Nwicker60
27-Jan-13, 20:57
Her Majesty told her royal treasurer Sir Arthur Penn
"When I was staying up in Caithness I passed a dear little castle down by the sea"..."I thought it would be fun to have a small house"..."Do you think me mad?"
A NEW book gives an insight into the Queen Mother’s long love affair with her Highland retreat, the Castle of Mey, why she bought it back in the nineteen fifties and what it meant to her. The £25 book Counting One’s Blessings: The Selected Letters of the Queen Mother, Macmillan, reviewed in the current issue of The Mail on Sunday.. Author William Shawcross gained permission to collate and publish the letters.
I have a certain affinity with the castle as coverage of Her Majesty’s visits to the far north was part and parcel of my time in my dad, John Donaldson’s Wick-based press agency. It was in fact Hot News, as he was affectionately known, who broke the story, confirming nationwide speculation that the Queen Mother has bought the castle. None of the national media had been able to find out that the sale was a fact. It was Dad’s side-kick, photographer Ian McDonald who first learned the news, having gone out to Mey to get a photo for one of other of the daily newspapers. He was confronted by the owner, Capt Frederic Imbert Terry, who was none too pleased to see the cameraman. After some brief exchanges, the Capt relented and told Ian to take his picture, adding, as it (the castle) was no longer his concern or words to that effect, thereby confirming the sale. Ian couldn’t get back to Wick quick fast to pass the information onto Dad who couldn’t get the story phoned south, quick enough. It was the first of countless pieces he wrote about Barrogill Castle to become the Castle of Mey and visits by the Queen Mother and member of the royal family.
Onto the revealing letters, the Queen Mother tells how she first set eyes on the castle while holidaying in Caithness during the summer of 1952 (at the House of the Northern Gate, I think) not long after being widowed. Many thought it was a secluded place where she could come to terms with her loss but it is clear from the letters that it wasn’t just an islolated prop, but really meant a great deal to her.
She wrote to her treasurer Sir Arthur Penn, on August 6, 1952-“When I was staying up in Caithness, I passed a dear little castle down by the sea. When I visited it, I discovered it was going to be sold for nothing, just the value of the lead on the roof. This seemed so sad, I thought I would buy it and escape there occasionally when life became hideous. The old man (Capt. Imbert-Terry) who has lived there for a long time, was very anxious to give it to me, but I resisted the kind gesture and he has now offered it to me for £100.”
The Queen Mother continued: “It might be fun to have a small house so far away – the air is lovely and one looks at Orkney from the drawing room.”
She went on to say that the only sad thing was that part of the castle roof had blown off and the building required to be re-wired. Her Majesty concluded: “Do you think me mad?.”
Three weeks later, she informed her mother-in-law, Queen Mary about her plans stating: “Daring Mama, I wonder if you saw in the paper (presumably Dad’s story- he acted for the London papers as well as other English media) about the old castle in Caithness? I heard it was to be allowed to crumble away and I felt it was such a wrong thing to happen and that I would try to keep it going. It will only need a housekeeper and will fun to do up, gradually.”
In a 1954 letter to Sir Arthur, the Queen Mother expressed the hope her money issues would not affect the redevelopment of her beloved, castle, “the only home I have ever owned”. She wrote to him: “I don’t think that Mey will be very heavy –one must spread it out and anyway, I am praying for that. Perhaps an old person will leave me a million, what fun we’d have.”
Thus began a long association, not just with the castle but the people of Caithness who took her to her hearts.
In other letters, the Queen Mother enthuses about the seals that gather on the rocks and isn’t put off by the Caithness weather, and refers to “an easterly gale raging and horizontal rain. It’s really quite agreeable, sitting in a warm room and hearing the weather crashing at the castle...until one has to take the dogs out.”
Letters author, Sir Arthur commented: “She gathered old friends around her, danced an eightsome reel and then insisted on going to see her former ghillie, Charlie Wright at his home.”
