The Old Howe at Malta. She is second from the left.
After some basic training and evolutions in the Channel, Howe was instructed to take Queen Adelaide to Madeira. The Queen was formerly Princess Adelaide Louise Theresa Caroline Amelia of Saxe-Meiningen, Queen consort, and by then widow of William IV. She had been born in 1792 and died 1849, so she only had a couple of years to live at this time. RRA wrote the following:
As may be imagined, we were the envy of the whole fleet, especially the old Admiral, who was very wroth at the preference of the honour being given to a Captain – one officer much junior to himself.
Two of the middies, Billy White and myself, were selected and appointed as attendant pages or Aides-de-Camp to Her Majesty for the voyage; consequently, we had always to appear in full uniform, tail coat, sword, white gloves &c.
Her Majesty Queen Victoria visited us several times in the Royal Yacht to wish the Queen Dowager good-bye. The Royal salutes on these occasions were most deafening – 21 guns being fired by every ship in the fleet on each visit.
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