The Royal Shooting Party

With the Glorious 12th near upon us, the monarchist naturally looks to the English moors for a healthy crop of birds and a Royal Shooting Party. Unfortunately old Edwardian photographs of royals gathered for the beginning of the grouse hunting season are hard to come by, but I managed to find what must be one of the oldest, with the future King Edward VII seen here as a young man in his late twenties. Most fascinating is the elderly man to the far right, one Sir James Clark, Queen Victoria's famous royal physician, who was born in the year 1788! He died very close to the time this photo was taken in 1870.

Royal Shoot circa 1870: King Edward VII (as Prince of Wales) and his shooting party, General Charles Grey, Major Grey, General Seymour, the Prince of Wales, Prince Christian, Sir James Clark. (Photo by Hulton Archive/Getty Images)