ORGANISING A ROYAL TOUR

Press, Volume XCVI, Issue 28370, 31 August 1957, Page 10

ORGANISING A ROYAL TOUR

American Visit Involves Vast Amount Of Detail hi |Rv JOHN PUONRV. in l.nndonl A T Buckinfgham Palace. Ibe Royal lour organiser ■T* is the Queen's private secretary, i.ieutenanlColonel the 81. Hoo. Sir Michael. Adeane. or one of his two assistants. It is his responsibility to work out the composition of the party, their duties, their movements, their transport, their luggage, their dress. The party itself is not unlike a small (and. of course, uoaggressive) commando unit, each member of which has a clearlv defined function.

The parly falls roughly into two categories: the household and the staff. Aller lhe Queen herself and lhe Duke of Edinburgh, the first member of the household is the Minister in attendance. This is likely Io be the Secretary of State for th? Dominions for a visit Io a Dominion such as Canada. For the t'nited States or any other foreign country, the Minister in attendance would be the British Foreign Secretary.

To attend the Queen through-] out the tour there will be one lady-of-the-bedchamber and such ladies are by tradition the wives of earls. Then 'recognising a nice distinction in 'the English language! there is one woman-of-the-bedchamber. These are not necessarily ladies of title.', They are chosen from personal] i friends and acquaintances of the] I Queen. Usually they work al | fortnight on. a fortnight off. ■ Then there is the private secretary to the Queen, together with one assistant, and the press secretary. whose duty it is to remain with the Queen throughout the tour, though he may arrive al . the beginning a day ahead of the Queen. The household party is rounded off with the equerry io the Queen and the private secretary to Prince Philip.

The staff /or this tour will consist of a clerical trio of two secretary-typists and one male clerk for the Queen, and one secretary-typist for the Prince. The Qiieen's personal staff wilt consist of her dresser, known to some . people at Buckingham Palace and. tn millions df royalty, tans as "Robo'' -otherwise Miss Macdonald. With her will go an assistant.

Forward Planning Of | Dress •I’hen the Queen will take a page and this is not s boy but rather a senior kind of butler, who. in fact, has a footman to assist him. Prince Philip will take a page as well as a valet. There will bp a detective each for the Queen and the Prince. | Even for a relatively short; tour of this kind, there is much forward planning about dress. Prince Philip will wear uniform on all appropriate public occasions. That means al least three service uniforms m bis luggage. He will also have Io wear the special insignia of any regiment of which he is rolonel-in-chief, and that, appropriate uniform will have to be packed, too. His civilian, clothes will have to fall in line with the climatic conditions to be expected in North. America m the autumn —and somebody will have to advise on that.

The Queen goes, into great derail with her personal maid and the. costumiers chosen for the occasion. She does not necessarily choose one single dressmaker. Feminine instinct plays a part in it. She also has to consider the climate, geography, the. settings in which she is likely to appear, and the various foreign decorations she might be called upon to wear. Before any final i choice is made, there may he ! tactful discussions with rhe wives of Ambassadors nr High Commissioners who know the form. The Queen went tn town with i a peacock-blue dress in Paris, [just to show the local talent whal coufd be done: but it is likely that she will stick to neutral colours in North America, with a [different dress, nf course, for every appearance. On an averi age. the Royal party on tour has [to change three or four rimes a day.

All this background orgaiusa tion is now a part of the. Royal pattern, initiated by King Edward VII when he was a gay young spark scarcely out of his

teens, upon whom the Royal duty still sat. lightly. His grandson, so briefly King Edward VIII, sailed for Canada as Prince of Wales '--with a retinue of 20-odd." He soon learnt that, organisation and equipment were not enough. . . Canada was quick to teach ■ me that mere civility the polite but distant bow. the right word to the right person, a mild interest in a care fully, selected assortment of local projects and good works was no longer an adequate Royal export." Eeininioe Inslincl Afterwards, of his first Royal lour, the Duke of Windsor wrote:

"The progiamme was my master; 1 did my best, to obey x ” That was another October in 1919 From Buckingham Palace, his father wrote; ", . . You might take things easier during the last month of voirr visit and give yourself more spare time and more rest from the everlasting functions and speeches, which get on one s nerves. I warned you whal it. would be like; these people think one is made of stone and that one can go on for evej-.

Since then they have all done their best, though it must be evident after nearly a century that they will never touch more than a fraction of those who give allegiance to the Crown»or of those who consider themselves friends of the Crown.

Are Royal toujs outdated tn] spite of their forward planning and shrewd timing? Much js heard nowadays of a suggestion that the Queen should reign for lengthy periods in various parts of the Commonwealth such as North America and Australia and New Theory And Practice ; That sort of residential scheme would outmode. the Royal tour' idea, and in theory il looks good. But when one sits in the quiet, countrified rooms in Buckingham Palace discussing ways and means and detailed programmes, the notion seems remote and far-fetch-ed. What would, happen to the highly-trained staff surrounding the Queen and Prince Philip? The function of monarchy can operate only within such a human framework, and it. looks as if the whole framework would have to be operated and settled elsewhere if the monarchy were to make a long-term move. That, is merely a domestic issue. A more potent one would be a revision of BrL tish Parliamentary procedure to enable the monarch to function for sustained periods overseas Even an age of instant communication and jet travel cannot find a practical substitute for that truly Victorian conception, the Royal tour, though means are always being found of streamlining it and of lessening the monarchist wear and . tear.-—Central Press. Ltd. 'all rights reserved!.