About barbara

I'm sure you are wondering how the blog was named, "The Enchanted Manor". Well, this blog will be like home to me and I wanted a name that reflected my different interests. During a normal day you can find me in several rooms of the house. Maybe I'll be in the living room decorating, or in my craft room working on a project, or in the dining room planning a great dinner party or at the computer in my office planning a great vacation. When you come to visit my blog you might find me in any room! Please return often for ideas and inspiration because this blog will be about decor, craft, celebration and travel. So, welcome to the "Enchanted Manor". Come in, sit down and let's talk!

Travel – Disneyland’s Pirates of the Caribbean

Posted on March 18, 2015 by barbara

Our family has been enjoying Disneyland for almost sixty years and we have so many memories of spending wonderful times at the park. One of the first things we do on a visit is head over to New Orleans Square to ride one of the most popular rides in the park … Pirates of the Caribbean. We also enjoy eating at the Blue Bayou which is the restaurant located within the ride and is famous for its Monte Cristo Sandwich. In this post I will discuss the history of the Disneyland attraction, the many changes to the ride over the years and some fun Pirates of the Caribbean trivia.

The history of the Pirates of the Caribbean ride at Disneyland

The idea for a pirate themed attraction dates back to the early 1950s, when Disneyland was being planned, and there was a ride concept for a walk-through wax museum featuring scenes with famous pirates for history, but that idea was put on hold and never built. Instead, at the time that Disneyland opened Anaheim, CA in 1955, there was a Pirate themed attraction located in Fantasyland and it was Captain Hook’s Pirate Ship Restaurant sponsored by Chicken of the Sea and later in 1960 Skull Rock from the 1953 Disney animated movie “Peter Pan” was added. Both attractions remained at Disneyland for several years until the 1982 refurbishment of the New Fantasyland, the Dumbo attraction now stands where the former Captain Hook’s Pirate Ship and Skull Rock where originally located. (Currently, Captain Hook’s Pirate Ship Restaurant and Skull Rock can be seen again in Adventureland at Disneyland Paris in France)

By this time, the Disney Company had a separate division that was responsible for the creation and construction of the Disney theme park; it was originally known as WED which are the initials of Walter Elias Disney. The staff of visual artists and engineers was collectively known as imagineers, a name meaning employees that combined imagination and engineering to design and build rides for the Disney theme park. Several years later, when Walt was considering creating a new “land” called New Orleans Square at Disneyland he decided the time was right to finally create a pirate ride.

When the It’s a Small World attraction was created for the 1964 New York World’s Fair it featured a new ride technology using water propelled boats but more importantly it was very successful in moving a large number of guests through the attraction in a timely manner and this was exactly what Walt needed for the new pirate ride that he envisioned. So, Walt and his imagineers decided to utilize the same boat ride system that would take guests through the ride to see various scenes featuring audio-animatronic pirates. The relatively new technology of audio-animatronics was basically a type of robotics that was able to make figures move in a realistic way, this was accomplished by means of pneumatic and hydraulic valves used inside the figures and controlled by sonic impulses with a vocal track recorded on a magnetic tape. With these two new technologies as the basis for the new ride concept the imagineers quickly moved forward with ideas.

Herb Ryman, the famous Disney artist that created the original drawings for Disneyland, drew some preliminary sketches that would eventually determine the overall design of New Orleans Square, another Disney artist named Sam McKim also helped with creating the final designs. The new pirate ride would be located in one of the buildings in New Orleans Square and this determined the amount of space allowed for the Pirates of the Caribbean attraction. Marc Davis, a former Disney animator, was now working as an imagineer for WED and he is responsible for the overall interior design of the ride and created numerous sketches, drawings and paintings depicting the various scenes of the pirates attacking, raiding and eventually setting fire to a village. The next step in the process of creating the ride was for the imagineers to utilize storyboards to create a cohesive storyline as guests would move from one scene to another scene; this same technique of storyboards was used frequently by the Disney Studios when plotting out their animated movies. The storyboards of the pirate ride were constantly being revised as scenes were added, changed or eliminated. Once the storyboards were finalized, the next step was to create working small-scale models of the various scenes which would be used for the ride. Using small inexpensive models was a better way to keep building costs down by making changes on the models instead on the more expensive full-sized structures.

Marc Davis developing Pirates concept boards

Now that the Pirate of the Caribbean ride designs where finished it was time to build. The new ride would be located in New Orleans Square which was designed with several antebellum-style buildings containing shops and restaurants. The main building where the ride would be located is a multi-level structure with the majority of the ride located under the building and streets of New Orleans Square. The first step in the ride construction was excavating a large area to accommodate the space for the ride’s various village scenes. The next step was laying the guide rails for the pirate boats that would take guests through the ride, eventually the ride would use 750,000 gallons of water to propel the boats and also create the scenic areas of the ride. Two 21-degree drops were required at the beginning of the ride to take guests underground and into the main show building located beyond the berm of the park. At the end of the ride, the boat needed to get back to the ground level and this was achieved by the guests remaining in the boats as a chain pulley system, similar to the technique used to pull a roll coaster uphill, was used to return guests to the loading/unloading area of the ride. (When the Pirates of the Caribbean ride was added to Walt Disney World in Florida, the boat path was revised so that guests unloaded before the ascent)

Please note that some of the photos of the New Orleans Square and Pirates of the Caribbean construction shown below were originally used on the davelandblog.com website.

As the building process was going on, imagineer Blaine Gibson was heading up a team to create the pirate figures for the ride. The look of the figures changed from fierce looking pirates to more whimsical ones to be used in some of the more humorous scenes of the ride. Before the figures could be added, the various ride scenes needed to be constructed. These scenes ranged from the quiet bayou scene located after the guest load area and before the two drops, to the dark and mysterious caverns after plunging down the waterfall, to the misty scene where the pirates attack the village, to the numerous scenes of the pirates pillaging the village just before the ride comes to a fiery end.

