Search for content in message boards

H.M. Queen Victoria's God Children

H.M. Queen Victoria's God Children

Posted: 29 Aug 2007 4:04PM GMT
Classification: Query
Edited: 6 Sep 2008 4:17PM GMT
Where would I find a list of her God Children, most specifically, a Godson that was a cabin boy in the British Navy and became a deserter (at age twelve) in New York(?). He never contacted his family again due to the disgrace of his desertion. He changed his name to Smith used the name Francis/Frank Harding Smith. Apparently this was his never mentioned dark secret and only relayed information to his daughter on his deathbed in the 1940's (when he was in his 80's?). He also said that his mother was a close friend of the Queen, a neighbor/Lady in Waiting. Unfortunately he passed before clarifying his real birth name. I am his great grand daughter (age 69). I promised my grandmother, just prior to her death, that I would work to find out her real heritage and family name. Surely, there could not have been too many of the Queen's God Children that deserted the British Navy. Where would I find this sort of information ? Any help greatly appreciated indeed.

Re: H.M. Queen Victoria's God Children

Posted: 29 Aug 2007 4:34PM GMT
Classification: Query
List of godchildren of members of the British Royal Family

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_godchildren_of_members_...

Sue

Re: H.M. Queen Victoria's God Children

Posted: 29 Aug 2007 5:54PM GMT
Classification: Query
Thank you for the assist, Jody

Re: H.M. Queen Victoria's God Children

Posted: 22 Nov 2014 2:01AM GMT
Classification: Query
Hi Jody,

Queen Victoria did other godchildren from around the British Empire and they're not always particularly well documented . The list on Wikipedia isn't complete, and I know of one possible candidate Would you have any suspicions regarding the ethnic origin?

Re: H.M. Queen Victoria's God Children

Posted: 22 Nov 2014 3:44AM GMT
Classification: Query
Hi Warren,
Thank you so much for the information. My great Grandfather mad a deathbed confession that he used an assumed alias of Frank Harding Smith, due to the fact that he had disgraced his family. At a very young age 12-15? he was reportedly a Cabin Boy in H.M. Navy and he jumped ship while it was apparently docked in New York. Further, he stated that he was a godson of Queen Victoria and that his mother had been a friend, neighbor and lady in waiting to the Queen. I promised my grandmother, who died at age 90 in 1981, that I would try to find out what her true family name was and could it have been his middle name of Harding. Based on the fact that he had disgraced his family and the Queen, was there any record where a godson of the queen jumped ship while in the navy? My problem has always been in knowing how to find out such information.

Re: H.M. Queen Victoria's God Children

Posted: 22 Nov 2014 4:35AM GMT
Classification: Query
You're not likely to find any record of a godson jumping ship and finding any record of people who deserted from the Royal Navy is tricky at best.
It would easier to work the other way, usually there were articles in the papers of the time when a child became a godchild of the queen and it should be feasible to work out by a process of elimination if there are any possible candidates .
The child would almost certainly have had either Victor or Albert (or both) as his first names.
I know of one godson .Albert Victor Pomare born in 1862/3 who vanished from known records after departing New Zealand to serve in the Royal Navy.
per page

Find a board about a specific topic