Captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

Maurice Archibald Bourke (22 December 1853 – 16 September 1900) was a

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by Kingdom of England, English and Kingdom of Scotland, Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were foug ...

officer who became

Naval Secretary The Naval Secretary is the Royal Navy officer who advises the First Sea Lord and Chief of Naval Staff on naval officer appointing (and General Officers). Their counterpart in the British Army is the Military Secretary. The Royal Air Force equiv ...

Naval career

Born the son of

Richard Bourke, 6th Earl of Mayo Richard Southwell Bourke, 6th Earl of Mayo, (; ; 21 February 1822 – 8 February 1872) styled Lord Naas (; ) from 1842 to 1867 and Lord Mayo in India, was a British statesman and prominent member of the British Conservative Party who serv ...

, Bourke joined the

in 1867 and advanced to command HMS ''Surprise'', Prince Alfred's Royal Yacht in the late 1880s. In 1891 he was made Flag Captain of HMS ''Victoria''. On 22 June 1893, while manoeuvring under the orders of the commander of the

British Mediterranean Fleet The British Mediterranean Fleet, also known as the Mediterranean Station, was a formation of the Royal Navy. The Fleet was one of the most prestigious commands in the navy for the majority of its history, defending the vital sea link between t ...

, Vice-Admiral Sir

George Tryon Vice-Admiral Sir George Tryon (4 January 1832 – 22 June 1893) was a British admiral who died when his flagship HMS ''Victoria'' collided with HMS ''Camperdown'' during manoeuvres off Tripoli, Lebanon. Early life Tryon was born at Bulw ...

, ''Victoria'' collided with near

Tripoli Tripoli or Tripolis may refer to: Cities and other geographic units Greece *Tripoli, Greece, the capital of Arcadia, Greece *Tripolis (region of Arcadia), a district in ancient Arcadia, Greece * Tripolis (Larisaia), an ancient Greek city in t ...

Lebanon Lebanon ( , ar, لُبْنَان, translit=lubnān, ), officially the Republic of Lebanon () or the Lebanese Republic, is a country in Western Asia. It is located between Syria to Lebanon–Syria border, the north and east and Israel to Blue ...

and quickly sank, taking 358 crew with her, including Tryon. At the

court martial A court-martial or court martial (plural ''courts-martial'' or ''courts martial'', as "martial" is a postpositive adjective) is a military court or a trial conducted in such a court. A court-martial is empowered to determine the guilt of me ...

Bourke was absolved of all blame. Bourke also became an extra

equerry An equerry (; from French ' stable', and related to ' squire') is an officer of honour. Historically, it was a senior attendant with responsibilities for the horses of a person of rank. In contemporary use, it is a personal attendant, usually up ...

to Prince Alfred. He was appointed Assistant Director of

Torpedo A modern torpedo is an underwater ranged weapon launched above or below the water surface, self-propelled towards a target, and with an explosive warhead designed to detonate either on contact with or in proximity to the target. Historically, s ...

es in 1895 and Senior Officer of the Newfoundland Fisheries Division in 1896. He went on to be

to the

First Lord of the Admiralty The First Lord of the Admiralty, or formally the Office of the First Lord of the Admiralty, was the political head of the English and later British Royal Navy. He was the government's senior adviser on all naval affairs, responsible for the di ...

and died in office.

Private life

In the late 1880s Bourke was romantically linked with Princess Victoria of Prussia, a grand-daughter of

Queen Victoria Victoria (Alexandrina Victoria; 24 May 1819 – 22 January 1901) was Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until her death in 1901. Her reign of 63 years and 216 days was longer than that of any previ ...

, and some members of the royal family looked on the match as possible. It was Bourke who broke off the romance, and not the princess. The

Duchess of Edinburgh Duchess of Edinburgh was the principal courtesy title held by the wife of the Duke of Edinburgh. There have been four Duchesses of Edinburgh since the title's creation. Following the accession of Charles III in 2022, the Dukedom of Edinburgh m ...

wrote to

Princess Charlotte of Prussia English: Victoria Elizabeth Augusta Charlotte , father = Frederick III, German Emperor , mother = Victoria, Princess Royal , birth_date = , birth_place = New Palace, Potsdam, Kingdom of Prussia , death_date = , death_pla ...

in 1890 that Victoria was still in love with Bourke and had been heart-broken by the end of the flirtation.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bourke, Maurice 1853 births 1900 deaths Companions of the Order of St Michael and St George Younger sons of earls Royal Navy officers Royal Navy personnel who were court-martialled Equerries