An 11th Hussar bids farewell to his lady

Chromolithograph, published 1880 (c).

A hussar of the 11th (Prince Albert's Own) Hussars embraces a young lady before joining his comrades in the distance. During the Victorian era officers were encouraged to marry and to settle down; they played a paternal role within the regiment, and their wives an important maternal one.

Marriage for other ranks, however, was positively discouraged; a man's regiment demanded his loyalty before a wife and child. A Victorian soldier needed permission from his commanding officer to get married, and this was only granted to a small percentage of men in each regiment.