In 1863, Princess Alice second daughter of Queen Victoria, she was 19, unmarried, and not yet Grand Duchess of Hesse. Coverage of her movements was lighter than for the Queen or the Prince of Wales. She was still spending long periods at Osborne House with her mother Queen Victoria, who was deep in mourning for Prince Albert, who had passed away in December 1861. She became her informal secretary, handling any of the Queen’s correspondence. Queen Victoria herself wrote: “Alice is my comforter and support.”
On Wednesday, 31 December 1862, just before noon. Princess Alice was travelling in a phaeton (a light, open carriage with a small folding roof) They were Horse‑drawn but not very stable. She was travelling with The Hon. Mrs Mary Bruce (her lady-in-waiting). From records, it is reported that the carriage was travelling through the area known to be the location of the where Broadlands House (Staplers Road) which was a lace‑making factory owned by William Henry Nunn. In 1827, William Henry Nunn moved his lace‑making machinery from Blackfriars, London, to the Isle of Wight. The Princess’s carriage came into contact with a cart, and the Staplers area would have been a rural hamlet on the eastern approach to Newport. Served by a narrow country road, mainly by farm carts, delivery wagons. The newspaper states the phaeton came in contact with a cart and was completely overturned, with the Princess receiving bruises to her arm and Mrs Bruce scratches on her hands, they were returned to Osborne and both quite well the next day.
