Queen's House (60 page)

The Queen's contribution in other areas has followed the example of Queen Mary and has encouraged the care, conservation and proper organization of the collection, authorizing the setting up of the Royal Collection department for this purpose. The love of order which Crawfie and Queen Mary noticed in the little girl is still present in The Queen.

Loans are frequently made to exhibitions and museums, and above all thousands of visitors to the summer opening of the Palace have been able to enjoy seeing superb pictures in their traditional settings.

To walk through the Picture Gallery is to walk back through history. Here the young Princesses, Elizabeth and Margaret, watched with Crawfie while the treasures brought back from their wartime hiding were unpacked; here King George VI and Queen Elizabeth heard the Blitz shake the Palace walls; here in the First World War Queen Mary defied fate and put a new glass roof over the Picture Gallery; here Queen
Victoria and Prince Albert danced and entertained the crowned heads of Europe; here George IV planned a magnificent home for his beloved collection of pictures. Here on this site, in ‘the Queen's House' of George III and Queen Charlotte, the young Queen had her suite of rooms and from her windows had looked out and planned the King's surprise birthday party. Here the Duchess of Buckingham, robed in black, had sat in solemn state and mourned on each anniversary of the execution of her grandfather, Charles I.

Van Dyck's ‘Great Peece' portrait of the sad-eyed Charles I with his French wife Henrietta Maria and his eldest children, his son Charles, who became Charles II, and his daughter Mary, dominates one wall. The portrait was painted in the old Whitehall Palace: behind the King, across the Thames, clouds gather over Westminster Hall, where later he would be condemned to death.

Walking among the portraits of kings and queens one is so often reminded that

The glories of our blood and state
           Are shadows, not substantial things;
There is no armour against Fate;
           Death lays his icy hand on Kings:
                      Sceptre and Crown
                      Must tumble down
And in the dust be equal made
With the poor crookèd scythe and spade.
⁴⁶

Here in the Palace is Queen Charlotte, a slender girl at her Coronation, painted with such humanity by Allan Ramsay; and here, plump and sad, she is as Sir William Beechey saw her in her middle age. Here is
The Apotheosis
by Benjamin West of George Ill's two beloved sons Princes Alfred and Octavius, who died young. In the Throne Room hangs Angelica Kauffmann's portrait of George Ill's sister, Augusta, Duchess of Brunswick, an unhappy wife and mother of Caroline of Brunswick, George IV's notorious wife. Like the portrait of his other sister, the tragic Queen of Denmark, they are reminders of the sad lot of many a royal bartered bride.

The portrayal of royal families through the ages is in itself a fascinating study. At Windsor the happiness of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert in their early days of marriage still shines from the Winterhalter portraits. One recalls Laurits Regner Tuxen's immense family group of 1887, which was painted as she wished, not ‘stiff and according to etiquette, but prettily grouped'. Here Queen Victoria is indeed the ‘Grand Mother of Europe' and Albert's bust looks down on their international family.

Buckingham Palace holds not only some of the finest paintings in the world but also superb furniture. There is a fascinating history behind many of the
objets d'art.
The magnificent commode in the Green Drawing Room, for instance, with
pietre dure
plaques, has a tragic opera story. It originally belonged to Marie Josephine Laguerre, a singer at the Paris Opera, described as ‘a priestess of love', who died young ‘exhausted by excess of every kind'.

Many items have made interesting journeys before settling in the Palace – ivory chairs from India, superb porcelain from Sèvres. One of the most spectacular examples is the table known as the ‘Table of the Grand Commanders'. Made for Napoleon, it was given to George IV, then Prince Regent, by Louis XVIII, the restored King of France. Painted in the form of cameo reliefs, it represents the twelve commanders of historical times surrounding Alexander the Great in the centre. It was one of George IV's most prized possessions.

