New-York tribune., 1901-02-17
THE ENGLISH COURT.
CHANGES OF THE NEW REIGN-A MED
LEY OF MEDIEVAL AND MODERN
FUNCTIONS-A MORE BRILL
IANT CENTRE OF LIFE
AND MANNERS
London, January 81.


took the place of her uncle. and found the Court
overstocked with fussy functionaries and in
dolent courtiers; but unless all signs fail the |
King. when the period of mourning ends. will |
prefer To live in different and more brilliant |
state than the lamented sovereign. In 1887 |
there reaction in the direction of SIM |
plicity. there may be a reversion 10 the |
romp and glory of monarchy. The young Queen !
passed over the reigns of the Georges and re- |
NertcI 10 Queen Anne's time for precedents, and. |
having found them. reduced the scale of ex- |
pcnditure. She ascertained that Queen Anne |
had Privy Purse, a Groom Of the State. First |
Lady. ana ten other Ladies Of the Bedchamber. |
She considered such establishment unneces- |
sarily r<". and was content with a Mistress Of
the Robes and six Ladies in Waiting. Having /
selected her Court companions she was unwil- |
ing to change them for political reasons. When
Sir Robert Peel. mindful OF the undue influence
of two great Court ladies in Queen Anne's time. |
insisted upon 4 few changes. the sovereign OF
twenty offered stout resistance. She contended |
that if the new Prime Minister began with dis |
missing Ladies in Waiting, he would end by
iischarsipg her dreSscrs and housemaids. This I
was the B-dchamber anair-the Queens only |
conflict with her constitutional advisers and she
persisted in carrying her point. even when il in :
volved the retirement of Sir Robert Peel and the
return 10 cfiice Of a Prime Minister who had :
been defeated in the Commons. As time went .
on the Queen enlarged her list of bedchamber
ladies and staff Of functionaries. but it al
ways q simple. albeit stately. Court. During
the long period of widow hood buckingham Pal .
ace Was only used for few Court functions
every var. while she lived at Windsor without
ostentatious splendor and At Balmoral and Os-
borne with extreme simplicity The King mag
prefer more expensive Court
The Duchies OF Cornwall and Lancaster are
practically private estates Of the Crown under
public management. and 100000 from one and
t6100o from the other were paid last year to the
Queen and the Prince of Wales. in addition to
the Civil List and aunuities. These sources cf
revenue are hereditary. Henry ~. conscious
that he rightfully Duke OF Lancaster
than King reserved his hereditary privileges in
The Duchy. 50 that he could have in AN extre,n-
ity resource 10 fall back upon With the con
sent Of Parliament he severed these ducaI pos
sessions from the Crown and settled them on
himself and his heirs During three regns the
Duchy revenues were distinct from those Of tho
Crown and after being reappropriated by Ed
ward ~ We're again severed by Henry VII
The Duchy, with Chancery Court OF its own.
provides Il sincculc fpr member OF the Cabinet
not fond Of official work: hut the revenues are
mainly appropriated for the use Of the sover-
eign. ana under good msuag cement have steadily
increased during the reign. The Duchy of Corn
wall. in like manner is a source of revenue for
the heir 10 the throne. and has gained in value
by good administration While these Duchy
payments DO not pass through the Treasury but
supply extra income to the sovereign and the
heir 10 the throne the Crown Lands and minor
hereditary revenues provide fi1S 2tiS for the
maintenance Of royalty, against which there are
charges Of E:;S;'OOrb for the Privy Purse salaries
of officials and expenses of the royal household +.
and tlGS00o for annuities to members of the
royal family. The cost of monarchy TO the
State is comparatively slight. owing to the ex- (
istenCe of these resources of Crown revenue As
these resources have largely increased in in
come earning value, the new King will have a
valid ground for asking for a larger Civil List
in arranging with Parliament the conditions of
a fresh life tenure of these properties. This en-
largement will be justified also by a great in
crease in the scale Of living since 1887 III I
costs a rich banker, retired merchant or a
bachelor of the leisured class to live i'm
good style than ii did sixty years ago so also
the scale of royal expenditures has increased
with the establishment of great mercantile for
tunes. the revels of Vanity Fair and the swarm
ing of millionaires in the richest and most lux
uriOus capital in Europe.
The chief officials of the Court are the Lord |
Chamberlain. the Lord Steward and the Master
OF the Horse. and their appointments virtu-
ally Ministerial, and, except by resignation will
not be vacated without a change of Government
The Lord Chamberlain the Earl of Clarendon