Summer 2006 Newsletter: Featuring Queen Elizabeth II & The Duchess of Cornwall

[GrandDuchess]

THE ROYAL FORUMS' NEWSLETTER – SUMMER 2006 *

Welcome to the summer 2006 edition of The Royal Forums’ newsletter.

The summer is upon us again! Barely have we made it through the first month of summer, June, and heat records have already been broken in at least some parts of the world.

Because of the heavy workload on the TRF Team Members who are in charge of the newsletters, busy private lives and the occasional holiday – we have decided to make this year’s summer newsletter valid for three months: June, July and August. In this special newsletter, we will pay tribute to two special, strong women – each marking an anniversary of their own this year. The women are Queen Elizabeth II, who is celebrating her 80th birthday this year in England and throughout the Commonwealth, and the other is the Duchess of Cornwall, who is marking her first year as the wife of the Prince of Wales, and her first year as a member of the British Royal Family.

For me, summer is one of my favourite times of the year, for it is during these months that the landscape around us really comes alive and my country blossoms with beauty in the radiance of the sunshine.

When I think of summer, my first natural thought is of the Swedish celebrations of the Midsummer holiday and my childhood days when I used to pick seven different flowers to place under my pillow before I went to bed on Midsummer Eve, in hopes of dreaming about my future husband that night. As far as I’m aware, I never did dream about him, but my mother always told me that it didn’t matter is I remembered the dream or not, it was the special magical air of the Midsummer that mattered the most, and my husband would appear one day, whether I knew of him or not.

Food is also something that I strongly connect to the summer, mainly pickled herring and small new potatoes served together with dill, a nice fresh sauce and perhaps some cooked fish for a summer lunch in the garden. For dessert a strawberry cake served with coffee for those who prefers that, and chilled lemonade for the others.

The third main thing I connect with summer is the simple life at the summer cottage. With it comes bathing in a sea or lake several times a day, and heating the sauna in the evening for some nice dips in between the warming up in it. And, cooking a light summer’s lunch, with ingredients bought on the town market the same day, taken on the porch overlooking the lake on a beautiful day – not much can compete with that! There is nothing that puts me as fast asleep in the evening as does a busy day at the cottage: eating, bathing, going into the town market, going to the sauna, eating ice cream. Well you get the idea, a typical summer’s day at the cottage really isn’t that busy, but the special life lead there, and I guess the connection to all of the sweet childhood memories, well it just makes my soul so happy and relaxed I feel like a new person each day.


For this very special newsletters, some of our moderators have kindly made a whole new set of avatars of Queen Elizabeth II, going hand-in-hand as you set out to enjoy a lookback at her extraordinary life on the following pages.

Before you continue reading this newsletter, I (GrandDuchess), Alexandria and the whole TRF Team would like to wish all of our members a great summer. A tip from us would be to print out some of the past newsletters that you liked extra much, pack up a pick nick and head for the sea, sun and sand. Well there, pour yourself a glass of ice tea and unfold the prints – and there you have, a perfect royal read in the sun!

The above introduction was written in early June. It was our intention to release this special newsletter in time for the official celebrations of Queen Elizabeth II's birthday (the Trooping of the Colour), but private committments of some of the TRF Team Members came in the way. Better late than never, as the saying goes. We do sincerely hope that you will all enjoy this issue, and we give you our appologies for the delay.

//GrandDuchess & Alexandria

PS. If there is a royal person or residence, or a special piece of jewellery you would like to see covered in a future issue of our newsletter, please let us know here in the newsletter feedback thread. Our member comments and suggestions are always welcome.

FORUM NOTES

We would like to turn the attention of ours members to the fact that The TRF Rules & Guidelines have recently been updated. Please have a look and read them through.

On behalf of the rest of the Moderating Team we would like to welcome the following individuals who will help us run and manage daily activities around the forum: tbhrc, purple_platinum, kwanfan, Mapple, Adry, Lady Jennifer, ~*~Humera~*~, azile1710, Zonk1189 and Danielane. Congratulations to these members!

