Category: Kristine Hughes

The King's Speech

Colin Firth will be playing King George VI in a new film called The King’s Speech. Set to open in November, Geoffrey Rush plays royal speech therapist Lionel Logue, while Helena Bonham Carter will play the Queen Mum.
The King’s Speech tells the story of the man who would become King George VI, the father of the current Queen, Elizabeth II. After his brother abdicates, George ‘Bertie’ VI (Firth) reluctantly assumes the throne. Plagued by a dreaded nervous stammer and considered unfit to be King, Bertie engages the help of an unorthodox speech therapist named Lionel Logue (Rush). Through a set of unexpected techniques, and as a result of an unlikely friendship, Bertie is able to find his voice and boldly lead the country into war.

A handsome and rather shy younger son, George VI came to the throne after his brother, Edward VIII, abdicated the throne of England in order to marry Mrs. Simpson. George and Lady Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon were married in 1923 and had two daughters, Queen Elizabeth II and Princess Margaret. The Queen Consort never forgave Edward VIII for his selfish action in abdicating, thus throwing the responsibility for the country upon her husband, whose health had never been the best. Within three years of his accession, King George VI found himself at the head of a country at war with Nazi Germany. Choosing to stay at Buckingham Palace in London through the worst of the bombing, the King and Queen garnered themselves legion of loyal subjects who praised them for their courage and for their selflessness in helping at air raid shelters and bomb sites and by standing fast through the blitz.

Charles, Prince of Wales, recently hosted a reception at Clarence House, his London home, to celebrate the work of the country’s only national stammering centre, The Michael Palin Centre for Stammering Children in Islington, north London. Speaking about George VI the Prince told his guests ”His stammer cut him off I think in so many ways from his parents and his brothers and sisters and drove him into himself as I suspect so many stammerers will understand. I think above all he experienced that awful fear of feeling different from others.”

The Prince joked with the audience about how the Monarch’s speech problem would be dealt with in the forthcoming film about his grandfather: “My grandfather was fortunate enough to receive speech therapist services which enabled him to overcome the condition.”

The Palin Centre was founded in 1993 and the comic actor and travel presenter agreed to the institution being named after him following his role as a stammering character called Ken in the hit movie A Fish Called Wanda.

You can watch an interview with Mr. Firth about his upcoming role here.

Thomas Lawrence Exhibition at the National Portrait Gallery

Princess Sophia

 The National Portrait Gallery in London is staging an exhibition called, “Thomas Lawrence: Regency Power and Brilliance” from 21 October 2010 – 23 January 2011. Thomas Lawrence was the greatest British portrait painter of his generation., and this exhibition, the first to focus on Lawrence’s work in the UK for over thirty years, explores his development into the most celebrated and influential artist in Europe at the start of the nineteenth century. Featuring over fifty works, it showcases the artist’s greatest paintings and drawings alongside lesser known works, drawn from public and private collections around the world. When it closes in London, the exhhibition will move to the Yale Center for British Art, New Haven, Connecticut from 24 February to 5 June 2011. This will be the first exhibition in the United Kingdom since 1979 to examine Lawrence’s work and the first substantial presentation of this artist in the United States. It will present Lawrence as the most important British portrait painter of his generation and will explore his development as one of the most celebrated and influential European artists of the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries. By his untimely death in 1830 Lawrence had achieved the greatest international reach and reputation of any British artist.

A new book called Thomas Lawrence: Regency Brilliance and Power has been published in conjunction with the exhibition, edited by Cassandra Albinson, Peter Funnell, and Lucy Peltz, with essays by Cassandra Albinson, Peter Funnell, and Marcia Pointon.  This important book explores Lawrence’s political friendships and allegiances along with his exceptional role as witness to significant historical events, and contrasts these with his remarkable ability to depict the charm and innocence of childhood. Elected President of the Royal Academy in 1820, Lawrence was instrumental in establishing the status of the artist in 19th-century Britain.

Cassandra Albinson is Associate Curator of Painting and Sculpture at the Yale Center for British Art. Peter Funnell is the nineteenth-century curator at the National Portrait Gallery, where Lucy Peltz is the eighteenth-century curator. To coincide with the publication of the book (October 2010),

In fact, many of Lawrence’s works have become iconic and need no explanation as to the identity of the sitter, like these below:

And our favorites . . . . .

