Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1922-01-08
Proudet Ruler Earth Has His Shoes Patched Save Cost

ham Palace never consisted Of less
than twelve dishes. Today 1t never
consists of more than four, except
when the king and queen entertain.
The breakfast menu, that used to
contain at least six items in pre-
war days, now never contains more
than three.
king George Is no gourmet, and
his breakfast bill-of-fare particularly
is not one that would commend itself
even to 'simple-lifers' on the other
side Of the Atlantic. 1t is usually
boiled haddock, fruit and a glass OF
water! The king. in pre-war days.
used to drink Russian tea at break
fast, the cost Of which was 50
pound. Russian tea now being I'M
obtainable, his majesty drinks water
at breakfast in preference to either
the other varieties Of the cup that
cheers or coffee, which he does not
like"
Thus the former member of the
kings encourage. His statements
as to the royal economies are con-
firmed and amplifed by other wit
nesses.
while in conversation with King
George recently l noticed that one
Of the shoes he wore was adorned
with a patch" Thus wrote Ernest
Brooks, o. B. E., the accredited royal
photographer. in the course Of an ar
ticle about the British royal family
which he recently contributed to an
English magazine. Mr.. Brooks men
toned the patch as an instance of
how when he is out of the public
eye his majesty often sacrifices APP
pearance for comfort" Thus he eX-
ercised tact, the fact being that King
George is cutting down on the cost
of footwear just as he is in the case
of every other detail in connection
with his wardrobe.
+ y X X
A MOTHER striking instance OF the
\ kings personal economy was az
forded recently when his majesty
left London for Bolton Abbey, where
he was the guest of the Duke OF
Deyonshire. The king had lunch in
his salon on the train and, as is the
custom, a copy Of the menu was
sent to Buckingham Palace for in
spection. It wa5 as follows:
Canteloup Frappe.
Copsomme en- Gelee.
Eilets de Sole Meuniere.
Cotelette d'Agneau.
Petits Pois Frais.
Poulet en- Casserole
Occur de Romano.
Macedoipe de Fruits Glaces au
Maraschino.
Petits Fours.
When the menu was returned. how
ever, by the controller of the household
It had been cut down go drastically as
to sadden the two expert chefs who had
coIlaborated in composing it. All that
was left Of it was:
Cotelette d'Agneau.
Pommes Anna.
Petits Pois Frais.
Macedoine de Fruits Glaces au
Maraschfno.
Petits Fours.
Another of the many evidences of
the extent to which the king has
been hit by the increased cost of sub
sisting is provided by the recent an
nouncement that Barton Manor. his
TeSlOSuCe IN the Isle OI p" lsHt, iS ioI
sale. Further announcements of the
same kind may be expected, 1 am
reliably informed.
The extent to which King George
Is handicapped in keeping down ex-
penses other than his personal ones
is clearly shown by the statements
by the former member of his entour-
age that have been quoted. But the
account of the state of the royal
finances that Austen Chamberlain
gave to the house Of commons en-
phasizes the fact that the king re-
elves less from the civil lists and
,eeps the royal household charges at
lower level than any previous Brit
sh monarch. with the exception of
Queen Victoria, since Charles !.
The present heavy deficit, as Mr..
Chamberlain pointed out. is partly
due to the fact that during the war
the king made a voluntary contribu-
ton to the treasury, a sum that he
had managed to save between the
years Of 1914 and 1916, owing to the
fact that, as the leader OF the house
phrased it, during the war state