Queen & Eisenhower dedicate new Seaway

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June 26, 1959


Queen Elizabeth II and U.S. President Dwight D. Eisenhower today dedicated the new St.. Lawrence Seaway.

The president and the queen "pledged that the great waterway will be the instrument for even closer friendship between two old friends, the United States and Canada," according to the Chicago Tribune.

Tens of thousands French-speaking Canadians were in the audience and both the president and the queen "gave parts of their dedication remarks in French.

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Elizabeth's "royal upbringing gave her an edge over the President" gave "nearly one-third of her 1,000 word address" in French.

"....this new water route will facilitate the meeting of thousands of citizens from the New and Old World, helping in this way to dissipate misunderstandings and to strengthen agreement and peace between nations."

She concluded her dedication with "It is a magnificent monument to the enduring friendship of our two nations and to their partnership in the development of North America.  That partnership is most agreeably symbolized, Mr. President, in the act that you and I have joined together to perform this ceremony today."

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When the ceremonies were over and the President and the Queen were ready to leave,  Elizabeth said: "It's been quite a day."   President Eisenhower replied: "Yes, but an enjoyable one."

George VI's nephew a German captive

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June 26, 1944

Berlin Radio said tonight that Viscount Lascelles has been captured in Italy, according to the Associated Press.

George Henry Hubert Lascelles. 21, is the elder of two sons of the Princess Royal, younger sister of King George VI, and her husband, the the Earl of Harewood.

Shortly before the announcement in Berlin,  an official announcement was released from Harewood House in Leeds.

"Lord Harewood has had official intimation that Lt. Viscount Lascelles is reported wounded and missing and believed to be a prisoner of war.

Lord Lascelles joined the Grenadier Guards two years ago as a private.  He is the heir to his father's earldom.

A Toronto dispatch citing the Canadian Broadcasting company said  Lord Lascelles "was wounded so severely that he could not be moved except by jeep." Another Grenadier Guard volunteered to get a jeep but when he returned Lord Lascelles and his men were missing."

The Countess of Wessex in Norfolk

Both photos @Ken Stone

Two very sweet photos of HRH The Countess of Wessex at the Royal Norfolk Show earlier today.  The photos were taken by my friend, Ken Stone ... so envious his royal photo ops. Thanks, Ken.

These photos cannot be reproduced without his permission as he is the copyright holder.

Georg Friedrich loses suit to regain castle

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A district court in Koblenz, Germany, ruled today that Prince Georg Friedrich is not entitled to the ownership of Rheinfels castle.

The great-great-grandson of Kaiser Wilhelm II and the present head of the former German Imperial family claimed the former royal property and sued the German state of Rhineland-Palatinate, the City of St. Goar and a four-star hotel that adjoins the ruins of the castle.

The former fortress is a UNESCO  World Heritage site and had been in the ownership of the Prussian royal family since the 19th Century.  St. Goar became the owner of the castle in 1924, agreeing to an order to never sell the walls.  In 1998, the city agreed to a leasehold with the hotel next to the castle for 99 year with the possibility of an extension.

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Georg Friedrich's lawyers argued in court that this contract with the hotel was tantamount to a sale, which was prohibited.  But the court ruled that the ruins were a part of the Kronfideikommis,  (special assets)"to which the preservation of the economic power and social prestige of the family" had served.

The court that the castle ruins were not a part of the Hohenzollern family's private property, and was a part of the property that was confiscated in 1918, after Wilhelm's abdication and the establishment of a republic, and placed under the administration of the Prussian Ministry of Finance.

The Rhineland-Palatinate state is considered the legal successor to the former Prussian state, which received administration powers in 1947.

From the onset of the lawsuit, the court "expressed doubts" that Georg Friedrich's suit would be successful.