We would also like to introduce a new sub-forum called Royal Geneology, which can be found here. You can discuss here or pose questions about the geneology of monarchs.

[GrandDuchess]

THE ROYAL CALENDAR - JUNE

BIRTHDAYS

Prince Christian of Hannover (1 June 1985)
Princess Désirée of Sweden (2 June 1938)
Ex-King Constantine (2 June 1940)
The Paramount Ruler of Malaysia (3 June, official birthday)
Prince Felix of Luxembourg (3 June 1984)
Irene Urdangarín y Bórbon (5 June 2005)
King Albert II of the Belgians (6 June 1934)
Prince Joachim of Denmark (7 June 1969)
Andrea Casiraghi (8 June 1984)
Countess Eloise van Oranje-Nassau (8 June 2002)
Princess Theodora of Greece (9 June 1983)
Princess Ragnhild Mrs Lorentzen (9 June 1930)
Prince Philip, The Duke of Edinburgh (10 June 1921)
Princess Madeleine of Sweden (10 June 1982)
Queen Fabiola of Belgium (11 June 1928)
Prince Alois of Liechtenstein (11 June 1968)
Henrik, The Prince Consort of Denmark (11 June 1934)
Infanta Christina of Spain (13 June 1965)
Ex-King Simeon II of Bulgaria (16 June 1937)
Prince William of Wales (21 June 1982)
Princess Alexia of The Netherlands (26 June 2005)
Prince Hussein of Jordan (28 June 1994)
Princess Alexandra, Countess of Frederiksborg (30 June 1964)

ANNIVERSARIES

Wedding Anniversary of Princess Désirée & Baron Silfverschiöld (5 June 1964)
Wedding Anniversary of Princess Tatjana of Liechtenstein & Philip von Lattorff (5 June 1999)
Wedding Anniversary of Princess Alexandra zu Sayn-Wittgenstein-Berleburg & Count Jefferson von Pfeil und Klein-Ellguth (6 June 1998)
Anniversary of the death of Princess Liliane of the Belgians (7 June 2002)
Wedding Anniversary of Crown Prince Naruhito of Japan & Masako Owada (9 June 1993)
Wedding Anniversary of King Abdullah II of Jordan and Rania Yassine (10 June 1993)
Wedding Anniversary of King Carl XVI Gustaf & Silvia Sommerlath (19 June 1976)
Enthronement Ceremony Anniversary of King Harald V of Norway (23 June 1991)
Wedding Anniversary of Prince Akishino of Japan & Kiko Kawashima (29 June 1990)

DATES OF NOTE

Sweden’s National Day (6 June)
State Visit by the King & Queen of Sweden to the Republic of Turkey (30 May-2 June)
State Visit by the King & Queen of Spain to the Kingdom of Norway (6-8 June)
Diamond Jubilee Celebrations of King Bhumibol of Thailand (12-13 June)
Official national celebrations of the 80th birthday of Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom and Northern Ireland (15-17 June)
Annual Service of the Most Noble Order of the Garter, Windsor (19 June)
State Visit by the Queen of The Netherlands to the Kingdom of Belgium (20-22 June)

[GrandDuchess]

THE ROYAL CALENDAR - JULY

BIRTHDAYS

Queen Sonja of Norway (4 July 1937)
Princess Chulabhorn of Thailand (4 July 1957)
Count Jefferson von Pfeil und Klein-Ellguth (12 July 1967)
The Sultan of Brunei (15 July 1946)
Camille Gottlieb (15 July 1998)
Princess Marie of Liechtenstein, née Countess Kálnoky (16 July 1975)
The Duchess of Cornwall (17 July 1947)
Felipe Juan de Marichalar y Bórbon (17 July 1998)
Prince Ernst-August Jr of Hannover (19 July 1983)
Crown Prince Haakon of Norway (20 July 1973)
Princess Alexandra of Hannover (20 July 1999)
Prince Felix of Denmark (22 July 2002)
Prince Vajiralongkorn of Thailand (28 July 1952)
Carlos Morales (30 July 2005)
Prince Johann Georg of Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen (31 July 1932)

