'My heart is sunk within me': Never-before seen romantic letters that Admiral Nelson wrote to his lover Lady Hamilton left-handed after losing his right arm in battle are revealed 217 years after Battle of Trafalgar
- Letters are in new exhibition at the National Museum of the Royal Navy (NMRN)
- Nelson: In His Own Words focuses on 30 documents alongside personal items
- The vice-admiral conducted love affair with Hamilton for more than a decade
Rare intimate letters written by war hero Lord Horatio Nelson to his lover Emma Hamilton have gone on display to mark Trafalgar Day.
The new exhibition at the National Museum of the Royal Navy (NMRN) in Portsmouth Historic Dockyard, Hampshire, includes documents never shown in public before.
Nelson: In His Own Words focuses on 30 rare documents alongside other personal items owned by the vice-admiral, who was killed in Britain's victory over France at the Battle of Trafalgar in 1805.
The letters to Hamilton were written by Nelson with his left-hand after he lost his right arm in battle.
In one, written shortly before the birth of their daughter, he says 'my heart is sunk within me' as he mournfully recalls the delights of her birthday nine months previously.
Nelson was married to Frances Nisbet but conducted an intense love affair with Hamilton after being introduced to her in the 1790s. Their daughter, Horatia, was born in 1801.
Rare intimate letters written by war hero Lord Horatio Nelson to his lover Emma Hamilton have gone on display to mark Trafalgar Day
The new exhibition at the National Museum of the Royal Navy (NMRN) in Portsmouth Historic Dockyard, Hampshire, includes documents never shown in public before
Also on display is a betrothal ring that Vice-Admiral Nelson gave to Hamilton, along with miniature portraits and a meat platter from his ship HMS Victory.
Trafalgar Day is marked every year on October 21 - the anniversary of the Royal Navy's victory over the combined French and Spanish fleets.
The documents on display are from the Aikaterini Laskaridis Foundation's Nelson collection, whilst the personal items come from NMRN's own archive.
Nelson's letter to Hamilton before the birth of Horatia reads: 'My Dear Lady Hamilton, When I consider that this day 9 months was your birthday, and that although we had a gale of wind, yet I was happy and sung 'Come Cheer up Fair Emma' even the thought compared with this day makes me melancholy, my heart somehow is sunk within me.'
Another letter was written from aboard HMS Victory in 1805, when Nelson was chasing the Spanish and French fleet.
He mentioned their daughter and an enclosed document for his lawyer amid his anxiety that both Hamilton and Horatia would not be supported if he were to die in battle.
He told her: 'I send you the enclosed that difficulty may arise about My Dear Horatia in case any accident should happen to me for I know too well the necessity of taking care of those we love whilst we have the power, and these arraingements do not hasten our death.'
A museum spokeswoman said: 'Written with his left hand, after losing his right arm at the Battle of Santa Cruz, the letters are peppered with fascinating insights from everyday gossip and anecdotes to historic events, and breaking news of the Battle of the Nile.
'The letters take the reader through Nelson's relationship with Emma Hamilton to just a few days before his death at Trafalgar on HMS Victory, all of which can be seen and visited from the gallery.'
She added: 'The new display heralds the start of work with the Greek cultural institution, the Aikaterini Laskaridis Foundation, marking the first tangible expression of the partnership.
'The letters are each fragile survivors which give a unique insight into Nelson's life and preoccupations, written in different places and situations, and give a fascinating snapshot of his life.'
Matthew Sheldon, NMRN executive director, said: 'The letters were written in the turbulent and troubled years which were the peak of Nelson's fame.
'They might be sent from the middle of the Atlantic or the Mediterranean, be written when rushing to get his furniture onboard HMS Victory or when chasing the French Fleet.
'We can imagine them being signed and sealed, despatched by boat, carried by ship and coach to the tables of his friends and family.
'Through the letters we can hear Nelson's voice in his own words; his emotions and energy always near the surface, as he jumps from the personal to the professional all in one sentence.'
Panos Laskaridis, president of the Aikaterini Laskaridis Foundation said: 'During my postgraduate studies at the Royal Naval College in Greenwich, the only civilian student amongst Royal Navy officers, I quickly became infatuated with Nelson.
A letter written by Vice-Admiral Lord Nelson to Emma Hamilton from on board HMS Victory in May 1805
Nelson: In His Own Words focuses on 30 rare documents alongside other personal items owned by the vice-admiral, who was killed in Britain's victory over France at the Battle of Trafalgar in 1805. Above: A Mourning Locket containing Vice-Admiral Lord Nelson's hair next to a letter written by him to Admiral James Saumarez days before the battle of Trafalgar
'The Laskaridis Nelson Collection aims to bring to light Horatio Nelson not just as a dedicated officer and great leader of men at sea in peace and war but also as a man in love, with personal feelings and anxieties, that do not diminish by any measure his being one of the greatest naval heroes of all times.'
The museum is adjacent to the dry dock holding HMS Victory, which is currently undergoing extensive restorations.
The opening of the exhibition, which runs until April 16, 2023, has been timed to mark the 217th anniversary of the Battle of Trafalgar where Nelson defeated the French and Spanish navies before losing his own life. Trafalgar Day takes place on Friday October 21.
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