After more complaints about HMS Research, Beresford reached the royal yacht Victoria and Albert and then HMS Galatea under Alfred, Duke of Edinburgh. Royal yachts placed officers close to the royal family, so a nominally non-combat posting could produce powerful relationships and future patronage. Galatea carried Beresford around the world and returned him to Hawaii while giving him another unusually prestigious appointment. His examination and promotion sequence suggests that his career after the legation incident remained strikingly protected.
Chapter · 15:07-20:54
Royal yachts and the machinery of patronage
Beresford's sequence of prestigious postings shows how royal service could turn personal access into promotion and further opportunity.