Following her death in 2001, the Castle became a trust and a popular tourism attraction with around 30,000 visitors a year.
"When I was staying up in Caithness I passed a dear little castle down by the sea"..."I thought it would be fun to have a small house"..."Do you think me mad?"
A NEW book gives an insight into the Queen Mother’s long love affair with her Highland retreat, the Castle of Mey, why she bought it back in the nineteen fifties and what it meant to her. The £25 book Counting One’s Blessings: The Selected Letters of the Queen Mother, Macmillan, reviewed in the current issue of The Mail on Sunday.. Author William Shawcross gained permission to collate and publish the letters.
I have a certain affinity with the castle as coverage of Her Majesty’s visits to the far north was part and parcel of my time in my dad, John Donaldson’s Wick-based press agency. It was in fact Hot News, as he was affectionately known, who broke the story, confirming nationwide speculation that the Queen Mother has bought the castle. None of the national media had been able to find out that the sale was a fact. It was Dad’s side-kick, photographer Ian McDonald who first learned the news, having gone out to Mey to get a photo for one of other of the daily newspapers. He was confronted by the owner, Capt Frederic Imbert Terry, who was none too pleased to see the cameraman. After some brief exchanges, the Capt relented and told Ian to take his picture, adding, as it (the castle) was no longer his concern or words to that effect, thereby confirming the sale. Ian couldn’t get back to Wick quick fast to pass the information onto Dad who couldn’t get the story phoned south, quick enough. It was the first of countless pieces he wrote about Barrogill Castle to become the Castle of Mey and visits by the Queen Mother and member of the royal family.
Onto the revealing letters, the Queen Mother tells how she first set eyes on the castle while holidaying in Caithness during the summer of 1952 (at the House of the Northern Gate, I think) not long after being widowed. Many thought it was a secluded place where she could come to terms with her loss but it is clear from the letters that it wasn’t just an islolated prop, but really meant a great deal to her.
She wrote to her treasurer Sir Arthur Penn, on August 6, 1952-“When I was staying up in Caithness, I passed a dear little castle down by the sea. When I visited it, I discovered it was going to be sold for nothing, just the value of the lead on the roof. This seemed so sad, I thought I would buy it and escape there occasionally when life became hideous. The old man (Capt. Imbert-Terry) who has lived there for a long time, was very anxious to give it to me, but I resisted the kind gesture and he has now offered it to me for £100.”
The Queen Mother continued: “It might be fun to have a small house so far away – the air is lovely and one looks at Orkney from the drawing room.”
She went on to say that the only sad thing was that part of the castle roof had blown off and the building required to be re-wired. Her Majesty concluded: “Do you think me mad?.”
Three weeks later, she informed her mother-in-law, Queen Mary about her plans stating: “Daring Mama, I wonder if you saw in the paper (presumably Dad’s story- he acted for the London papers as well as other English media) about the old castle in Caithness? I heard it was to be allowed to crumble away and I felt it was such a wrong thing to happen and that I would try to keep it going. It will only need a housekeeper and will fun to do up, gradually.”
In a 1954 letter to Sir Arthur, the Queen Mother expressed the hope her money issues would not affect the redevelopment of her beloved, castle, “the only home I have ever owned”. She wrote to him: “I don’t think that Mey will be very heavy –one must spread it out and anyway, I am praying for that. Perhaps an old person will leave me a million, what fun we’d have.”
Thus began a long association, not just with the castle but the people of Caithness who took her to her hearts.
In other letters, the Queen Mother enthuses about the seals that gather on the rocks and isn’t put off by the Caithness weather, and refers to “an easterly gale raging and horizontal rain. It’s really quite agreeable, sitting in a warm room and hearing the weather crashing at the castle...until one has to take the dogs out.”
Letters author, Sir Arthur commented: “She gathered old friends around her, danced an eightsome reel and then insisted on going to see her former ghillie, Charlie Wright at his home.”
Following her death in 2001, the Castle became a trust and a popular tourism attraction with around 30,000 visitors a year.