Etiquette and Pushy Tourists

Seriously?!? – Among the many applicants for admission to Marlborough House, none showed greater disappointment than 3 women from Washington. They had a fully authenticated permit, but they arrived at 8:30 in the morning. Their pass distinctly stated that the Palace was open to visitors only between 3 and 6 in the afternoon, but they implored the official in charge to let them see the children of the Prince and Princess, declaring they had come all the way from the United States with that special object. They were told it was “contrary to etiquette to allow strangers to see the children in the absence of the Prince and Princess, or without their authority.”

Poorly Mannered, but Well-Moneyed Americans, are Interested in Palaces – American Visitors Have New Fad – “Yankee” Tourists Invade Royal Residences in Droves – Admitted Freely by King's Sanction, but Detectives Watch Them

Special Cable to The Call

LONDON. Sept 2.— Never within the memory of some of the royal servants have Americans shown such an interest in the Royal Palaces of England as they have this summer. The average of nine to ten parties which used to go through Buckingham Palace and Marlborough House a few seasons ago, has increased this year to forty or thereabouts, with the result that an extra staff of attendants and guides had to be employed. Marlborough House appears to have had greater attraction for visitors than even Buckingham Palace, especially with women, who all want to see the children of the Prince and Princess of Wales. What surprised the household servants most, was that nearly every party came around with an official document authorizing admission. In every instance these were signed by the Lord Chamberlain or by Sir Dighton Probyn; the keeper of the Prince of Wales’ privy purse. 

There were so many Americans, disappointed last year, that at the beginning of the present season both the King and the Prince of Wales gave instructions that no unnecessary obstacles should be placed in the way of Americans desiring to see the Palaces, but it may be of interest to those who succeeded in obtaining ready permission to know that an extra staff of special detectives kept them under observation the whole of the time. This precaution was taken in consequence of the presence of three or four men from Chicago, who were doing London, and who were suspected of revolutionary leanings. These men could not be allowed inside the gates of the Palaces under any circumstances, even if they had succeeded in obtaining permits signed by King Edward himself. 

Among the many applicants for admission to Marlborough House, none showed greater disappointment than the three women from Washington who gave their names as Miss Ida Ingersoll, Mrs. Dereham Holtsinger and Mrs. Madeline Kurtz. They were provided with a fully authenticated permit, but they reached Marlborough House at 8:30 in the morning. On being told that their pass distinctly stated that the Palace was open to visitors only between 3 and 6 in the afternoon, they implored the official in charge to let them see the children of the Prince and Princess, declaring they had come all the way from the United States with that special object. They were told it was contrary to etiquette to allow strangers to see the children in the absence of the Prince and Princess, or without their authority. They could not wait for that as they had to leave for Southampton to catch their steamer in a few hours. – San Francisco Call, 1905

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