Twenty members of the Society made an official pilgrimage this year to sites on the beautiful Isle of Wight connected with our Holy Patron. We were joined for part of the time by another group of the same number from the Embassy of the Russian Federation.
Our first stopping place was Saint Mildred’s Church at Whippingham. When she was resident at Osborne House Queen Victoria worshipped here and Albert the Prince Consort had the church completely rebuilt to his own design in the 1850s.
Our main interest was the fact that Princess Victoria of Hesse, eldest sister of the Grand Duchess Elizabeth, is buried in the churchyard next to her husband, Prince Louis of Battenberg. They are also the grandparents of HRH Prince Philip the Duke of Edinburgh.
We sang Memory Eternal before their grave.
Inside the church we heard a most interesting account of its royal and Russian connections. In the Battenberg chapel, where Queen Victoria’s youngest daughter, Beatrice and her husband Henry of Battenberg are buried, is the cross and memorial plaque to the Royal Martyrs of Russia which was set up by Princess Beatrice on the wall to the right of the altar.
We placed icons of the Royal Martyrs and of the Holy Martyr Elizabeth on this small altar and Father Stephen served a Moleben to them. The singing was very moving.
In the afternoon we visited Osborne House, the creation of Victoria and Albert and a royal residence until the Queen’s death. The Grand Duchess Elizabeth and Empress Alexandra visited the Queen at Osborne several times in their childhood, and their mother, Princess Alice had been married privately here to Prince Louis of Hesse in 1862. There are two paintings of Alexandra and Elizabeth (then Alix and Ella) as small children commissioned by Queen Victoria in the 1860s.
In 1873 the future Emperor Nicholas II, then aged five visited Osborne with his parents.
A large portrait of the Hesse family can be seen in the dining room. This was painted in 1880 but includes Princess Alice (who had died the previous year) as well as Alix, Ella and the other children.
A large fan-shaped fire screen, painted by Elizabeth as a Christmas present for Queen Victoria in 1889 is also on view. Her signature can be clearly seen.
In 1894 the already engaged Nicholas and Alexandra again visited Osborne but they were not to do so again until after the death of the old Queen. In 1909 there was a summer state visit to Britain, a review of the Royal Navy and Cowes Regatta Week. By this time Osborne was used as a Naval College and the Emperor spoke of the fond memories he had of previous visits.
All these fascinating details were explained to us by Michael Hunter in a wonderful guided tour of the whole house.
The final part of our pilgrimage was to the tiny village of Bonchurch on the south coast of the island. By tradition, this place was visited by Saint Boniface, the Anglo-Saxon Apostle of Germany and Hieromartyr (+754) and a monastery was later established near what is still called Monk’s Bay. There is a beautiful spring and the 11th century church of St Boniface.
We served a Moleben to the saint inside this ancient church, which is in a remote spot and has no electricity.
A prayerful conclusion to our memorable journey.