ANNIVERSARIES

Wedding Anniversary of King Albert II of the Belgians & Paola Ruffo di Calabria (2 July 1959)
Wedding Anniversary of Prince Alois of Liechtenstein and Duchess Sophie in Bavaria (3 July 1993)
Wedding Anniversary of King Mohammed VI of Morocco & Salma Bennani (12 July 2002)
Wedding Anniversary of Prince Constantin of Liechtenstein & Countess Marie Kálnoky (17 July 1999)

DATES OF NOTE

State Visit by King Carl Gustaf & Queen Silvia of Sweden to The People's Republic of China (17-22 July?)

[GrandDuchess]

THE ROYAL CALENDAR - AUGUST

BIRTHDAYS

Prince Louis of Luxembourg (3 August 1986)
Charlotte Casiraghi (3 August 1986)
Princess Beatrice of York (8 August 1986)
Princess Mabel van Oranje-Nassau (11 August 1960)
Queen Sikrit of Thailand (12 August 1932)
The Princess Royal (15 August 1950)
Countess Ingrid von Pfeil und Klein-Ellguth (16 August 2003)
Crown Princess Mette-Marit of Norway (19 August 1973)
Prince Gabriel of Belgium (20 August 2003)
King Mohammed VI of Morocco (21 August 1963)
Queen Noor of Jordan (23 August 1951)
Princess Maria-Laura of Belgium (26 August 1988)
Prince Nikolai of Denmark (28 August 1999)
Ex-Queen Anne-Marie of Greece (30 August 1946)
Queen Rania of Jordan (31 August 1970)

ANNIVERSARIES

Enthronement Ceremony Anniversary of King Albert II of the Belgians (7 August 1993)
Wedding Anniversary of Crown Prince Haakon of Norway and Mette-Marit Tjessem-Høiby (25 August 2001)
Enthronement Ceremony Anniversary of Prince Hans-Adam of Liechtenstein (26 August 1984)
Wedding Anniversary of King Harald V or Norway and Sonja Haraldsen (29 August 1968)
Anniversary of the death of Queen Astrid of Belgium (29 August 1935)

DATES OF NOTE

Red Cross Ball in Monaco (4 August)

[GrandDuchess]

ROYAL QUICK HITS

Here are a few threads that the TRF Team feel are of note and worth to take a look at

* One year ago I (GrandDuchess) was invited to join the TRF Team, and the first thing I did a few days after joining, was to get involved in planning and creating a big July-August 2005 Newsletter about the summer residences- and holidays of our Royal Families. In my opinion, this newsletter was a huge success and it came out better that I had thought it would. Together with great TRF Team Members and forum members Dennism, Larzen, Lena, The Watcher, Elspeth and pdas1201, we created a wonderful newsletter containing all the information and pictures you could ever want or need to know about where our royals spend their summers, and what they are usually up too.

So now, one year later, it’s summer once again. Before you go on reading this newsletter, I really recommend you to take a look at the July-August 2005 Newsletter again, perhaps if you want to know more on these topics, or if you want to remind yourself. We promise good reading and nice pictures to look at!

* With the lack of grand royal weddings this year, as most royals of the right age are already hitched, why not celebrate the arrival of this summer with a glimpse into the world of royal weddings? The June 2005 Newsletter, “Princess Brides”, covered royal brides through the last centuries, from Princess Beatrix of The Netherlands to Mary Donaldson.

* Ever since April, the United Kingdom and the Commonwealth countries have been celebrating the 80th birthday of Queen Elizabeth II. In her honour, we have created this newsletter about her life, but we recommend you to follow the celebrations that have already taken place and those that are planned in the special thread for her anniversary this year.

* At the end of June, two Benelux countries will strengthen their ties of friendship and cooperation even further as the Queen of The Netherlands will pay a State Visit to Belgium on the invitation of King Albert II. This special event can be followed in this thread.

