This domed building, once a music room, is the only structure remaining of the 18th century estate known as Prince's Lodge. The prince in question was Edward, Duke of Kent and 4th son of King George the Third. As the 4th son, there was little chance of his ever acquiring the throne, so he was permitted to roam the world in search of adventure and purpose. Not needed in England, he was encouraged to make himself useful elsewhere. One such "elsewhere" was Halifax, where he spent several years in the 1790's as Commander of the British Armed Forces here and, by all accounts, straightened out the seedy little town.
But he didn't come alone. He was accompanied by his girlfriend of many years, Julie St. Laurent, and they lived on a newly renovated estate overlooking Bedford Basin, and soon to be dubbed Prince's Lodge. In his personal life, Edward was a hopeless romantic: he designed meandering footpaths on the grounds of the estate that spelled out the name "Julie" and he oversaw the creation of a small heart-shaped pond nearby.
In his professional life, however, he couldn't have been less romantic. He was strict, uncompromising and priggish. He was fond of rigid discipline for himself and he expected no less from the men under his command.
And that brings us to the ghost story. Although Edward entertained lavishly on the grounds of his estate, he expected his guests to adhere to his strict code of behaviour. No drinking. No gambling. No behaviour of any kind that he perceived as a moral shortcoming. One summer afternoon in 1796, Edward and Julie were hosting a large card party on the estate lawn. And as sometimes occurs at large parties, two guests, Colonel Ogilvie and Captain Howard, got involved in a heated argument. Tempers rose to the point that the matter could apparently be settled only through a duel. Swords were drawn. Howard killed Ogilvie but was also mortally wounded and died soon after.
When Edward learned of the incident, he was incensed. Someone had neglected to remind the two men that duelling was high on the prince's list of unacceptable behaviours. He ordered the unfortunate pair buried in unmarked graves precisely where they had fallen, and stripped of all military honours. And that was the end of it.
But years later, long after the estate had been abandoned and had fallen into disrepair and the railroad was being cut through the property, two skeletons were uncovered. Their graves unknowingly disturbed, Ogilvie and Howard naturally rose and resumed their battle. From that point on, as the fog drifts in off Bedford Basin, people have been certain they could see two men, swords raised, duelling in the shadow of the old music rotunda at Prince's Lodge.
And what of Edward and Julie? They left Halifax in 1800 and several years later, against all odds, it appeared that Edward's three elder brothers would die without surviving children and it was now up to him to marry a princess and provide a legitimate heir. So, since romance doesn't keep the monarchy afloat, he said farewell to poor Julie, returned to England, married a German princess and provided the country with its longest reigning queen: Victoria.
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