The Washington herald., 1906-12-02
by APPOINTMENT"
How Official Warrants Are Granted to the Various
Purveyors of Royalty

tracing purchasers. Just at the present
moment they are all extremely busy. by
reason Of the fact that their royal ana
imperial patrons, are, like people in low
lier spheres Of life, engaged IN making
their Christmas purchases.
As a general rule kings and queens do
do not visit the shops for the purpose
Of buying. save when abroad. where they
are relatively unknown. In their own
capitals they are so much in danger OF
being crowded and even mObbed if they
show themselves in any store that they
find il more convenient TO have their pur-
veyors bring selections Of their wares
10 the palace. In England the warrant
holder in question is notified by some
member of the household that the Queen
for instance, viii see him on certain
day and ne is likewise furnished with
some information as TO the nature OF the
goods which he is expected 10 bring with
him. On the day in question the things
are taken TO the palace and are placed
on exhibition in rooms prepared for the
purpose. it being a strict rule that every
article should be labeled with the price
Sometimes the Queen Immediately makes
a selection Of what she wants. But quite
often she prefers 70 Hnger over it, and
is summoned to remove the wares that
she has declined 10 retain.
The King makes his purchases in the
same manner, and so. too, do the Prince
and Princess Of Wales. though Princess
lChristian and the Duchess Of Argyll, sis
tiers Of the King. his nieces Princess
Patricia, of Connaught, and Princess
Victoria of Schleswig- -Holstein. and his
eldest daughter, the Duchess of Fife, are
quite often TO be met shopping in Bond
street. Regent street, and Piccadilly.
without being recognized by any save
their personal friends and acquaintances.
1t is said that Queen Victoria never Wis
tied a London shop from the time of her
accession to the throne in 1897, until her
death al the close Of the nineteenth CEN
tury. The London shops. indeed. were to
her a terra incOgnita, and when one con-
siders how devoted women are TO the
pastime of shopping, II viii be appye-
ciated that queens and empresseg are
forced 10 foregO, by reason OF their rank.
pleasures that are within the reach Of
women Of inferior clay. Both the haise-
and his consoTt We're in tie habit Of visit
ing the various stores in Berlin for their
Christmas shopping during the first few
winters after their accession 20 the
throne. lplL on one lItiiitl tt't- tlh iclhfll
the Empress was subjected 10 such "a dis
graceful mobbing by the crowd that had
been attracted by the presence of her
carriage before the door of one of the
leading stores Of the capital. people hus-
tling her. lingering her clothes To ascer-
tain the character of the material, almost
tearing them off her back and actually
pulling open the carriage door 20 stare
AT her after she had sought refuge IN
the equip9ge, that the Kaiser indignant
~ directed that from thencefOrth she
should never visit shops unless they were
cleared before her arrival. and barred 70
strangers while she remained. Realizing
that this is apt to inconvenience not only
the shOpkeeper. but also the public
around Christmas time. the Kaiserin,
with that consideration which character
izes everything she does. now follows the
example of her uncle and aunt, the King
and Queen of England in having all the
wares displayed at the palace for her Sc
lection. The King and Queen of Italy,
the King and Queen of Spain. the Aus
trian Emperor. the Gar and Czarina. and
in fact. nearly all the crowned heads Of
Europe now make their Christmas pur-
chases in the same way, and avoid the
shops.