CHAPTER XIX

THE KING AS A COUNTRY SQUIRE

Sandringham is so closely associated in the public mind with King Edward and Queen Alexandra, whose country home it was for so many years, and is still to be from time to time, that no apology is needed for devoting to it a special chapter.

When King Edward was about to set up a separate establishment, Queen Victoria and the Prince Consort instructed some of their most trusted friends to look out for a suitable country estate for the Heir-Apparent. At one moment it was proposed to buy Newstead Abbey, but its Byronic associations caused it to be purchased as soon as it came into the market. Eynsham, in Oxfordshire, an estate belonging to Lord Macclesfield, also came under consideration, as well as Elveden, in Suffolk, and Hatherop, in Gloucestershire. Lord Palmerston seems to have suggested Sandringham, which at that time belonged to his stepson, Mr. Spencer Cowper, and accordingly the Norfolk estate was bought for £220,000.

The estate consisted of eight thousand acres, the nominal rental being about £7000 a year, but everything about Sandringham was at that time in very bad order. The house was small and dilapidated, and the shooting and outlying portions of the estate had been utterly neglected. It is said that the whole rental has been expended on the property during the last thirty-five or forty years, and a very considerable sum has also been spent on the new house, the new gardens, the park, and the home farms. Every kind of improvement has been carried out, gradually but steadily, and now it may be considered a model estate from every point of view. One of the first institutions set up by the King was an admirable village club, entirely built at His Majesty’s own expense. The regulations enforced are based on what is called Dr. Arnold’s system, and give the _maximum_ of freedom to the members.

The old mansion, which was small and inconvenient, was pulled down, and the present house was erected on a more suitable site, from the designs of Mr. Humbert. The work was not completed till 1871. The new mansion is a very pretty gabled building, and though commodious enough, it will not compare in point of size with many of the “stately homes of England.” On the inner wall of the vestibule, above the hall door, is set a tablet bearing, in Old English characters, the inscription: “This house was built by Albert Edward, Prince of Wales, and Alexandra, his wife, in the year of Our Lord, 1870.”

The Royal host and hostess, as well as their family and their guests, are wont to spend much of their time in the great hall, a really beautiful apartment, with a lofty ceiling of open oak work. Many family souvenirs are gathered here, including a fine painting of Queen Alexandra’s birthplace, portraits of the King and Queen of Denmark, two miniature cannon, which were given by Napoleon III. to the King and to his sister, the Empress Frederick, and a number of family portraits and photographs. Facing the main entrance is the head of a wild bull, belonging to the famous Chillingham herd, which was shot by the King in 1872. Underneath are Sir Walter Scott’s lines:--

Fierce on the hunter’s quiver’d band He rolls his eyes of swarthy glow, Spurns with black hoof and horn the sand, And tosses high his mane of snow.

Though Sandringham can boast of no wild cattle, yet the King has been for many years a breeder of shorthorns and Southdown sheep on a large scale, and it is difficult to estimate the benefits which his example in this respect has conferred on the great agricultural industry. His Majesty has always been a very keen competitor at the various national and local shows, and he took his duties as President of the Royal Agricultural Society very seriously. All the Norfolk shows, from the flower show to the poultry show, are patronised by their Majesties; and in this, as in so many other matters, the Squire of Sandringham sets an excellent example to those round him. The Allotments Act was practically anticipated at Sandringham, and the tenants of His Majesty know that he interprets very generously any Act telling in their favour.

The Royal Agricultural Society held its annual meeting in Dublin in 1871, when the King, who was accompanied by the Duke of Connaught and Princess Louise (Duchess of Argyll), and the Duke of Argyll, paid one of his visits to Ireland. At the annual banquet of the Society His Majesty spoke in terms which demonstrate in the clearest manner his interest in agriculture and his sense of its importance in promoting the prosperity of the nation at large. He said, in the course of an unusually long speech:--

“The theme before me--prosperity to Ireland--is one that might be enlarged upon greatly. No one wishes more sincerely than I do prosperity to this country. No one in the large assemblage which crowds this hall, and no one outside this hall, could more largely wish for the prosperity of Ireland which is so dear to them.… I may say that what will do more than anything else towards making a country prosperous is the extension of its agriculture. It was with great pleasure that I accepted the position of President of the Royal Agricultural Society, and it afforded me great pleasure to be present at the Show to-day. My brother has already alluded in his speech to the fine animals we saw, and I may add that I feel sure that in no other part of the United Kingdom could a more creditable Show be held than that which was opened near Dublin this morning. During the last four years there has been a great improvement in every respect in the shows of the Royal Agricultural Societies.…

“I am assured that if the many gentlemen and landlords who very often find some difficulty in leaving England, but who have large interests and large estates in this country, could contrive to come over here more frequently, it would do more good than anything else I could imagine. I am certain that they are anxious to come over, and that their relations with their tenantry and those around them should be in every respect good. I may also here refer to the great improvement made in the erection of farm buildings and cottages. Beyond doubt there has been progress in the direction of improvement there; but still I believe much yet remains to be done. Everything depends upon the well-being of the people, and if they are properly lodged it tends to cleanliness, and very possibly to moral advantage.

