A MAID MAYFAIR

Auckland Star, Volume LXVIII, Issue 31, 6 February 1937, Page 3 (Supplement)

A MAID MAYFAIR

Queen Maud of Norway's Little Joke. GOSSIP FROM LONDON TOWN. (From Our London Lady Correspondent.)

IF Princess lorvise, Duchess of Argyll, daughter of tlic late Queen Victoria, is able to be present at the Coronation ceremony, she will lend special interest to the occasion, for she is the " (les t member ..f any Royal family, and , vi ll celebrate her 89th birthday two Bont ,, 5 before the King is crowned. She j, attached to numerous societies concerned with the welfare of children, for .lung although she has none of her -n =lic lias great affection, and 15 one !f the n" approachable "personages" .. j possible to meet. Some time ago, V social gathering called to discuss a Ijcct for "the welfare of children she oticed a group ot women jo.irnnl.sts- ,,. on h- people in the room who had ot bee . presented to her. She insisted It lntroductions to all of them in order i 0 thank them for the publicity they «re giving to the campaign.

Democratic Queen. Queen Maud of Norway spent her Wrthdav in London, as is her wont, and received innumerable, happy return ishes from a wide circle of friends. H-r Majesty is a thoroughly democratic queen, with simple, easy manners, and a enuine sense of fun-as when she told f pliant naval officer, who was intere=ted in what he took to be just an ordinary though charming bazaar saleswoman that she was staying with her jrandmother. The bazaar was at 0-bornc, and the E.X. man said he must furclv know the old lady. "I expect jo" said the then Princess Maud; "she's Queen Victoria!" Her Majesty is godmother to the young son and heir of Admiral Evans — "Evans of the Broke" as he is always called, though he hates the title. That gallant officer's wife is a delightful Norwegian lady, which explains the royal interest in young Evans. When in London Queen Jlaud sometimes dines with the Admiral and fe wife.

Queen Ena's Plans. The ex-Queen of Spain,. Victoria Eugenie, has many friends in this country, apart from members of her own family circle, and everyone is glad that she lias definitely decided to settle in England. Since she lias hecn staying with her mother, Princess Beatrice, ut Kensington Palace, she lias been making inquiries and visiting houses in the district, seeking a place she could turn into a real home. She wants to be near her mother, who does not get about much these days, and also to have a house large enough to accommodate her children when they are in London. Her final choice i> a roomy place in Porchester Terrace, and she expects to take over early next year. Although obviously distressed by events in Spain, Queen Kna carries on her social and charitable engagement?, with the same brave calmness which stood her in good stead (luring her trying experiences ill 1031.

Informality. A good story Is told of the new King, irho, as Duke of York, had been rendered ;i service by a .Scotsman living in London. Like all member* of the Royal Family, he never forgets a service, and in this case he proffered his friendship. The Scotsman and his wife, not at all well off, lived very quietly, tended by one old Scotswoman. One evening the telephone bell rang, and the Duke's voice asked if he might "run round for a few minutes.". He was cordially assured that his visit would be an honour, and the old servant was instructed is- the manner of receiving the Royal visitor. She heard all very solemnly, and promised to obey. lint the excitement of actually opening the front door to Royalty was too great for her. She forgot everything but the signal honour that was hers. The Duke arrived, the door was flung open, and the old voice said shakily: "They telled me lots o' things tae eay an , do, but I clean forget them all—come right in and gie me yer hat and etick." The Duke went in, gave up his hat and stick, smiled —and won yet another friend for life.

Avid for News. The American appetite for news about the crisis seemed to be insatiable. More than one well-known society woman, known to be in what is called "the King's set," received offers, staggering in their magnitude, for first-hand impressions of the leading actors in this tragic Roynl drama. Jt is pleasant to know that they turned down the offers, though no harm would probably be done if one of our public men sought to remove the unfortunate impression prevailing in some sections of America that opposition to Mrs. Simpson was primarily due to her being of American birth. Mr. Winston Churchill was asked to broadcast to the States, but declined the invitation. The explanation probably was that he knew too much. He had lieen verv much behind the scenes during the last few days, and it is difficult to explain the position which has arisen when duty demands the withholding of facts of which you stand possessed.

Royal Visitors. At an ordinary time the Crown Prince and Crown Princess of Sweden, who are here on a visit, would have found themselves overwhelmed with invitations for various soeial functions in their honour. As it is, they have been going about very quietly in London, taking advantage, of this unusual opportunity of seeing personal friends. The Crown Princess still has a large circle of acquaintances here, and there have been many little informal ten. parties in her honour. She has done a good deal of Christmas shopping, and has made progress with a piece of beautiful embroidery which she brought with her from Sweden. Twice she and the Crown Prince have lunched with diplomatic friends—the Belgian Ambassador ami the Swedish Minister, each giving a partv for them. Xeither was a large one." The Belgian Ambassador is still in mourning for his wife, and Baron Palmstierna? the Swedish Minister, is also entertaining for himself. Baroness Palmstierna being on a visit to Sweden.

Queen's Ancestry. Tt is usual to refer to the Queen as a Scotswoman. So she is on her father's side, but as the hyphenated name of Bow'cs-Lyon shows," Lord Strathmore represents also a Durham family of old standing. Her mother, if she had been a man, would have been Duke of Portland, so that the Queen can trace her ancestry to the Bcntincka -who were prominent in Holland at least as carinas the fourteenth century. I once had the pleasure of being shown over Glamis Castle, by Lady Strathmore, who was as proud" of that venerable building and as well-informed about its history ns any daughter of the house could have been. The Queen was born in Hertfordshire, but when she received the freedom of Edinburgh recently she proclaimed herself proud to be a Scotswoman.

Cats Escape. Animal lovers are rejoicing nt lenst that the tragedy which has overtaken the Crystal Palace did not occur a couple of dnys later. Had it done so hundreds of pets assembled for the cat show must have perished in the flames. Whether the fire could have been quelled earlier if the police measures for holding back the crowds had been more effective is a question no one can answer. Many fire engines were prevented from reaching the conflagration altogether. Even the telephone system broke down, and at call boxes it'was impossible to get any attention from the exchange. But a tragic occurrence of this kind always seems to have its humorous touch. A cinema man who arrived early on the scene duly took his picture. Then he turned to the firemen working about, liim. "That's all right," he said. "I've got all I want. You can put it out now!" The Duke of Kent's presence nt the fire recalled old memories. His grandfather, the- late King Edward, attended many fires while he was Prince of Wales, not infrequently donning the fireman's helmet and travelling to the scene on one of the fire engines.