The verdict is not legally binding as Georg Friedrich's lawyers plan an appeal.

https://www.sfchronicle.com/news/world/article/Germany-kaiser-s-descendant-loses-bid-for-return-14042828.php?psid=bxHkz

https://www.faz.net/aktuell/gesellschaft/menschen/prinz-von-preussen-verliert-prozess-um-burg-rheinfels-16253276.html?GEPC=s3

The Missing Ascot carriage from Day 4

copyright Ken Stone

I was rather disappointed that I did not see any photos of carriage 3 on Day 4 of Royal Ascot.  The carriage included Lady Alexandra Etherington and her husband Mark (the other two people are Australian race horse trainer Chris Waller and his wife Stephanie).

Lady Alexandra, who will celebrate her 60th birthday this year, is the daughter of the late Duke of Fife, only son of HH Princess Maud and the Earl of Southesk.

Princess Maud was the younger of two daughters of HRH Princess Louise, Princess Royal and the first Duke of Fife.   Louise was the third child and eldest daughter of King Edward VII and Queen Alexandra.

Maud's elder sister, Alexandra, succeeded to the Fife dukedom in 1912 by special remainder.   As Louise did not have any surviving sons,  Queen Victoria issued a letters patent that allowed the  peerage to be inherited by the Duke of Fife's two daughters and their male heirs.    Alexandra, who married Prince Arthur of Connaught (her mother's first cousin) in October 1913, died in 1959, and was succeeded by her nephew, James, then styled as Lord Carnegie, as his father was the Earl of Southesk.    The Duchess of Fife's only son, Alistair, died unmarried in 1943.   The Countess of Southesk died two years later on December 14, 1945, thus putting her son, James, in the position as heir to his father's earldom and his aunt's dukedom.

Lady Alexandra was named in honor of her late great-aunt.   She is married to Mark Etherington.  They are the parents of a 17-year-old daughter, Amelia.

Thank you, Ken, for allowing me to use this photograph.

No one else can use this photograph without Ken Stone's permission.

Final Days in London June 7-9

I spent the last 2 and half days of my vacation in London, where i saw Queen Victoria's sapphire diadem now on permanent loan at the V&A museum.   In fact the V&A was my first stop to see if I could get a prized ticket to the highly acclaimed Dior exhibit.  Got in line.  Plenty of people ahead of me.   I was 143 - and there were about 170 tickets available.   The line moved slowly, but finally, I was at the check out desk, where I took out my credit card to pay the £22.00.   As I had an afternoon tea engagement, I was very thankful that the museum was open late and I got a 7:15 p.m. slot.  Before heading out to do other things,  I went to the new Jewelry exhibit to see Queen Victoria's tiara, a gift from Prince Albert that was eventually passed down to King George V's only daughter, Princess Mary, who married the Earl of Harewood.

Oh that gorgeous tiara.   Then it was off to Fortnum & Mason for a bit of shopping - tea, jam and honey.  I headed back to the South Ken station to catch a bus back to my AirBnb, drop off my shopping and the catch a bus to Clapham Junction, where I caught a train to Waterloo Station.  No need to buy a rail ticket - the fare is covered by the Oyster Card.  Two stops.

 A friend took me to tea at the Oxo Tower Restaurant ... delish.  Great view.  The Tower is not too far a walk from Waterloo Station. 

I needed to walk off the yummy tea so I walked to Blackfriars Bridge and across it. spotting a statue of Queen Victoria.  Took the subway one stop to Embankment.    I decided to walk across the Golden Jubilee bridge across the Thames,  looked around, saw the London Eye up close, back up the stairs to walk the other side of the bridge toward Embankment.   Tube back to South Ken, bus to Battersea.  I had wanted to try a pub right by my stop, but it didn't serve food.  Bummer.  They recommended the Draft House, a block away.  A good choice.  Convivial atmosphere.   Good food.  Decided on Pimm's (2 glasses) rather an a beer.

