Sir James Reid, 1st Baronet (23 October 1849 – 28 June 1923) was a
British
British may refer to:
Peoples, culture, and language
* British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies.
** Britishness, the British identity and common culture
* British English, ...
doctor
Doctor or The Doctor may refer to:
Personal titles
* Doctor (title), the holder of an accredited academic degree
* A medical practitioner, including:
** Physician
** Surgeon
** Dentist
** Veterinary physician
** Optometrist
*Other roles
** ...
who served as
physician-in-ordinary
''In ordinary'' is an English phrase with multiple meanings. In relation to the Royal Household, it indicates that a position is a permanent one. In naval matters, vessels "in ordinary" (from the 17th century) are those out of service for repair ...
to three British monarchs,
Queen Victoria
Victoria (Alexandrina Victoria; 24 May 1819 – 22 January 1901) was Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until Death and state funeral of Queen Victoria, her death in 1901. Her reign of 63 years and 21 ...
,
King Edward VII
Edward VII (Albert Edward; 9 November 1841 – 6 May 1910) was King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and Emperor of India, from 22 January 1901 until his death in 1910.
The second child and eldest son of Queen Victoria a ...
and
King George V
George V (George Frederick Ernest Albert; 3 June 1865 – 20 January 1936) was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Emperor of India, from 6 May 1910 until his death in 1936.
Born during the reign of his grandmother Que ...
.
A physician, a Scotsman from Aberdeenshire and able to speak German, he fulfilled
Queen Victoria
Victoria (Alexandrina Victoria; 24 May 1819 – 22 January 1901) was Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until Death and state funeral of Queen Victoria, her death in 1901. Her reign of 63 years and 21 ...
's chief criteria for resident medical attendant under the supervision of her then physician-in-ordinary,
Sir William Jenner. At the age of 31 years, he was given medical charge of the
Royal Household at
Balmoral. The Queen became increasingly dependent upon Reid as she grew older, and he accompanied her everywhere. He also attended to members of the Royal family, and delivered several of her grandchildren. As part of his duties to the Household, he also attended to the Queen's "Munshi",
Abdul Karim.
Early life and education
James Reid was born in
Ellon, Aberdeenshire
Ellon ( gd, Eilean) is a town in Aberdeenshire, Scotland, approximately north of Aberdeen, lying on the River Ythan, which has one of the few undeveloped river Ythan Estuary, estuaries on the eastern coast of Scotland. It is in the ancient regi ...
on 23 October 1849, the eldest son of James Reid and his wife Beatrice Peter.
He was educated at
Aberdeen Grammar School
Aberdeen Grammar School is a state secondary school in Aberdeen, Scotland. It is one of thirteen secondary schools run by the Aberdeen City Council educational department.
It is the oldest school in the city and one of the oldest grammar school ...
before gaining admission to the
University of Aberdeen
The University of Aberdeen ( sco, University o' 'Aiberdeen; abbreviated as ''Aberd.'' in List of post-nominal letters (United Kingdom), post-nominals; gd, Oilthigh Obar Dheathain) is a public university, public research university in Aberdeen, Sc ...
, where he was a gold medallist.
In 1869 he gained his masters in
natural sciences
Natural science is one of the branches of science concerned with the description, understanding and prediction of natural phenomena, based on empirical evidence from observation and experimentation. Mechanisms such as peer review and repeatab ...
and in 1872 his medical degree.
After two years of practising medicine in London, he travelled to Vienna, then a seat for elite medical training, where for two years he attended various medical courses covering
gynaecology
Gynaecology or gynecology (see spelling differences) is the area of medicine that involves the treatment of women's diseases, especially those of the reproductive organs. It is often paired with the field of obstetrics, forming the combined are ...
,
diseases of the ear, nose and throat,
skin disease
A skin condition, also known as cutaneous condition, is any medical condition that affects the integumentary system—the organ system that encloses the body and includes skin, nails, and related muscle and glands. The major function of this sy ...
,
eye disease
This is a partial list of human eye diseases and disorders.
The World Health Organization publishes a classification of known diseases and injuries, the International Statistical Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems, or ICD-10. ...
and
syphilis
Syphilis () is a sexually transmitted infection caused by the bacterium ''Treponema pallidum'' subspecies ''pallidum''. The signs and symptoms of syphilis vary depending in which of the four stages it presents (primary, secondary, latent, an ...
