Letter to Postmaster General, 13 December 1871

Finding Number: POST 30/213c

This letter from the Privy Council thanks the Postmaster General (PMG) for the Post Office's assistance in distributing forms of prayers for the recovery of the Prince of Wales by telegraph.

Prince Albert Edward, Prince of Wales and the future King Edward VII, almost died of typhoid in 1871. The prayers were to be recited in churches and chapels in England, Wales and Berwick-on-Tweed on and after 10 December 1871.

The Post Office had only taken over the previously privately-owned telegraph network in the UK the previous year. This event was therefore an early example of the way that the state-owned telegraph was used to communicate important information quickly.

Downloads

Letter to Postmaster General, 13 December 1871 - page 1 (406 KB)

Letter to Postmaster General, 13 December 1871 - page 2 (370 KB)