Visitors who walk through the State Rooms may well be overwhelmed by the superb paintings, the exuberance of George IV's French furniture, the soaring pillars of marble, the glowing colours of carpets and furnishings, all reflected again and again in the mirrored doors. It is easy to miss the details, the delicate work of the craftsmen and sculptors – such as the handles of the great entrance gates, wrought in the shape of little cherubs, or the elegant urns of Coadestone on the outside walls of the Palace, or the beautiful capitals of the moulded pillars of the great double portico at the Grand Entrance, or, high above, panels in Coadestone celebrating the victories of Nelson and Wellington on sea and land.

Inside the Palace no one can miss Nash's superb ceilings. Here the richness of the gilded ornaments is held in the balance and harmony of
the design. However, much of the detail and beauty of the plaster decorations – the work of Thomas and Alfred Stothard, Francis Bernasconi or William Pitts – is too high up to be appreciated. So too, some of the most exquisite workmanship in the Palace is underfoot. The parquet floor in the Music Room, inlaid with satinwood, rosewood, tulipwood, mahogany and holly, has few equals in the country. Designed by John Nash and made by Thomas Seddon, it cost
£
2,400 – a fortune at the time. It has survived the dancing feet of many a young Prince and Princess who took their lessons there.

The care and conservation of this vast collection is an immense task. Much of the specialist work is now undertaken in the workshops at Marlborough House, while the majority of the paintings are cleaned and conserved in the Royal Collection studios in St. James's Palace.

The work of the craftsmen of the past may be unnoticed by the casual visitor, but it is much admired by those who today are responsible for the conservation of the Palace. Great care is taken to preserve even fragments of past workmanship. In the 1980s pieces of a stained-glass window, shattered during the war, were found in store. The window had been erected by Queen Alexandra in 1905 in memory of her beloved eldest son, Eddy, who had died aged twenty-eight. It had been hung on the Ministers' Stairs and represented the Prince as a knight in shining armour – a somewhat improbable image of that lethargic Prince. Until recently the pieces had not been reassembled – perhaps Queen Mary had not wished to be reminded of her first fiancé. Though incomplete, it has been restored and lent to the stained glass museum in Ely Cathedral, where it can now be seen.

It is interesting that John Nash's reputation stands high today among those who work on the fabric of the Palace. The beauty of his designs is appreciated; so is his practical ability. Today's fire prevention officer claims that Nash was ahead of his contemporaries and of the present day in the precautions he took against fire. And how delighted Nash would be to know that his much criticized Palace has stood the test of time, wartime bombing and the tramp of thousands of feet during the summer opening! The building is regularly monitored to detect signs of movement. So far, there are none.

A Queen for All Seasons

Perhaps one of the greatest achievements of Queen Elizabeth IF's reign has been that she has used the Palace as never before, opening it to many millions of people from all walks of life. In addition to the three garden parties a year, thousands more are received at investitures, official receptions and conferences. During the summer opening, up to seven thousand a day walk through the State Rooms and into the Palace gardens.

The Queen has allowed television cameras into Buckingham Palace, bringing it into millions of sitting rooms. Thanks to television, millions have been able to see The Queen in many of her different roles. She is seen driving out of the Palace gates in the State Coach, crowned and glittering in full regalia, for the State Opening of Parliament, or in evening dress, wearing dazzling tiara and jewels, at banquets and receptions at Buckingham Palace. She is seen at her desk, working at the red boxes of official documents, or with Prince Philip on ‘walkabouts' in towns and villages at home and abroad. Now she appears, distressed, at the scene of such disasters as that at Aberfan; or radiant, with her family at christenings in the white and gold rooms of the Palace, or, with them, waving from the balcony to the crowds in the Mall. Now the camera catches her relaxed, in tweeds, walking her corgis in the Palace garden. Viewers have heard the bagpipes played at nine each morning under her Palace windows and remember pictures of Highland dancing at Balmoral and of The Queen in the tartan of her clan striding over the moors.

These glimpses, however, cannot convey the full extent of The Queen's working life. Prime Ministers, visiting heads of state and all who work with her pay tribute to her dedication and sheer professionalism. The red boxes come to her daily wherever she may be, containing briefs for meetings or visits, reports from Parliament or abroad, and documents to be signed. The Queen deals with them promptly and thoroughly. Often, after a long day's official work, she works on the boxes before going to bed.