* This year marks the first year anniversary of the death of Prince Rainier of Monaco, and in July his son, Prince Albert, has been an enthroned sovereign for one year. To remember those celebrations one year ago, go here.

* In July, the King and Queen of Sweden will pay a State Visit to The People’s Republic of China, strengthening the ties between the two countries even further. The visit will celebrate the highly noted arrival of the East Indiaman ship Götheborg to Kanton, and the Royal Couple will also visit Beijing were the President will receive them. The visit can be followed in this thread.

* The month of August, namely the 29th of that month, will mark the wedding anniversary of King Harald and Queen Sonja of Norway. Crown Prince Harald truly broke new soil as he was give permission to marry the love of his life, a commoner girl, and after him many others followed. To read about their wedding and see pictures, go here.

[GrandDuchess]

Queen Elizabeth II

For 80 years straight, Elizabeth has been one of the world's most famous people. Born into the Sachsen-Coburg und Gotha family branch Wettin, later changed to the House of Windsor, followed closely by her people ever since her first presentation to the media, the daughter of a Queen who was one of the country's most respected women, not the least in connection to the war, Queen Elizabeth II has always been in the limelight.

She has witnessed 80 years of progress and setbacks in the world, including many of the world's historical moments through the past eight centuries. Born into the British Empire, Elizabeth has seen the fall of the Empire and the birth of the Commonwealth, she has travelled the world, sent her first email in the 1970's when most of us barely knew what a computer was - and not the least, Elizabeth has been Queen over Great Britain, Northern Ireland and the other realms and territories for 54 years.

The Queen has raised four children together with her husband, and the family life of the Windsors has not always been as good as it is now. Together they have lived through many a hard times: divorces, media circuses, deaths and funerals. Their "image" has not always been the best and their rates of approval with the public not always very high - but through it all, Queen Elizabeth II has stood firm on the ground, respected by most people and loved for her immense sense of duty and dedication to her country and her role as monarch. And today, the family of Windsor is a stabile Royal Family with a future that is looking quite bright, a family respected for their hard work and service to their country.

Following this post, we will portray the life of Elizabeth, from her birth to this day. This is our way to celebrate the life of a remarkable woman. Long live the Queen!

[GrandDuchess]

The Summer 2006 Newsletter is made by these TRF Team Members

- Birth & Christening, Childhood, Education = GrandDuchess
- Early public life = Alexandria
- Marriage & Family Life = Anna_R

- Accession, Coronation, Elizabeth the Monarch, Titles = Alexandria
- Head of the Commonwealth = GrandDuchess
- The Queen & her Prime Ministers = Mapple
- Elizabeth & The Church of England = Alexandria
- Anniversaries & milestones = GrandDuchess, a list from the official website of the British monarchy
-The Queen and her Patronages = kwafan

-The Queen's birthday celebrations = Alexandria

[GrandDuchess]

Birth & Christening

On 21 April 1926 at 2:40 AM, the first child of the Duke and Duchess of York came into the world. The little girl saw the light of day – not at a royal residence or hospital – but instead, at 17 Bruton Street, the London home of the Earl and Countess of Strathmore, the parents of the Duchess.

The delivery was difficult, and an announcement wasn’t made to the public until the following morning, when the newspapers instantly wrote about it and an immediate joy broke loose in London. The birth received such unprecedented attention, it was a welcomed bit of happy news in the middle of the political crisis before the General Strike that would break loose only two months later. A crowd immediately gathered at Bruton Street and messenger boys arrived continuously with telegrams and presents. The Home Secretary arrived shortly afterwards to witness the birth, and among the first to arrive that morning were also King George V and Queen Mary. The Queen later noted in her diary: “Such a relief and joy. A little darling with lovely complexion and pretty fair hair”.

The new father himself, the Duke of York, was fantastically happy as he later wrote to his mother: “We always wanted a child to make our happiness complete," and considering the preference of males in the succession system, he added: “I do hope that you & Papa are as delighted as we are, to have a granddaughter, or would you sooner have another grandson. I know Elizabeth wanted a daughter."

