Copyright©2011by8thCountessofCarnarvon

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OriginallypublishedinhardcoverinGreatBritainbyHodder&Stoughton,aHachetteU.K.company,London,in2011.

LibraryofCongressCataloging-in-PublicationDataisavailableupon

request.

eISBN:978-0-7704-3563-9

CoverdesignbyLauraKlynstraCoverphotography:©Highclere

CastleArchiveAuthorphotograph:©TobiCorney

Photography

v3.1_r2

Formyhusbandandson,whoIadore,

andmybelovedsisters

Contents

CoverTitlePageCopyrightDedication

PrologueChapter1:PompandCircumstanceChapter2:WelcometoHighclere

Chapter3:Almina,DebutanteChapter4:ATriumphforHerLadyshipChapter5:LifeDownstairs

PhotoInsert1Chapter6:DressingforDinnerChapter7:EdwardianEgyptChapter8:ThePassingof

theGoldenAgePhotoInsert2

Chapter9:TheSummerof1914Chapter10:CalltoArmsChapter11:ParadiseLostChapter12:WarHeroesChapter13:HospitalontheMoveChapter14:DeathintheTrenches

PhotoInsert3Chapter15:TheDarkTimesChapter16:ThePromisedEndChapter17:FromWartoPeaceChapter18:AnotherGlitteringSeason

PhotoInsert4Chapter19:‘Wonderful

Things’Chapter20:LightsOutChapter21:Inheritance

Epilogue:Almina’sLegacy

AcknowledgementsTranscriptsPictureAcknowledgementsBibliography

Prologue

This is a book about anextraordinary womancalled Almina Carnarvon,the family into which shemarried, the Castle thatbecame her home, thepeoplewhoworked there,and the transformation of

theCastlewhen itbecamea hospital for woundedsoldiers during the FirstWorldWar.It is not a history,although it is set againstthe exuberance of theEdwardian period, thesombre gravity of theGreat War and the earlyyearsof recoveryafter theconflict.It isneitherabiography

nor a work of fiction, butplaces characters inhistorical settings, asidentified from letters,diaries, visitor books andhousehold accountswrittenatthetime.Almina Carnarvon was

an enormously wealthyheiress, the illegitimatedaughter of Alfred deRothschild. She wascontracted in marriage to

the5thEarlofCarnarvon,akeyplayer inEdwardiansociety in Britain. Hisinterests were many andeclectic. He loved booksand travel and pursuedevery opportunity toexplore the technologiesthatweretransforminghisage. Most famously hediscovered the tomb ofTutankhamun withHowardCarter.

Almina was anunbelievably generouswoman in spirit and withher money. She was aguest at some of thegreatest royal pageants,until – as it did for somany people – the FirstWorld War transformedher life, involving her inrunning hospitals insteadof great house parties andshowinghertobeanadept

nurseandskilledhealer.Highclere Castle is still

home to the Earls ofCarnarvon. Via itstelevision alter ego,Downton Abbey, it isknown to millions ofpeopleas the setting for adrama that has thrilledviewers in more than ahundred countries aroundtheworld.Living here for the past

twelve years, I have cometo know the bones andstones of the Castle. Myresearch has revealedsome of the stories of thefascinating people wholived here, but there is somuch more. My journeyhasjuststarted.TheCountessofCarnarvon

1

Pompand

Circumstance

On Wednesday 26 June1895, Miss AlminaVictoria Marie AlexandraWombwell, a startlinglyprettynineteen-year-oldofsomewhat dubious social

standing, married GeorgeEdward StanhopeMolyneuxHerbert,the5thEarl of Carnarvon, at StMargaret’s,Westminster.Itwasa lovelyday,and

the thousand-year-oldwhite stone church wascrowded with people andoverflowingwithgorgeousflowers. Some of thecongregation on thegroom’s side might

perhaps have remarkedthat the decorations werea little ostentatious. Thenave had been filled withtall potted palm treeswhilst ferns spilled fromthe recesses. The chanceland sanctuary wereadorned with white lilies,orchids,peoniesandroses.Therewasadistincttouchof the exotic, combinedwith the heady scents of

