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Yetholm's Royal Palace |
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© SCRAN
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There was a general distrust of the gypsies locally, but various people including the Quakers and a local man, John Baird, sought better conditions for the community.
He brought about measures like full time homes for the children of the gypsies (in taking some gypsy girls into his own home, others saw fit to do likewise), and encouraged their education, but this also saw the beginning of the end of their traditional way of life.
The last Queen, Esther Faa Blyth, died in 1883 and her son, crowned king in 1902, died a few years later. The gypsy community intermingled with the local folk and effectively disappeared. However, if your surname is Baillie, Tait, Douglas, Young, Gordon or Blyth, you may well have Faa blood in your veins.
Despite the demise of the gypsy royal family, the 'Gypsy Palace' still stands in Kirk Yetholm, although it now hosts commoners as a bed and breakfast.
Words: Fraser Thomson
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