Rare intimate letters by Lord Nelson go on display to mark Trafalgar Day
Rare intimate letters and documents written by Lord Nelson – many never on public display before – have gone on display in Portsmouth.
The National Museum of the Royal Navy (NMRN) is airing a collection of letters and personal papers by – or relating to – the naval hero, spanning his victories from the Nile to Trafalgar.
'Nelson: in His Own Words' focuses on 30 rare and unpublished documents, including 15 personal letters, displayed alongside other personal items from the museum's collections such as a betrothal ring given by Lord Nelson to his lover Emma Hamilton, miniature portraits, and a meat platter from HMS Victory.
Written with his left hand, after losing his right arm at the Battle of Santa Cruz, the letters feature insights from everyday gossip and anecdotes to historic events and breaking news of the Battle of the Nile.
The letters document Nelson's relationship with Emma Hamilton just a few days before his death at Trafalgar on HMS Victory.
In one letter in the days leading up to the birth of their daughter, Nelson writes: "My Dear Lady Hamilton, When I consider that this day nine months was your birthday, and that although we had a gale of wind, yet I was happy and sung 'Come Cheer up Fair Emma' even the thought compared with this day makes me melancholy, my heart somehow is sunk within me …"
"The letters were written in the turbulent and troubled years which were the peak of Nelson's fame," explained Matthew Sheldon, executive director of the NMRN.
Mr Sheldon added: "They might be sent from the middle of the Atlantic or the Mediterranean; be written when rushing to get his furniture on board HMS Victory or when chasing the French Fleet.
"We can imagine them being signed and sealed, despatched by boat, carried by ship and coach to the tables of his friends and family.
"Through the letters, we can hear Nelson's voice in his own words; his emotions and energy always near the surface, as he jumps from the personal to the professional all in one sentence."
The collection belongs to Greek shipping magnate and philanthropist Panos Laskaridis.
"The Laskaridis Nelson Collection aims to bring to light Horatio Nelson not just as a dedicated officer and great leader of men at sea in peace and war; but also, as a man in love, with personal feelings and anxieties, that do not diminish by any measure his being one of the greatest naval heroes of all times," Mr Laskaridis said.
Visitors will be able to use the touchscreen to listen to extracts of the papers or read them in full. The exhibition runs until April.
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