Then in 1966, as the ride was nearing completion, Walt Disney suddenly died. Walt’s health had severely deteriorated after years of smoking. Always concerned more for the good of his company then his personal health, Walt kept his condition as quite as possible telling only his family, a few close friends and co-workers that he need to be hospitalize to have one of his lungs removed. The company’s employees and stockholders were told that he was receiving treatment for an old polo injury so as not to effect the daily and long term operation of the Disney Company. Sadly, Walt died on December 15, 1966. After a brief period of mourning the work on the Pirates attraction resumed and was eventually completed three months later with an official opening date of March 18, 1967.

The Pirates of the Caribbean attraction was a success from the day it opened and over the years it has become one of the most popular rides at Disneyland. Later, other versions were built in the Disney theme parks using different facades but always with the interior ride being very similar to the original one. The Magic Kingdom (Walt Disney World) Pirates of the Caribbean ride opened in 1973, Tokyo Disneyland in 1983, Disneyland Paris in 1992 and currently one is under construction at the Shanghai Disneyland with a projected opening date of December 2015.

Pirates of the Caribbean ride trivia

The Pirates of the Caribbean ride was the last Disneyland attraction that was personally supervised by Walt Disney from ride concept and design through to construction, he died three months before the official opening.
The Pirates of the Caribbean ride cost approximately $8 million dollars to build in Disneyland which is almost equal to the amount paid to France when the United States negotiated the Louisiana Purchase in 1803 which included the city of New Orleans.
The Disneyland Pirates of the Caribbean ride is contained in two large show buildings covering a total of 112,826 feet. located beyond the berm of the park.
The ride uses 750,000 gallons of water which flows through the 1,838 feet length of the ride’s canals.
There are approximately 122 audio animatronic characters (68 pirates and villagers and 54 animals) used on the Pirates of the Caribbean ride
The façade of the main building to the attraction is said to have been inspired by the architecture of the Cabildo building located in Jackson Square in New Orleans, the building was the site where the Louisiana Purchase was signed in 1803.
Atop the tall tower of the main building of the Pirates attraction a 31 star United States flag can be seen, this corresponding to the 1850s which is the time period that New Orleans Square is supposed to be set.
The Laffite Landing sign which hangs over the Pirates of the Caribbean boat load/unload area is for the famous pirate, Jean Lafitte, who fought with the U.S. Army during the War of 1812 at the Battle of New Orleans. (The name is spelled as the pirate originally used it and not the later English version which is how it is written in the history books)
The Pirate of the Caribbean ride features the memorable song, “Yo-Ho, a Pirates Life for Me”. The music is by George Bruns and the lyrics are by Francis Xavier Atencio. Bruns is best known as the co-writer of another Disney classic, “The Ballad of Davy Crockett”. Atencio wrote the theme song for the Haunted Mansion attraction, “Grim Grinning Ghosts”. Atencio voice can also be heard on the Pirates ride as the Jolly Roger skull and crossbones just before the boat plunges down the first waterfall.
In the battle scene of the Pirates of the Caribbean ride cannonballs seem to be flying over the guests as they ride through, but it is only a Disney illusion using recorded sounds and flashes of light are used to create the effect that cannon are firing from the pirate ship and also on land from the village fortress. A splash of water gives the effect that the cannonballs are missing their targets and landing in the water, recently puffs of air have been added to create the addition effect of the cannonballs flying past.
In the village pillaging scenes, the original version of the ride featured several pirates chasing giggling ladies, on was even seen chasing after a pirate! When guests complained about the “sexual implication” of the scene it was altered to reflect a more “chaise” behavior. The ladies now carrying cakes, pastries and other food items that the starving pirates want. An interesting observation is that the bride auction scene remains unchanged.
Toward the end of the ride, the pirates set fire to the village. The fire effect created by the Disney imagineers was so realistic that prior the attraction’s grand opening the Anaheim Fire Chief almost shut down the ride until he realized that it was only an illusion. (The fire is basically created by pieces of fabric, lights and fans!) The Anaheim Fire Department did request that the ride should be altered so that in the event of a real fire the simulated fire effect would automatically shut off.
On the upper level of the building of Pirates of the Carribbean building was originally planned for a private apartment for the personal use of the Disney family. Located at the front of the building, slightly to the right side, is where the front veranda for the Disney apartment would have been and there is a wrought iron railing which incorporates the intertwined initials of Walt Disney (WD) and Roy Disney (RD). The Disney apartment which was never fully completed was eventually converted into the Disney Gallery which was a retail store and showroom featuring Disney artwork and collectible items. In 2007, the space was refurbished and reopened as the Disneyland Dream Suite which is the only overnight guest accommodations located within Disneyland.
In 2003, Disney released the “Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl” movie which was inspired by the original Disneyland ride. Some scenes in the movie featured iconic ride scenes, such as the jail scene with the pirates trying to get the keys from the mouth of the dog. Even the famous “Yo-Ho, A Pirates Life For Me” song was used in the movie. The film’s world premiere was held at Disneyland and featured the longest red carpet in history; it went from Main Street to New Orleans Square. The movie proved to be very successful and additional sequels have been filmed, in fact the fifth installation of the Pirates of the Caribbean series is currently being filmed.
Following the success of the Pirates of the Caribbean film series, several characters from the movies have been added to the ride. The character of Jack Sparrow, played by Johnny Depp, appears several times in various village scenes and Captain Barbossa, played by Geoffrey Rush, can be seen on the pirate ship as it attacks the village. Additionally, one of the most impressive effects of adding the movie’s character into the ride is when the faces of Davy Jones (from “Dead Man’s Chest” and “At World’s End”) and Blackbeard (from “On Stranger Tides”) were projected onto the mist before the second waterfall drop. Recently mermaids from “On Stranger Tides” have also been added to the ride.

