The Victorian Book Reviews 4: Serving Victoria: Life in the Royal Household by Kate Hubbard
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Category Archives: Royal Palaces
How Big an Inheritance Awaits the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge’s Baby?
My guest post today on the Bloomberg Echoes: Dispatches from Economic History blog analyzes the what inheritance the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge’s firstborn child will receive upon ascending to the throne. I discuss the Duchy of Lancaster, the sovereign grant from the Crown Lands, Sandringham and Balmoral estates and what funds may be available for any subsequent children born to the royal couple. Click here to read the full post on the Bloomberg Echoes site.
The 20th Anniversary of the Windsor Castle Fire
Windsor Castle, viewed from the air
2012 has been a successful year for Queen Elizabeth II. The Royal Family celebrated the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee in the United Kingdom and Commonwealth and presided over the successful London Summer Olympics, where the Queen’s granddaughter, Zara Phillips. This week, on November 20, the Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh celebrated their 65th wedding anniversary.
The circumstances faced by the Royal Family in 1992 were very different. November 20 also marked the twentieth anniversary of the Windsor Castle fire, the crescendo of the Queen’s famous “Annus Horribilis.” The destruction of state rooms within the centuries old palace appeared to symbolize the impending collapse of the monarchy, and provoked a fierce debate about the financial situation of the Queen, her family and her properties.
The Round Tower of Windsor Castle
Windsor Castle was originally built in the eleventh century as part of the system of Norman fortifications designed by King William I to establish his rule over England following the Norman Conquest of 1066. The castle became a royal residence during the reign of William I’s youngest son, King Henry I, who celebrated his wedding to his second wife, Adeliza of Louvain, there in 1121. King John used the castle as his base for the negotiations with his barons that precipitated the signing of Magna Carta in 1212 and his son, Henry III, viewed the castle as his principal residence for himself, his Queen, Eleanor of Provence and their children.
The Tudor monarchs made changes and improvements to the castle. King Henry VII established a memorial to his Lancastrian predecessor, Henry VI, which attracted pilgrims who believed the murdered to King to be a holy martyr. King Henry VIII added a tennis court to the grounds and redesigned the chapel, where he is buried with his third wife, and the mother of his only son, Jane Seymour. Elizabeth I viewed the castle as a place of safety in times of crisis,”knowing it could stand a siege if need be.”
St. George's Hall, Windsor Castle in the reign of Charles II
The castle was damaged and looted during the English Civil Wars of the 1640s. Following the Restoration of King Charles II in 1660, the King’s cousin, Prince Rupert of the Rhine, the first Governor of the Hudson’s Bay Company, received the post of Constable of Windsor Castle and was charged with the Castle’s refurbishment in the baroque style of another one of Charles II’s cousins, King Louis XIV of France. The castle was restored a second time during the reign of King George IV, who persuaded parliament to grant him £300,000 for refurbishment. (The equivalent of £245 million in twenty-first century terms).
Although Queen Victoria complained of Windsor Castle’s “prison-like” atmosphere early in her reign, the Castle became the setting of extensive social occasions and state visits. After her Consort, Prince Albert died there in 1861, Victoria kept many of his rooms as they were during his lifetime, earning the popular sobriquet, “The Widow of Windsor.”
Photograph of Queen Victoria and her youngest daughter, Princess Beatrice in the Queen's sitting room at Windsor Castle
When George V decided to replace the Germanic surnames and titles within the Royal Family with English equivalents during the First World War, he was inspired by Windsor Castle and its illustrious royal history. One of England’s most popular and successful medieval Kings, Edward III, was born at the Castle and was known in his lifetime as “Edward of Windsor.” In 1917, the Royal Family became the House of Windsor, identifying themselves with the historic castle.
During the Second World War, Windsor Castle’s reputation as a place that “could stand a siege if need be” was once again significant as the wartime home of the future Queen Elizabeth II and her sister Princess Margaret. In contrast to Buckingham Palace, which was damaged by bombing, Windsor Castle survived the war unscathed and appeared to symbolize the continuity of the monarchy. Elizabeth II thought of the Castle as home and has resided there on weekends throughout her reign.
