Keppel Terrace

Henry Keppel was the sixth son of the fourth Earl of Albermarle and was born in Kensington in 1809. In time his elder bothers, Augustus and George, would become the fifth and sixth earls. in the meantime, Henry would become one of the most famous naval officers of his day.

He joined the Navy when he was 12, in February 1822, and became a lieutenant when still in his teens. His early naval career took him all over the world. A recipient of Balkan and Crimean medals, he received the Cross of the Legion of Honour in 1856. Awarded the KCB for his efforts in China the following year, he was appointed groom-in-waiting to Queen Victoria in 1858, and he was to enjoy a long and happy relationship with the Royal Family, particularly with King Edward VII, especially while Edward was Prince of Wales, and with Queen Alexandra. Indeed his relations generally were said, at the time, to be "such as are rarely permitted to a subject".

Between 1872 and 1875 he served here as Commander-in-Chief, Devonport, and became Admiral of the Fleet two years later. By a special order of council, his name was retained on the active list of the Navy until his death at the age of 94, by which time three streets in Devonport had been named in his honour.