I can only hope that at least one of the Wellington portraits will be on view when I visit the Exhibition in London in December.

Do You Know About Midsomer Murders?

Midsomer Murders debuted on television in the U.K. on March 23, 1997 and to date there are about 85 episodes of the hugely popular series and counting. Midsomer Murders follows the investigations of Detective Chief Tom Barnaby (John Nettles) in the fictional English county of Midsomer. In the early seasons, his junior is Sergeant Gavin Troy (Daniel Casey), a mildly bumbling foil.  In later seasons, DCI Barnaby was assisted by DS Dan Scott, and currently by DS Ben Jones. Midsomer Murders is notable for its carefully crafted stories that revolve around the facade of a seemingly peaceful countryside that conceal all manners of vice and crime, including, but by no means limited to – blackmail, sexual deviances, suicide and murder.  The Queen herself is rumoured to be a fan of the show, while John Nettles was awarded an OBE (Order of the British Empire) this past June during the Queen’s birthday honours.

Jane Wymark (above right) plays Barnaby’s patient wife Joyce, who occassionally finds herself unwittingly near the scene of a crime. Laura Howard (above left) plays Barnaby’s daughter Cully, an aspiring actress.

Midsomer Murder is based on the novels by Caroline Graham, with scripts written by some of Britain’s best television writers. John Nettles said: “There’s something warped about the nature of our writers, they come up with extraordinary ways of killing people.”

The action in these decidedly tongue-in-cheek scripts takes place in cozy village locations, replete with stately manor homes and chocolate box cottages. Don’t let the bucolic settings fool you – you’ll soon be shown what evil lurks in the hearts of men. In an episode called Judgment Day, Joyce is chosen to judge a “perfect village” competition, but things are far from perfect in the village of Midsomer Mallow when womanising tearaway Peter Drinkwater (Orlando Bloom) is stabbed to death with a pitchfork. In Hidden Depths egotistical lawyer Otto Benham (Oliver Ford Davies) is drugged, trussed and made into a human target in the middle of his croquet lawn, then fired on with bottles of his favourite vintage wine from a replica Roman catapult.

Midsomer Murders benefits from a topnotch lineup of guest appearances, such as Richard Briers (Good Neighbors), Prunella Scales (Fawlty Towers), Timothy West (Iris), Anna Massey (The Pallisers), Una Stubbs (Till Death Us Do Part), Michele Dotrice (Vanity Fair), Trudie Styler (The Mayor of Casterbridge), Robert Hardy (War and Remembrance, All Creatures Great and Small) and Maggie Steed (Lipstick on Your Collar).

Guest appearances are also made by some of England’s most gorgeous scenery, a subject covered in a book called Midsomer Murders On Location by Sabine Schreiner and Joan Street – ‘The majority of the pretty villages that make up Midsomer country are actually strewn over four counties – Buckinghamshire, Berkshire, Hertfordshire and Oxfordshire. Here for the first time is a comprehensive guide to the gorgeous locations used in the filming of the series.’

Recently Nettles announced he’d be leaving the series after thirteen years and will be replaced by Neil Dudgeon, who will step in as Barnaby’s cop cousin, John Barnaby. In an interview Nettles said, “I wanted to die in noble fashion in the service of my country and then be buried with full military honours in Westminster Abbey. In the event, Tom and his long-suffering wife Joyce will simply retire. It’s always better to leave when people want more.”

The show has garnered itself legions of diehard fans. Visit the Midsomer Murders comprehensive – and regularly updated – fan page here.

Excerpts from The Court Journal: Court Circular & Fashionable Gazette, Volume 5

COURT AND FASHIONABLE LIFE – October 1833

King William IV

— On Sunday morning, the King and Queen, the Princess Augusta, and the Royal Suite and Household, attended Divine Service in the Chapel of the Castle. The Bishop of Worcester officiated.

In the evening Captain Ross and his nephew arrived at the Castle to pay their respects to his Majesty. They were received by the King in a very flattering and gracious manner, and had the honour of being introduced to the Queen and Royal visitors, with whom they dined and spent the evening. Captain Ross appeared in excellent health, and wore a Swedish Order.