“Perhaps I may be allowed to speak of a slight personal experience in that matter. I have a small estate in Norfolk, and observed myself the great importance of providing suitable small cottages for those resident there, and, having done so, now reap immense advantage.”

In the following year (19th June 1872) the King and Queen visited King’s Lynn to see the Annual Exhibition of the Norfolk Agricultural Society. At the entrance to the Show His Majesty said, in reply to the usual address presented on these occasions:--

“It has been a source of the greatest gratification to have had it in my power to contribute in any degree to the success of your Association, and to promote the interests of agriculture in Norfolk. It is with these feelings that I have endeavoured to make myself acquainted with some of the operations of farming, and to acquire some knowledge of stock, and if I have not always been successful in the path of competition, I have at least obtained prizes sufficient to encourage me to persevere, and to indulge in the hope that I shall obtain more.”

This hope of His Majesty’s was certainly justified, for he not only carried off six prizes at this Norfolk show, but he has ever since been a pretty regular prize-winner at the shows of the Royal Agricultural Society, the Bath and West of England, and other important exhibitions.

In other speeches on the same occasion at King’s Lynn His Majesty said that during the ten years in which he had lived in Norfolk he had endeavoured not to lag behind those other county landlords who so ably fulfilled their duties. It would always be his earnest endeavour to promote the welfare of the county, in which he was much interested. He had to thank them for the kind reception which the Princess of Wales always experienced whenever she appeared in public. It was most desirable that ladies should associate themselves in their husbands’ pursuits, and when the Princess did not accompany him he always felt that there was something wanting. His Majesty went on to express his own great personal interest in the Society and in the cause of agriculture generally. His late father, the Prince Consort, always felt the greatest interest in agriculture, and used to take his children to inspect his prize animals.

The King also referred to the housing of the agricultural labourer, and said that a landlord ought to feel a pride in having the working classes properly housed on his estate. Those who worked from morning to night should find on their return a comfortable dwelling, which would promote their moral and social well-being. He had endeavoured to improve the cottages on his own estate, and he felt pride and satisfaction in having his workmen properly housed.

Only about a fortnight later the King again demonstrated his interest in the county in which he had become a squire by visiting Great Yarmouth to inspect the Norfolk Artillery Militia. On that occasion he said:--

“This is the first occasion since my return from abroad that I have met with an official reception, and my pleasure is increased from the fact that I regard myself as a Norfolk man. I have also to acknowledge the very high honour conferred upon me last year in my having been appointed Honorary Colonel of the Norfolk Militia Artillery.”

Of the Royal Agricultural Benevolent Institution the King has always been a generous friend and supporter, and the spread of agricultural depression has naturally made his Majesty’s support of exceptional value. The King spoke, for example, at the fifteenth anniversary festival of the Institution, held on 5th June 1875:--

“I sincerely say that I do take a great interest in all that is connected with agriculture. I may call myself a colleague of many of you present as a farmer on a small scale, and I only hope that I may never have occasion to be a pensioner of this institution. It is impossible, I think, for any British gentleman to live at his country place without taking an interest in agriculture, and in all those things which concern the farmers of this great country. The very backbone of the country, the best recruits of the Army and Navy, come from the agricultural districts. We know that our commercial and agricultural interests depend upon the valour and efficiency of our land and sea forces.”

On this occasion the King added a toast which had been most ungallantly omitted from the list--that of “The Ladies,” and in proposing it he said:--

“We have been honoured on this occasion by fair ladies, and I think it would be very wrong if we were to separate without cordially drinking their health. We see especially how much the comfort, well-being, prosperity, and happiness of farmers and agriculturists depend upon a kind wife to cheer them by the fireside at the end of their day’s work, and to lighten by female influence the load of difficulties.”

