KING'S WARDROBE

Rotorua Morning Post, Volume 2, Issue 356, 18 October 1932, Page 7

KING'S WARDROBE

VALETS MANY TASKS RESPON SIBEE FOE 500 CHANGES OF PRBSS. PREFERENCE FOR COMFORT. • Ono of the most important memfiers of the Royal Household isTittle : known to the British publie. He Is Richard Rowlett, sUpetinteiideht of the watdrbhe— in other words, chief : ■ valet t'o King- GOorgte. The Kilig has n'eai'ly 500" chahges* of dress; Hbwlett is responsible for all of them, and is answerable for the correet appearanee of His Majesty on every occasion. Howlett never knows which uniforms or which ceremonial garh will be Oalled for next; they must all he j ■ ready, the uniforms from "undresS" ' : to full, hccording to the need. Medals, decorations, insignia- — there must be ; no mist'ake ahout any of them. But i ; Richard Howlett would not he . Kilig ; George's 'chief valet if he were prone to malce mistakes. He knows more about uniforms, probably, than any : naval or military tailor. The London season is the busiest > time in the year for Howlett. For with courts, levees, and investitures to hold, garden parties to give, fashionable functions to attend, the King has to wear many varieties of dress. The Royal wardrobe fills several rooms in the ndrth wing of Buckingham Palace. There alre airtight hoxes, safes for regalia and insignia, and a room for the storage of th'e robes and mantles of the orders of . chivalry — dncluding those of the Gar- j ter, the collar of which contains 20oz | . of pure gold, and 'is jewelled as well. j Military uniforms form the bullc of j , the wardrobe, there being two — full ; dress and undress — for each regiment ! , of which the Eing is Colonel-in-Chief. ' i Naval uniforms, and no end of special | civil costumes, among others theTrini- j . ty House dress, add to the task of the i chief valet and his thr'ee assistants. | King George's favourite uniform is ] ; that of Admiral of the Fleet. He was j brought up as a naval officer, and j never has lost his love of the sea | ■ and ships. In the military section the Field Marshals uniform is most often used. The full dress is a gorgeosu ! affair With' scarlet tunic, buclcskin breeches and cocked hat adorned with feathers. Besides, there is the correspoilding "service" dress of khaki, the : uniform worn hy the King when he visits his troops. A Windsor Gastle, King Georgte wears the historic "Windsor uniform" of blue coat, gold bu'ttons and red collar. At Balmoral C'astle, in Scotland, , he wears the lcilt, and in the evening h'e doiis the full dress of the Stuart clan, with jewelled silver huckles. Old Clothes Preferred. The Monarchs private wardrobe is ; not extravagant for dress means comparatively little to King George. He : never has been such a leader of men's fashions as was his father, Edward VII, or as his son, the Prince of Wales. If anything, the King is inclined to be old-fashioned in his dress. Until comparatively recently, for instance, he kept up the old custom of passing his ti'3 through a gold ring. Like the late King Edward, he has his trousers creased at the side instead of in front, and he has a fondness of black points on his gloves, whether the latter are white or tan. Like many lesser men, England's King likes old clothes better than new ones, and, whenever he ean, sacrifi'ces appearances to comfort. A member of a Royal shooting party, i for instance, noticed with interest that | one of King1 George's shoes had been patched! The King likes to wear tweed breeches and a rough shooting I coat when out with a dog and gun. He always prefers shoes that are

easy and one of the first things he does when he gets to Balmoral is to : buy a pair of Highland brogues. He rides into Ballater on his pony and enters a shop where the proprietor, an •elderly Scot, still makes shoes by hand. After his foot has been measured, the King stays smoking and chatting with the old man, who invariably ■ • remarks, as his Royal customer leaves: "Weel; I'll do ma hest for your Majesty, but I'm making no promises, mina."