Stirling received his fourth command, the 120-gun first rate ship of the line in May 1847 and joined the Channel Fleet under the command of the newly appointed Rear-Admiral Sir Charles Napier on . In September he received special orders. He was to conduct Her Majesty, the Dowager Queen Adelaide, Queen Victoria's aunt, on trips to Lisbon and Madeira and then back to Osborne House on the Isle of Wight. Flying the Royal Standard at the main, the "Howe" entered the River Tagus on 22 October. Sir Charles Napier immediately boarded to pay his respects, followed shortly afterwards by Ferdinand of Saxe-Coburg Gotha, King of Portugal, and two princes. The next day, all the captains in the squadron donned full dress and white trousers and were formally presented to the Dowager Queen, after which Napier and Stirling escorted her to the royal Palace of Necessidades, where they were received by Queen Maria II.