Englishsummerflowers.Itwas an unusual spectacle,but then everything aboutthisweddingwasunusual.Almina’s name, thecircumstances of her birthand most of all herexceptional wealth, allcontributedtothefactthatthiswasnotypicalSocietywedding.The Earl was getting

married on his twenty-

ninth birthday. His familyand title weredistinguished and he wasslim and charming, ifsomewhat reserved. Heowned houses in London,Hampshire, Somerset,Nottinghamshire andDerbyshire. His estateswere grand; the houseswere filled with paintingsbytheOldMasters,objectsbroughtbackfromtripsto

the East and beautifulFrenchfurniture.Naturallyhe was received in everydrawing room in thecountry and invited toevery party in London,especiallywheretherewasan eligible daughter orniece for him to meet.Though they woulddoubtless have beengraciouson sucha specialoccasion, there must have

been some inwardlydisappointed ladies in thecongregationthatday.Hearrivedwithhisbest

man,PrinceVictorDuleepSingh, a friend from Etonand then Cambridge. ThePrince was the son of theex-Maharaja of Punjab,whohadownedtheKoh-i-Noor diamond before itwas confiscated by theBritish for inclusion in the

Crown Jewels of QueenVictoria,EmpressofIndia.Thesunpoured through

the new stained-glasswindows, which depictedEnglish heroes across thecenturies. The ancientchurch,which stands nexttoWestminsterAbbey,hadrecently been refurbishedby Sir George GilbertScott, the pre-eminentVictorian architect. The

church was, in fact, aquintessentially Victorianblend of the traditionalandthemodern.Itwastheperfect setting for thismarriage of people whocame from such differentsections of society, butwho were each inpossession of somethingtheotherneeded.As the organist, Mr

Baines, struck up the

opening chords of thehymn ‘The Voice ThatBreathed o’er Eden’,Almina, who had beenwaiting in the entranceporch, tookher first steps.She walked slowly andwith as much calm anddignity as she couldmusterwithall thoseeyesuponher,herglovedhandresting lightly on that ofher uncle, Sir George

Wombwell. There musthave been nerves, but shewasexcited,too.Hersoon-to-be-husband’sbrother-in-law, Lord Burghclere, hadremarked that she wassomething of a ‘naïvedamsel’, but also that sheappeared tobe ‘headoverears in love’ and couldbarely contain herself inthe weeks and daysleadinguptoherwedding

day.Perhaps she took somecomfort from theknowledgethatshelookedexquisite. She was tiny,just over five foot tall,with blue eyes and astraight nose framed byglossy brown hairelegantly styled high onherhead.Herfuturesister-in-law, WinifredBurghclere, described her

as ‘very pretty, with animmaculatefigureandtinywaist.’ In the language ofthe time, she was averitable‘PocketVenus’.Sheworeasmallwreath

of orange blossoms underaveiloffinesilktulle.Herdresswasby theHouseofWorth, of Paris. CharlesWorth was the mostfashionable couturier oftheageandwasknownfor

his use of lavish fabricsand trimmings. Almina’sdress was made of therichestduchesse satin witha full court train anddraped in a veil of lacecaughtupononeshoulder.The skirts were threadedwith real orange flowersandAlminawaswearingagift from the bridegroom:a piece of very old andextremelyrareFrenchlace

thathadbeenincorporatedintothedress.The whole ensemble

announcedAlmina’sshow-stopping arrival on thepublic stage. She had infact been presented atCourt by her aunt, LadyJulia Wombwell, in May1893,soshehadmadeherdebut, but she had notbeen invited to the highlyexclusive,carefullypoliced

social occasions thatfollowed. Almina’spaternity was the subjectof agreatdealof rumour,and no amount of fineclothes or immaculatemanners could gain heraccess to the salonsof thegrand ladies who quietlyruled Society. So Alminahad not attended all thecrucial balls of her debutseason, occasions that