The 1992 fire at Windsor Castle
Windsor Castle’s reputation as a place of stability and continuity was shattered by the November 1992 fire, which destroyed nine principal staterooms and damaged a hundred more over the course of fifteen hours. There had been a number of prominent scandals within the Royal Family that year, including the separation of the Duke and Duchess of York, the divorce of Princess Anne and Captain Mark Phillips and the publication of Andrew Morton’s tell all book about the Prince and Princess of Wales’ marriage, Diana : Her True Story. The fire at Windsor Castle appeared to symbolize the breakdown of the Queen’s prestige and authority.
The restored St. George's Hall at Windsor Castle after the 1992 fire.
In contrast to King George IV, Queen Elizabeth II would not receive a parliamentary grant for the restoration of Windsor Castle. Prime Minister John Major’s proposal that parliament pay for the damages, as the castle is the property of the state was deeply unpopular and provoked widespread demands for changes to the monarchy’s financial situation. The monarch was called upon to restore Windsor Castle from her private revenue from the Duchy of Lancaster and to once again pay income tax. (King George VI was exempted from income tax in 1937, due to the unexpected expense of Edward VIII’s settlement after the 1936 Abdication). The Queen ultimately paid for the restoration of Windsor Castle through her own income and the revenue generated from opening the Buckingham Palace state rooms to the public. The Castle was reopened to the public in 1997.
Although the 1992 fire at Windsor Castle marked the nadir of an already difficult year for the Queen, the aftermath of the disaster contributed the current popularity enjoyed by the Royal Family. The Queen’s willingness to personally contribute to the restoration of the Castle and pay income tax was widely admired. The accessibility of Buckingham Palace after the fire allowed a wide audience to view masterpieces from the royal collection, earning the Queen a reputation as a “curator monarch,” willing to share the Royal Family’s cultural heritage. The Queen recovered from the “Annus Horribilis” of 1992 to become the acclaimed Diamond Jubilee Queen of 2012.
The Theft of the Tower of London Keys and the History of the Crown Jewels
View of the Tower of London from the Thames showing Traitor's Gate
During the wee hours of November 6, 2012, Guy Fawkes night, an intruder broke into the Tower of London. The suspect scaled the front gate and an inner entrance then stole a set of keys from an unlocked metal safe before escaping. The stolen keys provided access to the conference room and restaurants and control the drawbridges. Although the suspect was seen on the security cameras by the yeoman warders, they have strict instructions not to leave their posts and additional security arrived too late to catch the intruder. The Metropolitan London police are currently investigating the theft but an arrest has not yet been made.
A copy of St. Edward's Crown, made in 1661 for the coronation of King Charles II and used in all subsequent British royal coronations
A spokeswoman for Historic Royal Palaces, which administrates the Tower of London and other former royal residences such as Hampton Court Palace was quick to reassure the public that the security of the Crown Jewels had not been compromised by the intruder. She stated, “It would not have been possible to gain access to the Tower with any of these keys. All affected locks were immediately changed.”
The theft has prompted criticism of the security arrangements in the Tower of London and questions concerning the safety of the Crown Jewels in this historic fortress. Despite the recent security breach, the Crown Jewels are more secure than they have been at any other point in English history. Previous sets of English Crown Jewels have been lost, used as collateral for unpaid troops, pawned to purchase munitions, broken down, very nearly stolen, threatened by fire, and damaged when handled by careless tourists. The comparatively recent provenance of the current Crown Jewels demonstrates the difficulty previous monarchs have experienced protecting their coronation regalia.
Undated portrait of King William I, "The Conqueror" wearing medieval coronation regalia that is no longer in existence.
King Edward the Confessor, the second last Saxon King before the Norman Conquest assembled the first known set of coronation regalia intended for subsequent monarchs. Following his death in 1066, the monks of Westminster Abbey, which had been commissioned by the late King, claimed that the jewels had been bequeathed to the Abbey. The original St. Edward’s crown attracted pilgrims who venerated the late King as a Saint, increasing the revenues for the monastery.
