ROYAL PALACES.

Star (Christchurch), Issue 17349, 14 May 1924, Page 4

ROYAL PALACES.

ROMANCES OF BRITISH KINGS AND

QUEENS.

BUCKINGHAM PALACE.

" Romances of the Royal Palaces ” is the full title of a series Sl * articles which the “ Star ” has secured exclusively in rhCy WUI be P ublished in Wednesday’s issues

Next to St James’s Palace, Buckingham Palace is'the meaneßt-looking of all royal residences, and compares very unfavourably with the Tuileries and the Royal Salaco at Madrid. For years its dingy front mode the thoughtless laugh and the judicious grieve. When Queen Victoria came to live in it, she was furious at the state in which she found her principal London residence. When she began to have a family, like a good mother she took thougnt for the housing of the Royal children 5 and accordingly we find her writing in this strain : “Though the Queen knows that Sir Robert Peel has already turned his attention to the urgent necessity of doing something to Buckingham Palace, the Queen thinks it right to recommend this subject- herself to his serious consideration. Sir Robert is acquainted with the state of the palace and the total want of accommodation for our little family, which is fast growing up. . . . Most parts of the palace are in a sad state,and will ere long require a further outlay to render them' decent for the occupation of the Royal Family or any visitors the Queen may have to receive. A room, capable of containing a larger number of those persons whom the Queen has to invite in the course of the season to balls, concerts, etc., than any of the present apartments can hold, is much wanted. Equally so, improved offices and servants’ rooms, the want of whioh puts the departments of the household to great expense yearly. It will be for Sir Robert to consider whether it would not be best to remedy all these deficiencies at once and to make use of this opportunity to render the exterior of the palace such as to be no longer a disgrace to the country, which it certainly now is.” VICTORIAN IMPROVEMENTS. Perhaps the dilapidated state of the palace when Queen Victoria came tq the throne was due in part to the fact that it had not housed a sovereign for some years. King William IV. disliked the palace and never stayed in it. At any rate, the Queen’s wishes were carried out; and £150,000 spent in improving the Royal town-house. This involved the building of a private chapel. Later on various improvements were made in the grounds/ and Prince Albert constructed an ornamental pavilion and summer-house. W. M. Thackeraywrote one of his admirable mockheroic poems on the structure. It begins “Ye patrons of ganius, Minerva and Vanius, Who live on Parnassus, that mountain of snow, Descend from your station, And make observation, Of the Prince’s pavilion in swat© Pimlico.” It must be remembered that that paj’t of town in which the gardens stand was then known by the name of Pimlico, and was not transmogrified into “South Belgravia.” At this time the Marble Arch stood before the palace; it was adorned with the largest and most magnificent pair of gates in Europe; they cost three i thousand guineas. The young Queen Victoria not only i found her palace in a shabby state ma- | terially but morally. Robbery and jobbery were rampant; and it was esti- i mated by those who investigated the ' affairs of Buckingham Palace, that I household officials and tradesmen between them were “cutting up” about £IOO,OOO a year. Prince Albert, the Prince-Consort, set himself to clean up this Augean stable of corruption, incompetence and ’dishonesty. It was a difficult task, but the wise Prince accomplished it, and the Royal expenditure put upon a common-sense basis. Nowadays the household affairs of Buckingham Palace are very well managed indeed ; and the present King introduced the system of making cash | payments when more favourable terms could he secured. In the bad old days bills were paid at intervals of years, and the tradesmen took care to recoup themselves for their periods of waiting. It x. P 1 ls at fl '"'kin c Tiam Palace that the Princess Roval and others of the Koval children, including tb e Duke of Connaught, were horn. The Duke was horn on the birthday of the Duke of Wellington, who wns one of his sponsors nna Grave him his Christian name. The gossips laughed very much at the time

