Researching a Royal Physician

[SurfinNan]

What records would I need to look at to find out when a person was appointed to the service of Queen Victoria as a doctor? Are these on-line or would I need to get someone to look for me? I am in Western Australia.

[philipsearching]

Greetings.

This could be a good starting point:
https://rcpsg.ac.uk/library/collections/family-history
Given that he trained in Glasgow it is likely that he would be a member of the Royal College of Physicians of Glasgow.  Their website has a link for family history.

Hope this helps.
Philip

[Girl Guide]

I've found four doctors who appear to have been Queen Victoria's doctors over various periods of time.

Sir William Henry Broadbent, Bt., KCVO, MD, Physician Extraordinary to Queen Victoria (1896–1901)[1]
Sir Henry Thompson, 1st Baronet, FRCS (1820–1904), Physician to Queen Victoria
Sir Thomas Grainger Stewart, FRSE, FRCPE (1837-1900), Physician-in-Ordinary to the Queen in Scotland from 1882
George Steward Beatson ( - 1874) Honorary Physician to the Queen

If you click on the link below you should be able to click on each name for further information on that name.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Physician_to_the_Queen

[isobelw]

There is a report in the Dundee Courier on 26th October 1869 that Queen Victoria had appointed him to be the doctor at  Crathie which hitherto had not had a permanent doctor. William Marshall had been the doctor in Braemar for many years. Report says that the Queen has arranged for a cottage to be built for him on the Balmoral estate.
Isobel

[philipsearching]

There is a report in the Dundee Courier on 26th October 1869 that Queen Victoria had appointed him to be the doctor at  Crathie which hitherto had not had a permanent doctor. William Marshall had been the doctor in Braemar for many years. Report says that the Queen has arranged for a cottage to be built for him on the Balmoral estate.
Isobel

What a brilliant find!  So the reference to him in SurfinNan's newspaper clipping is perhaps misleading - he was appointed by the Queen to work at Crathie, but not as her personal physician in Balmoral.

I gave a link in my previous post, but I have now had time to look at it further and it doesn't seem to have any suggestions as to online records.  There was a British Medical Directory (published annually?) - there are some Victorian copies online, so if you have the year when William Marshall retired it may be possible to find directories issued before that date.

All the best
Philip

[isobelw]

There are reports of his death in a number of papers ( 1884) and in all of these he  is described as physician to the Queen at Balmoral. My reading of this is that he carried out this service in addition to being a general practitioner at Braemar and later at Crathes. Reports say that he relinquished this position about three years prior to his death due to ill health.
Isobel

[isobelw]

According to the Aberdeen Journal 25/12/1884 he was household physician to the Queen for seven years - five at Braemar and two at Crathes. Afterwards he was appointed physician to the court and was a constant medical attendant on her majesty's suite. Continued to hold this office for ten years until forced to give it up due to ill health. Was also personal attendant to a Prince Leopold ( haemophiliac son of Queen Victoria) until the Prince married.
Isobel

[SurfinNan]

Thank you for that. I had not found this particular newspaper article in the Dundee Courier before. Had found others but not this one.

I have found glimpses of him around but there is no Who's Who sort of  entry or an already published biography. So I am endeavouring to write one myself. As there is little on him it is not an easy task. Especially as I live so far away from places he would have been.

Thank you again

[SurfinNan]

Forgot to add I have found Medical directories on-line. Not every year is digitised, I found entries for 1867, 1871, 1875 and 1883. I found these when I was trying to find out when he becme a doctor.