Only five weeks after the birth, the Royal Family came together celebrating the christening of the baby girl at the private chapel in Buckingham Palace. She was christened in the names of Elizabeth Alexandra Mary, named after her mother, Queen Alexandra and Queen Mary. Cosmo Gordon Lang, the Archbishop of York, presided over the ceremony. Named as godparents were King George and Queen Mary, the Princess Royal, the Duke of Connaught, the Earl of Strathmore and Lady Elphinston. Her full style and title was Her Royal Highness Princess Elizabeth of York, and she was placed third in line to the Throne, behind her father and uncle, the Prince of Wales (Edward).


1: Group picture after the christening of Princess Elizabeth of York, 2-5: Pictures taken in connection with the christening of Princess Elizabeth, 6-7: Princess Elizabeth in 1927, 8: The Duchess of York and Elizabeth in 1928

[GrandDuchess]

Childhood

During the first month of her life, Princess Elizabeth had a nursery in one of the rooms in the residence of the Earl and Countess of Strathmore, where she had been born, and Lady Strathmore made sure that its character was typically English.

The nation’s interest in little Elizabeth was great, and an immediate debate struck up around the country on how the young Princess should best be brought up. The National Jewellers’ Association presented her with a silver porringer with ivory handles carved in the form of thistles and a cover surmounted by an ivory and silver coronet. The Chairman declared that he hoped the porringer would take its place ‘upon the breakfast table of the first baby in the land, and may even be banged upon the table by her infant hands'.

The Duchess of York was a firm believer in modern methods when it came to the upbringing of her daughters, and so it was decided from the beginning that Elizabeth was going to have as normal a life as possible. The playful Princess’ mischiefs were never allowed to get out of hand, and her bit of fun was kept in check at all times, never was she allowed to be over-indulged or mean. “I don't think any child could be more sensibly bought up. She leads such a simple life and she's always punished when she's naughty," Queen Mary noted.

Despite being an adored child throughout the Empire, with loyal admiration expressed in excesses such as chocolates, china sets and hospital wards - and even a territory in Antarctica - being named after the young Princess, her image was on postage stamps, songs were written about her and Madame Tussaud’s had a wax model made of her – Elizabeth was protected by her family from getting in touch with this side of the coin, so to speak.

Already in her first year of life, Elizabeth formed a strong and unbreakable bond with her grandparents, King George V and Queen Mary, as the Duke and Duchess of York were forced to fulfil many heavy royal duties, among them a several months long official visit to Australia to open the Commonwealth Parliament.

During these kind of long trips, the infant Princess was left in the hands of the Earl and Countess of Strathmore, and of course her nanny, Clara “Alla” Knight, and the King and Queen frequently corresponded with the York couple over the developments of their little girl.

During the Duke and Duchess of York’s official visit to Australia, starting in January 1927 and ending in June that year, Princess Elizabeth stayed with other parts of her family. The stay started out with the Strathmores at St Paul’s Walden Bury, where she went together with her nanny as her parents left for the long trip away from home.

Keeping the Yorks informed about every development of their daughter, the King and Queen wrote letters and sent photographs regularly. In March that year, King George V wrote: “She has 4 teeth now, which is quite good at eleven months, she is very happy and drives in a carriage every afternoon, which amuses her.”

February was spent with the paternal grandparents at Buckingham Palace, and in April, just in time for Princess Elizabeth’s first birthday, they took up residence at Windsor. The last two months before her parents would return, the little Princess spent her time with the Strathmores once again, where nanny “Alla” taught her to pronounce the word “mummy.” But as there was no one to correctly say that phrase to, Princess Elizabeth exclaimed “mummy” to every person she saw, including family portraits.

In 1927, the Duke and Duchess of York had been in need of a more central residence for some time, this was mainly due to the increasing amounts of royal duties they undertook, and because their old residence, the White Lodge in Richmond Park, was bothered with herds of curious people turning up frequently during the weekends. So that year, the York family moved to 145 Piccadilly, a town house of four stories, near Hyde Park and Apsley House (No 1 London) were they would come to live a happy and quiet family life.

