1st Baron Beresford. His full name was Charles William de la Poer Beresford, GCB GCVO, known as Lord Charles Beresford until 1916. British Admiral and Member of Parliament. He combined the two careers of the navy and a member of parliament, making a reputation as a hero in battle and champion of the navy in the House of Commons. He was a well-known and popular figure who courted publicity, widely known to the British public as "Charlie B". He was considered by many to be a personification of John Bull, indeed was normally accompanied by his trademark, a bulldog. The family traced their ancestry to Englishmen who had invaded Ireland with James I and stayed to rule. Their estate covered 100,000 acres (400 km2) at Curraghmore near Waterford in South East Ireland, had stables for 100 horses and employed 600 people. He joined the Royal Navy in 1859 aged 13, and started his training as a cadet at the naval training academy HMS "Britannia", successfully completing his passing-out examination in March 1861. He was immediately appointed a midshipman on the flagship of the Mediterranean fleet, the steam three-decker "Marlborough". He was promoted to acting sub-lieutenant in January 1866. A month later Beresford was transferred to the steam-frigate Sutlej, the flagship of the Pacific Squadron. He passed his seamanship examination to qualify for lieutenant on board the Sutlej, which he left later in 1866. Beresford did a gunnery course on the Excellent, a hulk in Portsmouth harbour. He entered Parliament as a Conservative in 1874, representing County Waterford and retained his seat until 1880. He was aide-de-camp to the Prince of Wales, later Edward VII, from 1875 until 1876. During his service under Edward VII, he became involved in an affair with Daisy Greville, Countess of Warwick (i.e., Frances Brooke), with whom Edward VII was also involved romantically. The affair strained his friendship with Edward VII, even though Edward himself was married to Alexandra of Denmark.