*

In 1995, on the fiftieth anniversary of VE Day, the victory in Europe, once again thousands thronged the Mall to cheer The Queen, Prince Philip and the royal family as they made their traditional appearance. As wartime songs rang across the Park, there were many who remembered the courage of King George VI and Queen Elizabeth, who had braved the bombs with the people of London. Viewers caught the unforgettable moment when Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother, then ninety-five, gave her characteristic wave as she sang with the crowds the wartime song Wish me luck as you wave me goodbye'.

In August, on the fiftieth anniversary of VJ Day, the victory over Japan, there was a significant change. The Queen took the salute at the foot of the memorial to Queen Victoria; and Prince Philip joined the veterans of the war in the Far East for the march past The Queen, walking beside the daughter of the late Lord Mountbatten. He has never forgotten his service in the Far East, when he was second-in-command of the destroyer HMS
Whelp,
nor that he was with his uncle Lord Mountbatten for the signing of the Japanese surrender in Tokyo Bay on 2 September 1945.

The Coronation made Queen Elizabeth II a star on the world stage, but she has never played to the gallery. When her friends have encouraged her to smile more, she has replied that she smiles and smiles until her face aches, but that in repose her expression is naturally solemn. When deeply moved she can appear impassive. She remembers her grandfather King George V's reply to the same criticism: ‘Sailors don't smile on duty.' So the radiance of her sudden unexpected smile is all the more dazzling.

Without seeking applause, The Queen has earned it. She has made remarkably few mistakes in her long reign. She has inspired the admiration even of staunch republicans, who concede that she is a hard-working professional. Even her one-time critic, Lord Altrincham, now John Grigg, could write with approval, ‘no breath of scandal has ever touched her … she behaves decently, because she is decent'.
⁴⁸

As for those who work for her, their praise is warm and unanimous. The late Sir Michael Adeane, her Private Secretary for nineteen years, described her to the present writer as ‘pure gold'. Others who have come
to the Palace from the services or business declare that they have never met a more supportive boss or colleague. In times of crisis she is, they say, a rock, a ‘still centre', in a turbulent world. For the royal Household, Buckingham Palace is, without question, ‘The Queen's House', in which they are proud to serve.

In the past Buckingham Palace has undergone many transformations, not always for the better. The modern challenge has been to organize efficiently a vast building that has so many different functions. The Palace has ‘19 state rooms, 52 bedrooms, 188 staff bedrooms, 92 offices and 78 bathrooms. Four hundred and fifty people work in the Palace and 40,000 are entertained there every year.' On state occasions it is the setting for magnificent displays of traditional ritual, yet it has also to be the modern headquarters of the Head of State – now with a site on the Internet. It has to house treasures and be a family home; and it opens its doors to the public.

Throughout the ages it has been fiercely criticized by some for its architecture and cost. For long periods it was certainly underused, such as during George Ill's illness, for example, and Queen Victoria's widowhood. In the past it has been badly organized and slow to be reformed.

But the Palace has endured. Neither harsh words nor enemy bombs have destroyed it, because it has fulfilled a deep-seated need – to have a focus, above party politics, which can in time of crisis or celebration unite the nation. The importance of a focal point for the expression of national joy or grief was powerfully illustrated by the scenes outside the royal palaces after the death of Diana, Princess of Wales. Vast seas of flowers surrounded the gates of Buckingham Palace, as well as those of Kensington Palace, as lines of mourners sought to share their sorrow. It is, too, the setting for honouring all kinds of people, from the simplest to the highest. An investiture at the Palace, conducted with time-honoured formality, means a great deal to the recipients. An invitation to one of the summer garden parties is a valued recognition of the service of a wide range of people from all over the country and the world. It would be difficult to find a better site for those occasions when there is a need to celebrate together. It has been a significant focal
point over the years, when millions of people have lined the Mall to watch royal processions or crowded around Queen Victoria's Memorial to cheer the royal family on the balcony.