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Distribution of the Queen's Medals to the French Crimean Troops, by H.R.H. the Duke of Cambridge, 1856. The following address was delivered by his Royal Highness to the French army: "Her Majesty the Queen of England has deigned to charge me with the office of presenting to the generals, officers, and rank and file of the French army - my brave and worthy comrades - these medals, as a token of the cordial esteem and friendship which exist between the two nations, and of the admiration which her Majesty and the English nation have felt in seeing the glorious feats of arms performed by the Army of the East"...each platoon, as it passed by, cried "Vive l'Empereur!" "Vive l'lmperatrice!" "Vive la Reine Victoria!" and "Vive le Duc de Cambridge!" the bands of the different regiments alternately playing the English and French national airs.' From "Illustrated London News", 1856.