William I and his descendants who reigned from the Norman Conquest of 1066 brought their own coronation traditions and regalia from Normandy. William’s great-grandson, King John may have lost his Crown Jewels in 1216 when his baggage carts overturned in the Wash, the bay that separates Lincolnshire from East Anglia. Treasure hunters continue frequent the site to the present day, searching for the King’s lost crown.
John’s son, King Henry III venerated Edward the Confessor and was determined to be crowned wearing St. Edward’s Crown from Westminster Abbey. Henry III’s coronation revived Edward the Confessor’s tradition of regalia passed from one monarch to another but did not guarantee the security of the Crown Jewels. The Crown remained at Westminster Abbey in the care of the monks and was used as collateral by King Edward III when he found himself unable to pay his troops during the Hundred Years War.
Queen Henrietta Maria, consort of King Charles I. The Queen pawned Crown Jewels in Holland and France during the English Civil Wars
The Crown Jewels worn by the medieval English monarchs were lost during the English Civil Wars of the 1640s. King Charles I required funds for mercenaries and munitions to support the royalist cause. His consort, Queen Henrietta Maria alleviated his financial difficulties by pawning Crown Jewels abroad when she traveled to Holland in 1642 to deliver her daughter, Princess Mary, to her son-in-law, Prince William of Orange.(Their son would become King William III of England in 1688).
A furious English House of Commons called for the impeachment of the Queen in 1643 on eight different charges including that she, “Hath to provide monies and arms, pawned and sold the jewels of this realm.” Following the final defeat of Charles I and his execution in 1649, the Lord Protector, Oliver Cromwell ordered the remaining Crown Jewels broken down to symbolize the collapse of the monarchy and augment his own state treasury.
King Charles II at his coronation in 1661
In 1660, Charles I’s and Henrietta Maria’s eldest son, was invited to return to the British Isles as King Charles II. New regalia had to be created for his coronation in 1661 and the current St. Edward’s Crown dates from this time. To ensure the security of the new Crown Jewels, Charles II ordered that they be stored in the Tower of London, a traditional stronghold for royal valuables.
The more secure location did not prevent further threats to the security of the Crown Jewels. The keepers of the jewels relied on the income they received from charging visitors to view the coronation regalia and security standards for these early tourists were not as strict as they are today. In 1671, Irish anti-royalist “Colonel” Thomas Blood knocked the assistant jewel keeper, Talbot Edwards, unconscious with a mallet and seized Charles II’s crown, smashing the arches to hide it under his cloak. The theft was thwarted when Edwards’ son, Whythe arrived home for his sister’s betrothal at that very moment and chased Blood across the tower courtyard, finally apprehending him outside the gates and recovering the Crown Jewels.
The Imperial State Crown, created for the coronation of King George VI in 1937. Queen Elizabeth II wears this crown each year for the state opening of Parliament.
Despite this unfortunate episode, visitors to the Tower of London were permitted to handle the Crown Jewels, for an additional fee to the warder, until 1815, when a woman later judged to be “insane” pulled apart the arches of St. Edward’s crown. In 1841, a fire broke out in a building adjacent to the jewel house, prompting a bucket brigade of yeoman warders to pass the regalia to safety. The Times of London reported ‘A most extraordinary scene presented itself, the warders carrying crowns, sceptres and other valuables of royalty, between groups of soldiers, police, firemen…to the Governor’s residence.’ The jewels were saved and restored to the Tower of London.
The recent theft of keys from the Tower of London has attracted widespread media attention because threats to the security of the Crown Jewels are comparatively rare in the twenty-first century. Nevertheless the incident is in keeping with the long history threats to the security Crown Jewels of England.
For my Canadian readers, I will be discussed the history of the Tower of London tomorrow, (November 15, 2012) at 11:15am on the CTV 24 hour news channel.
Diamond Jubilee Exhibitions in the United Kingdom’s Palaces, Museums and Art Galleries
Planning a visit to the United Kingdom for Queen Elizabeth II’s Diamond Jubilee and/or the London Olympics this summer? Be sure to visit some of the fascinating exhibitions in honour of the Queen’s sixty years on the throne. Elizabeth II has been described as “The Curator Monarch” for opening the state rooms at Buckingham Palace to the public and authorizing numerous exhibitions of treasures from the Royal Collection. Visiting a Jubilee exhibition is a great way to celebrate the Queen’s reign and see some of the UK’s finest historic and cultural sites.
