| HMS SULTAN (under command of His Royal Highness the Duke of Edinburgh), MALTA postal history 1877 cover with H.M.S. SULTAN printed flap to the Honorable Mrs. Lindsay, Woodlands, Cardiff, South Wales (possibly written by Royal hand) with GB QV 2½d rosy-mauve Plate 5 pmk'd Malta "A25" duplex dated D/AP 6 77, flap intact but poorly opened either side of printing clear of light Cardiff C/AP 11 77 arrival. In 1876 HMS Sultan was refitted and reduced from a small Channel Fleet coastal warship to a barque rig and posted to the Mediterranean under the command of His Royal Highness the Duke of Edinburgh, Prince Albert (1844-1900) second son of Queen Victoria. Alfred married the Grand Duchess Maria Alexandrovana of Russia in St. Petersburg and their second daughter Princess Victoria Melita was born on 25 November 1876 in Malta. Prince Alfred, Honorary President 1890-1900 of what is now the Royal Philatelic Society, was the first serious stamp collector in the royal family and it is thought that he encouraged his nephew, later KGV, to collect stamps. Prince Alfred sold his collection to his brother King Edward VII, who shared his enthusiasm, who in turn gave it to his son King George V, and keenly expanded by the latter the two collections became the basis of what is now the Royal Philatelic collection. £225 | |