Aristocratic houses show off their links with the monarchy

Steeped in history, both Harewood House and Chatsworth, seat of the Duke and Duchess of Devonshire, have royal links going back generations.

And, during the weekend’s celebrations at Chatsworth, an exhibition will be running with artefacts on display including the robes worn by four generations of the Cavendish family at the Queen’s Coronation.

Visitors will also be able to see programmes from the Coronation, annotated by members of the Devonshire family, and the state carriage in which the Duke, his mother and his father – the late 11th Duke of Devonshire – travelled to Westminster Abbey in 1953.

Chatsworth’s exhibitions curator Hannah Obee said; “One of the main things is the state chariot, which was previously high up in our Carriage House restaurant where people couldn’t really see it.

“It’s now in the Painted Hall where it looks really dramatic – it takes up half of the room.

“The 11th Duke and his wife Deborah, now the Dowager Duchess, had it brought down to London in 1953 and used it to go to Westminster Abbey for the Coronation, with horses from Derbyshire and a local driver. They picked up the Duke and Duchess and also the current Duke, who then was a little boy of nine years old, and took them through the streets of London to get to the Abbey.

“However, the driver wasn’t a London man, and he didn’t know the way, so he got lost.

“Apparently the late Duke was panicking that he was going to be late, and the only way he had to communicate with the driver was through a thread attached to the button on his coat, and threaded into the carriage,” added Ms Obee.

“The Duke had to pull on it, stick his head out of the window and, in full peer’s robes, direct him to Westminster Abbey.”

Other attractions at Chatsworth over the weekend include a 1950s-style giant street party in the garden.

A large screen on Salisbury Lawn will show the Jubilee procession next Tuesday and special walking tours of the garden will highlight the royal links with Chatsworth.

Meanwhile, at Harewood House, near Leeds, the weekend will be also marked with a street party, complete with big screens showing live coverage of events in London.

An estate spokesman said: “As Harewood was once a royal household from 1929 to 1965, we’re proud of our heritage, so we’ll be celebrating the jubilee in a quintessential way, with classic English food at the Courtyard Café so you can fully immerse yourself in all things royal.

“To make a day of it, you’ll just be in time to enjoy our Royal Harewood exhibitions, including photographs by royal photographer Marcus Adams of Her Majesty from babyhood to motherhood.”

Two jubilee-themed exhibitions are currently running at the House – Royal Harewood: Celebrating the Life of the Yorkshire Princess, which details Harewood House’s links with the royal family, and Marcus Adams: Royal Photographer which features several photographs of the Queen, dating back to when she was just seven months old.

The spokesman said that the Royal Harewood exhibition offers a “unique insight into the life of HRH Princess Mary in Yorkshire, including some previously unseen items from her Fabergé and fan collection, many given as gifts when Harewood was a royal household.”