— On Monday the King honoured the Earl and Countess of Albemarle with his company, at Hampton Court Palace. His Majesty arrived at Bushey about ten o’clock, where he was received by the Noble Earl; and after inspecting the paddocks and the Royal stud, returned to the Stud house, where his Majesty partook of a magnificent dejeuner a lafouchette. At half-past three o’clock, the King, attended by some of the distinguished visitors who were invited to meet his Majesty, visited the Palace at Hampton Court; and, at five o’clock, his Majesty returned to Windsor Castle.

— On Tuesday evening the marriage of the Hon. Mr Wellesley with the Hon. Olivia de Roos, was solemnized at Windsor Castle. The ceremony was performed by the Bishop of Worcester, assisted by the Rev. Isaac Gosset, Chaplain to their Majesties, in the private chapel, which was fitted up with crimson velvet for the occasion. There were present the King and Queen, the Duke of Wellington, Lady Sydney, Lord and Lady and Miss Cowley, Colonel and Lady and Miss de Roos, Lord and Lady Errol, Sir Herbert and Lady Taylor, and the Hon. Misses Mitchell, Johnstone, Eden, Boyle, and Bagot, Maids of Honour, and many of the Household. The bride was dressed in white satin and lace, and wore a beautiful head-dress of diamonds. His Majesty gave her away, and Lady Georgina Howe and Miss Taylor were the bridesmaids. At nine o’clock in the evening the bride and bridegroom left for Bushey; and early next week they take their departure for Germany.

-On Wednesday, tbe King, attended by Sir Herbert Taylor, arrived at St James’s Palace, for the purpose of holding a court. The following Foreign Ministers had audiences of his Majesty, viz :—The Baron Bulow, the Prussian Minister, to deliver a letter from his Sovereign; Prince Soutzo, Minister on a Special Mission from the King of Greece, to take leave ; Chevalier de Vial, the Spanish Minister, to deliver liis credentials from his new Sovereign; Marquis de Funchal and the Chevalier dc Lima, to deliver credentials from their new Sovereign. Viscount Palmerston presented Mr Addington to the King, on bis return from his mission to the Court of Madrid. Tbe King gave audiences to the Duke of Richmond, Viscount Melbourne, the Right Hon. Charles Grant, Mr Secretary Stanley, Viscount Palmerston, Sir James Graham, and Lord Hill,also to the Hanoverian Minister, Sir Lowry Cole (late Governor of the Cape of Good Hope), and Captain Woolmore.

Brighton Pavilion

 The King and Queen will leave Windsor at an early hour this morning for the Pavilion at Brighton, where a large party are invited to meet their Majesties in the evening. They will travel direct to Brighton without passing through London. Part of the Royal household have been at the Pavilion for some days making the requisite preparations for the reception of their Majesties.

— The Marchioness of Wellesley, on her way to Dublin, stayed several days at Chatsworth, on a visit to the Duke of Devonshire, who is at present surrounded by his noble relatives. The Duke, we are happy to be informed, is nearly recovered from his lameness.

— Beaudesert, in Staffordshire, the splendid seat of the Marquis of Anglesey, is now occupied by his Lordship’s eldest son, the Earl of Uxbridge, and his Countess. On the return of the Noble Marquis from his government in Ireland, and previous to his departure for Italy, he remained a few days in his pleasant and peaceful residence, Beaudesert.

— The Earl of Stair, during the winter, intends giving a series of grand entertainments at Paris, to all the British Noblesse sojourning there. His Lordship, although nearly a constant resident in the French capital, still retains his splended residence in Seamore Place, Curzon Street.

— The Hon. W. Clifford, who has recently taken possession of the mansion and estate at Irnham, near Bourne, Lincolnshire, gave a very elegant ball and supper on Wednesday to a numerous party of his tenantry.

— A very handsome guard-room for officers has just been erected in the King’s mews, north of tbe new barracks.