A whole storey of the house was renovated to suit the needs of the young Princess Elizabeth, and later also her sister Margaret, consisting of a day nursery, a night nursery, a bathroom and a landing with windows overlooking the park. The nursery was the domain of the nanny, Clara “Alla” Knight, previously the nanny of the Duchess of York and her brother, who ran the daily life of the child with order and discipline, but who at the end of the evening would sit with her knitting in the rocking chair, telling stories. For example, Elizabeth was only allowed to play with one toy at a time.

Another fitting part of the new residence was the extensive garden at the back, shared with other houses. There the Princesses were able to play on the lawns and paths, although people came to acquire a habit of peeking through the railings.

Princess Elizabeth spent her time in between the York’s London home, and from 1931, at the age of five, also at the Royal Lodge in the Windsor Great Park, which the family used a great deal mainly as a weekend retreat – but the infant Princess was also a frequent guest with her two sets of grandparents at their country homes – Glamis Castle or Balmoral in Scotland.

Princess Elizabeth was a playful child who liked to have her bit of fun. At the 1927 Christmas party for the tenants of the buildings on the Sandringham Estate, she clambered on to the dining table from where she heaped the guests with cracker after cracker, handed to her by her mother.

King George V loved his granddaughter, Elizabeth. She was always the main person for his affections, and with her, the King played in a way that he never did with his own children, and her presence around him was always welcome.

Princess Elizabeth charmed her grandfather into playing with her, and there is one anecdote from the Archbishop of Canterbury that tells us of his encounter with King George V crawling on his feet, pretending to be a horse, while Princess Elizabeth took the role of being the groom, as he arrived to have an audience. As the Archbishop later noted, “the King-Emperor shuffling on hands and knees along the floor, while the little Princess led him by the beard.”

Yet despite all the warm affection between the two, royal etiquette could not escape the young Princess, and before her third birthday, when it had been practised and perfected extra, she curtisied to the King and Queen and simply said “I trust Your Majesty will sleep well” as she retreated backward to the door. Elizabeth adored her grandfather. Whenever he was sick, she would ask for him, and when she saw the royal landau pass down Piccadilly, a loud cry out from the balcony at nr 145 was heard: “Here comes grandpa!” The people of the nation approved her nickname for the King with delight: “Grandpa England.”

Elizabeth’s lifelong passion for horses and dogs started at a very early age. It has been said that the start of it can be accounted to the autumn of 1928, when she joined her parents to Naseby Hall in Northamptonshire for the hunting season. The little Princess loved to pat her father’s horses and dogs, and nurse “Alla” tried her best to keep a watching eye over her, as Elizabeth had a tendency to run off to the stables at any time of the day.

In December of 1936, when Princess Elizabeth was only ten years old, King Edward VIII abdicated from the Throne following the scandal with Wallis Simpson. The Duke of York, who had never any greater aspirations of any higher office, at this time succeeded his brother and became King George VI, leaving his eldest daughter, Elizabeth, to be the Heiress Presumptive and thereafter styled and titled Her Royal Highness The Princess Elizabeth.

The following year it was time to make history. On Wednesday 12 May 1937 King George VI was crowned as the third monarch of the House of Windsor in a grand coronation of pomp and circumstance in the Westminster Abbey, first intended to be the coronation date of his brother, King Edward VIII. Queen Mary broke the tradition and attended the coronation festivities in order to show support for her son, and stood up on the royal pew together with the two young Princesses, Elizabeth, 11, and Margaret Rose, 7. This was the first time a coronation was broadcast, so people throughout the Empire tuned in to hear their new King take his Throne, and while Princess Elizabeth watched the ceremony with great admiration and big eyes, her sister had difficulty staying awake. Later, Elizabeth noted in her diary:

"I thought it was very, very wonderful and I expect the Abbey did, too. The arches and beams at the top were covered with a sort of haze of wonder as Papa was crowned, at least I thought so."


