Today in History: April 9

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THE BAHAMAS – On this day in Bahamian history –

On April 9th, 1697, William Craven, the first Earl of Craven died in London, England. Craven was an english nobleman and soldier and was the second of the Proprietary Governors of The Bahamas between 1670 and 1679.

Craven was a devoted follower of the royal Stuarts family and defender of King Charles I. He had a distinguished military career in Germany. He was a patron of the arts and letters, an early member of the Royal Society for Scientific Research and was rewarded by King Charles II with many honors and much wealth.

He outlived all the other lords proprietors and died a bachelor, at the age of 89.

Fast forward to 2018, then-Attorney General Carl Bethel revealed a bill was in the works to allow immigration officials to deport migrants who land illegally in The Bahamas without taking them to court as well as other significant changes to the Immigration Act.

Bethel, who was also the leader of government business in the senate, foreshadowed the changes in the Upper House.

In 2021, Prince Philip, Queen Elizabeth II’s husband died at the age of 99 at Windsor Castle.

Philip was born in Greece into the Greek and Danish royal families; his family was exiled from the country when he was 18 months old.

After being educated in France, Germany, and the United Kingdom, he joined the royal navy in 1939, when he was 18 years old.

In the summer of 1946, the king granted Philip permission to marry Elizabeth, then aged 20.

Prince Philip was the longest-serving consort in British history and was only months away from his 100th birthday.

The royal visited The Bahamas several times between the 1960s to the 1980’s.