, in addition to learning German.
In 1877, he returned to Scotland, and joined his father's practice in Ellon, where he worked for the next three years.
Royal household
In April 1881, Reid was approached by
Alexander Profeit, the Queen's Factor at Balmoral.
A physician, a Scotsman from Aberdeenshire and able to speak German, Reid fulfilled
Queen Victoria
Victoria (Alexandrina Victoria; 24 May 1819 – 22 January 1901) was Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until Death and state funeral of Queen Victoria, her death in 1901. Her reign of 63 years and 21 ...
's chief criteria for resident medical attendant under the supervision of her then physician-in-ordinary,
Sir William Jenner.
After the Queen interviewed Reid on 8 June 1881 at Balmoral, he was hired on a starting salary of £400 per year, and given medical charge of the
Royal Household at Balmoral, at the age of 31 years.
Following the death of
William Marshall, the resident physician to the Queen, Reid was appointed to a permanent position and moved to London.
In 1887, he was appointed physician-extraordinary to the Queen and two years later he succeeded Sir William as physician-in-ordinary.
The Queen became increasingly dependent upon Reid as she grew older.
[ He accompanied her everywhere, and reported to her every morning to enquire on her health.] She wrote to him every day and when asked for advice by members of the Household, it became common for her to reply "ask Sir James".[ She consulted with him during her grief following the death of ]John Brown John Brown most often refers to:
*John Brown (abolitionist) (1800–1859), American who led an anti-slavery raid in Harpers Ferry, Virginia in 1859
John Brown or Johnny Brown may also refer to:
Academia
* John Brown (educator) (1763–1842), Ir ...
in 1883, and he delivered several of her grandchildren, including Charles Edward Charles Edward may refer to:
*Charles Edward (horse), a racehorse
*Charles Edward Stuart, aka Bonnie Prince Charlie
*Charles E. Stuart, Charles Edward Stuart, American politician
*Charles Edward, Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha
*Charles Edward Callwe ...
, the son of Prince Leopold, and Princess Beatrice's children; Alexander Mountbatten, 1st Marquess of Carisbrooke, Victoria Eugenie, Queen of Spain, Lord Leopold Mountbatten
Lord Leopold Arthur Louis Mountbatten (21 May 1889 – 23 April 1922) was a British Army officer and a descendant of the Hessian princely Battenberg family and the British Royal Family. A grandson of Queen Victoria, he was known as Prince Leop ...
and Prince Maurice of Battenberg.
As physician to the Queen, and at her instruction, Reid also attended to her "Munshi", Abdul Karim. In 1894, along with others, he protested against the role of Karim in Queen Victoria's life. On the question of the Karim's background, Reid noted in his diary that John W. Tyler, superintendent at the central jail in Agra, had informed him that he "had constantly seen the Munshi's wife and female relations in India, as they were never shut up there from public gaze, belonging as they do to quite a low class; and that the idea of their being in purdah was never dreamt of until they came to England as ladies". In later years, Reid would become the main communicator between the Royal Household and the Queen in matters relating to the Munshi.[Basu, 2010, pp.59-60]
He attended to the Queen at Osborne House
Osborne House is a former royal residence in East Cowes, Isle of Wight, United Kingdom. The house was built between 1845 and 1851 for Queen Victoria and Prince Albert as a summer home and rural retreat. Albert designed the house himself, in t ...
, the royal residence on the Isle of Wight, during her final ten days . As the Queen's condition deteriorated, her daughters Helena, Beatrice, Louise and Victoria were in attendance, later joined by their brother Bertie, the Prince of Wales. Reid helped them to accept and come to terms with the impending death of their mother. Reid had previously prescribed for the Queen chlorodyne (chloral hydrate
Chloral hydrate is a geminal diol with the formula . It is a colorless solid. It has limited use as a sedative and hypnotic pharmaceutical drug. It is also a useful laboratory chemical reagent and precursor. It is derived from chloral (trichl ...
) for insomnia and the sedative Trional
Trional (Methylsulfonal) is a sedative-hypnotic and anesthetic drug with GABAergic actions. It has similar effects to sulfonal, except it is faster acting.
