Spencer owned Tradewinds on the Aldwick Bay Estate. Could we perhaps have reported that the future King of England has also played on Bognor sands as a child?

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