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Queen Victoria's Resident Medical Attendants

Dr William Marshall was appointed as Queen Victoria’s Resident Medical Attendant in 1871. Marshall had practiced as a doctor from 1864 and had treated John Brown prior to his appointment at Balmoral. It may have been Brown who first brought Marshall to the attention of the queen. On 11 September 1871, Marshall attended the queen who had been suffering with a sting to her arm. The queen recorded in her journal: ‘Dr Marshall dressed the wound, & put on the bandage. It made him a little nervous but he did it very well.’

Dr James Reid (1849–1923) succeeded Dr Marshall as Resident Medical Attendant in 1881. In this post, Reid was expected to provide medical care to the queen and her household wherever they went, at home and abroad. Reid was to serve the queen for 20 years, until her death in 1901. He subsequently attended King Edward VII and King George V. In this portrait, Reid sits alongside his mother. During his first 10 years of service, Reid enjoyed a series of rapid promotions, rising from Resident Physician to Physician-in-Ordinary by 1889.

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