WOMAN'S WORLD

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LIII, Issue 191, 22 November 1910, Page 6

WOMAN'S WORLD

(Conducted" by Eiiei'ii'')

TllK KIX(1 AND THE NEW HOUSE HOLD.

REFORMS DISLIKED BY THE ROYAL SERVANTS.

(London M.A.P.) In reorganising servants' establishment in the Royal Household, King George has by no means so easy a task to perform as his father had at the beginning of the late reign.

When King Edward came to the Throne, lie made practically a clean

sweep of all who had been in the Royal service in his mother's reign, bestowed on | each a substantial pension, and brought] the staff of servants en bloc from Marl-| borough House, who, of course, werc thoroughly versed in the manner in which his late Majesty wished them to perform their duties, and fell readily into the routine at Buckingham Palace. But King George, even if he had. wished to do so, could not have followed his father's example in this respect, for the simple reason that his Majesty kept a much smaller staff of servants at Marlborough House than did King Edward.

Numerically, it would not have been sufficient to efficiently staff Buckingham Palace. His Majesty, therefore, de- ; cided to retain a number of the servants who were in the employ of the late King, and herein lies the cause of discontent among some of the servants in the present Roval Household.

Some of the chief servants in King Edward's Household, have, of course, been pensioned and placed on the "retired" list, but those who remain in [the Royal service do not altogether approve of the regulation.-; recently introduced, which do not exactly harmonise with their preconceived notions concerning the extent and character of their duties.

The fact is, King George always thought Buckingham Palace was overstaffed with servants, and he has been ot opinion that the dignity of Sovereignty could be efficiently maintained without keeping two men to perform one man's work. The servants chiefly affected so far by the new regulations are those rather grand officials known as the Grooms of the Chamber and the Pages of the Back Stairs.

From these it has always been the custom to select a certain number for what is termed "close wait" attendance on the Sovereign. The servitors on close I wait, however, have always had an extremely easy time of it. They are only on duty in the corridor into which the personal apartments of the King open, and their work consists merely of ushering visitors into the Royal presence or summoning any member of the Household to the personal apartments whom his Majesty may desire to see. A comfortable sitting-room is provided for the attendants on close wait, where hitherto they have had their meals, including an excellent late dinner at 7.30 p.m.

Under the new regime, the number ot servants to be put on close wait will be reduced by half, and they will have their meals in the breakfast-room attached to the men-servants' quarters, and when not on close wait, they will be put on ordinary duty in different parts of the Palace.

But apart from these new regulations, the prospect of the Court being more frequently at Windsor Castle than was hitherto the case is rather disturbing to those somewhat . luxuriously-minded grooms and pages who have always regarded Windsor as an excessively dull place.

In the late reign, tlie staff of servants kept permanently at Windsor was comparatively small; but iii the future it will be very much larger, and a number of the Palace servants, whose services there can be dispensed with, will be dispatched very shortly to Windsor. To fully understand how this arrangement will affect some of the Royal servants it must be explained that in the late reign a number of the servants, when not required at Buckingham Palace were allowed to go to their own homes, and there were certainly some who were probably not on duty for more than six . months in the year. But in future most of the grooms and pages not required for duty at Buckingham Palace will be sent to Windsor Castle, and several will, as has already been stated, be kept there permanently.

What the full extent of the changes in the conditions of the Royal service will be is not, of course, yet known, buv it is surmised that they will be extensive, and that several comfortable sinecures will be abolished.

No very great changes beyond those indicated will be carried out just now, for King George desires to become well acquainted with the working of the large Household now under his control before carrying out any extensive alterations in its management, but the general discipline will be stricter, and the servants will find themselves busier than they hitherto have been, though their work will certainly not be excessive. As regards the women servants, a very large number of those who were in service at Buckingham Palace in the late reign have been re-engaged in Queen Alexandra's household, and will go to Marlborough House wjien it is ready for her Majesty, and, of course, all the servants at Sandringham remain in her Majesty's employ.

The female staff wlio were at Marlborough House in the late reign will ah go to Buckingham Palace, but a number of new maids have been engaged who, between this and the spring, will be trained in their duties at Windsor Castle.

A special set of apartments has been se,t aside at Buckingham Palace and Windsor Castle for the use of the Prince of Wales, but these wil! be attended by the ordinary servants, and as yet no arrangements have been made to provide his Royal Highness with servants of his own beyond the services of a valet, who has been the servant mainly in attendance on the young Prince for some years, but who will in future devote himself exclusively to the service of the heir to the Throne when his Royal Highness is .it any of the Roval residences.