Victoria Hinshaw – Page 17 – Number One London

YEAR OF THE GEORGES AT HISTORIC ROYAL PALACES

Victoria here. 2014 marks several significant historical anniversaries. One hundred years ago, the world became embroiled in the Great War, known nowadays as World War I. Two hundred years ago the Allies triumphed over Napoleon, sent him into exile on Elba, then celebrated their grand victory with a series of London extravaganzas before settling into the Congress of Vienna where they argued over the fate of a non-Napoleonic Europe.

Kensington Palace

Three hundred years ago in 1714, the Hanoverians became Kings of England, when King George I took the throne left vacant by the death of Queen Anne (1665-1714) in August 1714. Anne’s several children had predeceased her and at her death, Great Britain was left without a successor as monarch. A few years earlier, after the death of her one child who lived to the age of eleven (William, Duke of Gloucester, 1689-1700), the English Parliament struggled to find a successor to the Queen, a successor who would not restore Roman Catholicism. The Act of Settlement of 1701 gave the crown, assuming no further children were born to Anne, to Sophia, Electress of Hanover, and her Protestant descendants. She was a granddaughter of James I, and though dozens of Catholic family members had closer ties to Anne, all but Protestants were precluded from the succession. Sophia, the Electress, had died just two months before Queen Anne’s passing; thus, her eldest son was Elector and became British King.

Studio of Sir Godfrey Kneller, George I, c. 1714

Georg Ludwig (1660-1727) was 54, the Elector of Hanover, when he became the King of Great Britain and Ireland. George had married Sophia Dorothea of Celle in 1682. The marriage, though it resulted in two children, was never happy. When he came to London to receive the British crown, Sophia remained behind in Germany, more or less a prisoner. for the rest of her life. When George I was crowned in Westminster Abbey in October, 1714, there was widespread rioting in opposition to his rule.

However, the politically powerful, mainly the Whigs, kept him in power, even though he never learned to speak English. During his reign, Sir Robert Walpole, first real prime minister, truly ran the government. Many historians see George I’s time as big jump in shift of power from the crown to Parliament.

Thomas Hudson: George II, 1744

George II succeeded his father in October, 1727, as the last King of Britain born elsewhere; he also had the distinction of being the last British king to lead his armies in battle during the War of Austrian Succession 1743. He’d had a contentious relationship with his father, and the same could be said of his dealings with his son and heir, Prince Frederick. But Frederick died before his father and thus the third Hanoverian to wear the British crown was George II’s grandson George III, who succeeded in 1760 at the age of 22.

Allan Ramsay, George III, 1762

This year, Historic Royal Palaces celebrate the Hanoverians at three of their popular sites. At Hampton Court, events will center around George I and his reign. You’ll meet the Court of George II at the newly renovated Kensington Palace, soon also to be the home of the latest George, Prince George of Cambridge, and his parents Prince William, Duke of Cambridge and Her Grace, Catherine, the Duchess of Cambridge. Kew Palace in Kew Gardens will host events centering on the family of George III, the first of the Hanoverian kings actually to be born in England.

Hampton Court Palace

There will be a large number of events at all three locations, from scholarly meetings to family activities. Learn more here.

Join our blogger pal Madame Guillotine as she learns about the Glorious Georges here.

The Queen’s Gallery

Until October 2014, the Queen’s Gallery in Buckingham Palace is presenting an exhibition of treasures from the Royal Collection: The 1st Georgians: Art & Monarchy 1714-1760. Click here for more information.

The Victoria and Albert Museum will also mark the early Georgian period with its exhibition

William Kent: Designing Georgian Britain, on display until July 13, 2014. Click here for more information.

Kristine visited this exhibition earlier this year when it was shown in NYC by the co-organizer, the Bard Graduate Center. See her report here.

C. Aubrey Smith, a Most Familiar Face

One of the joys of watching (old) movies is the delight of recognizing familiar actors and actresses — the ones who basically played the same character over and over in different films, in different costumes, in different historical settings, but essentially “That Guy.”

C. Aubrey Smith as the Earl of Dorincourt

in Little Lord Fauntleroy, 1936

We’ve all seen Sir Charles Aubrey Smith (1863 – 1948) in many films over the years One of my favorites is the classic Prisoner of Zenda with Ronald Coleman in the double role of the King and the Englishman, Douglas Fairbanks, Jr. as the sword-wielding villain, making this a triple threat British historical epic. Ignore the silly plot and enjoy the faces! You’ll also see Madeleine Carroll, Mary Astor, David Niven, and Raymond Massey in the cast. Here is a clip from Turner Classic Movies.

(Sorry about the ad, but it can’t be helped I guess.)

Smith, Coleman and Niven in The Prisoner of Zenda

Smith, who held a degree from Cambridge, was a championship Cricket player in Britain and South Africa.

He appeared frequently on the London stage and when he turned to film, moved to Hollywood. He appeared in dozens of films, the perfect British officer, European aristocrat, grandfatherly gentleman, and sometimes even a villain.

