Even the king wept over Nelson’s death
He was one of our most formidable Royal Navy heroes – and Lord Nelson’s death even made a king cry.
Horatio Nelson was born in a rectory at Burnham Thorpe in Norfolk on September 29, 1758, the sixth of 11 children born to the Reverend Edmund Nelson and Catherine Suckling.
Just 12 years old when he joined the Navy, and only 47 by his death, Nelson was always more at home commanding on the high seas in the heat of battle, than he was on dry land, relaxing in peace and quiet.
A rapid rise through the ranks saw him often demonstrate tremendous personal courage and an ability to stand all the pain and stress his naval career could throw at him.
He would be a central character in battles during the American War of Independence, the War of the First Coalition against France and Spain, the War of the Second Coalition against those countries and others, and the War of the Third Coalition where, at the Battle of Trafalgar, his end arrived. Sir Thomas Hardy, commander of the HMS Victory at the battle, was a close confidante of Nelson, and it was he who suggested Nelson remove the decorations from his coat, to avoid the enemy being able to identify him easily.
He was told in no uncertain terms that it was too late “to be shifting a coat”, and that they were “military orders and he did not fear to show them to the enemy”.
When a buckle on Hardy’s shoe was dented by a splinter, Nelson predicted that a battle this ferocious wouldn’t go on for too much longer.
As enemy fire got closer and closer, another of Nelson’s men was almost cut in two when he was hit by a cannonball.
One of Hardy’s men took over his duties and was also killed.
Nelson told Hardy to take his pick of which enemy vessel he attacked first, and the pair continued walking around Victory’s deck, even as enemy sharpshooters fired at them from their rigging.
Hardy suddenly realised Nelson was not by his side and turned to find him kneeling.
“Hardy, I do believe they have done it at last,” he said. “My backbone is shot through.”
A marksman from the French ship Redoubtable had hit him from about 50 feet.
His body was later placed in a cask filled with brandy before being transported to Gibraltar on HMS Victory. There, the brandy was replaced by spirits of wine to preserve the body.
It’s said that King George III had tears in his eyes when he heard the fatal news.
Nelson’s funeral on January 9, 1806, months after his death, saw 10,000 soldiers escort the coffin from the Admiralty to St Paul’s.