At the Victoria and Albert Museum in London in 2008. The British Galleries contain a fascinating array of royal memorabilia including the suit King James II wore to his second wedding.
The Victoria and Albert Museum in London curated the exhibition Queen Elizabeth II by Cecil Beaton: A Diamond Jubilee Celebration, which was on display there from February-April 2012. This collection of photographs of the Queen by royal photographer Cecil Beaton is currently on tour around the United Kingdom, on display in Dundee at the McManus Gallery from 30 September 2011 – 8 January 2012, at Leeds City Museum from 8 May – 24 June 2012, at the Norwich Castle Museum from 7 July – 30 September 2012, and at the Laing Art Gallery in Tyne & Wear from 13 October – 2 December 2012.
The exhibition includes some of the most iconic photographs from the Queen’s life including her earliest official portraits as a Princess, coronation photographs, family pictures with her children and the 1968 photo shoot for the National Portrait Gallery, which is also featuring a 2012 exhibition of images of the Queen.
The National Portrait Gallery in London
The National Portrait Gallery’s Diamond Jubilee Exhibition, The Queen: Art and Image includes a diverse array of portraits of the Queen that encompass changing attitudes toward the monarchy during her sixty year reign. Coronation portraiture from 1953 focused on her regal splendour while studio photographers emphasized her youth and elegance. The 1960s and 1970s portraits are more informal, showing the Queen with her children and during relaxed moments on her travels.
In the 1980s and 1990s, the press became increasingly intrusive and sought images that implicitly critiqued the monarchy. The 21st century prompted a broad range of images that sought to capture the complexity of the Queen’s long reign. Royal history enthusiasts will also want to visit the National Portrait Gallery’s permanent collection, which contains images of royalty from Tudor times to the present.
The National Maritime Museum in Greenwich
The National Maritime Museum in Greenwich is holding an exhibition complementing the Thames river pageant that will mark the culmination of the 2012 Diamond Jubilee festivities this June. Royal River: Power, Pageantry and the Thames includes objects from the Royal Collection to present the long history of royal pageantry on the Thames. Greenwich park also contains numerous other famous places from royal history including the Queen’s House, the site of the Tudor Palace of Placentia and the Ranger’s House.
Holyroodhouse in Edinburgh, Scotland
Exhibitions of treasures from the royal collection are also on display in palaces throughout the United Kingdom. One of the most notable exhibitions is taking place at the Queen’s Scottish residence, the Palace of Holyroodhouse in Edinburgh, which is presenting more than one hundred of the finest works of art from the royal collection, in the Queen’s Gallery. Treasures from the Queen’s Palaces includes paintings by Rembrandt, Canaletto and Nash, drawings by Leonardo, Michelangelo, Raphael and Holbein, and Imperial Easter Eggs by Fabergé. Holyroodhouse itself has a long association with the royal family having been Mary, Queen of Scots’ principal residence as an adult monarch.
The palaces, museums and art galleries of the United Kingdom are celebrating Queen Elizabeth II’s Diamond Jubilee with a fascinating array of special exhibitions highlighting some of the most significant pieces from the Royal Collection. The accessibility of the works accumulated by centuries of monarchs demonstrates the Queen’s achievement as a “curator monarch,” bringing the Royal Collection to a wide public audience.
The Queen Reopens the Cutty Sark in Greenwich
The Cutty Sark in February, 2012 as the repairs and restoration neared completion.
Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh visited Greenwich today to reopen the famous clipper ship, Cutty Sark, to the public after years of repairs and restoration. The ship, a popular tourist attraction in Greenwich, has undergone extensive repairs since it was damaged in a fire while undergoing conservation in 2007.
The royal couple have a longstanding interest in the ship. Prince Philip founded the Cutty Sark society in 1951 to manage the restoration of the nineteenth century vessel, and the Queen originally opened the ship as a museum in 1957. Although Prince Philip passed on a number of his charitable patronages to younger members of the royal family when he turned ninety this past year, he remained president of the Cutty Sark Trust to oversee the restoration work to its completion.