Though naturally His Majesty will now be unable to devote so much time to the interests of agriculture as he did when Prince of Wales, yet he has no intention of giving up the breeding of stock. It is understood that Her late Majesty bequeathed to him the magnificent herds of shorthorns, Jerseys, Devons, and Herefords established by the late Prince Consort at Windsor on the Shaw and Flemish farms which he started there. Prince Albert, indeed, revived the interest of the Royal Family in agriculture, which had lapsed since the death of “Farmer George.” Queen Victoria also had some very good stock on the home farm at Osborne, while at Abergeldie Mains Her Majesty kept a magnificent herd of pure-bred Aberdeen-Angus cattle. These, without doubt, her successor will keep up.

To those who study the King’s personal nature and character, no apartment at Sandringham can be more interesting than the library, or rather that section of the libraries, for there are three, which is specially appropriated to His Majesty. The fittings are those of the cabins used by the King on board the _Serapis_ during his voyage to and from India. The blotting-books and the tables and chairs are all covered in dark blue or green leather, and on each the Prince of Wales’s feathers and monogram are stamped in gold. A glance at the shelves shows what are the King’s literary tastes and preferences. He is evidently intensely interested in the history of his own country, especially what may be called the history of our own time. Several shelves are entirely devoted to works dealing with the Indian Mutiny, including the official reports, memoirs, histories, and even novels. The King always buys every new work connected with the public or private administration of his Eastern Empire. Special attention has also evidently been paid to the Crimean War, and there is a rich collection of Colonial histories and documents. But most of the standard works of reference are to be found in the first library, a fine apartment, often used as a writing-room and reading-room by visitors.

The second library is really the Equerries’ room. It is there the Gentlemen of the Household are often to be found. Here are gathered together French and English works of reference and classics, and a splendid collection of county histories. Novels and memoirs are not neglected, and no week passes, when the King and Queen are in residence, without a large consignment of British and foreign books finding its way to Sandringham.

The King transacts much of the business connected with the Sandringham estate in a pleasant morning-room. There he receives at stated times the bailiffs and others concerned in the management of the estate, and, as he farms himself over 1000 acres, he has much to do in the way of supervision.

Sandringham can boast of one of the finest private billiard-rooms in England, and it is one of the very few country-houses where there are bowling alleys. The King and his children are very fond of the old-fashioned English game of bowls.

In 1891 the entire roofing of the main building of Sandringham House, together with all the rooms and their contents on the two upper floors, was destroyed by fire. The bells of the various churches in the district clashed out the alarm. Gangs of men and women speedily set to work to clear the principal lower rooms of their furniture and rare, valuable, and interesting contents. Queen Alexandra was staying with the Empress of Russia, and the King was also away at the time. The amount of damage done was about £15,000. That portion of the house which was destroyed has been rebuilt in a thoroughly fire-proof fashion, with iron and concrete floors and roofs; and the opportunity was taken of making many additions to various portions of the house, in fact about eighteen rooms were added. It is very characteristic of the King that, by his orders, the general works were all carried out by local tradesmen.

One of the most interesting departments of Sandringham Hall is the stables, which contain a great number of carriages. There are Russian sledges, only used in the coldest weather; a Hungarian snow-carriage, lined with rose colour; Norwegian carioles; a smart American buggy, painted bright yellow; a truly beautiful gold inlaid jinricksha, sent to the King from Japan, which is for show rather than for use; a char-à-banc, presented by the late Duke of Sutherland; and, it need hardly be said, every kind of ordinary two- and four-wheeled vehicle now in general use, from the modest Norfolk cart to the stately landau; while by the big coach is to be seen the charming miniature four-in-hand presented by His Majesty to Queen Alexandra just before his departure for India.

Both the King and Queen are passionately fond of horses, and Her Majesty pays a daily visit when at Sandringham to her pony-stable, which was built in 1874 for her four French ponies, who were afterwards succeeded by equally valuable animals of British extraction. Bina, Merry-Antics, Bow, and Bell were the fortunate occupants of this model pony-stable, which is considered the prettiest building of the kind in the world, the walls being lined with white tiles, picked out in green glazed bricks, finished at the top by a green-tiled frieze and an open wooden roof. Above each manger was recorded in gold letters the name of the pony occupying the stall. Queen Alexandra at one time was very fond of driving tandem, and she has one of the best tandem teams in Great Britain. She is very fond of bay horses, and possesses also a pair of the famous greys bred in the Imperial stables at Leipzig. For many years Her Majesty always rode Kinsky, a Hungarian horse; and she was said to be one of the best horsewomen in Norfolk.

The saddle-room is not the least fascinating portion of the stable-yard. Much of the harness is silver and gold-plated. Queen Alexandra has always preferred brown harness to black, and all that used by her is made in tan leather, with brass mounts.

