“dancing and gaming, and a great supper….there could not be less than 1000 persons, but it was five of the clock in the morning before some of them could get home”.

You are personally invited to…

Dance like a Wild Boy (or Girl) … discover the secrets of the palace’s past … all when the palace doors would normally be locked!

A decadent evening of music, magic, performance and dancing at the Enchanted Palace

Entertainments to include:

• The Gaiety Engine: the last remaining Victorian freakshow!
• A Masked Ball ‘conducted’ by Lady Winnie of The Last Tuesday Society
• 300 years of scandal and intrigue from the Official Palace Gossips (in return for your own…)
• A period dance class of twirls, flourishes and bows from Past Pleasures
• Make your own paper palace and white paper roses
• Food and drink at special prices in The Orangery

Dress code:
Bold and beautiful, theatrical attire – masks are strongly encouraged

Tickets:
£15.00
Limited tickets – advance booking essential: call 0844 482 7777 or book online . Recommended for over 16s.

Times:
18.00 – 22.00
(last entry 20.30)

“a noise louder than the royal wind”

…and rushed in to find the King sprawled on the floor. He was dead by the time his servants had carried him to his bed.

To begin with, one must have excellent posture in order to carry off a feather confection or sumptuous turban. We do not want the headpiece to overpower us, as moi must still be the star of the show – not the costume. Proper posture is another skill of slow acquisition that yours truly came to possess in her school days in Switzerland. Strict nuns used to smack us with their wooden Rosary beads if our fur hats were out of balance as we trekked through the school corridors. Those who could not carry the weight of their furs well were forced to walk with books on their head down those frosty chateaux corridors. God forbid you dropped that book – no champagne or fondue for you at dinner.

Yes, it’s a hard life for some.

However, as my mother recently remarked to me at a family gathering (by which this post was inspired – I wore one of these fabulous numbers pictured above): the money spent on boarding school was well worth it. I walked like a supermodel while cousin Petunia appeared to be dragged down the gravel path by an invisible hand pulling the shocking pink tulle flower headdress. Much like yours truly pulls the strings on her dear horse Ophelia through Hyde Park every morning. Slouch, slouch…

Examples pictured here are for your inspiration!

Other stunning yet elegant pieces can be found here:

Eugenia Kim

Chanel Couture’s Paper Dream

Christian Lacroix

Look to my sartorial godmother, the Marchesa Casati, for eternal inspiration

Au Revoir,
Yours truly,
P.H. xoxo

I do enjoy reading. However, it is often hard to find the five to ten minutes to sit down with the latest Tatler, let alone the hours for one of those Russian novels my school tutors were so keen on. What I mean to say is that reading is a luxury a working girl like myself can’t always afford. With the long nights of parties and hours spent of facials and photoshoots, I am often too worn out to cucumber my eyes -- so for peace of mind so I like to flip through a good coffee table book, like Manolo’s New Shoes or Fashion Sketches by Hywell Davies. Filled with vibrant drawings of fashions so luxurious a girl can only dream of owning them all, these books put my mind at rest from the stress of the day and send me into the sweetest dreams. Moi prancing about in watercolour in Chanel couture with limited edition Blahnik’s to keep my dancing feet in step.

As you may recall from our last chat, I am often drawn to that wing of KP where the Court Dress Collection is stored. Recently, while hunting through some old Gianfranco Ferre dresses I was distracted by another odd box, and low and behold the treasure trove of glamour that sat inside. Sketch upon sketch of gowns by Norman Hartnell for H.M. Queen Elizabeth and Princess Margaret! You can’t even begin to imagine the frenzy that my imagination spiralled into. I snatched the yellowing papers by their fragile corners and dashed, almost stumbling into a portrait of Princess Diana, from the archive into my little boudoir!

Next, I went straight to the Google and began my research! Who could bring this gown back from page to stage? Ah, but first which dress to wear? Please leave your votes on the dresses shown above in the comments section! And until we next speak, keep yourselves amused with some more fashion sketches:

Fashion Designers’ Sketchbooks by Hywel Davies

Manolo’s New Shoes

The young Yves Saint Lauren sketching

Karl Lagerfeld -- A Quick Sketch

Ciao for now,
P.H. xoxo

What is a duke to do when he’s given up his military commission and holds no official posts? Interior decoration of course.

The Duke of Teck, husband of Princess “Fat” Mary, put so much effort into decorating their apartments at Kensington Palace that they gained quite a wide-ranging reputation. “How handsomely and comfortably the rooms at Kensington are arranged” wrote the Crown Princess of Prussia, whilst the Princess of Wales was “looking forward so much to pay you frequent little visits at Kensington…which I heard from all sides is quite lovely”.

Unfortunately the Duke had no real income to fund this lifestyle – he and Mary eventually built up such large debts that they were forced to flee to continental Europe in 1883.

Create your own white paper roses, as featured in Enchanted Palace -- some melancholy Victoriana from artist Tom Barnecut.