For the first few months of their stay at the Palace, the
Queen and the Duke used the Belgian Suite on the ground
floor, at the back northwest corner of the building, eating
in the Caernarvon Room, a large, high-ceilinged apartment,
which has heard more of the secret history of the war than
probably any other room in the world. For, as already stated,
it was here that the late King used to lunch every Tues-
day during the war with his Prime Minister, Mr. Winston
Churchill. Later on the Queen and the Duke moved to the
apartments they occupy today, the same suite on the first
floor which King George VI and his father and grandfather
before him used as their private quarters. Before they could
do this, the Queen Mother had to sort out all her belongings,
and arrange for their removal to Clarence House. It was a
sad task for her. Gradually her rooms and the King's were
emptied, though the work of sorting out the King's wardrobe
and uniforms was so difficult that his valet, Mr. Tom Jerram,
was still on it two years after his death.
One thing on which the Queen Mother insisted was the re-
moval of the fireplace from her bedroom. This was a magnifi-
cent one of white marble, given her as a wedding anniversary
present by the King. In the winter she liked to have a cheerful
blaze of logs burning in her room, and now she was leaving
the Palace she wanted her fireplace for her new home. So
workmen took it out in its entirety and installed it again in
her suite in Clarence House across the Mall. As things turned
out, it was not until the beginning of Coronation year that
the change-over was complete.
At Clarence House, the move-in went on with much the
same atmosphere of sadness. Neither the Queen Mother nor
Princess Margaret had much enthusiasm for the job. The
Princess, whose life seemed to have been changed completely
by her father's death, spent much of her time alone, except
when she was helping or comforting her mother. She did not
wish to see any of her usual circle of friends, but frequently
left the Palace early in the morning with her lady-in-waiting
to visit unheralded and privately a church. Happily, both the
Queen Mother and Princess Margaret were able later on to
throw off this unaccustomed cloak of sadness and revert to
their normal lives.