A Cinderella Fairytale

Posted on March 13, 2015 by barbara

In honor of the new Disney “Cinderella” movie being released in March 2015, this post will discuss the history of one of the world’s most famous fairytales. For centuries now the Cinderella story has been the favorite story that little girls love to hear and they dream about someday the possibility that they could find their own “Prince Charming”. The versions of the Cinderella story that my generation fondly remembers are the 1950 Disney animated movie, the 1957 Rogers and Hammerstein television musical starring Julie Andrews and the remake that was televised in 1965 starring Leslie Ann Warren. Over the last few years there have been more modern interpretations, such as “Ever After” starring Drew Barrymore, “A Cinderella Story” starring Hillary Duff and “Another Cinderella Story” starring Selena Gomez.

A brief history of the Cinderella Fairytale

The story of Cinderella has been told throughout the centuries in different parts of the world and the lead character has been known by various names. The settings or the situations may also vary from one story to another but the basic plot is usually about a young girl who finds herself in difficult circumstances beyond her control which she valiantly overcomes.

The two most popular and well known versions date back to a very long time ago. The 1697 French story of Cendrillon was written by Charles Perrault and introduced such plot elements as the fairy godmother, the pumpkin carriage and the glass slippers. The story starts when a widower with a small daughter marries a woman with two daughters. The widower’s daughter is forced to work from dawn to dusk performing menial chores for the household and often falls asleep by the fireplace in an effort to stay warm. She frequently wakes covered in cinders and her stepsisters taunt her with the name of Cendrillon. Sadly, her father is completely unaware of the abuse and cruelty. Meanwhile, the King and Queen are planning on having a ball to introduce the Prince to the eligible young women in the hopes that he will find a wife. The stepsisters taunt Cendrillon by telling her that servants are not to be invited to the ball. On the night of the ball, the stepsisters leave dressed in their finest gowns. After they depart, Cendrillon starts to cry and suddenly her magical fairy godmother appears to transform Cendrillon’s rags into a beautiful gown and turns a pumpkin from the garden into a grand golden carriage with several mice turned into horses to pull the carriage. The final touch is a lovely pair of glass slippers to cover her bare feet but the fairy godmother warns her that Cendrillon needs to return before midnight which is when the spell will be broken and everything will return to its original state. She arrives at the ball and the Prince soon becomes enchanted with the beautiful Cendrillon and they dance together and quickly fall in love. But at the stroke of midnight Cendrillon suddenly leaves the ball and in her haste she loses one of her glass slippers. The Prince tries to follow but Cendrillon has vanished and all that remains is the glass slipper. The Prince vows to find and marry the girl who lost her shoe but won his heart! The Prince sets out find her and in his quest he travel across the countryside having all the unmarried women try on the shoe. When he appears at the home of Cendrillon, the stepsisters try on the shoe, but of course it doesn’t fit them. When it is Cendrillon’s turn to try on the shoe it fits perfectly. The story ends happily with the Prince marrying Cendrillon.

The 1812 German story of Achenputtel was written by the Brothers Grimm the plot is basically the same as the earliest version but in this one Achenputtel’s wishes are granted not by a fairy godmother but by a wishing tree that grows over her mother’s grave. The story starts “once upon a time” with Achenputtel’s mother on her deathbed making one last request which is that her daughter will always remain good and kind. A year later, Achenputtel’s father remarries a woman with two daughters who, despite the fact that they are beautiful, prove to be cruel. While Achenputtel’s father is frequently away on business he is unaware of the fact that the stepsisters steal Achenputtel’s clothes and jewels which forces her to wear rags and she is soon put to work in the kitchen as a common servant. Despite these troubling circumstances Achenputtel remains good and kind. Then the king decides to give a festival and invites all the women of the land to attend so that the prince could select one to marry. When Achenputtel asks to attend the festival, her stepmother throws a bowl of lentils into the ashes of the fireplace for her to pick up telling her that when she has finished the task she can go, meanwhile the stepmother and her daughters leave for the festival. Aschenputtel is deeply saddened about being left behind and she goes to her mother’s grave under the wishing tree and starts to weep. Desperate, she asks for help and a white bird arrives with a beautiful white gown and golden silk slippers and Aschenputtel can now go to the ball. The prince sees her at the ball and they dance together. But as the clock strikes midnight she must leave the ball before the spell it broken and in her rush to go she loses one of her golden slippers. The prince finds the slipper and vows to find the beautiful girl whose foot will fit the shoe. The next day the prince arrives at the house, first the eldest stepsister tries the shoe and it doesn’t fit and the other stepsister tries the shoe and it doesn’t fit. Then, Aschenputtel comes out of the kitchen and the prince has her try the shoe on and it fits! The prince has found her the story ends with them getting married and living “happily ever after”. (unfortunately, the story does not end well for the stepsisters and at the wedding their eyes are pecked out by the white bird).

Here is a list of some of the recent versions of the Cinderella fairytale –

“Cinderella” Disney animated movie

The Disney animated movie is probably one of the most popular and well known versions of the Cinderella fairytale. It was the twelfth Walt Disney animated movie and was released on February 15, 1950. At the time the movie was being made, the Disney Studios was experiencing some financial problems and was over $4 million dollars in debt and on the verge of bankruptcy. Disney had high hopes that “Cinderella” would be successful enough to turn the studio finances around and luckily the movie turned out to be both a critical and financial success. The movie featured such memorable songs, such as “A Dream Is A Wish Your Heart Makes”, “Biddidi-Bobbidi-Boo” and “So This Is Love”. The plot of the movie followed the French version of “Cendrillon” by Charles Perrault and featured many of the same elements of the story such as the fairy godmother, the pumpkin carriage and the glass slippers. (The 1950 Disney animated version of the Cinderella story is one that most people will remember and it will probably remain a favorite version of the fairytale for the generations that will follow)