History
Trional was prepared and introduced by Eugen Baumann and Alfred Kast in 1888. ...
for arthritic pain but there is no record that either of these was prescribed in the Queens final illness. On January 17 Reid asked Sir Richard Douglas Powell
Sir Richard Douglas Powell, 1st Baronet, (25 September 1842 – 15 December 1925) was a British physician, Physician Royal to Queen Victoria, Edward VII and George V, president of various medical societies, etc.
Powell studied medicine at Univ ...
, physician-in-ordinary for his advice and, as the Queen's condition deteriorated further, asked Sir Thomas Barlow to attend to provide further medical support. The Queen died on 22 January 1901, at half past six in the evening. Reid was given strict instructions as to burying the Queen, including grave goods that had belonged to John Brown.
Reid then became physician-in-ordinary to Edward VII
Edward VII (Albert Edward; 9 November 1841 – 6 May 1910) was King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and Emperor of India, from 22 January 1901 until his death in 1910.
The second child and eldest son of Queen Victoria an ...
throughout the whole of his reign, and then finally to George V
George V (George Frederick Ernest Albert; 3 June 1865 – 20 January 1936) was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Emperor of India, from 6 May 1910 until Death and state funeral of George V, his death in 1936.
Born duri ...
. In March 1909 King Edward VII fell ill. He suffered from chronic bronchitis, the result of smoking around twenty cigarettes and several cigars each day. Reid recommended a dose of radium and told Kaiser Wilhelm II
Wilhelm II (Friedrich Wilhelm Viktor Albert; 27 January 18594 June 1941) was the last German Emperor (german: Kaiser) and List of monarchs of Prussia, King of Prussia, reigning from 15 June 1888 until Abdication of Wilhelm II, his abdication on 9 ...
, the King's nephew, that the King "was rapidly sinking." On 6 March 1910, the King was treated for "acute cardiac distress" (heart disease). Reid diagnosed an acute exacerbation of the chronic bronchitis but he decided to hide the potential seriousness of this from the royal family and by 25 March, gave him a clean bill of health although the patient was permanently wheezing, asthmatic, and could not walk upstairs. By 5 May, the King was turning blue, and Reid issued a bulletin that the King's condition was "causing some anxiety" and a few hours later announced that it was causing "grave anxiety." The King died soon afterwards just before midnight.
Later life
He became consulting physician to the King Edward VII Sanatorium at Midhurst.
In 1914 Reid, although by then retired, received instructions from London to travel to Wick
Wick most often refers to:
* Capillary action ("wicking")
** Candle wick, the cord used in a candle or oil lamp
** Solder wick, a copper-braided wire used to desolder electronic contacts
Wick or WICK may also refer to:
Places and placenames ...
, northern Scotland to meet Prince Albert ('Bertie', 1895–1952), second son of the King and the future King George VI
George VI (Albert Frederick Arthur George; 14 December 1895 – 6 February 1952) was King of the United Kingdom and the Dominions of the British Commonwealth from 11 December 1936 until Death and state funeral of George VI, his death in 1952. ...
. The prince had been taken ill with abdominal pain whilst serving as a midshipman on HMS Collingwood
Three ships and one shore establishment of the British Royal Navy have been named HMS ''Collingwood'', after Admiral Cuthbert Collingwood, 1st Baron Collingwood:
* , an 80-gun second-rate ship of the line, converted to screw propulsion in 1861, a ...
. Reid accompanied the prince as he was transferred to Aberdeen on the hospital ship ''Rohilla''. On 9 September an appendectomy was performed on the prince by the Regius Professor of Surgery in Aberdeen Sir John Marnoch
Sir John Marnoch (23 May 1867 – 2 February 1936) was a Scottish surgeon and British Army officer. He was Surgeon to the Royal Household in Scotland, Regius Professor of Surgery at the University of Aberdeen (1909 to 1932), and President of t ...
, who was surgeon to the Royal Household in Scotland. Reid was present at the operation along with Sir Alexander Ogston
Sir Alexander Ogston MD CM LLD (19 April 1844 – 1 February 1929) was a British surgeon, famous for his discovery of ''Staphylococcus''.
Life
Ogston was the eldest son of Amelia Cadenhead and her husband Prof. Francis Ogston (1803– ...