Shirley Temple and Smith in Wee Willie Winkie, 1937

Rudyard Kipling’s story was the basis for this 1937 vehicle for Shirley Temple and her dimples. Set in the 19th century British Raj in India, it co-starred Smith as the Colonel/grandfather.

As General Burroughs in Four Feathers, 1939

Based on the novel by A. E. W. Mason, Four Feathers is a well-known story of 19th century cowardice and heroism. It is renowned for its desert scenes filmed in the Sudan, often compared to the brilliance of Lawrence of Arabia.

C. Aubrey Smith, C.B.E.

Smith played the role of the Chancellor of Oxford in The Adventures of Mark Twain, 1944, starring Frederic March in the title role.

Smith was named a commander of the Order of the British Empire in 1938; King George VI knighted Smith in 1944.

Smith and Margaret O’Brien in Little Women, 1949

Released after his death in 1948, Little Women was Smith’s last film. It was the top grossing film of the year.

During his many years in Hollywood in the 1930’s and later, Smith organized popular cricket matches with teams drawn from some of the industry’s most famous British stars, such as Coleman, Fairbanks, Niven, Laurence Olivier, Errol Flynn, Leslie Howard, Cary Grant, Nigel Bruce, Basil Rathbone, and writer P.G. Wodehouse.

Oddly enough, while a young man, Smith had settled in South Africa to prospect for gold in 1888-89. While there he developed pneumonia and was wrongly pronounced dead by doctors. Fifty years on, in 1948, Smith did actually succumb pneumonia. He died in Beverly Hills at age 85.

The Duke of Wellington Tour: St. James's Palace

On Sunday, September 5, 2014, the lucky participants in The Duke of Wellington Tour will take a walking tour (aka a leisurely stroll with many stops for refreshment) of part of London, principally through St. James’s. Victoria here, with a few facts and pictures.

St. James’s can mean a number of things in London, but generally it refers to a small neighborhood south of Mayfair and west of Whitehall and Trafalgar square, bounded by Piccadilly on the north, St James’s Park on the south, Green Park on the west and Haymarket on the east. St. James’s is a royal palace; a church on Piccadilly, designed by Sir Christopher Wren; a lovely park; an area known as clubland, and a street of distinguished shops.

The name comes from St. James’s Palace, so named because it was built on the site of a hospital for lepers dedicated to St. James the Less, one of the twelve Apostles. Here Henry VIII built the red brick structure which still serves as the official residence of the British monarch. Note that Ambassadors to Great Britain are officially designated as Ambassadors to the Court of St. James.

Main Entrance on Pall Mall

at the foot of St. James’s Street

The Tudor Entrance

Official events are held here and the Chapel Royal is often the venue for royal weddings and baptisms, such as the christening of Prince George of Cambridge on October 13, 2013.

Prince William, Duke of Cambridge, the Duchess of Cambridge

and Prince George of Cambridge at St James’s Palace for the Christening

The Altar, Chapel Royal, from The Mirror

for more pictures of the Chapel Royal, click here.

St. James’s Palace is not open to the public, though it is possible to attend some Sunday worship services at the Chapel Royal from October to Good Friday. Click here for details.

Caroline and George

The ill-fated wedding of George, Prince of Wales (later George IV) to Princess Caroline of Brunswick took place on April 8, 1795.

Albert and Queen Victoria

Queen Victoria married Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha on February 10, 1840 in the Chapel Royal. Eighteen years later, their daughter Victoria, The Princess Royal, married here as well, to the future German Emperor Frederick III.

The Marriage of George V and Princess Mary of Teck, July 6, 1893

Gardens at St. James’s, ca. 1700

According to the Garden Visit website (click here), the original renaissance garden, shown above, compartments, were re-designed in the “gardenesque style.”

18th Century Print: Cherries; a seller outside the Palace

St. James’s has often been the venue for Royal levees and receptions . This plate below from the Microcosm of London, 1810, shows a “Drawing Room,” where a chosen circle could present themselves and their friends and family formally to the Royals.

Ackermann’s Microcosm of London

On the Duke of Wellington Tour, we won’t be going inside, but we will see the Palace and its neighbors, The Queen’s Chapel, Marlborough House, Lancaster House, Clarence House, the Mall, St. James’s Street, and more. Below are a few pictures I took on a previous visit to St. James’s.

Palace from Marlborough Road

The Queens Chapel in Marlborough Road

Along the Mall, Trooping of the Colour, 2011

Marlborough House

St. James’s Church, Piccadilly

For all the Details about The Duke of Wellington Tour, click here.

Visiting The Household Cavalry Museum

Opened in 2007 by Her Majesty, Queen Elizabeth II, the Household Cavalry Museum is located in Horse Guards, with an entrance off the Parade. Victoria here, looking forward to another look at the HCM when the Wellington Tour visits on Saturday, September 6, 2014. Kristine and I hope you can join us…and refer you HERE for the complete details on the itinerary, costs and the fine print.

Horse Guards, Whitehall

The history of the Household Cavalry goes back at least 300 years. Though we are most aware of these soldiers in their colorful traditional uniforms as mounted sentinels at Horse Guards, as they change the guard at Buckingham Palace, and as escorts of the Queen on grand official occasions, the members alternate between active service on armoured vehicles in the “regular army” and ceremonial duties.