over the story of the blunt old soldier calling at Buckingham Palace and asking after the Queen and “ the little boy ” “It is a Prince, your Grace,” replied the nurse in freezing tones. THE KING’S COUNTING-HOUSE. "When King Edward ascended the throne, an ‘ office’ was established in Buckingham Palace for the purpose of dealing with the household accounts, which had been previously examined in a small room in St James’s Palace. Here works a staff of about seven persons, including the Comptroller of the Household. Indeed, every reign has seen some improvement or addition to this Royal residence, formerly the town house of Lord Arlington. Lord Arlington died, the' Duke of Buckingham built a larp© mansion on the site, of Arlington House, greatlv praised by writers and critics of the period. George TII. saw- the house. liked it, ,!?S. ush ,t it from the Duke for uuu. Jbarmer George” was very fond of the place and lived in it continuously when he was not at Windsor. U here he had his celebrated talk with Dr Johnson, and durmg the Gordon Riots he remained the whole night in the garden among tho soldiers, chatting with the troops and ordering the Royal servants to supply them with wme and spirits. The asdt now is was constructed by ! Nash in 1825, by the orders of George 4» . It is remarkable for some fine 1 apartments, despite its unimposing out- i sido appearance. The yellow drawingroom is a superb apartment; and the .Throne Room, sixty feet long, is most impressive. PICTURES AND STATUARY. The Sculpture Gallery runs along the whole length of the eastern front's central portion, and is filled with busts and statues, of rulers and statesmen. In the State ballroom hangs Vandyck's celebrated portrait of Charles 1., also a picture of Queen Victoria and Prince i Albert by Winterhalter. There is also some superb tapestry in the Palace, which was discovered in an old, forgotten chest at the time of the wedding of George IV. It was about this period that the Palace was irreverently described by a contemporary diarist as “ duih dowdy and decent.”

ONCE DEFENDED ‘BY TROOPS. A comparatively recent building, tli© Palaoe has no such record of historical scenes as has St James’s Palace, Windsor vGastlc, or Holy rood. . Perhaps the most exciting moment in its history was when the authorities expected an attack by the Gordon rioters i &ncl three thousand troops were quartered .in, the PaJac© grounds. The alarm cajme so suddenly that there*was no straw for the soldiers to lie on the first night, but George 111. cheered them up by sajfing, “My lads, my crown could not procure, you straw tonight, but .to-morrow there will bo some, and in the meantime my servants shall give you plenty of wine.” And, as noted above, so it was, and the stout old King remained among his officers and soldiers till the dawn. On four occasions the neighbourhood of the Palace was the scene of an attempt on the life of Queen Victoria. In 1840, as the Queen’ s carriage turned 1 into Constitution Hill, a potboy named Edward Oxford fired twice at the monarch. She showed great presence of mind and courage, and drove straight Ito the Duchess of Kent’s house to I show she was unhurt. Two years later, almost to a day, another * shot | was ffiied at *th*» Que#ri, who was drivi fog home. This time the would-be assassin was John Francis, a cabinet- ! maker, aged twenty-one. He was tried and transported. “ I was really not at all frightened,” the young Queen naively writes to her “ clearest Uncle. ’ King Leopold of 'Belgium; hut the national indignation was intense. Not’ marly weeks afterwards Bean, a deformed lad, presented a pistol at the sovereign in the Mall, but there were no serious consequences. ANOTHER ATTEMPT. Again in 1849 there was an unpleasant incident, when Q»een Victoria, driving down Constitution Hill, was fired at by one William Hamilton, but the pistol was only charged wifi powder The miscreant was transported for seven years. “ The indignation. affection and lovalty this act har. for*h i=: (ciol v^tT mid touching.” wrote tsie Sovereign to King Leopold. her constant confidant. The last great historical scene of which the venue was Bnckinn-hnm p a lare, w*s enacted on that night in Augn«i. 1914, when Hver. Germany to reply fr> Britain’s ultiexpired, and crowds currounded the Palace, cheering for Kinoand Empire. (To be continued.)