ROYAL XMAS PRESENTS

Taranaki Daily News, 17 December 1926, Page 5 (Supplement)

ROYAL XMAS PRESENTS

THEN AND NOW. (Specially Written for The Nev.'c. — Copyright.) HEN the third of the Georges of England accompanied hi s daughters on their Christmas shopping excursions, all who chanced to be in the shop* at the time of the Royal visit were requested to leave. The doors were then closed against the public, and the Royal Princesses were left undisturbed to ransack drawers and boxes at their pleasure in search of the pretty things they wished to buy for presents. In these democratic days when Queen Mary and her daughter go a-shopping they expect no more ceremonial than if they were ladies from the suburbs. But although Her Majesty visits in person the premises of a few old-established firms of which she has been a customer since childhood, her Christmas shopping is for the most . part conducted under more leisurely and comfortable conditions.

As early as September each year the firms patronised by 'Their Majesties are commanded to send large, consignments of gifts to Buckingham Palace or Windsoi Castle, wherever the King and Queen are in residence,, and these articles are accompanied by discreet and courtly assistants, whose duty it is to arrange and explain them. The gifts—hundreds in numbers—are displayed on tables in two of the reception rooms, which are converted into the likeness of a Christmas bazaar, and each article (this is a rigid condition) is clearly labelled with its price. And what a seductive, if embarrassing, display this Palace bazaar* presents! For the Queen there are the most lovely specimens of Irish lace and poplins, bedspreads from Limerick, dainty linen from Belfast, filmy shawls from Shetland, and dress-pieces of silk and satins. Scotland contributes lengths of homespun frieze and tweed; from Wales come exquisitely-embroidered tea-table cloths: and from England children’s frocks and silk blouses,-while out of sentiment to Queen Alexandra the Royal works at Copenhagen send beautiful pieces of pottery.

For the King there is an equally wide and tempting choice, ranging from cigar and cigarette cases in gold and silver to jewelled pencil-cases, and from enamelled waistcoast-buttons to photograph frames and jewelled scarf pins. King George has a weakness for rare editions and beautifully-bound books, and many exquisite samples of work have been executed for him. Then there arc the presents, much more costly and even more carefully chosen, for the King’s friends among the Royalties of Europe, comprising splendid diamond pins. English-made gold watches, artistic gold and silver vases, and valuable horses and dogs. Tn recent years Royal presents have often taken the form of beautifullypainted miniatures framed in gold and precious stones. To the late French President King George sent, as a Christmas gift, a miniature of himself set in pearls and diamonds; to the Queen of Rolland a charming miniature in a gold frame richly set with jewels; and to the King of Italy.a painting in miniature of a favourite dog. These costly gifts to foreign Royalties, however, form no part of the Palace bazaar, which is devoted to less exalted

personages, and which, in addition to tha articles already mentioned, includes an assortment of toys, from gigantic rock-ing-horses to model yachts ami railway tiaius, such as. would fill youthful hearts with.joy. And what a bu-sine.ss it must be to select acceptable toys for Their Majesties’ young relatives, to say nothing of the children of personal friends ami dependents, These young people range front the youthful Earl of Macduff and Master Lascelles to the child of the i humblest dependent of Sandringham or , Balmoral. Naturally the task of choosing these hundreds of presents is a. long and laborious one. Tiieir Majesties spend several hours a day for some days in their (bazaar, and a list is made of all .the [articles chosen, with the names of their recipients—a list which is arranged for the Queen by one of her ladi?s-in-wait-

So careful are Their Majesties that no one shall be forgotten in their Christmas distribution of presents that a book is kept in which all the names of those entitled to receive them are entered. Opposite each name, year aftgj- year, is placed a description of the gift, in order to avoid any duplication of presents. Even when the last present is selected* Their Majesties’ labours are not at an end, for with hundreds of them must <*b some autograph message or letter, the writing of which occeupies many days. Queen 'Mary, too, often makes use of a picture postcard—generally some photograph of herself, or a view of Windsor Castle, on which she writes a few words of greeting in her graceful, flowing handwriting. These are sent through the ordinary post, enclosed in an envelope with the Royal crown in red On the flap. In addition to these hundreds of presents Their Majesties distribute everv year hundreds of Christmas gifts to nearly every man, woman and child on the Royal estates. For the gillies and old people on the Balmoral estate there are liberal presents of meat and oatmeal and fuel, tea for the old ladies, and soothing tobacco for the. old men. with, of course, a cartload of dolls and toys of every kind for the little ones. Windsor claims a liberal share of Their benevolence, for within sight of the walls of their Windsor home there are nearly a thousand people whose Christmas they try to make happy. Tn this way nearly’ two tons of meat and something like seventy tons of coal are distributed every year. At Sandringham, too. every resident upon the estate receives a welcome gift of beef and Christmas pudding, a custom which has been observed at Their Majesties’ Norfolk home for many years. One can scarcely wonder if the King and Queen, when the last note is written and the last gift despatched, should, in spite of all their goodness of heart, feel a mental satisfaction in reflecting that, after all, Christmas only comes once in