Plaque commemorating the site of the Palace of Placentia at Greenwich.
Greenwich has been the setting for significant events in royal history for centuries. Humphrey, Duke of Gloucester, who served as regent for his nephew Henry VI, built the original Greenwich Palace in 1447, naming it Bella Court. After Humphrey’s arrest and imprisonment for treason, Henry VI’s consort, Margaret of Anjou, gained possession of the estate, renaming it the Palace of Placentia. It was one of Henry VIII’s principle residences and the setting of some of the most significant events of his reign including the births of his daughters, the future Mary I and Elizabeth I, and his wedding to his fourth wife, Anna of Cleves. The palace fell into disrepair during the English Civil Wars and was demolished in the reign of Charles II. The grounds became the site of the Royal Naval College. Parts of the surviving Tudor chapel and vestry were incorporated into the residence of the Treasurer of Greenwich Hospital.
The Queen's House at Greenwich, now part of the National Maritime Museum, designed by Inigo Jones.
In 1616, King James I’s consort, Anna of Denmark, commissioned the Queen’s House at Greenwich, one of the earliest examples of Palladian architecture in England. By this time, Anna and James were living separately with Greenwich serving as one of the Queen’s estates. Anna undertook extensive independent cultural and architectural patronage, commissioning Inigo Jones to design her new residence in the style of an Italian Renaissance villa.
Only the first floor of the Queen’s House was complete when Anna died in 1619. Construction resumed when the estate became part of the dower lands of Charles I’s consort Henrietta Maria in 1632. Like her mother-in-law, Henrietta Maria was a prolific cultural patron. She invited famous artists such as Orazio Gentileschi and his daughter Artemesia to work on the interiors and the Queen’s house was finally completed in 1638.
The Ranger's House at Greenwich, which was a Grace and Favour residence for George VI's mother-in-law, Princess Augusta of Brunswick, his cousin, Princess Sophia Matilda and Queen Victoria's third son, Prince Arthur, Duke of Connaught.
A third royal residence at Greenwich was the Ranger’s House, which served a Grace and Favour residence for three members of the royal family in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. King George III’s unmarried niece, Princess Sophia Matilda was given the position of Ranger of Greenwich park and lived in the Ranger’s House from 1814 until her death in 1844. Queen Victoria’s son, Prince Arthur, Duke of Connaught, moved into the house in 1862, at the age of twelve, with his tutor, to study for entrance to the Royal Military Academy at Woolwich. He used the house until he was twenty-two, during his studies at Woolwich and his leaves from military service in Canada. The Duke eventually served as Governor General of Canada from 1910 to 1916. The Ranger’s House is now a museum, housing the Wernher Collection of Fine Art.
The reopening of the Cutty Sark today by Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip continues the long tradition of royal visits to Greenwich. In honour of the Diamond Jubilee, the Queen has designated Greenwich a royal borough, an appropriate status for a place that has been the setting of centuries of royal history.
The Duchess of Cornwall to be Patron of the Katherine Parr Quincentenary Festival at Sudeley Castle
The Gatehouse at Sudeley Castle near Winchcombe, Gloucestershire. Henry VIII's sixth wife Katherine Parr livedthere during her subsequent marriage to Thomas Seymour.
2012 marks the 500th birthday of Katherine Parr, Henry VIII’s sixth wife. Katherine famously survived Henry and then married the handsome Thomas Seymour (brother of Henry VIII’s third wife Jane Seymour) with “unseemly haste” after the King died in 1547. The couple settled at Sudeley Castle in the Cotswolds with a large household including Katherine’s ward, the thirteen year old future Queen Elizabeth I. While Katherine’s first three husbands had been arranged unions to much older men, her marriage to Thomas was a love match and the Dowager Queen intended for Sudeley Castle to be the place where they would raise their future children. Sadly, Katherine died in childbirth in 1548 and her daughter Mary Seymour did not long survive her. The castle came into the possession of Queen Mary I, who granted it to Sir John Brydges, the Lieutenant of Tower of London who attended Lady Jane Grey at the time of her execution. The castle currently belongs to Lord and Lady Ashcombe, who run it as both their home and a museum open to the public.