. The prince made a good recovery from the procedure, returning to serve on HMS Collingwood at the Battle of Jutland
The Battle of Jutland (german: Skagerrakschlacht, the Battle of the Skagerrak) was a naval battle fought between Britain's Royal Navy Grand Fleet, under Admiral John Jellicoe, 1st Earl Jellicoe, Sir John Jellicoe, and the Imperial German Navy ...
.
Personal and family
Reid married, in 1899, the Honourable Susan Baring (9 October 1870–8 February 1961), daughter of Edward Baring, 1st Baron Revelstoke
Edward Charles Baring, 1st Baron Revelstoke (13 April 1828 – 17 July 1897), was a British banker.
Early life
A member of the Baring banking family, "Ned" Baring was born on 13 April 1828. He was the second son of Henry Baring from his second ma ...
. She had been Maid of honour
A maid of honour is a junior attendant of a queen in royal households. The position was and is junior to the lady-in-waiting. The equivalent title and office has historically been used in most European royal courts.
Role
Traditionally, a queen r ...
to Queen Victoria
Victoria (Alexandrina Victoria; 24 May 1819 – 22 January 1901) was Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until Death and state funeral of Queen Victoria, her death in 1901. Her reign of 63 years and 21 ...
1898–1899. They had two daughters and two sons, including Sir Edward Reid.
Awards and honours
In 1889, Reid was created Companion of the Most Honourable Order of the Bath (CB), He then became Knight Commander of the Most Honourable Order of the Bath (KCB) in 1895, a baronet in 1897, and in 1901 was made Knight Grand Cross of the Royal Victorian Order (GCVO)
Other honours include Prussian Order of the Crown (2nd Class), given during the visit of Emperor Wilhelm II
Wilhelm II (Friedrich Wilhelm Viktor Albert; 27 January 18594 June 1941) was the last German Emperor (german: Kaiser) and King of Prussia, reigning from 15 June 1888 until his abdication on 9 November 1918. Despite strengthening the German Empi ...
to the United Kingdom for the death and funeral of Queen Victoria
Victoria (Alexandrina Victoria; 24 May 1819 – 22 January 1901) was Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until Death and state funeral of Queen Victoria, her death in 1901. Her reign of 63 years and 21 ...
in January–February 1901, and an Honorary doctorate (LL.D
Legum Doctor (Latin: “teacher of the laws”) (LL.D.) or, in English, Doctor of Laws, is a doctorate-level academic degree in law or an honorary degree, depending on the jurisdiction. The double “L” in the abbreviation refers to the earl ...
) from the University of Glasgow
, image = UofG Coat of Arms.png
, image_size = 150px
, caption = Coat of arms
Flag
, latin_name = Universitas Glasguensis
, motto = la, Via, Veritas, Vita
, ...
, awarded to Reid in June 1901 during the university's 450th jubilee celebrations.
Death and legacy
Reid died in post on 28 June 1923.[Queen Victoria's Physician. ]The Times
''The Times'' is a British daily national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its current name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its sister paper ''The Sunday Times'' (fou ...
(London, England), Friday, 29 June 1923; pg. 16; Issue 43380
Ellon Castle in Aberdeenshire was inherited by Reid's grandson, whose wife Michaela Reid found his diaries, which she used to compile a biography of Reid, titled '' Ask Sir James'', published in 1987. The historian and writer Shrabani Basu used Reid's personal diaries, scrapbooks and photographs when researching her book '' Victoria and Abdul: The True Story of the Queen’s Closest Confidant'', in which are several photographs from the Reid archives. In the 2017 film ''Victoria & Abdul
''Victoria & Abdul'' is a 2017 British biographical historical drama film directed by Stephen Frears and written by Lee Hall. The film is based on the book of the same name by Shrabani Basu, about the real-life relationship between Queen V ...
'', based on Basu's book, Reid was portrayed by actor Paul Higgins.
References
Bibliography
*
* Reid, Michaela (1996). ''Ask Sir James: The Life of Sir James Reid, personal physician to Queen Victoria.''
*
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Reid, James
1849 births
People from Ellon, Aberdeenshire
People educated at Aberdeen Grammar School
Alumni of the University of Aberdeen
Knights Commander of the Order of the Bath
Knights Grand Cross of the Royal Victorian Order
Physicians-in-Ordinary
Scottish justices of the peace
1923 deaths
Baronets in the Baronetage of the United Kingdom