A closer view; the Parade is through the central arch

The Museum provides the history of the Horse Guards Building, designed by William Kent and completed by John Vardy in 1755, after Kent’s death. The Duke of Wellington, as commander in chief of the British Army in the 19^thCentury kept his office in Horse Guards until he retired shortly before his death in 1852.

Currently, two regiments make up the Household Cavalry, the Life Guards and the Blues and Royals. Originating after the 1660 Restoration of Charles II to the throne, they provided personal Security for the monarch. Throughout the 17^th and 18^thcenturies, the cavalry fought in many wars, in Holland, in Germany, in Portugal and Spain. At the Battle of Waterloo, the regiments served bravely, capturing a French Eagle, a prized standard with far-reaching symbolic importance. It was the bloodiest battle of their history.

Museum Entrance, opening onto the Parade

What everyone was looking at on July 11, 2013, on the Parade

The museum also chronicles the service of the Household Cavalry regiments in the Crimean and Boer Wars, among other engagements. In WWI, WWII, and in numerous later conflicts, the regiments performed their duties in armoured cars, in tanks, and in helicopters.

In the Museum

Ceremonial Uniforms

The horses get their due!!

The museum covers the choice and training of the horses, a matter of great interest
to many of us who love the sleek mounts, groomed to perfection and amazingly well behaved. Each year, the horses are named with the same initial, thus preserving the year of their arrival in the Cavalry. As an example, from the museum guidebook, “… Invader, Imogene and India arrived in 2008 and Jubilee Jenna and Jupiter in 2009.” After an average of six months training, the four- or five-year old “recruits” serve for another 14 to 16 years, before withdrawal to a private stable or a retirement home.

The Saga of Waterloo, June 18, 1815

The cavalry commander at the Battle of Waterloo was Henry Paget, Earl of Uxbridge and later, 1^st Marquess of Anglesey. As the battle wound down, Paget sat on his horse beside the Duke of Wellington when a cannon shot shattered his leg. Supposedly he said, “By God, sir, I’ve lost my leg.” Wellington reportedly replied coolly, “By God, sir, so you have.” After the amputation, Paget urged many improvements in the making of prosthetics for walking and riding. He served the government and the army for another 37 years before finally passing away in 1854. One of Paget’s artificial limbs is on display in the Museum.

For a few weeks each summer, the Household Cavalry conducts a retreat for the members and the horses at the Norfolk seashore – which is the reason that in my photographs taken in July 2013, their substitutes, members of the King’s Troop Royal Horse Artillery take over, wearing their black ceremonial uniforms based on those of the Hussars at the Battle of Waterloo almost 200 years ago.

The Duke of Wellington’s office as Commander-in-Chief of the British Army was above the center arch leading from Horse Guards’ Whitehall façade to the parade ground. The display photographed above depicts the final departure of the Duke from his position shortly before he died in 1852. He was 83 years of age and had served his nation for 65 years.

The website for the Household Cavalry Museum is here.

Join us on The Wellington Tour!

http://wellingtontour.blogspot.com

Victoria Station and the Grosvenor Hotel

Guoman Grosvenor Hotel

The Wellington Tour, 4-14 September, 2014, will begin at the Guoman Grosvenor Hotel, 101 Buckingham Palace Road. The hotel is connected to Victoria Station, home of several rail and tube lines, plus hundreds of busses, coaches, and taxis. It is super-convenient and appears quite lovely in its newly restored state.

Victoria Station with Grosvenor Hotel at far right

Map of Victoria Station neighborhood

Station and hotel at red marker

Square tan building just under words ‘Green Park’ is Buckingham Palace

Apsley house at the far left upper corner

The little map above shows the position of Victoria Station and the hotel, which you can see on any London map. I can’t imagine any more efficient location for almost every London attraction.

Victoria Station interior

Victoria Station itself is the second busiest in London (after Waterloo Station), with many rail lines to destinations in south and southeast England, including the Gatwick Express. The Circle and District tube lines and the Victoria line stop here, and the Victoria Coach Terminal is adjacent. The station has many shops, bars, and food sources, right at hand. An upgrade of the facility is planned for the next few years, to include more escalators and improved accessibility.

Guoman Grosvenor Hotel

The hotel has been newly refurbished and updated, at a cost of £20 million. The Grosvenor (not to be confused with Grosvenor House, another London hotel on Park Lane) was opened in 1862, one of the earliest of London’s Victorian Railway Hotels built beside railroad stations.

Many of these old hotels had declined into disuse in the past decades, and the Guoman Grosvenor is not the only one to be newly redone. I recently wrote about the St. Pancras Renaissance hotel, formerly the Midland Grand Hotel, and the Great Northern Hotel at King’s Cross, both on Euston Road, here.

Réunion Bar

In addition to meeting rooms, the bar (above), a gym, a business center, and the Grand Imperial Cantonese Restaurant, the hotel promises all 21st century amenities. Additionally, the adjacent Victoria Station complex houses many restaurants and a shopping arcade.