The Washington herald. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1906-1939, 1910-12-12
LATE GOSSIP OF
FOREIGN CAPITALS


upon to again exercise his weii-known
discretion during the political crisis. when
he acted as messenger between the King
and his cabinet
Lord Knollys served the late King Ed
ward as his own right-hans man" for
almost forty years. II would have been
very difficult for the last King to have
found another secretary with the knowi-
/ edge or all-around experience. tact. judg-
ment. and memory possessed by Lord
/ Knollys
| IL used 10 be a standing joke about
Marlborough House that If his lordship,
I then Sir Francis. were awakened In the
( middle of the night by an inquiry as 10
/ what fhe King would do on a certain
/ day in the following week, he at once
would begin to read of from memory the
/ list Of his masters engagements for that
day.
1 So does King George trust him inn
4 plicity and have NJ secrets from him.
/ He performs his duties ideally. consti-
tuting himself the memory and some
times the conscience of the King.
Lord Knollys opens the Kings letters,
sees all his kilograms, attends 10 all his
I dispatches. and organizes with mathe-
! NAUTICAL accuracy the hours for the audi
ences the King is TO give He opens an
average of 500 letters a day, and during
1 the year sends OF about E1,O0O worth OF
kilograms for the King. He attends TO
ali the Kings annual subscriptions.
which. chiefly in guineas and five-pound
! notes. aggregate many thousand pounds
sterling a year
What Lord Knollys was to King Ed
ward and what he is 10 the present
/ King, the Hon. Charlotte KnoIIys his
sister is 70 the widowed Queen Alexan-
dra II should feel utterly helpless with
out Charlotte" the Queen Mother often
/ has been heard to decIare-a remark
which readily may be credited. seeing
4 that in her capacity as lady OF the bed
chamber Miss Knollys has been in at
| tendance on Queen Alexandra twelve
hours daily for the past forty years.
| The Queen, indeed, treats her like her
! own sister She has charge Of Alexan-
! dra's private correspondence. enters at
| will the royal boudoir, and holds the
keys to her mistress jewel cases
The first step in the making of the
coronation robes for King George and
Queen Mary has been taken. and sew
eral firms have been requested TO sub
nit designs for the attire of their maj
| estes.
The designers work is confined to a
comparatively narrow field, because the
length and shape Of the coronation robes
/ always are the same. as well as The
chief color scheme. A designer. however
| may suggest a minor color scheme foI
/ different parts OF the robes, such as the
arms and the collars, which. however
must harmonic with the chief color
scheme
The real work OF the designers will be
| 10 suggest a decorative and suitable
scheme for the embroidery OF these robes
The designs TO be submitted to the
King and Queen will be painted on vel
/ lum. showing robes on full length figures
Each design viii be paid for, whether
adopted or not. but the firm whose de-
signs are adopted will not necessarily
be given the order 10 make the robes
Samples of materials for these robes
from the best manufacturers in the differ
! ent parts Of the world. will be submitted
TO the royal pair for though both Kine
George and Queen Mary desire to place
the orders for required materials with
nome firms as far as possible. some OF
the materials. strange as this sounds, are
not obtainabie in Great Britain The
materials supplied must be absolutely ex-
/ elusive, and not an inch of them supplied
for any other purpose than the coronation
robes
| These coronation robes will have TO pass
| through the hands Of number of differ
ent firms ere they will be completed
When the matter OF designs and materials
TO be used have been finally decided upon
by the King and Queen. infinitely de-
tailed statements of their cost will b
submitted to them
No single contract is entered into 70,
the making of the coronation robes Fact
firm or individual concerned in the max
ing of the robes submits an estimate Ct
the cost Of the work to be done or IN,
material TO be supplied All these state
! ments are shown in the final est
mate to be submitted TO the King anC
Queen When this has been passed upon
the making of the robes is taken in hand
at once
Lord Lytton is working harder than
ever in the cause OF woman suffrage. The
other day at the House of Commons he
presided over quite an enthusiastic meet
ing OF those members who favor the
franchise for woman.
But the young lord also is actively in
terested in the planned National Shakes
peare Memorial Theater appropriate "a
which is the fact that he is a remarkably
good amateur actor. During his under
graduate days he was one of the most
enthusiastic members of the Cambridge
/ University Amateur Dramatic Club. max.
ing a particular hit as Alfred Evelyn
IN his grandfather's well-known play
| Money"
The present Lord Lytton often is re-
ferred 10 as the son OF Bulwer Lytton
This is wrong. His father was "Ower
Meredith he being the second son OF
the celebrated poet. He was born in 1876
and succeeded his father in 1891 as second
earl The distinguished novelist, himsel;
only baronet, after his services as
statesman and secretary of the colonies
was created a baronet in 1898 and raised
10 the peerage in 1866 as Baron Lytton OF
knebworth. Upon his death in 1873 he
was inferred in Westminster Abbey. His
son. upon his retirement as viceroy OF
India was created an earl and viscoun
In 1856. The earl. OF this sketch in 100.
married Pamela. daughter OF the late Sill
| Trevor Chichele-Plowden The first Lyt-
ton mentioned in history was Sir Robert
de Lytton, of Lytton, in Derbyshire, who
was comptroller in the household OF Kins
Henry ".
The present earl has inherited the family
taste for literature, whicn his wife warm.
~ shares. In fact. Lady Lytton is in al
things singularly blessed. Rich and radi
ant. a favorite of the king and queen
and gifted in many ways. she has mad,
her mark in society. Mr.. BaifoUF once
described her as the brightest star il
BOndons social armament"
Lord I.ytton has inherited the courtly
manners of his famous grandfather. ant
speaks huently in perfectly modulateC