The Story of Lt. David Scott-Taylor and the Queen
According to Ian and Phil, 1901 was a big year for Ian’s grandfather, and not just because of the May 11th Scores Grand Hotel dinner with three two golf luminaries. Five months earlier, Dr. David Scott-Taylor had been a young officer, a Lieutenant in the Royal Navy, and was serving as ship’s surgeon on naval vessel assigned to protect 81 year old Queen Victoria, who was “vacationing” on the Isle of Wight. But all was not well with the Queen.
By early January she was feeling weak and unwell and growing increasingly drowsy, dazed and confused with each passing day. . . . For those serving her at Osborne House, the Queen’s illness was more than a national crisis. Near the end they realized that a doctor was needed and quickly. At the time her personal physicians were back in London which created a dilemma, for only a physician with a high standing could examine the Queen and there were none on the island.
A call went out for a physician from one of the ships to be sent to Osborne House immediately, for a physician in the Royal Navy automatically had the standing to examine the Queen. And so, without being told why or who he was going to see, Lt. David Scott-Taylor was shuttled over and immediately shown to the Queen’s chambers. He would attend the Queen while awaiting the arrival of her physician’s. The Queen quietly died in her sleep on January 22nd.
This, according to Phil and Ian, was a major turning point in Ian’s grandfather’s life and a key event in their story, for his brush with real Royalty had led to his introduction to high society and golf royalty, thus setting the stage for all that followed.
It was because of his support of the actions of the court officials and the Queen’s personal physicians that this formerly unknown naval surgeon gained the regards of many at the highest levels of the government and his reputation as both an officer and a gentleman rose dramatically over-night. Among the privileges to come the way of this young man who passionately loved golf was acceptance into the R&A as an unofficial member where he was welcomed at the club and its luncheons, dinners and events.
I know what you are thinking . . . acceptance into the R&A as an unofficial member? A remarkable claim in and of itself. But the even more remarkable claim is that Lieutenant David Scott-Taylor had been rushed to the care of the dying Queen, because her “personal physicians were back in London.” Like most of the Ian’s stories about his grandfather, this one just doesn’t check out. I say this after conducting quite a bit of research into the vast amounts of detailed information (from newspaper accounts, memoirs, diaries, histories, etc.) describing the last days of the Queen. I’ve found no mention anywhere of a young naval officer having been rushed to the aid of the Queen. More than that, the detailed descriptions of Queen Victoria’s life and death make the story impossible for me to believe.
But don’t take my word for it. Check it out for yourselves. Good starting points are two relatively recent books which painstakingly detail the last days of the Queen. One is titled, The Last Days of Glory: The Death of Queen Victoria (2001) by Tony Rennell, the other is Ask Sir James (1989) by Michaela Reid. Both books provide an extraordinarily detailed look at the Queen’s medical care at Osborne House and before, read them and you will realize that Ian’s story cannot possibly be accurate. The sources are the books range from newspaper accounts, to contemporaneous letters, to memoirs written by those who were there, to official court bulletins, to post mortem medical reports, but the most significant sources for our purposes are the detailed diaries of Sir James Reid himself. Reid was not only the Queen’s primary physician, he was a close advisor, and he was with her constantly near the end.
The books and related material leave no doubt; there was never a time at Osborne when the Queen was without access to her own doctors. Like Windsor Castle, Osborne House had its own medical staff. And the Queen and Royal Family also had an extensive “Medical Household” consisting of Physicians-In-Ordinary, Physicians Extraordinary, Surgeons-In-Ordinary, Surgeons Extraordinary, and two levels of Apothecaries (who were general practitioners) at their beck and call. (The structure, distinctions, and responsibilities are more fully explained in the books referenced above.) There were multiple of each in both England and Scotland “so in an emergency there would be at least one available” and the Queen would never be without medical care.
