'Bill', Lieutenant-Colonel Sir William Alexander Gordon Gordon-Cumming, 1880

Coloured lithograph by Vincent, Brooks, Day and Son after 'Ape', Carlo Pellegrini, published by Vanity Fair, 5 June 1880.

Caricature of Lieutenant-Colonel Sir William Alexander Gordon Gordon-Cumming (1848-1930), Scots Guards.

Gordon-Cumming purchased a commission in the Scots Fusilier Guards in 1868. He served in the Zulu War in 1879 and was among the first British officers to enter the Zulu King Cetshwayo's capital after the Battle of Ulundi. He is reported to have conveyed the Army's condolences to Eugenie, the mother of Napoleon, the French Prince Imperial, following his death during the campaign.

Gordon-Cumming served in the Egyptian War in 1882 and in the Sudan in 1884-1885. He served in the Guards Camel Regiment in the latter campaign.

Gordon-Cumming counted Edward, Prince of Wales, the future King Edward VII, among his friends. Gordon-Cummin was a notorious womaniser and his name was linked to a number of high profile women, including Lillie Langtry, Sarah Bernhardt, Lady Randolph Churchill and Lady Brooke, some of whom were not unknown to Prince Edward.

In 1890, he was embroiled in a gambling scandal involving Prince Edward. Gordon-Cumming was suspected of cheating at baccarat during two nights of illegal gaming at a house party at Tranby Court in Yorkshire. He denied the accusation made by two of the players but, to avoid embarrassment to the Prince of Wales, he agreed to refrain from playing cards for the rest of his life.

The story leaked out and Gordon-Cumming took legal action against a number of the house guests for slander. The Prince of Wales was called as a witness in the ensuing trial. Gordon-Cumming lost the case and was dismissed from the Army and a number of gentleman's clubs in London. He sought refuge in his Scottish estates with his new (and rather wealthy) American wife. The Prince of Wales apparently called Gordon-Cumming a 'damned blackguard' and supported his social ostracization throughout the remainder of his life.

Following his death in 1930, Gordon-Cumming's house at Gordonstoun, near Elgin, was sold and eventually became the private school which was attended by Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, and Prince Charles, Prince of Wales and the future King Charles III.