Lovers in London by Barbara Cartland

Author:Barbara Cartland
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: General Fiction
ISBN: 9781908303752
Publisher: Barbara Cartland.com
Published: 2011-10-31T16:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER FIVE

Ever since she was small Lanthia had heard so much about Alexandra, the Princess of Wales.

As she became older she began to realise that Her Royal Highness was completely adored and idolised by the whole country. She was just so beautiful, pure, radiant and gracious that the public considered her their fairy Princess.

Because Lanthia had lived a very cloistered life in the country, she had no idea of what the Marquis and many others in the know understood only too well.

It was that Princess Alexandra had won for herself a popularity never previously accorded to a Royal Consort, a great deal of it being due to the fact that the Prince of Wales was known to be unfaithful.

As Lanthia swept to the floor in a deep curtsy, she thought that, as she had once read, that the Princess looked like ‘a fairy doll on top of England’s Christmas Tree’.

The Prince came forward to greet her saying,

“You are now looking even prettier than last night, Miss Grenville!”

Lanthia smiled at him and the Prince introduced her to his other guests.

To her rapt surprise among them were Mr. and Mrs. William Gladstone. He had been Britain’s Prime Minister until Mr. Benjamin Disraeli had superseded him.

However, Lanthia had read in the newspapers that there was every likelihood of Mr. Gladstone coming back again with the Liberals winning the next election.

A number of people thought it very strange that the Gladstones should be such close friends of the Prince and Princess of Wales as it was well known that the Queen had a strong dislike for him while he was Prime Minister.

What very few people realised was that the Princess preferred as her guests, those gentlemen who actually ‘did’ something, such as politicians, churchmen and musicians.

This had meant that Sir Arthur Sullivan and Signor Tosti were very regular visitors at Marlborough House and although most of the aristocratic families adored Princess Alexandra, their interests were very different from hers.

She had confided to one of her close friends that the conversation of the British ‘upper crust’ always involved killing things, such as birds and wild animals; but where she was concerned, she preferred life and happiness.

The Prince next introduced Lanthia to Mr. Oliver Montagu, who her father had often talked about.

He was the Equerry in attendance on the Princess – he was always at her side to protect and serve her in a way that many people found touching.

Among several other guests that Lanthia met was Lord Hardwicke.

The Marquis knew and decided to tell Lanthia later that, because the Prince was so fussy about his appearance, he had introduced a number of fashion innovations of his own.

One such innovation was a short navy-blue jacket, which was adopted for dinner by his whole entourage as well as all ship’s Officers. When the Prince appeared wearing gloves with black stitching, all the young gentlemen in White’s were quick to imitate him.

His friends all wanted to please him and so Lord Hardwicke had inspired his hat-maker to produce what the Marlborough House set acclaimed as a ‘perfect topper.

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