The person most directly involved in taking care of the Queen was Sir James Reid, Queen Victoria’s senior Physician-In-Ordinary, Head of the Royal Medical Household, and her Resident Medical Attendant. He had no other medical practice. Wherever Queen Victoria went, so went Sir James Reid. He traveled with her everywhere, and he had quarters in each of her Royal residences, including Osborne House, and tended to her multiple times a day no matter where they were. Incredibly, when Reid was on duty he was not even allowed to sleep anywhere but the current Royal residence of the Queen. He was a prominent doctor and had been knighted, but he nonetheless had a curfew. He even had to seek permission to dine away from the current Royal residence. And when he was on vacation, one of the other Physicians-In-Ordinary was there in his stead, although Reid was often consulted and called back if the Queen so desired.
To give an idea of what the Queen expected of him, here is a directive she had written to him in 1898 (after he had already served her for close to two decades) about his continuing responsibilities after his pending marriage to one of the Queen’s Ladies in Waiting.
I think it's absolutely necessary that Sir J. Reid and Miss Baring should know exactly what their position will be when they are married. Sir James knows that considering my age, I cannot well allow him to leave his present post. This will entail that he must continue living in the House wherever we are, excepting [preapproved vacations.] He must always, as now, come round after breakfast to see what I should want, and then back before lunch. He must also in the afternoon, before he goes out, do the same. Of course as a date shorten and in the winter, he would go out earlier and come back earlier. Sir James should always ask if he wishes to go out for longer, or to dine out, returning by 11 or 11:30. His wife should not come to his room here, nor to the Corredor, we're some of the Royal children live. At Windsor she might occasionally come to his room but this must not interfere with his other duties. It is absolutely necessary that they should be fully aware of these conditions so that they cannot complain afterwards.
And this was when she was relatively healthy. Over the next few years, her health would decline, an her need for care would grow. Given Queen Victoria’s age, her many health issues, and her hypochondriac-like tendencies, the Queen was almost always in need of medical advice and care. She had been battling various medical ailments even before the annual move to Osborne House, so she was most certainly never without medical care during her time there. By the time they arrived at Osborne House in the winter on December 18, 1900, she was in need of near constant care. "From [her arrival at Osborne] onwards, until her death, the Queen did did not go down into the dining room for her me meals but had her food taken to her room and was to all intents and purposes an invalid." This was 81 year old Queen Victoria, and her health was slipping even before she arrived at Osborne. The idea that she would be on an island without immediate access to medical care is preposterous.
While the Queen's staff provided to her other needs, Sir James Reid and her other doctors provided her with medical care. In addition to Reid and the medical staff at Osborne House, another of her physicians-in-ordinary, Sir Francis Laking arrived on January 5th so that Reid could get some rest for a week. But this did not mean Reid headed back to London. It only meant that Reid would, theoretically, be able to spend a bit more time with his wife in a cottage she had rented near Osborne while he was serving there. The reality was that Reid never really got a rest, as the Queen insisted on seeing him, and Dr. Laking wasted too much of his time. According to his Reid’s wife he only managed to eat two meals at the cottage during this entire week, and the rest of the time was spent at Osborne House. (The Queen was quite particular about who cared for her right up to the end, and the idea that she would allow an unknown Naval surgeon to care for her makes no sense.)
As the Queen's condition worsened [in addition to Sir James Reid, Sir Francis Laking, and Dr. Hoffmeister (Queen Victoria’s Surgeon Apothecary at Osborne House0] other of her doctors traveled to Osborne House aid her, including Sir William Jenner, who had been her primary physician-in-ordinary prior to Reid. But Sir James Reid was the physician most directly involved, and he is the one who provided the best record of the Queen’s medical care, and the most convincing evidence that Ian’s story is inaccurate. From Ask Sir James:
“During the period of Queen Victoria’s final illness and death Reid wrote a minutely detailed account of all that occurred. And he was with the Queen constantly, hour by hour, day and night, tending to her every need, he, more than anyone else, was in a position to record accurately the events which took place.”
The diary transcripts from the last week of the Queen's life are included in the book, as are many other entries and references, and there is no reference to a young naval surgeon having been called in, and really no purpose for such a call to have been made. (Unlike the supposed David Scott-Taylor Diary entries, the information in Sir James Reid's diaries can be confirmed by numerous independent sources.)
I could go on, but you get the picture. Queen Victoria was constantly surrounded by her own medical staff up to the moment of her death, and after. Her doctors were there. There was no need or call for a young Naval surgeon to care for her.
Once again, Ian’s story does not check out.