CURATOR’S UPDATES
James Peill is the Curator of the Goodwood Collection
On a snowy day last December, we bid on the telephone for two scrapbooks that had turned up at auction in Cheshire. They had belonged to Lady Caroline Gordon Lennox, spinster daughter of the 6th Duke of Richmond and Gordon, who was affectionately known as ‘Aunt Lina’ by her family. Having successfully secured them, the albums made their way by post to Goodwood. We were delighted to find them full of interesting mementoes, such as a sealed envelope from the great Duke of Wellington, numerous newspaper cuttings mentioning members of the family, programmes for amateur dramatics and various invitations.
The Royal wedding invitations are the most topical; there is a smart yellow admission ticket for Lady Caroline to the wedding of the Prince of Wales to Princess Alexandra (later Edward VII and Queen Alexandra) on Tuesday, 10th March 1863 in St. George’s Chapel, Windsor. As the court was still in mourning for Prince Albert, ladies were restricted to wearing grey, lilac or mauve.
An invitation from the Lord Chamberlain invites Lady Caroline to the wedding of Queen Victoria’s daughter, Princess Helena to Prince Christian of Schleswig-Holstein, on Thursday, 5th July 1866, in the private chapel at Windsor Castle and then, separately, the Lord Steward invites her to luncheon at Windsor Castle afterwards. This was a special wedding for Lady Caroline as she was a bridesmaid and can be seen holding the train of Princess Helena’s dress during the ceremony. A fragile sprig of delicate material flowers from the Princess’s wedding dress was sent to Lady Caroline afterwards and was unearthed recently at Goodwood, hidden in a desk.
Another invitation is to the marriage of Edward VII’s daughter, Princess Louise, to the Earl of Fife in the private chapel at Buckingham Palace, on Saturday, 27th July 1889. Her father, the Duke of Richmond is included on the same invitation. Both of them were asked to luncheon afterwards at Buckingham Palace.
The last invitation that appears in the scrap books is for the marriage of The Duke of York to Princess Mary of Teck (later George V and Queen Mary) on Thursday, 6th July 1893. The ceremony took place in the Chapel Royal at St. James’s Palace which could only seat a small number of guests, so it is not surprising that the invitation is ‘to witness the Procession to the Marriage’ and then for breakfast afterwards at Buckingham Palace. Ladies are told to wear ‘Full Dress, without Plumes or Trains’. A gold bordered and embossed ticket admits Lady Caroline into ‘Queen Anne’s Room’ in St. James’s Palace, presumably to sit while the ceremony itself takes place.
These fascinating albums give us a glimpse of what aristocratic life was like in the second half of the nineteenth century. I hope that some of the readers will be able to visit Goodwood this season and see them on display.
James Peill is the Curator of the Goodwood Collection. His latest book, The Irish Country House|, written with The Knight of Glin, was published by Thames & Hudson in October 2010.