Thursday 2 April 2015

B is for Biarritz and also for Bertie


I bought this vintage card on a whim because I collect neither cards from Biarritz (south east France) nor of royalty.  It shows King Edward VII of the United Kingdom strolling along "la Grande Plage". It doesn't look much like a beach to me, but that's irrelevant.  He apparently took a holiday each year in Biarritz.

The message on the back reads:
"C'est aussi que j'ai vu Sa Majesté le Roi d'Angleterre sur la plage aujourd'hui" [I also saw His Majesty King of England on the beach today]
And that I found interesting enough until I saw the date 24.4.10.  King Edward VII, or Bertie as he was known to his family, died in 1910  I looked up the dates.  He went to Biarritz in March 1910.  While he was there, he collapsed and stayed on longer than originally intended, not returning until 27 April 1910.

So he was spotted by the writer of this card just days before his return to London.  He died just 9 days later on 6 May 1910.


5 comments:

  1. It must be great to have a card like that with heritage attached.

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  2. That's a remarkable card to have and how exciting to have pieced together that information. Here you possibly have the last photo of that person.

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  3. That is a neat postcard to have and a great story. I love old postcards

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  4. Funny how people used to dress for the beach isn't it. You did some good detective work!

    Sandy at Bridge and Beyond

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  5. I drove from Paris to San Sebastian in Spain many years ago, stopping for a night each in Bayonne and Biarritz. I so much enjoyed that entire trip...wonderful memories, excellent food, and great wine.

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Welcome to my postcard collection! I love hearing what you think of the cards - but spam WILL be deleted.

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