The Duchess of Kent


– The Duke and Duchess of Northumberland have been entertaining large parties of noble friends at their princely Palace at Alnwick, where it is their intention to remain until after Christmas. The Duchess of Kent and the Princess Victoria some time since contemplated a visit to the Noble Duchess in the north, but the genial breezes of the Isle of Wight have so exceedingly renovated the health of the young Princess, as to occasion the Duchess of Kent to remain on the island beyond the period originally contemplated. The Royal visit to Alnwick Castle is therefore deferred until next year.

— The Earl of Egremont is, next to Royalty, the greatest benefactor Brighton ever had. Should the Chain Pier be re-instated, it will owe its restoration entirely to the Noble Earl. Nearly all the improvements in that fashionable retreat have been suggested, and in part. carried into effect, by the liberality of his Lordship, whose private charities are also unbounded.

— Lord and Lady Lyndhurst have been passing some time in Paris, where her Ladyship excited the admiration of the beau monde in that gay and spirit-stirring capital. The learned Baron and his Lady during their stay frequently dined with the British Ambassador, and they remained in Paris just long enough to bid adieu to Prince Talleyrand and the Duchess de Dino, previously to their departure for the south of France.

— The Duke and Duchess of St Albans have returned to their house in Piccadilly after a very long provincial tour, where in every town they visited, her Grace substantially patronized the theatre if there were one. They will shortly depart for Brighton for the winter, where they will resume their capacious house in Regency Square.

— The amiable Countess of Clare and her suite have again departed for the Continent, where they will remain until the spring of next year, unless news from her lord in India should occasion her Ladyship to return.


Hatfield House

- Marquess and Marchioness of Salisbury, during the last fortnight, have been entertaining in succession large parties of the nobility at their mansion at Hatfield, one of the most splendid in that part of the country. The Noble Marquess will shortly review, on his own princely domain, the Hertfordshire Yeomanry, on which occasion the Duke of Wellington, and several of the Duke’s military friends and ‘companions in arms,’ will likewise be present, to participate in the general and most unbounded hospitality which pervades Hatfield House at this annual festival. Lord and Lady Dacre, Lord Verulam, Lord Grimstone, and most of the opulent and distinguished neighbours are also invited

— Chantrey the Sculptor is at present engaged on a professional tour in the north. He has received instructions from the Dowager Viscountess Downe, to execute a full-length statue of her deeply lamented Lord, which is intended to be placed in Snaith Church, Yorkshire. The figure will be taken from a picture painted by Sir Thomas Lawrence, in which Lord Downe is represented in his parliamentary robes.

— The Duke and Duchess of Argyll will occupy a house at Brighton, in order to be near their Majesties, with whom his Grace is an especial favourite.



Bowood House

-  The Marquis and Marchioness of Lansdowne have been entertaining a large party of fashionables at Bowwood Park. We understand that, if the state of public business will permit, his Lordship and family will pay their annual visit to Paris before Christmas.

— Lord Delamere has been entertaining a large party of fashionables, at his seat, Vale Royal, Cheshire, to celebrate the coming of age of his Lordship’s eldest son, the Hon. Hugh Cholmondeley, late of the 1st Life Guards.

— The Marquis and Marchioness of Conyngham are now in possession of the large mansion, in Park lane, built by the late Earl Dudley, from whose executors it was purchased by Lord Conyngham. We believe the Noble Marquis first intended to take the wine, which was valued at two thousand pounds; but this his Lordship has subsequently relinquished. The entire house has been newly-embellished, under the good taste and direction of the Marchioness of Couyngham.

— The Duke of Devonshire, the Marquis of Bristol, and the Marchioness and the Ladies Cornwallis, are the only distinguished personages that at present occupy houses at Kemp-town, near Brighton. The keen air of the west cliff is better suited for a summer than a winter residence.

— A happy family party, consisting of the Marquis and Marchioness of Ailesbury, Lady Laura Tollemache, Hon. Charles and Mrs Tollemache, and Miss Tollemache, are assembled under the roof of the excellent Countess of Dysart, and enjoying her hospitalities, enlivened occasionally by the visits of the surrounding neighbourhood.

— Few persons went to the last levee with greater magnificence than the Portuguese Ambassador, the Marquis of Funchal, and the Charge d’Affaires, M. de Lima. The liveries of the Marquis were nearly covered with silver lace. The reception of these gentlemen by the King was highly gratifying; his Majesty conversed with them for some time, and enquired particularly after the health of his ‘ little favourite,” Donna Maria, and the Duchess of Braganza. His Majesty said he was rejoiced to hear of the continued success of the constitutionalists, and hoped that the contest would be soon over.