Rodgers and Hammerstein “Cinderella” musical for television

This version of Cinderella is the only Rodgers and Hammerstein musical that has been written specifically for television and it starred Julie Andrews in the title role. The original broadcast was done live on CBS on March 31, 1957. It proved to be so popular with television audiences that it was remade in 1965 starring Lesley Ann Warren and again in 1997 starring Brandy Norwood. All three productions followed the French version of the “Cendrillion” story and featured original music by Rodgers and Hammerstein with songs such as” “In My Own Little Corner”, “Impossible, It’s Possible”, “Ten Minutes Ago” and “Do I Love You Because You’re Beautiful?”. (The 1965 televised musical version of the Cinderella story is one that most of my generation will fondly remember from their childhood)

“Ever After” – 1998 movie

The 1998 “Ever After” movie is a romantic comedy drama starring Drew Barrymore in the lead role of Danielle and Anjelica Huston as the cruel stepmother. The movie treats the story as historical fiction set in France and eliminated all the plot elements pertaining to the fairy godmother, a magical pumpkin but keep the idea of the special shoes and made them more realistic instead of glass slippers. Cleverly, the story starts with the Brothers Grimm arriving to interview a woman to find out if there is any truth to an old family story. What makes the movie different from other previous ones is that even though the film is set in the Renaissance period, the interpretation of this version of the classic fairytale is very modern in concept and features a distinctive feminist theme by having Danielle save not only the Prince at one point in the film but also herself from a less than desirable fate toward the end of the film. The story ends with the couple married while the stepmother and stepsister are justifiably destined to live a fate similar to what they imposed on Danielle as that of a lowly servant. (Of all the recent Cinderella movies, “Ever After” is a personal favorite of mine. I think it is well written with a strong female lead character in charge of her own destiny and it is beautifully filmed with great actors!)

“A Cinderella Story” movie

The 2004 “A Cinderella Story” movie is aimed at the teenage audience. The movie stars Hillary Duff as Samantha “Sam” Montgomery, Chad Michael Murray as Austin Ames, Jennifer Coolidge as Fiona the stepmother and Regina King as Rhonda the co-worker that helps her out. The movie starts when an earthquake strikes the San Fernando Valley near Los Angeles, CA. Sam’s father is killed and he has left no will to provide for Sam after his death, so the house and diner go to Fiona. Then, jump ahead eight years later, Sam is now a high school senior and living unhappily with her stepmother and her two silly stepsisters while working at the diner to save money to attend Princeton University, the studious Sam earns the nickname of “Diner Girl”. In an internet chat room, Sam meets a boy known only as “Nomad”, which is really Austin the popular quarterback of the school. “Nomad” requests that they met each other at the school masquerade dance. Sam is dressed beautifully in a white gown and is wearing a mask to hide her identity while Austin is dressed as a dashing musketeer. The two meet at the appointed hour and they share a romantic dance but before Sam can reveal who she really is it is midnight and she needs to get back to the diner before her stepmother finds out that she is gone, in her haste to leave Sam loses her cell phone. Of course, when Austin tries to find out who the phone belongs to several girls, including Sam’s stepsisters, claim be the mystery girl. The stepsister’s find out that Sam is in fact the mystery girl and they tell Austin’s ex-girlfriend, a popular cheerleader, and during the school pep rally for the big game they reveal Sam as the mystery girl. Sam is humiliated and believes Austin betrayed her. Meanwhile, when the notice of Sam’s acceptance to Princeton comes in the mail, Fiona hides the letter and tells Sam her application was rejected and she now believes that she will be stuck working at the diner for a very long time. Eventually, with the help of Rhonda, Sam regains her confidence to stand up to Fiona and tells her she is quitting and moves in with Rhonda. Sam also finds the courage to confront Austin in the locker room before the game. Later, while out on the field during the game, Austin sees Sam in the stands and leaves the field to apologize to her. They kiss as the rain starts to fall ending the long drought that has plagued Southern California for so long. Later, Sam is back at her old home packing up her belongings and Sam finds her father’s will hidden in one of her children’s fairytale books. It seems that according to the will her father has left everything to Sam and not Fiona. At the end of the movie, Rhonda is now the manager of the diner and Fiona and the stepsisters are forced to work off the money they “stole” from Sam. The last scene of the movie shows Sam and Austin driving off together to travel to Princeton.

“Another Cinderella Story” movie

The 2008 “Another Cinderella Story” is another movie aimed at the teenage audience. It is a romantic musical version of the Cinderella story and stars Selena Gomez as Mary Santiago who is a high school student who has dreams of becoming a dancer. Like most Cinderella stories, Mary lives with her stepmother Dominique, played by Jane Lynch, who forces Mary to do menial work around the house. Joey Parker, as played by Drew Seeley, is a famous singer/dancer that has recently returned to finish his senior year at the same school as Mary. The two meet at a masquerade dance and Joey quickly notices Mary, but he doesn’t know who she is since she is wearing a mask, and they enjoy a fabulous tango. But as most Cinderella stories go, Mary must suddenly leave the dance at the stroke of midnight and rush home before her stepmother realizes she is gone. This time in her haste to go it is not a shoe that Mary leaves behind but a MP3 player. Joey finds it and takes it to school to search for the girl who lost it and eventually Joey finds out it was Mary. The movie ends with Mary winning a dance competition hosted by Joey and she gets into a prestigious dance school.

“Cinderella” – 2015 Disney live action movie

The latest version of the Cinderella story is being released in March 2017 by Disney. It is a live-action version this time and not an animated film. The story starts when her father unexpectedly dies and Ella (Lily James) finds herself at the mercy of her cruel stepmother (Cate Blanchett) and stepsisters, and she is forced to become their maid. Despite her circumstances, she refuses to despair. An invitation to a palace ball gives Ella hope that she might reunite with the dashing stranger (Richard Madden) that she had met in the woods, but her stepmother prevents her from going. Of course, she receives help from a beggar woman who has a magic touch for ordinary things.

