ROYALTY’S LINEN

Greymouth Evening Star, 22 March 1935, Page 14

ROYALTY’S LINEN

FINEST QUALITY AT PALACE. Can ono estimate the value of the linens stored up, and in everyday use, I in the royal palaces of the world? I Their value would go a good way to | pay the war debt, for royal linen rooms contain linens of great, historic importance and weave, which are almost. priceless. The household linen at Buckingham Palace, the London residence of lI.M. King George V., is of the finest known quality, and naturally of the greatest value, writes IL F. Walyde, in the "New Zealand Draper.’ Each article, each cloth and each napkin is carefully checked by two maids whose sole duty is to look after this department. All the linen is stored in presses in the linen rooms of the palace. There are separate presses for tablecloths, sheets, table napkins, and so on. hen the Royal Court is in residence the linen maids open up their presses at tc*i o’clock each morning.; 1 he senior attendant checks out the articles required for the dav. For: every article thus handed out,"a similar used article must be returned and! checked with the tally. Thus, when the maid responsible' for laying the I Royal tables comes tor her linen she l tnust personally hand back all the! items given out to her the previous •Jay. i Opening out of the principal linen i rooms is another apartment, where-' the soiled linen is prepared for the* laundry. Every other day a linen basket, carefully packed and checked,

| is sent from this room to the laundry, jand there are two return deliveries I each week. On each of these occasions the two linen maids have to make a careful scrutiny of all the packages and on delivery days the items are returned to the presses as * they are ticked off with the Royal of- • ficial linen register. ) i VALUED AT £ 50,000. . i i 5 .Recently the linen stocks at Buck- . ingham Palace were valued at . £50,000. Some of the articles are of I! pinnacle value, alike on account of J age and for historical reasons. One j of the most remarkable items is the 11 “mother cloth", of the palace, a huge damask tablecloth of purest linen, so i large that it can cover a table on j which 250 places can be laid. It was ; specially woven in Ireland for the I wedding breakfast of Queen Victoria, and is used only on very rare oc- ■ casions. The last time it was in use | was at the State Banquet given at J Buckingham Palace to the visiting J royal monarchs and their suites, after | the funeral of King Edward VII. I Legend in the palace has it that a : curious fate rules the use of this j special cloth. 111-luck is supposed to I come to any person who happens to j spill any liquid on it during the meal, i At this State Banquet the ex-Kaiser i was the principal guest. With him I were the high members of his suite, I and during thd repast Kaiser Wilhelm j was unfoitunate enough to spill some, wine on the cloth. Well, can you wonder that where maids gather the'

, superstition is often recalled? s Another “Treasure Cloth,” one that - is now never used, is the famous table > damask specially made for the Cor- ? onation of Queen Anne in 1702. Al--1 though it is now more than 230 years ’, old. it is as perfect and as bright in ■ lustre as the da}’ it. first loft the Irish bleacher and finisher. However, it is only brought forth for the inspection ci the favoured few. A set of figured printed upholsterv linen, used to cover the furniture of ahe Royal salons when the Court is cut of London, counts some 1500 pieces of all shapes, colours and ■ sizes. It was also made in Ireland. • It must also be remembered that , linen, “the queen of cloths and the cloth of queens," is very prominent also at Windsor Castle, at Cowes, on the Royal yacht, at Balmoral and at Sandringham, and it might be safe to presume that the total value of these n°?- a Ll inen slocks together approach £ 4a,000 to £50,000. STILL IN USE. At the various Royal residences there are linens which are at least a century and a-half old and still in actual use. In fact, it often surprises certain manufacturers in Ulster to be asked to effect some little repairing in linens which have been woven over a century ago by Irish wearers. Queen Mary is a very ex-1 pert judge of what constitutes'good linen. At the various London exhibitions her knowledge of the several weaves and designs astonishes even

manufacturers who have been virtu‘t ally cradled in the loom. e King Geor se V., also - faxouis linen, and during recent sucs cessive years he has insisted on havn ling a large area of the Sandringham h» T farn ! devoted t 0 the cultivation S ci nax. A few years ago the Irish 11 . man « fa cturers spun this flax to linen goods of all descriptions Sir pr . es ? ntefi H,s Majesty With some f Th?n c Q h , o,ce H s P e t ci men 3 of their craft, 3 Then also the ladies of Ulster chose V y Practical way to show* their I good wishes to Prince George and 1/i n n eSS Marina by making their t ' e< hling gift a large casket of Irish ? b?f, n H/i hich aro both and t beautiful. w hat giftcan be 1 lno,e highly esteemed for a t joung couple—or a bride—beginning j housekeeping than linen? And for » even the more experienced benedict ! veterans—well, isn’t a f ~ " ddmask table cloth, a Ua ctorh linen bedsheets, or even the art uh’ Hnen cloths for pantty use the appreciated reminder of goodwill? t