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15 October 2014
WW2 - People's War

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The 'Royal Tea-Party' Incident

by Jenni Waugh

Contributed by听
Jenni Waugh
People in story:听
Camilla
Location of story:听
Chelsea, London
Background to story:听
Civilian
Article ID:听
A3695682
Contributed on:听
21 February 2005

Lilly has asked that her family name and other names in her story be changed to protect the individuals mentioned therein. The original typescript of Lilly鈥檚 story has been deposited in Shropshire Archives. For Lilly's own story, see: A3694980. For her brother, Edgar's story, see A3695718.

All About My Mother

My mother, Camilla, was born in Austria in 1889. She came to London on a domestic work permit in February 1939 when staying in Vienna on racial grounds became dangerous and of course also to join me. She had been a widow for many years and had to leave her home and belongings to start a new life. She belonged to a generation where women did not go out to earn a living, spoke no English and it was relatively an advantage for her to begin work for a family of Austrian 茅migr茅s where there were no language difficulties. However, even for someone as conversant with housework as my mother that household was too demanding. Luckily my neighbour in Chelsea, Mrs Lafone, engaged her as a cook and so she could somehow adapt to the new life.

The Royal incident

Whilst my mother was working for the Austrian family, the lady of the house [an eminent piano teacher] invited to tea one of her former pupils, who was related to the Queen. She had prepared dainty sandwiches, cut the cake into bite size portions and put everything on the trolley with instructions to my mother at a certain signal to just put boiling water in the teapot and wheel the trolley into the sitting room where the royal personality was being entertained. My mother, all bedecked with apron, pushed the trolley into the room, but unfortunately tripped up over the turned-up carpet and ended up on top of the trolley. Great panic, all the food had to be picked up, dusted and on the second attempt when my mother appeared, the royal personage remarked 鈥淢rs Camilla, I thought you looked very imposing鈥 (noblesse obliged!)

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