The Heir and the Spare

Posted on March 10, 2015 by barbara

Next month will mark the arrival of Prince William and Kate’s second child; their oldest child Prince George was born in July 2013. Since Prince George is currently third in the line of succession to the British throne that would make him the eventual “heir” and his new sibling would be the “spare”.

The history of England has frequently been affected by the rules of the line of succession and there have been many spares that have gone on to inherit the throne. One example from long ago is King Henry VIII; he was the second son of King Henry VII and Elizabeth of York and when his older brother, Arthur, died the crown passed to the younger Henry. A more recent example is George VI, the second son of King George VI and Queen Mary. His older brother, Edward, famously abdicated the throne for “the woman that he loved”, the American divorcee Wallis Simpson and the crown passed to the younger brother George. (more on these two brothers later in the post)

Currently the most recent “spares” have lived for many years in the shadows of their elder brothers but have still been able to have a life of their own within the confines of the Royal family and have occasionally stolen the spotlight from their older brother with mischievous and scandalous behavior. Prince Andrew, the Duke of York and the second son of Queen Elizabeth II will continue to move farther down the line of succession with each additional royal birth and the popular Prince Harry, the second son of Prince Charles and the grandson of the Queen, who will also move further down the line of succession as his brother, Prince William, has more children.

Now, let discuss some of Britain most famous “heirs and spares” …

Prince Albert Victor and Prince George

Prince Albert Victor and Prince George were the sons of Prince Albert Edward, the Prince of Wales, and Alexandra of Denmark. Prince Albert Victor (then known as the Duke of Clarence) died suddenly in 1892 from a brief illness. His brother, Prince George, assumed the role as second in the line of succession to the British throne. Through their shared grief over the death Prince Albert Victor, Prince George and his brother’s former fiancée, Princess Mary of Teck, grew very close and they quickly fell in love. Queen Victoria, the Prince’s grandmother, was very fond of Princess Mary and encourage their union, the royal couple married in 1893. Then, after the long reign of Queen Victoria came to an end with her death in 1901, Prince Albert Edward became King Edward VII (until recently he had held the record as the longest serving Prince of Wales and heir to the British throne). King Edward VII only reigned for a short time, almost nine years, and he died in 1910. His son, Prince George, became King George V and he reigned from 1910 to 1936. King George V and Queen Mary were married for forty-four years and had six children.

Prince Edward and Prince Albert

Prince Edward and Prince Albert were the sons of King George V and Queen Mary. The elder one, Prince Edward the Prince of Wales, grew into a charismatic man who was a perpetual bachelor that enjoyed socializing with married women while the younger one, Prince Albert the Duke of York, was shy and introverted with a nervous stutter and he was married to Lady Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon since 1923. Prince Edward ultimately met an American woman named Wallis Simpson and became seriously involved. Then, King George V died and Prince Edward ascended to the throne as King Edward VIII. During the next 12 months, before his official coronation, Wallis divorced her husband and King Edward planned to marry her. This caused a constitutional crisis because the Church of England did not recognize divorce and Parliament eventually forced King Edward to abdicate and as a result his brother, Prince Albert, became King George VI. It has been said that the stress of being the monarchy along with the onset of World War II, not to mention lung cancer caused by a life-long habit of smoking, caused his early death at the age of 56. With the death of King George in 1952, his eldest daughter ascended to the throne, this was because King George had no sons and only two daughters, so the crown went to Queen Elizabeth II and she is only the sixth women in the history of England to become the ruling monarch.

Princess Elizabeth and Princess Margaret

Princess Elizabeth and Princess Margaret are/were the daughters of King George VI and Queen Elizabeth and they were only 10 and 6 when their father ascended to the throne of England. The girls enjoyed a special closeness with their parents and had a relatively quiet childhood living in a house on Burton Street in Mayfair section of London and later at Buckingham Palace and Windsor Castle when their father became King. Princess Elizabeth, the eldest daughter, was very serious, studious and orderly almost to the point of obsession but she also had a wonderful sense of humor. Princess Elizabeth married Prince Philip (now known as the Duke of Edinburgh) in 1947. Princess Margaret, the younger daughter was said to be the more beautiful and glamorous one and as a child she was very mischievous which was a trait that was carried over when she got older. Princess Margaret had a scandalous affair with Peter Townsend and after her father’s death in 1952 Townsend divorced his wife with the intention of marrying Princess Margaret. By this time, Princess Elizabeth was now Queen Elizabeth II, and despite the fact that Princess Margaret was truly happy, the Queen could not grant her permission for them to marry because the Church of England and Parliament strongly advised against marriage to a divorced man. Princess Margaret later married Antony Armstrong-Jones (now known as the Earl of Snowdon) in 1960, they had two children but eventually divorced in 1978 and Princess Margaret died in 2002. Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip have been married for over 68 years and they have four children. In September 2015, the Queen will surpass the record set by Queen Victoria thereby making her the longest serving English monarch.

Prince Charles and Prince Andrew

Prince Charles and Prince Andrew are the sons of Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip, the Duke of Edinburgh. Much has been written about the older brother Prince Charles (known as the Prince of Wales) especially in the last twenty years, but growing up he tended to be serious and always the dutiful son who did as he was told. The younger brother Prince Andrew (known as the Duke of York) was quite the playboy dating several beautiful women until he eventually married in Sarah Ferguson in 1986. They were married for ten years, had two daughters and divorced in 1996. Prince Charles married Lady Diana Spencer in a grand royal wedding in 1981 and they had two sons. The royal couple scandalously divorced in 1996 after accusations of infidelity made the headline of newspapers and tabloids. Tragically, Princess Diana died in 1997 in a car accident in Paris, France. Several years later, Prince Charles married Camilla Parker Bowles in 2005, she is now known as the Duchess of Cornwall. Currently Prince Charles has become the longest serving heir apparent in the history of Britain, 59 years and counting from 1952 to the present. (The previous record was set by Prince Charles’ great-great-grandfather, King Edward VII who was the son of Queen Victoria)

Royal Note: Princess Anne was the second child and only daughter of Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip. At the time there was a century old English law that strictly determined the line of succession to inherit the throne. The Act of Settlement 1701 gave preference to male heirs over female members of the family, meaning that a male would take the place of older female siblings in the order of succession. In this case, en Princess Anne fell farther down the line of succession when her younger brothers, Prince Andrew and Prince Edward, were born. Princess Anne has been married twice, her first marriage was to Mark Phillips in 1973, they had two children but divorced in 1992. Her second marriage was to Timothy Laurence in 1992.

