"Kings, Queens, Clubs and Knaves" - a guided walk around Westminster

 

Sue King and her attentive followers

16 June 2011 - it was meant to be a lovely summer's evening, strolling around Westminster learning about its Royal past. Instead we battled with the wind and rain, umbrellas up, then down and up again. Thankfully our experienced guide, Sue King, knew of a few sheltered spots where she could regale us with her interesting mix of history and anecdotes.

A group of 15 intrepid walkers met opposite the statue of George III at the bottom of Haymarket. We later learnt that Charlotte, wife of George III, was 'fertile as a turtle', as together they produced 9 sons and 6 daughters.

Our route led us along Pall Mall where we were given the low-down on the Gentlemen's Clubs: their philosophy, the food, the qualifications for membership and who founded them.

On to St James's Square with King William III on his horse and the story of the molehill, then the potted history of the growth of Westminster from 1066 onwards as the nobility moved out of the City. Henry VIII and his wives, and the dismantling of the monasteries gave us our next history lesson as we learnt about parks, palaces and abbeys.

Many of us were unaware that St James's Palace became the official residence of the Sovereign after the Palace of Whitehall burned down at the end of the 1600s during William III's reign, and is still so today, hence Ambassadors being accredited to the Court of St James.

Next we nipped through Crown Passage, past the Red Lion which is reputed to have an underground passage connecting it to Nell Gwynne's house in Pall Mall, for the convenience of Charles II. Gone was the puritan period of Cromwell, in Charles's reign we had licensed theatres with women on the stage. Charles II produced 16 illegitimate children, all given titles, and from them have descended many of today's notables, including Lady Diana Spencer and Samantha Cameron.

Round the corner to the ancient shops in St. James's Street with their Royal Warrants, and a look at St James Palace, now mainly occupied by royal offices, but still playing an important ceremonial function, including the daily changing of the guard in Friary Court and the proclamation of a new Sovereign. Across the road past Marlborough House where Edward Prince of Wales lived (he of many mistresses and also many famous descendents) and out onto The Mall. The story of Buckingham House being turned into a Palace, Queen Victoria being the first Sovereign to live there, and how John Nash was sacked for exceeding his budget brought our journey to an end, appropriately in front of the statue of Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother and the statue of her husband King George VI.

With our heads buzzing with facts we retired, not as planned to Wheelers Wine Bar as their kitchens were closed, but to the somewhat more modern Prezzo on Northumberland Avenue for pasta and wine and a very convivial end to the evening.

Our thanks as ever to Blue Badge Guide and AKS member Sue King for her excellent tour, packed with information but always entertaining. If only history lessons at school had been so enjoyable!

Cathy Kim

A slideshow of images from the evening:
 

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