SERVANT AND FRIEND.

Auckland Star, Volume LVII, Issue 129, 2 June 1926, Page 8

SERVANT AND FRIEND.

QUEEN'S LATE HOUSEKEEPER. DEVOTED TO THE PRLNOE. Human interest attaches to the death —of which we have already been apprised by cable—of one who had lived in the home of the King and Queen of England since their married life began, , and who was known as "Mammy" by the Prince of Wales. This was Miss Ann Clarke, Queen Mary's 78-year-old pensioned housekeeper, who passed away at , Buckingham Palace towards the end of last month. " Moving with the -wing and Queen from White Lodge, near Richmond, where they lived as the Dyke and Duchess of York, to York Couse, Marlborough House, and finally to the palace, Wise Clarke long ago came to be the one employee of the royal family who dared to disagree even with the King. In recent years she had been pensioned, to , be succeeded as housekeeper at Buckingham Palace by Miss Bill, who had been a nurse for the royal children for 33 years. Miss Clarke probably will be buried at Windsor. From his boyhood, she was devoted to the Prince of Wales, and had followed his foreign travels and his activities in England with the greatest interest. She was constantly voicing her concern over the dangers the Prince incurred while following the hounds. Prevented King Making Tea. On two different occasions she was shocked by orders given by the King,! | and she told him so. When His Majesty j refused to allow servants in the palace to serve him his early morning cup of I: tea at 6 a.m., insisting that he could I . make it himself on a little spirit stove, I she felt that the King was unnecessarily | democratic. j Once, when the King was at Sandringham and missed an appointment, because the clock was wrong, she asked His Majesty to let her take charge of all the clocks, and this permision was granted her. From that time on every clock in the palace or lodge where the royal family was staying was kept 301 minutes ahead of time. And no one | dared to countermand the orders given I by "Miss Ann." Thus the clocks that | have regulated the movements of Eng-j iifih royalties have of recent years been, a compromise between winter and sum- i tner time. j As she became older, every attention i was given her by the family of King j George, and during her last illness the \ King and Queen were advised regularly j each day by the physician at Buckingham Palace as to the condition of this servant, who had come to be* practically a j member of the royal family's inner j circle. t