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8 November 1903 — Stupinigi Palace, Turin | |
Sunday. 8th November [1903]. The Marchesa Villamarina came & fetched me at 11.30 to go with the Queen to mass wh was said in a room all decorated with hunting scenes in wh was a cupboard where when opened showed it contained an altar. H.M. knelt on a Prie-Dieu in the centre near the altar. There was one priest & his accolyte. The ladies knelt on each side before a long pere Dieu & behind were men of the household employes who stood. The priest gabbled thro the service in a low tone. I knelt, sat & stood in imitation of the others. I was sitting during the elevation when the Marchesa made me a sign to kneel & afterwards explained that the people behind wd have been scandalized had I not done so. Directly after mass we went to luncheon– Every lady took off the black veil she wore on her head. The Queen looked charming in hers. I draped my Shetland shawl over my Marie Stuart cap in order not to be singular. After lunch H.M. said she must show me over the Palace & led the way first to her own apartment wh is charming & beautifully decorated—& contains royal portraits of the date of Louis XV she then took us to the Marchesa Villamarinas rooms—to other unoccupied & upstairs to Princess Strongoli’s. The Q. & I went up together in the lift first & then sent it back for the others—Count Balbi an officer & his wife née Robilant lunched & went the round of the house. The Countess is a handsome tall woman not looking her best as she is going to have a 6th child. Her father died Italian Ambr in London. She speaks English well. The Queen told me that this Palace is built in 3 complete apartments with 6 kitchens & stairs apart. After we returned from the tour round the house, the Queen gave audiences & I went to my rooms & read. The Princess Strongoli came to pay me a short visit & we talked of hospital & schools &c. At 5 I went to the salon to await the Queen’s return from Benediction & we had tea. The Queen sat & talked for an hour & then dismissed us. Count Colobiano dined. He is Italian Ambassador at Madrid now on leave & is an old acquaintance of mine. I knew him first as Madrid during the reign of Don Amadeo—& afterwards at Constantinople. After dinner he sat between the Q. & me talking about Spain while we all threaded beads. It was interesting & amusing & the Queen kept him talking on. I enquired about different people I had known—who most of them had disappeared from the scene. He spoke of the late King & what a bad lot he was, how disgracefully he had treated the Queen Christina—making fun of her & such was his conduct that after his death she has never once been to his grave at the Escurial & has never spoken of him. He says that Aleañices who is a very bad man still lives & flourishes & does all the harm he can. That Carlism has quite died out & socialism & republicanism has taken its place. I told him that we had Iduna Belmondo née Ehrenhoff living at Venice & then he had to explain all about the family to the Q. & amongst them mentioned that wretched de Martino in the most disparaging terms & whispered to H.M. how my family has suffered from the creature—as he was in the Italian Embassy when Mowbray turned him out of diplomacy for his intrigues with my dear brother Arthur’s wife– At 11 the Q. rose & Ct Colobiano returned to Rome & we went to bed. At dinner I gave the Q. a detailed account of the Coronation of last year—which interested her immensely. She had begun by speaking of Queen Alexandra with great sympathy & admiration. | |
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