Two days before this dinner, the German Emperor arrived at Cowes on the Isle of Wight for the annual Regatta to personally race his newly acquired and renamed racing yacht, Meteor, in the Queen’s Cup.

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At 10am on 1st August a column of smoke, off the coast of Cowes, announced that Kaiser Wilhelm II, aboard the imperial yacht “SMY Kaiser Adler”, was approaching the Solent.

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Cowes, remembered the former Queen of Romania, "was a delightful little seaport town, with narrow streets, wooden-faced houses and what I seem to remember as ravishing shops”. It was also home to one of Queen Victoria’s favourite residences, Osborne House.

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As Wilhelm II and his brother Prince Henry of Prussia entered the channel they were greeted with royal salutes from the guardship Bellerophon, the German frigate Moltke and the Royal Yacht Squadron Castle.  The Prince of Wales (future King Edward VII) and the Dukes of York (future King George V) and Connaught then went aboard to greet the German Emperor before he later took his 14-oared barge ashore.

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“After warm greetings and hearty handshakes were exchanged”, reported The New York Times, the Emperor was “driven to Osborne House in an open carriage drawn by the Queen’s four grays. These animals are used only on special occasions”.

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At Osborne, Queen Victoria was waiting to greet her imperial grandson.

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The next morning, after 6 hours 37 minutes and 3 seconds – and having led the entire race - the Meteor with the German Emperor at the helm, was first to cross the line in the prestigious ‘Queen’s Cup’. The visiting German naval ships, anchored off the coast, boomed their cannons in celebration of German seafaring prestige.

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But the cheering and backslapping came to halt not 20 minutes later when “Corsair” sailed past the last buoy to be declared winner based on its 27-minute handicap.

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Perhaps Queen Victoria thought some royal mollycoddling was required. The following night the Queen hosted this dinner at Osborne in honour of the German Emperor.

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“Queen Victoria usually spent July and August at Osborne, where she entertained a great deal during Cowes week”, remembered a royal chef, Gabriel Tschumi.

 

The estates making up Osborne had been acquired piecemeal by Queen Victoria since 1844 with the final Osborne House being completed in 1851.

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The dinner started with a crayfish bisque, that Queen Victoria preferred to be flavoured with Dutch brandy (Vieux), with a succession of dishes leading up to roast quails with artichokes in a white wine and butter sauce.

 

The Court Circular confirms the dinner was also attended by the Prince of Wales (future Edward VII), and Prince Henry of Prussia along with members of the German delegation including Count [future Prince] Eulenberg and the German Ambassador, Count Hatzfeldt.

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During the Kaiser's six day visit for the Cowes Regatta, he dined four times with Queen Victoria at Osborne including for dinner on 1st, 3rd and 5th, and for a farewell lunch on 6th before departing for home at 3:40pm. On 2nd August the Kaiser hosted a lunch aboard his imperial yacht "SMY Kaiser Adler"; and on the 4th the Duke of Connaught hosted him aboard the Royal Yacht "Victoria & Albert".​​