1: A portrait of Princess Elizabeth, painted by de Laszlo in 1933, 2: A portrait taken in 1934, 3: The Duchess of York with her children, Elizabeth and Margaret Rose, at King George V's Silver Jubilee in 1935, 4: The Duchess of York and Elizabeth in their home in 1936, 5: The York family in 1936, just before they were to become the main Royal Family after King Edward VIII's abdication, 6: Elizabeth as a happy child playing with dogs in 1936, 7: A memento from the coronaton of the Duke and Duchess of York as King George VI and Queen Elizabeth, 8: the new main Royal Family, 9: A portrait of The Princess Elizabeth, the Heir Apparent, for her 13th birhday in 1939. Taken by Marcus Adams

[GrandDuchess]

Childhood

During the war, Princess Elizabeth and her sister Margaret Rose resided at Windsor Castle, where the best efforts were made to provide a comfortable and nice setting for the girls’ daily lives with all that it entailed – school, play and family life whenever their parents were present.

The two Princesses loved to play together and their imagination had no limits. During the holiday breaks, they played Christmas pantomimes at Windsor, beginning in 1941. These were staged in the huge and famous Waterloo Chamber, and the performers were local schoolchildren from royal estates’ families, young evacuees from London, friends of the Princesses, and of course - Their Royal Highnesses themselves.

Both sisters liked dressing up and wearing costumes and wigs, and they soon proved that they possessed acting talent and pretty wit, too. They both held leading roles in plays such as “Cinderella,” “Aladdin” and “Old Mother Red Riding Boots.” In the Christmas pantomime of 1941, which was “Cinderella,” Elizabeth was Prince Charming, Margaret was Cinders, Mr Tanner (the headmaster of the school on the estate) the Baron, Elizabeth Hardinge (daughter of the King’s Private Secretary) was Dandini and one of the Queen’s maids was Buttons.

The Princesses' mother, the Queen, took particular interest in the productions, and whenever she was at Windsor during the early stages of the rehearsals, she would make a point of going through the scripts with the girls, making sure that they knew their word cues.

As the plays were performed, the local audiences, a number of uniformed soldiers from the troops stationed in the Windsor district and on guard duty at the Castle included, would fill up the Waterloo Chamber. Each member of the audience was required to pay for admission and the money went to the Royal Household knitting-wool fund.

In times of peace, the walls of the Waterloo Chamber – as all visitors to the State Apartments know – are hung with large, very grand paintings of the monarchs, generals and other leading figures of Europe which shared in the defeat of Napoleon. But during World War II, when it served as a Christmastime theatre for the two Princesses, the portraits were taken out of their frames because of fear for bomb damage (they had safe storage in the Castle vaults together with many other treasures, including Crown Jewels wrapped in newspapers and crammed into leather hatboxes), so the walls were bare, but only for a time…

The King and Queen became inspired to have pantomime figures made in the newly empty surfaces around the room, in order to brighten it up. So, local art students were brought in to depict, for the first time, a whole series of large fairytale and pantomime characters on the walls, one figure in each of the empty picture frames.

When World War II ended, the precious canvases – most of them the work of Sir Thomas Lawrence – were replaced in their frames on the walls, but the King decided that the jolly pantomime figures should not be erased, but instead that the portraits of great men should be put back over them, thus preserving them in secret the pictorial souvenirs of his daughters’ happier wartime moments.

It is a diverting thought that today, were the painting of the Emperor of Russia to slip down from the Chamber’s wall, Dick Whittington would leap incongruously into view; that George IV himself is masking Mother Goose; and that his father George III has Aladdin in hiding behind his portrait.


1: The Duchess of York and her daughters Elizabeth and Margaret Rose, knitting for the World War II charities, 2: Mother and daughter at the Royal Lodge at Windsor in 1940, 3: Elizabeth in the Christmas play "Cinderella" at Windsor Castle in 1941, 4: Elizabeth portrayed by Cecil Beaton in 1942, 5: Elizabeth in 1944, 6: Elizabeth in 1945, 7: A family portrait from 1947