Saturday morning, I was up very early to go to Buckingham Palace  for the Trooping the Colour.  It was a bit overcast early on, but, thankfully, the sun did come out and the carriages were open.

https://royalmusingsblogspotcom.blogspot.com/2019/06/trooping-colour-2019.html

Afterward, I caught up with my friend, Katrina. We met at the Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother statue on the Mall and walked toward the National Portrait Gallery and Leicester Square to have lunch at Bella Italia, my favorite place in London.  Good Italian food.  It was a birthday treat for me.  It was lovely to sit down and enjoy a meal and conversation.    This was followed by a walk to Pall Mall to find Schomberg House, once the home of Princesses Helena Victoria and Marie Louise.  It is now a part of the Oxford and Cambridge Club.

We walked passed the St. James's Garden (private), where we spotted a statue of William IV, then past St. James's Palace, the Queen's Chapel and back to St. James's Park for a coffee, a photo session with a media-loving squirrel, and feeding the ducks.  I think we walked the entire length of St. James's Park

 And then there was the Naked Bike Ride, an annual event,  that we got caught up in when trying to get across the Mall to get to Charing Cross Station so Katrina could catch her train home.

For me it was back on the tube to South Ken, then the 345 bus to Battersea, before heading to Kennington by bus to have dinner at the Duchy Arms, a pub owned by the Duchy of Cornwall.  The Prince of Wales is the Duke of Cornwall.

The bus passed the new United States Embassy -- and a lot of new development in that area.

Woke up Sunday morning feeling sad.  Closed the suitcases.  Breakfast - and as I did not have to leave until 12:30, I decided to spend some time at Battersea Park.  I first visited the park in June 2012 for the Diamond Jubilee flotilla.  It rained ... a lot ... that day.

I walked along the riverfront, down to the Japanese Pagoda. then to the Battersea Park Children's Zoo. The Scottish wildcats were adorable.

A brief stop at the Pear Cafe, which is by the boating lake, for an ice coffee.  Lunch would have been ideal as the weather was fantastic, but I was running out of time so headed back to the apartment ... and then it was time to go to the airport ... a wonderful 49th visit to the United Kingdom.

https://royalmusingsblogspotcom.blogspot.com/2012/06/more-of-diamond-jubilee.html

https://royalmusingsblogspotcom.blogspot.com/2012/06/so-you-want-to-go-to-diamond-jubilee.html

Duchess of Manchester's tiara

On your mark,get set, go!

Going home with me 

Amused by this ....Shack Shake is good ... but why London?

Southwark -- Oxo Tower  Great tea

From Blackfriars Bridge

From Golden Jubilee Bridge

Princess Margaret's Dior dress

On two nights in a row, I met ona fox on this street.

about 7:30a.m. Saturday morning.  

https://royalmusingsblogspotcom.blogspot.com/2019/06/trooping-colour-2019.html

William IV

A part of Schomberg House on Pall Mall, once the home of Princesses Helena Victoria and Marie Louise 

St James's Palace

Queen's Chapel 

Marlborough House 

Back to St. James's Park for a coffee

My favorite park in the world.

Quick bus ride from Battersea Bridge Road on the 49 or 345 to South Ken - 

Took a bus from Battersea to the Albert Embankment in Vauxhall to walk about 10 minutes to Duchy Arms, a pub owned by the Duchy of Cornwall. 

the Black Prince .. as I was on Black Prince Road

from the Albert Embankment

Japanese pagoda

Scottish wildcat ... aka  cutieMacCutie

Mum

https://www.oxotower.co.uk/who/oxo-tower-restaurant-bar-brasserie/


https://www.vam.ac.uk/


https://www.duchyarmslondon.com/


http://www.wandsworth.gov.uk/batterseapark


https://www.batterseaparkzoo.co.uk/


https://www.peartreecafe.co.uk/


https://www.drafthouse.co.uk/locations/westbridge


https://www.fortnumandmason.com/


https://www.bellaitalia.co.uk/italian-restaurant/london/cranbourn-street