| Date | 10 June 2016 |
|---|---|
| Source | Slough Observer |
| Reference | VP-0068 |
| Volume | Views of the Past |
| Collection | Views of the Past |
Transcript
Royal’s 80th tributes
I RECENTLY stumbled on an article in a Canadian newspaper about John T Soundy being knighted at Queen Victoria’s breakfast table on the occasion of her 80th birthday in 1899.
Soundy was a senior magistrate, ex-mayor of Windsor and local businessman, owning a shop in Peascod Street. But none of these were connected to his knighthood. That morning, Soundy was leading the local madrigal society in song from the Grand Quadrangle of Windsor Castle. The Queen sent for him and for the ceremonial sword and knighted him.
This was one of many more unknown events which happened on Queen Victoria’s 80th birthday. Although she was not to live as long as our Queen, it is perhaps fitting to look at the 80th birthday of Victoria on the eve of Elizabeth II’s official 90th birthday.
In the Royal Collection there is an unusual souvenir of Queen Victoria’s 80th birthday. It is a gold and enamelled pin brooch formed as a Lancastrian rose on a red background with “80” in a cypher. On the reverse is a twist of Victoria’s hair beneath glass and an inscription bearing the date of her 80th birthday – May 24, 1899. It was given to Mary, Duchess of York, by Queen Victoria on her birthday. A menu from the Royal Household for Victoria’s birthday survives to this day. Dinner included fillets of trout “a la Reigne” and roast mutton and cauliflower a la Stanley – named after the explorer Henry Morton Stanley, knighted in 1899. Also included were “parfait glacés á la Victoria” and, to finish, “Souffles á la Sax Wiemar” and eggs in aspic.
At St George’s Chapel, a book of songs and music – Choral Songs in Honour of Her Majesty Queen Victoria – was conceived by St George’s organist Sir Walter Parratt and poet Arthur C. Benson.
One of the most dramatic tributes was a floral archway erected on Castle Hill by St George’s Chapel surveyor Alfred Young Nutt. He had designed celebration arches for Victoria’s golden and diamond jubilees.
Perhaps something similar could have been done for our Queen’s 90th birthday.
Image: Archway to celebrate Queen Victoria’s 80th birthday on Castle Hill
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