There are a number of interesting photographs and paintings, including a picture in oils of a very beautiful chestnut mare, Victoria, long ridden by the Queen, and given to her when she was a bride by Queen Victoria. Below this portrait of a departed favourite is one of her hoofs mounted in silver, with the name of the owner written across. There are some valuable prints of celebrated trainers and jockeys, with some of the latter’s whips, spurs, and caps. A “Vanity Fair” cartoon of the King, surrounded by a number of his friends at Newmarket, is also given a prominent place in the Sandringham saddle-room; and not the least interesting memento now there is Mr. John Porter’s silver-wedding gift to his Royal patrons. In a silver frame, surmounted by the Prince of Wales’s feathers, is a white velvet tablet with the name “Ormonde” woven from the famous race-horse’s hair. The border contains pieces of the hair of thirty-three famous winners, the name of each being in silver letters beneath. Close by is to be seen the racing-saddle generally used by Fred Archer.

Parallel with the stables runs the building known as the kennels. At one time, in the paddock between the stables and the kennels, there was a bear-pit, but the occupant thereof was sent to the Zoo after the King’s valued head-keeper, Mr. Jackson, had been hunted by Bruin just when he was about to feed him with some peculiarly bearish delicacy. This corner of Sandringham is by no means confined to horses and dogs. Here also were kept some of Queen Alexandra’s pet cats; a number of doves descended from the single pair presented to Her Majesty during her first visit to Ireland; her Australian pigeons, quite unlike the more humble home variety; a Barbary dove belonging to the Duchess of Cornwall and York; and some very fine water-fowl, to say nothing of “Cockie,” the Princess of Wales’s cockatoo, who was said to be over a hundred years old.

The kennels are, in their way, quite as fine as the stables. They are very cleverly arranged, all fitted with hot-water pipes, and admirably ventilated. The dogs are exercised in the park, in three paddocks in front of the kennels, or in a large yard paved with red, blue, and brick tiles. All the food consumed in the kennels comes from special kitchens attached to the building. There is also a dog hospital and a nursery, always occupied by one or more litters.

The King and Queen are both keen dog-fanciers, and they possess some of the very finest animals in the world. They both exhibit at the leading shows, and Her Majesty is the Patron of the Ladies’ Kennel Association.

This chapter must not be concluded without reference to a curious little book, published some years ago by one who must be regarded as absolutely unique--namely, an aggrieved tenant at Sandringham. This lady had differences with the agent of the estate, and to revenge herself for her supposed grievances she wrote this obviously prejudiced account of her late landlord at his country home.

The following extracts from the book written by this hostile witness are therefore significant indeed of the tenour of our King’s life in Norfolk:--

“Whenever I went (to Sandringham) I never failed to spend a pleasant evening, and received more courtesy from my illustrious host and hostess than from any house I ever was in. The Prince is noted for his powers of entertainment and exertion to make every one enjoy themselves. When a ‘house-party’ is expected he superintends the arrangements and remembers their particular tastes and pursuits. A gouty squire who once grumbled at having to go, was completely mollified at finding a room prepared for him on the ground floor, the Prince thinking he would prefer it. The effect of a visit to Sandringham upon a certain order of Radicals, who are treated with the greatest deference, is perfectly astounding. It acts as a patent conjuring machine--a Republican stuffed in at one end, a Courtier squeezed out at the other.

“The Sandringham festivities were so arranged that all classes could share in them; and what with County, farmers’, and servants’ balls, labourers’ dinners, visits to country houses, meets of the hounds, and other sociabilities, everybody from far and near had the opportunity of making acquaintance with their Royal Highnesses.”

Of the servants’ parties at Sandringham she says:--

“The house party, equerries, ladies-in-waiting, and all invited from the neighbourhood, were ordered to join in, no shirking or sitting out allowed, and when the sides had been made up, the Prince and Princess set off with their partners, round and round, down the middle and up again, and so on to the end, the Prince the jolliest of the jolly and the life of the party, as he is wherever he goes. I never saw such amazing vitality. His own Master of the Ceremonies, signalling and sending messages to the band, arranging every dance, and when to begin and when to leave off, noticing the smallest mistake in the figures, and putting the people in their places. In the ‘Triumph,’ which is such an exhausting dance, he looked as if he could have gone on all night and into the middle of next week without stopping, and I really believe he could.… Almost before one dance was ended the Prince started another, and suddenly the Scotch Pipers would screech out and the Prince would fold his arms and fling himself into a Highland fling, and so on fast and furious until far into the small hours of the morning.”