Looty the royal booty
QUESTION Why did Queen Victoria call her Pekingese dog Looty? What other dogs did she own? Looty was quite the celebrity in his day and his name was rather tactless.
Pekingese dogs were once the exclusive property of the Chinese Royal Courts — ‘lion dogs’ that were the emperor’s highly valued pets — and when Westerners first caught sight of them, they stole them.
this was during the Second opium War when British and French forces stormed the forbidden city of Peking in 1860, looting and burning the Summer Palace.
Buddhist monks killed as many dogs as possible to prevent them leaving the palace (along with many stolen treasures), but looters snatched at least five.
When Captain John Harte Dunne presented one as a gift to Queen Victoria, calling him ‘Looty’ must have seemed funny and appropriate. the term ‘loot’ came to be a badge of honour, demonstrating imperial humiliation.
there were times when Victoria preferred the company of dogs to that of her children, and their affection and companionship provided emotional support after Albert died in 1861, aged 42.
During the 1860s and 1870s, Victoria was particularly fond of smooth-haired collies. She owned 88 in total, the favourite being a border collie named Sharp, acquired in 1866, who she considered her most loyal companion.
one contemporary wrote: ‘He had all his meals with his mistress, being seldom away from her.’ When Sharp died in 1897, he was buried in an elaborate tomb in Windsor Home Park, Berkshire.
Victoria’s fondness for dogs stemmed from her childhood. She had few friends until, at the age of 13, she was given a Cavalier King Charles spaniel called Dash, who became her closest comrade.
Like Sharp, Dash was honoured with a noble burial in the grounds of Windsor Castle when he passed away.
Victoria became one of the best-known Pomeranian owners in history and during her final years the most cherished was turi, often seen sitting on her lap when out in the queen’s carriage. From her deathbed in 1901, it is said that Victoria asked for turi. He was brought and placed beside her, remaining at her side until she died. Emilie Lamplough, Trowbridge, Wilts.
QUESTION Was there a king of the Isle Of Wight?
HenRy BeAUCHAmP was born on march 21, 1425, the son of Richard Beauchamp, 13th earl of Warwick, and Isabel le Despenser. Richard had been the regent of France and, as Captain of Calais, presided over the trial and execution of Joan of Arc.
As a child, Henry Beauchamp was the close companion of Henry VI who, after Richard Beauchamp’s death in 1439, loaded his former playmate with titles.
In 1444, he was made premier earl of the realm, on April 14, 1445, he was created Duke of Warwick and around the same time he was granted the Forest of Feckenham.
As Duke of Warwick, he was preceded by the Duke of norfolk, the earl marshall of england, much to the ire of the Duke of Buckingham, whom he displaced.
It is said Henry IV created Beauchamp the King of the Isle of Wight, crowning him personally, to put his friend on an equal footing.
this event is recorded in John Leland’s Itineraries (vol. vi. p. 91.) supposedly from an original source, yet the authenticity of this event is doubted by historians.
Strong support for the story comes from the 18th-century book the History of the Isle of Wight, which was credited to Sir Richard Worsley (1751-1805), who completed it, though it was, in fact, mainly compiled by his grandfather, Sir James, and father, Sir thomas.
they cite as proof a faithful representation of the duke taken from an ancient church window, depicting Henry Beauchamp with an imperial crown on his head and a sceptre before him.
this honourable mark of the royal favour, however, conveyed no regal authority and there is reason to conclude that though titular king, he did not even possess the lordship of the island.
Henry Beauchamp died soon after these honours had been conferred on him, on June 11, 1445, when the regal title expired with him, making him the first and last Duke of Warwick. Anne Neville, Coventry. FURtHeR to the earlier answer, in Sussex we have a similar traditional item known as the Sussex trug or trug basket made of cleft willow, which is used for potato picking.
During World War II, manpower on the land was scarce, so anyone available had to lend a hand, including children.
It was hard work, but not without its excitement as German aircraft would sometimes sneak in across the Channel and strafe field workers.
I recall one occasion when, while potato picking, we heard a German aircraft coming low towards the field in which we were working.
We all had to run and jump into the ditch as the aircraft came across and strafed the field. We boys watched from the safety of the ditch, but one of the new land girls was very frightened.
our old carter, a veteran of World War I, stood up and waved his fist at the plane as it passed over us.
As the bullets hit the ground, the trugs we had left lying on the field — being very light — were dancing in the air. I always remembered that place as the field of the dancing trugs.
Charles G. Grey, Horsham, W. Sussex.
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