View of Sudeley Castle taken in March, 2009. The castle is open to the public seasonally from April to September.
The festivities in honour of Katherine Parr will have a royal patron, symbolizing Sudeley Castle’s long association with the monarchy. Her Royal Highness, the Duchess of Cornwall stated on becoming the patron of the Quincentenary Festival, “With over a thousand years of history, Sudeley Castle has many stories to tell; but none greater and more inspiring than that of its most famous Tudor resident, Queen Katherine Parr. Having spent many happy times at Sudeley, I am delighted to be Patron of this Festival which will unravel the fascinating life of this historic female character and share it with all who visit the very place where she lived, loved and died in the five hundred year anniversary of her birth.”
Changing the Experience at Kensington Palace
View of the entrance to Kensington Palace taken in January, 2009, before the recent refurbishment of the public galleries.
The state rooms of London’s Kensington Palace have recently been reopened to the public after a $20 million renovation project. Historic Royal Palaces, the charity that administers the public wing of the palace along with the Tower of London, Hampton Court, the Banqueting House at Whitehall and Kew Palace have unveiled a new stately entrance, new gardens and previously inaccessible areas such as the red saloon, when the eighteen year old Queen Victoria held her first meeting of the privy council. The new design of the museum includes art installations designed to help visitors navigate the palace and costumed staff to tell the stories of famous occupants such as Princess Diana and Queen Victoria. The private apartments will also be refurbished for new royal tenants. The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge will use the apartment that once belonged to the late Princess Margaret as their London residence (it is currently used for special exhibitions in the renovated museum).
Statue of Queen Victoria in Kensington Gardens, sculpted by her daughter Princess Louise, the Duchess of Argyll
Admirers of the renovations praise the new layout, accessibility and design of the palace museum. Unfortunately, these positive reviews have been accompanied by disproportionately negative descriptions of what the palace looked like before it was redesigned. Here in Canada, Patricia Treble of Maclean’s Magazine wrote that prior to the renovations, “After [tourists] plunked down $20 for an adult ticket, they got little for their money but a stroll through a confusing maze of rooms devoid of interesting features, listening to a boring commentary on what used to be here or was once there.” Having visited the palace in 2009 and taken the entire audio tour, I believe that this assessment is unfair. The former Kensington Palace museum clearly provided a different experience than the newly renovated space but it was still a fascinating and engaging place to visit.
After paying the reduced rate for my student ticket, I began on the garden floor, enjoying the ceremonial dress collection. There was interesting commentary about the difficulties reconciling changing court dress to twentieth century changing fashions. Attaching the a feathered headdress to a 1920s bobbed hairstyle was particularly difficult. A number of the late Princess Diana’s dresses were also on display with commentary on her decision to auction much of her 1980s wardrobe for her charitable causes.
View of Kensington Palace with the statue of King William III, the first royal resident.
The state rooms upstairs provided a glimpse of palace life in the time of King William III and Queen Mary II. After becoming King of England in 1688, William found that the sooty air around Whitehall Palace aggravated his asthma but Hampton Court was too removed from the seat of his government. The purchase of Kensington Palace combined fresh air with relative proximity to Westminster. William’s wife and co-ruler Mary devoted attention to refurbishing the gardens, commissioning the planting of centerfolia roses, which were much admired in the seventeenth century. The rooms where Queen Victoria spent her childhood in the early nineteenth century were also well presented, highlighting her difficult relationship with her mother, the Duchess of Kent.
The Kensington Palace Orangery, which is now a restaurant and special event venue.
In 2009, the special exhibition was “The Last Debutantes” about the final parade of unmarried aristocratic women presented to the sovereign in 1958. The galleries included dresses from the period, and interesting taped interviews with surviving debutantes, and the young men who danced with them during the social season. The exhibition sparked my interest in the experiences of these women and I read Fiona McCarthy’s fascinating account, Last Curtsey
I look forward to seeing the renovated Kensington Palace the next time I visit London but will always have good memories of visiting the old palace museum.