In 1921 and 1922 the Prince of Wales - eventually the future Edward VIII - carried out an eight month tour of the Far East on the Battlecruiser HMS Renown most of which entailed visits to India and Japan. A book of the tour was later written by the journalist Sir Percival Phillips. It was heavily illustrates with photographs and paintings.
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HMS Renown
The ship stopped at Gibraltar on its way to the East - as well as on its way back - and included a short description of Gibraltar as well as several photographs of the Prince carrying out several rather tedious looking functions on the Rock. The entire passage on Gibraltar and all the relevant photos are shown bellow.
Gibraltar: The third morning after leaving Portsmouth, the Renown anchored at Gibraltar. The "Rock" had put on gala dress, and the little fortress town welcomed the Prince joyfully when he came ashore at Ragged Staff. East and West met in the narrow main street through which he drove to Government House, Grave Moors from the African coast; Spaniards from beyond the wire-bound frontier at Linea, and from Algeciras, across the bay, hardy sailor men from the merchant ships in harbour; nuns, dockyard hands, Hindu merchants, and priests mingled with the garrison folk and sounded the first note of an ovation that was to take him half-way round the world and back.
A photo taken on a later visit in 1927 by the Duke and Duchess of York
The tall buildings in the high street were masked with gay tapestries and carpets of vivid hues draped Spanish fashion from the window ledges, whence eager faces peered at the little procession below. The Prince saw it all with an appreciative eye, but the leaven of khaki that is the real foundation of the "Rock" held his gaze longest. Here were old comrades of the Western front, the fourth battalion of the "Die Hards" of Middlesex, of which he is colonel-in-chief, lately arrived at this gateway to the East. They were his guard of honour for the day, and the fact pleased him greatly.
He met them first at the jetty and again in the afternoon when he inspected the battalion at Buena Vista barracks. The day was spent informally with the varied population of Gibraltar. He received addresses from the Exchange Committee, the Chamber of Commerce, and the Workers' Union. The school children, boy scouts, girl guides, and police were inspected at Alameda parade ground . . .
. . .and a garden party at Government House brought his Royal Highness in touch with other elements of the community.
He found time to inspect the oil tanks and the entrance to the Admiralty Tunnel at Monkey's Quarry. In the evening he gave a dinner party on board. When the Renown left the inner anchorage at 10 pm with the Calypso, her escorting cruiser, showing the way to sea, the last view of Gibraltar was very beautiful. All the warships in harbour were festooned with lights and the buildings huddled on the lower slope of the "Rock" made a prodigal display of electric lamps. As the Prince's battle cruiser headed for the Mediterranean, the long harbour walls burst into flame.
Red, white, and blue flares, swung by well-trained dockyard hands, signalled farewell in rapid changes of colour combinations, while the rugged outline of the "sleeping lion" - the crest of the fortress as seen against the sky - awoke in the darkness under the white glare of searchlights.
