Evening Republican, Volume 18, Number 19, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 22 January 1914 — GOB GEORGE V. [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

GOB GEORGE V.

Queen Mary Buies English Monarch Is the Report. King’s Place In Royal Household Likened to That of Victoria's Consort—Queen’* Presence Not Wanted at Time*. London.-—An Anglo-American wornan who waß a great favorite of the late king of England is credited with a joke which is now' going the rounds of London society. “We have the court of Queen Victoria,” she said, “then the court of King Edward aqd now we have the court of Queen Maly.” Those members of society who fail to see the point—report hae it there are some —have it pointed out to them that King George occupies much the same position in the royal menage as did that poor prince consort who could not have a dish he liked put in the menu without first consulting his queenly spouse. While some allowance must be made lor exaggeration, it is a fact that King George’s reliance on his wife is carried to a degree of self-effacement which strikes all the members of the court circle. Prominent and responsible members of the royal establishment are all now so familiar with the reply “I think you had better consult the queen” when they seek King George’s directions about any matter in connection with the management of the household that they frequently do so without consulting him at all. It saves time. For example, when the details of Prince Arthur’s wedding were being settled all the directions were issued by Mr. Wallington, Queen Mary’s private secretary, and in most instances the formula adopted at the beginning of Mr. Walliagton’s letter was “It is the queen’s desire.” Lists of persons to be asked to court entertainments for the first two years of the king’B reign yere always made out by Lord Stamfordham and sent by him to the lord charmberlain’s office, whence invitations were sent out. Now the invitations, and lists are made out by Lady Bertha Dawkins and Lady Eva Dugdale at the queen’s direction and sent to the lord chamberlain’s office without ever being shown to the king. Cases have actually occurred of names being sent to the lord chamberlain by Lord Stamfordham of persons whom the king desired to have asked to court who were nevertheless not invited. For example, Lord and Lady Castlereagh were omitted from the list of invitations issued Tor the ball at Buckingham palace during the visit of the French president to London last June. The names of Lord and Lady Castlereagh were actually given to the lord chamberlain by Lord Stamfordham among the list of people

whom the king desired to have asked to the ball. It was probably a matter of indifference to the king whether the Castlereaghs were invited or not, but his majesty had promised Sir Charles Oust, a member of the household, that they should be invited and King George subsequently told Sir Charles he was sorry the invitation was not sent. He pleaded as an excuse that he left the arrangement of all these matters in the queen’s hands. During the past few months the queen was present at official interviews between King George and some Df the cabinet. These interviews take )lace in the king's writing room in his oersonal apartment, which Queen Mary nae also of late taken to ÜBe as a writing room, with the result that she has sometimes been In the room on thq arrival of the minister and remained there during the Interview. At last representations were made by Mr. Asquith to Ix>rd Stamfordham that some of his colleagues objected to the presence of the queen during their interviews on state affairs with the sovereign, and Lord Stamfordham, who by no means approves of the authority Mary exercises in the royal household, readily enough undertook to convey the 9rime minister’s message to both their majesties, with the resnit that ministerial audiences with the sovereign are now no longer attended by his consort. More recently stIU Queen Mary received a respectful, but plain, reminder from the lord chamberlain tha,t she was taking upon herself authority that properly only belonged to the king. This was when Queen Mary notified the lord chamber lain through Mr. Walllngton of her desire to have alterations made in the house for delivery of letters at Buckingham palace. The alterations were tnada, but the instructions had come direct from tbe king before they were.

Queen Mary of England.