A MAID IN MAYFAIR

Auckland Star, Volume LXVIII, Issue 25, 30 January 1937, Page 3 (Supplement)

A MAID IN MAYFAIR

The Household Of Her Majesty.

GOSSIP FROM LONDON TOWN.

(From Our London Lady Correspondent.)

SPECULATION is rife in Mayfair as to the composition of Queen Elizabeth's new household. it is entirely distinct from that of the King, ami, headed bv a Lord Chamberlain, includes a private secretary, who is also treasurer to Her Majesty, an assistant private secretary, a mistress of the robes, four ladies and from six to eight woi ien of t• io bedchamber, and an accountant. Queen Mary appointed four maids of honour when she came to the Throne, hut us the appointments fell vacant she did not lill them again. .About a year ago she appointed the last of the group, the lion. .lean Bruce, to be a woman of the bedchamber, which, of course, means in the language of to-day a lady-in-waiting. It is being freely suggested that Lady Elphinstone, the Queen's eldest sister, may be one of her chief "ladies," and that the Hon. Elizabeth Elphinstone, her niece and namesake, may be the first maid of honour.

Change of Residence. The fact that the King and Queen will be giving up 14.j, Piccadilly, when they move into Buckingham Palace has, I am told, raised th« question of the Duke and Duchess of Kent making a change of residence. They took the Belgrave Square house only on a three years' lease, and in some respects it has not proved entirely suitable, so the lease is not likely to lie extended. The Piccadilly house, in which the King and Queen have lived since they moved from White Lodge, Richmond, appeals to the Duke and Duchess. They like the private gardens, where Prince Edward will be able to take his dijily airing in privacy, and he will only have to cross the road to get into the grounds of Buckingham Talacc. It is, therefore, probable that the Duke will negotiate the continuance of the lease from bis brother, the King, when he leaves for the Palace, but this is not likely to happen until the end of February or the beginning of March. New Coinage. Will the /new coinage showing George VI. with his head facing the same way as George V.? The question has become the subject of interesting speculation now that King Edward VIII. lias abdicated before the coinage of his reign could be prepared. The custom is, of course, for the direction of the sovereign's head to be reversed with each new reign. But that is only a convention. As I was able to state some time ago, King Edward himself had decided to depart from it in order that the new coins should -show the same side of his face as is depicted on the new stamps the side of his head that is, on which the parting occurs. In that case, the face of King George V. and of Edward VIII. would both have been shown facing left. It is more than probable now that the head, of King George VI. will face the other way, though monarchs. being only buman, sometimes let tlieir whims overcome mere considerations of art. The late King Edward VIT. once had a whole design altered in order that his state robes might be drawn aside *to reveal white stockinged legs and court shoes. Tragic Souvenirs. Many people in many countries are just now eagerly snapping up such souvenirs as they can get of King Edward VIII. of Great Britain. But there is one unique and tragic souvenir which only a few favoured mortals will receive. The Duke of Windsor, at a time when, lie had no prevision of his abdication, chose his special Christmas card, as is usual with all members of tl.ie Royal Family. The sudden drama that changed the reigning sovereign in this Empire completely upset all these arrangements. Possibly some of the cards may be used, and signed by the Duke of Windsor, but just a few, dispatched well in advance to people in fai distant parts of the Empire, will actually bear the signature "Edward R.l.' These will become treasured ana valuable souvenirs of history. They are likely to be the more cherished by recipients since, by a strange coincidence the design chosen is a sea view of the historic white cliffs of England, witl tansailed trawlers in the offing. A truly tragic Christmas souvenir of a Roya exile.

Bridal Fashions. Recent brides have set one or two new and rather pretty fashions. One of them hacl her utile veil made like a sunbonnet, the fullness that fell from the closely-rounded cap on her head cascading on to her shoulders like the frill of a country maiden's cotton bonnet. Instead of fastening the gathered folds with jewelled ornaments or knots of flowers at either side, she had a necklet made from orange blossom buds, and this held them in place most effectively. Another bride, who had chosen a silver and miniature lilv halo headdress and wanted orange blossom as well, had the traditional wedding flowers made into bracelets for her wrist. There is a suggestion that next year's brides will make a point of introducing some little personal touch of this kind into their bridal schemes. All .Mayfair dressmakers do not like the idea of it, but some of them confess that the modern girls no longer leaves the whole scheme to her dressmaker. She insists upon her own suggestions being carried out.

" Les Bolshies." English housewives, worrying about the everlasting servant problem, may tind some slight consolation in the knowledge that the lot of their sisters across the Channel is infinitely worse. The spirit of Communism is spreading rapidly through the ranks of French servants—formerly among the best in the world. From an English lady, chatelaine of a small estate outside Paris, I hear that not for the first time this year she has been compelled to dismiss the four servants who normally run the place. Slackness and utter dishonesty were the main causes. As a final beau geste before they left, this pleasant little gang of retainers emptied their mistress' car of oil and water in the hope that the car would be stuck when far from home, filled the petrol tank and the electric lighting plant with sand, and— unkindest cut of all —sowed pounds of grass seed on the flower beds. Dancing on Stilts. School boys and girls in London were delighted with the exhibition of dancing on stilts, given by a team of Frenchmen from Les Landes, at the silver jubilee festival of the English Folk Dance and Song Society, in the Albert Hall. The marshes of Les Landes weio drained many years ago, and the stilts on which the people used to go about have disappeared from ordinary life. But they still survive in the ritual dances of the locality. The president, the Dowager Lady Ampthill, and her helpers, arranged a most interesting programme to celebrate the twenty-fifth birthday of the society. A thousand dancers from all over F.ngland took part, including teams of children who gat'e inasjpd performances. Mixed teams of boy scouts and girl guides did their bit, and a group of Rumanian peasants from the Bukovina district gave a display of traditional folk dances. They "Saw" the Queen. At the meeting of the Hepburn Starev Bliiul Aid Society a few days ago the topic of conversation was last year's meeting, attended by Queen Elizabeth, then Duchess of York, to celebrate the seventieth anniversary of the society. The Queen was on the platform with Ladv Gladstone and Lady Arrol, and in introducing her Lady Gladstone said: ''Dear blind friends, the Duchess is here. The one thing 1 regret is that you cannot see her. But," she continued, "let me be your eyes for a moment." And the blind people "saw" the Duchess. "She is wearing a lovely blue coat with a big fur collar," went on Lady Gladstone. "She has a small blue hat—l believe it is her best hat —anyway, it is very becoming, and she has with her what she always has—the smile that has won the hearts of the people all over the British Empire." Later a blind man said that, through his mind's eye, he had clearly "seen" the Duchess. A member of the Court circle tells me that the Queen never refers to the incident without emotion, and she was delighted to receive from the society a loyal message wishing her long life and happiness.