— Lord Yarborough has arrived at his seat, Brocklesby, for the burning season.

— It was the intention of the King and Queen of Belgium to visit Claremont this year, but they have been prevented. As the Queen, however, is very desirous of spending two or three weeks, the King will probably bring her over next Spring. The improvements in the Royal gardens and grounds in Belgium are proceding rapidly, under the superintendance of the King’s Conservator, Mr Mackintosh.

— The Duchess de Dino, since her departure, has written to several of her distinguished friend, to say that she expects to return to London early in January, accompanied by her daughter.

— The Duke of Grafton has been entertaining a party of his sporting friends with a grand latte, at his magnificent set, Euston Hall, near Timford. Amongst his Grace’s distinguished guests are the Marquis of Exeter, Count Matuscberiu, the Earl of Chesterfield, the Earl of Stradbroose, Lord C. Fitzroy, Hon. Colonel Anson, &c.

— Earl and Countess Grey and family are still remaining at Howick, and no day has yet been named for their return to Downing Street.

O'Brien the Irish Giant

An engraving by A. Van Assen, 1804

Patrick Cotter O’Brien (1760-1806) was at one time the tallest man in the world, reported to stand anywhere from 8′ 1″ to 8′ 6″ tall. Patrick Cotter was born at Kinsale, County Cork in either the year 1760 or 1761. When he was a teenager, a travelling showman discovered him working as a bricklayer and brought him to England to star in his ‘freak of nature’ show. He added the stage name ‘O’Brien’ to his own to connect himself with the legendary Celtic giants. The showman who’d discovered Patrick and paid him fiftypounds per annum also obtained the right to exhibit him for three years in England. Details become sketchy, but it appears as if the showman then attempted to sublet the right to show Patrick to another and Patrick objected. The showman then charged Patrick with a fictitous debt and he was thrown into a sponging house in Bristol. Soon after, a visitor to the Sheriff, a man of means, met Patrick, heard his tale and succeeded in having him freed from jail and, more importantly, from any obligation he might have had to the showman – shades of Dickens!

At this time, Patrick was 18 years of age and, again with the help of his benefactor, he was able to set himself up in the fair then held in St. James’s, London where, in three days time, he earned thirty pounds. Patrick made his first public appearance at the Full Moon tavern in Stokes Croft, Bristol on the 19th July 1783; and indeed it appears that he made his home at Bristol whilst travelling around the country appearing at various theatres and fairs. In 1785 it was advertised that he was again to be ‘seen by the quality’ in a room in James Street, London for the sum of two shillings. In the same year, he appeared at the Sadler’s Wells theatre in a bill shared with some performing animals and fourteen years later he was still turning a profit whilst appearing in a booth at the Bartholomew Fair. His career certainly extended over twenty years until 1804 when he decided he had made enough money to retire to Clifton in Bristol.

Patrick had himself a special coach made, with a lowered floor that included a box for his feet. Once, when held up by a highwayman, Patrick had only to pull back the curtain and look out the window in order to send his would be robber terrified into the night. It was said that Patrick’s height allowed him to walk down the street and light his cigars on the streetlamps. 

The remainder of Patrick’s life was spent in Bristol and he is there still referred to as the ‘Bristol Giant’. When he died in 1806, he instructed that his body be protected from bodysnatchers and the knives of curious surgeons. His coffin, therefore, born by 14 pallbearers, was lowered into a vault cut 12 feet deep into solid rock and heavy iron bars were cemented into the walls. Patrick left his clothing to a servant, who dressed up a huge figure in resemblance of his master in the clothes and exhibited them throughout London. His considerable earnings Patrick left to his mother. His giant boots are on diplay at the Bristol Museum and, this past summer, one of his super-sized gloves was at the centre of an eccentric exhibition at the Head of Steam museum in Darlington.

O’Brien’s remains were exhumed in 1972 and surgeons determined that he would have stood 8′ 1″ tall, making him one of only 12 men in medical history to be verified as having stood over eight feet tall.