Prince William and Prince Harry

Prince William and Prince Harry are the sons of Prince Charles and Princess Diana. Much like their predecessors, the “heir” tended to be more aware of their destiny and was expected to behave in the manner of a future monarch while the “spare” had a less restrictions and a more carefree life with less pressure. Princess Diana made a concerted effort to also exposure her children to life outside the palace walls and she took them on casual and fun trips to McDonald’s and Walt Disney World but also more serious places such as homeless shelters and AIDS clinics.

The younger brother, Prince Henry but better known as Harry, went to the same secondary schools as his older brother but then decided not to go to university but to serve his honorable duty in the British military same as the generations before him. Prince Harry enrolled at the Royal Military Academy at Sandhurst and received his commission as a second lieutenant. In 2007, he went to Afghanistan and served there for 77 days with no publicity until after his return. In 2012, he returned to Afghanistan for a 20 week deployment with the British Army Air Corps. Currently Prince Harry is not married and enjoying his life as a bachelor on the London social scene.

The oldest brother, Prince William, went on to study at Eton and later the University of St. Andrews located in Scotland where he met his future wife Kate Middleton. Then he completed officer training at Sandhurst and receiving his commission as a lieutenant and then trained as a military pilot eventually working with the RAF Search and Rescue Forces as a helicopter ambulance pilot. Prince William married Kate Middleton in 2011, had a son named Prince George in 2013 and are expecting their second child in 2015.

Currently Prince Charles is heir to the British throne. His son, Prince William, is currently second in the line of succession followed by his son, Prince George.

Royal Note: Recently in October of 2011 at the Commonwealth Meeting held in Perth, Australia the heads of the sixteen Commonwealth countries, with Queen Elizabeth II as their head of state, announced changes to the Act of Settlement. The Perth Agreement is the provision made to the original act of succession which proposed an end to the first born male preference. This was a much debated issue since it would change the centuries old rule and set precedence that would directly affect the children of Prince William and Kate, those members of the royal family born before 2011 would keep their place in the line of succession. To put this new ruling into perspective, Prince William and Kate had been recently married but it was before they were expecting their first child. So, if they had a girl it would become the next in line to the throne and remain at that position even if a brother were to follow her. Of course this point was moot because Prince William and Kate’s first child was a boy!

For information about British Royal Wedding, please check out the four part series and click on the link to Part One. For information about the tradition of the British Royal Births & Christenings, please click on the link.

Travel – Clarence House

Posted on March 3, 2015 by barbara

Clarence House has been the royal residence of many members of the British Royal Family throughout the last 170 years. In this post I will discuss the history of the Clarence House and the famous royal family members that have lived there. I will also discuss the building’s exterior architecture and the interior design throughout the years and give a brief tour of some of the rooms of the first floor of Clarence House.

The History of Clarence House

Clarence House is located in the City of Westminster and is adjacent to St. James Palace. It was commissioned by the Prince William, Duke of Clarence, designed by John Nash and built between 1825 and 1827. After the death of his brother, King George IV, Buckingham Palace was still under construction and the new King William IV decided he preferred his home at Clarence House and remained there until his death in 1837. (Royal Note: When the House of Parliament was severely damaged by a fire in 1834, King William offered Buckingham Palace as its new location but the offer was declined)

After the death of King William, Princess Augusta, his unmarried sister moved into Clarence House and lived there until her own death in 1840. The next royal family member to make Clarence House their home was Victoria the Duchess of Kent, she was the mother of Queen Victoria and she lived there from 1841 to 1861.

After the death of the Duchess of Kent, Clarence House remained vacant for five years until the Victoria’s second son, Prince Alfred the Duke of Edinburgh moved there in 1866. Over the next 40 years he was frequently gone because he was traveling the world with the British Navy or making Royal visits as the Queen’s representative in foreign countries. During that time he married the Grand Duchess Marie Alexandrovna, the daughter of Alexander II the Tsar of Russia, in 1874 and Clarence House was renovated and decorated in a more lavish and grand style. Then in 1893, Prince Alfred became the Duke of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha and moved his family to Germany but he retained Clarence House for his personal use on his visits back to England until his death in 1900. (Royal Note: Prince Alfred inherited the title from his uncle, Duke Ernest, who was the older brother of Prince Albert, his father)

After the death of Prince Alfred, Queen Victoria’s third son, Prince Arthur the Duke of Connaught and Strathearn moved into Clarence House and it became his London residence. Prince Arthur was frequently gone because of his extended overseas duties with the British Army in both India and Canada; he also served as Governor-General of Canada from 1911 to 1916. Eventually Prince Arthur returned to England after his world travels and he lived at Clarence House until his death in 1942.

With the death of Prince Arthur and the onset World War II, Clarence House served another purpose other than a royal residence and during the war it was used by the British Red Cross Headquarters with over two hundred staff members of the Foreign Relations Department who worked on behalf of the British prisoners of war held overseas.

