as he once appeared for a costume ball dressed from head to toe in shining armour. Alexander was the first member of the House of Orange to have his photograph taken, and he was also the first to own a bicycle. Alexander's greatest attachments were hunting and horses. He received his first horse at the age of ten and became a skilled horseman. At Het Loo he bred Frisian horses. Alexander was also passionate hunter. In 1839 he and his brother were permitted by their grandfather the King to reinstate the old practice of falconry at Het Loo. The two brothers created the Royal Loo Hawking Club, with Alexander, as protector of the hawking sport, serving as chairman. They gathered a company of international nobility at Het Loo. Apart from hunting the company also engaged in horse races (Queen Anna Pavlovna once gave him a horse brought from England for 4000 Dutch guilders) and shooting contests. A letter to the Prince's father proves how seriously Alexander took his hunting activities, as he explained his absence from The Hague: "I so desire to stay at Het Loo, where the falconry is wonderful this year. You might disapprove of my behaviour and my decision, my dear father, but remember, beloved father, this is my only relaxation and the only pleasure I truly love." After Alexander's death the expensive sport came to an end and in 1855 the curtain fell for the Royal Loo Hawking Club. For one who did not particularly care for seafaring, Alexander travelled a great deal. This included several visits to the United Kingdom, and longer journeys to Italy and his mother's native country. On 23 July 1839 Alexander travelled to Russia to visit his maternal uncle Tsar Nicholas I, accompanied by his mentor Major Rigot de Beguins. On 26 August 1839 the Tsar named his nephew Chief of a Novorossiysk Draagoon Regiment. On 3 October Anna Pavlovna wrote to Tsar Nicholas thanking him for his kindness to her son: "How I should thank you, dear friend, for the gifts you have bestowed upon my son Alexander and for the flattering honour you so mercifully bestowed upon him by making him the head of a regiment of your army. May he once deserve the honour to be taken up in the ranks of such an army! May he be worth it!" Like his father, Alexander occasionally appeared at court