After the war, Clarence House was in need of extensive repairs because the building had sustained some damage during the German bombing raids on London and the surrounding area. When the renovations were completed Princess Elizabeth and her new husband, Prince Phillip the Duke of Edinburgh moved into Clarence House in 1949 and they lived there during the early years of their marriage. In 1953, after the death of her father, King George VI, the newly crowned Queen Elizabeth moved from Clarence House to Buckingham Palace with her husband and two small children. (Royal Note: Prince Charles was just a toddler when his parents moved into Clarence House and his sister, Princess Anne was actually born there on August 15, 1950)

After the death of her husband, King George, the dowager Queen now known as Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother and her daughter Princess Margaret moved from the Buckingham Palace and into Clarence House. In 1960, after Princess Margaret married Antony Armstrong-Jones the royal couple moved into Kensington Palace. The Queen Mother remained at Clarence House as the sole resident but surrounded by her loving and devoted staff of servants. The Queen Mother loved to lavishly entertain and she enjoyed tea parties and formal dinners which many foreign Heads of State and famous celebrities attended throughout the years. (Royal Note: One important guest that stayed at Clarence House was Princess Diana and prior to her engagement announcement to Prince Charles she moved in and stayed with the Queen Mother until her wedding day in 1981)

But perhaps one of the most famous events in recent years was the Queen Mother’s annual birthday appearances at the gates of Clarence House on Stable Yard Road to greet the public. This tradition started for her 70th birthday in 1970 and continued until 2001 for her 101th birthday, the beloved Queen Mother died in 2002.

Currently Clarence House is the official London residence of Prince Charles, the Prince of Wales, and his wife Camilla, the Duchess of Cornwall. After the death of their mother, Princess Diana, in 1977 her sons split their time between their father’s house, Highgrove, near Tetbury in Gloucestershire and then later at Clarence House. Prince William lived at Clarence House from 2003 until his marriage to Kate Middleton in 2011 and Prince Harry lived there from 2003 until 2012 when he also moved to Kensington Palace. (Royal Note: When Prince William moved out of Clarence House after his marriage he moved into the same apartment at Kensington Palace that Princess Margaret once occupied until her death in 2002. It is believed that the Prince decided that his mother’s, Princess Diana, former apartment at Kensington Palace held too many memories and it would be too bittersweet to return to his childhood home).

The Architecture and Interior Design of Clarence House

Clarence House was built next to St. James Palace and it was the preferred residence of King William IV. He commissioned the architect John Nash to design the building while he was still the Duke of Clarence and it was completed in 1827. Throughout the years, Clarence House has seen many changes and alterations by the various members of the royal family that have lived in the house and bears little resemblance to the original building that Nash designed. At the time that the Duke of Clarence moved into the building it was a three-story structure that was constructed on a corner lot located on the south-west side of St. James Palace with the main entrance facing Stable Yard Road. The Duchess of Clarence decorated the interior of their new home in a refined style and it was very simple when compared to St. James Palace or later the luxurious Buckingham Palace.

The next resident to make significant changes to Clarence House was Prince Alfred, the second son of Queen Victoria. When the Duke of Edinburgh married the Grand Duchess Maria Alexandrovna of Russia in 1874 he had Clarence House enlarged and redecorated. He had a fourth-story added to the structure and the main entrance was relocated to the south side of the building and featured Doric columns. A Russian Orthodox chapel was also added on the first floor for his wife.

After the death of Prince Alfred, his brother Prince Arthur moved into Clarence House. When he married Princess Louise of Prussia the rooms were renovated with oak paneling and plaster molding and decorated in a distinct Victorian style with overstuffed furnishings and numerous items gathered by the Prince during his world travels, there is documentation listing over 400 pieces of oriental porcelain, bronze and jade figurines belonging to the Prince.

Then, after the death of Prince Arthur, Clarence House was used as the headquarters of the Red Cross during World War II and many of the rooms were altered to accommodate over 200 workers. When the war ended the building needed to be reconstructed and the exterior was completely redone because it had been severely damaged during the German bombing of London.

By 1949, Clarence House became the home of Princess Elizabeth and Prince Philip. After their 1947 wedding it took two years to complete renovations to the building before they could move in. Despite the fact that Princess Elizabeth was the eldest daughter of King George VI and heir to the throne, their home was very simple and elegantly decorated. The royal couple enjoyed their time in Clarence House and lived quietly there for only a few years until King George died after a lengthy illness. The new Queen Elizabeth II moved into Buckingham Palace with her husband and two small children.

At that time, the decision was made that the Queen Mother and her youngest daughter Princess Margaret would move from Buckingham Palace and into the Clarence House but before that could happen the interior rooms needed to be refurbished and the building needed to be completely rewired. When the house was redecorated the Queen Mother furnished the rooms with her large collection of important British artwork and wonderful decorative items such as Faberge and beautiful English porcelain and silver pieces.

Over the next 70 years, Clarence House was the site for many of the Queen Mother’s official and private dinners and afternoon teas. The table was always set with beautiful china and polished silver which made the perfect setting for deliciously prepared meals and best wines were served. Foreign Heads of State who would customary see the dowager Queen at the start of their State Visit to England and the Queen Mother also entertained an eclectic mix of famous celebrities and ordinary citizens from the her various charities.

When the Queen Mother died in 2002, Clarence House became the official London residence of her grandson Prince Charles. Before the Prince of Wales and his wife, Camilla, the Duchess of Cornwall could move into the house it took almost a year to complete the extensive renovations and redecorations. As a tribute to his beloved grandmother, the Prince retained the basic color schemes of the rooms and positioned some of the Queen Mother’s furnishings back to their original placement in the rooms. He also used numerous pieces from the Queen Mother’s art collection combined with his own personal collection.

A Brief Tour of Clarence House

Clarence House is open to the public only during two months each summer and visitors can take a guided tour which includes several rooms on the ground floor. The tour starts with a walk through the garden and through the famous “Queen Mother’s Birthday” gate and then into Clarence House.

Once inside Clarence House visitors will be in the Entrance Hall and then they will proceed into the Lancaster Room which is normally used as a reception room for the personal guests of the Prince of Wales and the Duchess of Cornwall. The room was given the name because the people of Lancaster generously gifted money to Princess Elizabeth and the Duke of Edinburgh for their wedding in 1947 and the funds were used to decorate and furnish this room of Clarence House.

The Morning Room is located on the other side of the Entrance Hall and is currently used by the Prince of Wales and the Duchess of Cornwall when they entertain their guests. The Morning Room was the Queen Mother’s favorite room when she lived in Clarence House and Prince Charles chose to decorate it with several of his grandmother’s personal items, such as her collection of Royal Anchor Chelsea porcelain. Two paintings of important historical significance displayed in this room are of two former residents of Clarence House. The first is a small portrait set on the fireplace mantel which shows the Queen Mother in 1908 when she was simply known as Lady Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon. The second one is the first official portrait of a seven year old Princess Elizabeth now known as Queen Elizabeth II and the daughter of the Queen Mother and the mother of Prince Charles.

The Morning Room is customarily used for official portraits taken on special occasions, such as 2012 when Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip posed with their sons and daughters for their 65^th wedding anniversary and in 2013 for Prince George’s christening. (Royal Note: The Chippendale gilded sofa that is seen in both photos is part of a set of two sofas and two bergeres chairs dating back to 1773 and originally commissioned by the Duke of Gloucester)

Clarence House - Morning Room - Queen Elizabeth and Prince Phillips 65th wedding anniversary

The Library is located adjacent to the Morning Room and hung on the wall, on either side of the double door entrance, are portraits of the Prince’s grandmother and mother. Both paintings are by the Russian artist Savely Sorine, the first was done in 1923 and captures the Queen Mother at the age of twenty-three when she was the Duchess of York and the second was done in 1948 and shows Queen Elizabeth II at the age of twenty-two.

Another set of double doors lead from the Library into the Dining Room. The dining table is set for a formal dinner with lovely china, beautiful crystal glasses and silverware. A portrait of the Queen Mother is hung above the fireplace as another tribute to Clarence House’s most famous resident; the portrait remains unfinished because of the onset of World War II. (Royal Note: When the Queen Mother dined she sat in the middle chair with her back to the fireplace and if Prince Charles was present he sat directly across from her. Today the Prince retains that tradition and sits in the middle of the table facing the portrait of the Queen Mother)

The final room of the tour is the Garden Room which is said to be Prince Charles favorite room and is filled with his personal items gathered from his world travels. Some notable items in the room are a large tapestry formerly owned by Napoleon III that the Prince acquired in France and a Welsh harp representing the Prince’s close ties with Wales. Positioned in a prominent place in the room is a Chinese lacquer writing desk that originally belonged to Queen Mary, the piece was made in the 1700s in Germany. (Royal Note: Another treasured item that once belonged to the Queen Mother is a signed copy of “The Noel Coward Song Book”, the playwright was a personal friend)

This concludes the tour of Clarence House and visitors will proceed back down the corridor to the Entrance Hall and exit back into the garden.

For more information about the longest resident of Clarence House, Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother, please click on the link. For information about two of the other royal residences in London, Buckingham Palace and Kensington Palace, please click on the links.

Decor – Framed Family Handprints

Posted on February 24, 2015 by barbara

My basic decorating style in my home is to surround me and my family with items that have special meaning in our lives. Sometimes these items can be gathered during family vacations or memorabilia from special family events like weddings, baptisms or birthday celebrations. Our house is also filled with family photos because I like looking at them and remembering people, places or things that we have done together as a family throughout the years. (Yes, I guess you could say I am a sentimental old fool!!)

One of my favorite decorative items that relates to family is the “Three Generations” photo frame which holds a picture of three hands. When I saw the photo frame while shopping one day I knew that the photo would look great in it! My young daughter’s hand is so small and there is paint on her finger, my hand is slightly larger and my mom’s hand is more wrinkled. The photo was taken just a few years before she passed away and to me it tells the story of three generations of women in my family. (We also used the photo as the title page for the video that we played at my mom’s funeral service and it was perfect to reflect the feeling of family)

Another favorite family decorative item that we did very recently was the family hands craft project which was quick, easy and inexpensive. We started by taking three pieces of scrapbook paper and trace each of the hands of the members of your family. For a smaller family you can lay each of the hand tracings on top of each other or for a larger family the tracings can be laid overlapping side by side. Shown below is another variation for the family hands craft project is using paper for a wonderful overlapped look. (Craft Note / Tip: I hung this on the wall in our home next to another craft project, Words into Art. Be sure to write the names and date that the hand tracings were taken. Please click on the link for a list of craft supplies and complete instructions)

Shown below are more family hands craft projects that I have made as decorative art for our home –

Framed childhood handprints with special poem

This was originally posted in May 2013 and it is a great craft project to do with the kids to create a very sentimental Mother’s Day gift or it is a great gift idea for the grandparents for Christmas or Grandparent’ Day. Children handprints, especially when they are very young, always make interesting art work for a home especially when framed with a special poem. (For more information about Childhood Handprints, please click on the link)

Framed Zoo Animal Handprints

This was originally posted in April 2013 and it is another inexpensive craft project to do with the kids to create whimsical zoo animals with family handprints. Several handprints of the same animal are great for the whole family (create a herd of elephants walking across the savannah, a group of monkeys hanging from a tree or a group of ducks swimming on the water) Be sure to include individual animal prints for separate family members that expresses their personalities. (maybe a lion for the father, a tiger for the mother, a monkey, zebra, giraffe, elephant or flamingo for the kids) Frame each print in a white mat and simple black frame which won’t distract from the colorful prints. Take the time to label the prints with the names of each family member and be sure to include the year. Several of these individual prints along with one group print would look great to create an interesting wall display in a family room. (For more information about Zoo Animal Handprints, please click on the link)

The Enchanted Manor

a lifestyle blog by Barbara Jones

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