were designed to allow ayoung lady to attract theattentions of an eligiblegentleman. Despite this,Almina had nonethelesssecuredahusband-to-beofthehighest order, and shewas dressed as befitted awoman who was makingherascentintothehighestranksofthearistocracy.Eight bridesmaids and

two pages followed

Almina: her cousin, MissWombwell, her fiancé’stwo younger sisters, LadyMargaret and LadyVictoria Herbert, LadyKathleen Cuffe, PrincessKathleen Singh andPrincess Sophie Singh,Miss Evelyn Jenkins andMiss Davies. All thebridesmaids wore creamsilk muslin over whitesatin skirts trimmed with

pale blue ribbons. Thelarge cream straw hatstrimmed with silk muslin,feathers and ribbonscompleted a charmingpicture. The Hon. MervynHerbert and Lord ArthurHay followed, dressed inLouisXVcourtcostumesofwhiteandsilver,withhatstomatch.Almina had known herbridegroom for nearly a

year and ahalf. Theyhadnever spent any timealone,buthadmetonhalfadozenoccasionsatsocialgatherings. It was almostcertainly not enough timefor Almina to realise thatthefrockcoattheEarlhadbeenpersuadedtowearonhisweddingdaywasquitedifferent from his usualcasualstyle.As the young couple

stood in frontof thealtar,the massed family andfriends behind themrepresented a glitteringcross-section of the greatand the powerful, as wellas a smattering of therather suspect. On theright-hand side sat thebridegroom’s family: hisstepmother, the DowagerCountessofCarnarvonandhis half-brother the Hon.

Aubrey Herbert, theHowards, the Earl ofPembroke, the Earls andCountesses of Portsmouth,Bathurst and Cadogan;friends such as LordAshburton, Lord de Grey,the Marquess andMarchionessofBristol.TheDuchesses ofMarlboroughand Devonshire were inattendance, as were LordandLadyCharterisandthe

greater part of LondonSociety.Lord Rosebery, the ex-Prime Minister, was aguest. He had travelled toWindsor Castle just fourdayspreviouslytogivehisresignation to the Queen,who then asked LordSalisbury to form agovernment. QueenVictoria, who had been arecluse for many years,

was not present, but shesentgreetingstotheyoungcouple. Her connectionwith the Carnarvons waslong-standing: she wasgodmother to the Earl’syoungestsister.The bride’s family andfriends were ratherdifferent. Almina’s Frenchmother, Marie Wombwell,wasbornMarieBoyer,thedaughter of a Parisian

banker. It would havebeen easy to conclude,observing the two, thatAlmina had inherited hervivacity and style fromMarie. Sir GeorgeWombwell, brother ofMarie’s late husband, hadstepped in to give Alminaaway. The Wombwellswere seated next tomanyrepresentativesofthemostinfluential and fabulously

wealthy of the newlyennobled mercantileclasses. Here were SirAlfred de Rothschild,Baron and Baroness deWorms, Baron Ferdinandde Rothschild, BaronAdolphe de Rothschild,Lady de Rothschild, MrReuben Sassoon, fourother Sassoon cousins, MrWertheimer, Mr and MrsEphrusi, Baron and

Baroness de Hirsch. BothMarieandSirAlfredhadagreat many friends in thetheatre and the celebratedprima donna, AdelinaPatti, now MadameNicoliniwasalsoaguest.AsAlminacontemplatedher destiny, standing infront of the group ofillustriouschurchmenwhohad been drafted in toofficiate at her marriage,

her hand in that of hernew husband’s, she mightwellhavefeltoverawedornervous at the thought ofmarried life. Perhaps shecaught her mother’s eyeand was reminded of justhowfarshehadcome.Butthen again, she must alsohavebeenconsciousofthefactthatwiththemarriagecontract the Earl ofCarnarvonhadsignedwith

Alfred de Rothschild, shewasprotectedbyalevelofwealth so stupendous thatitcouldbuyrespectability,social acceptance andaccess to one of thegrandest and best-connected families in late-Victorian England.AlminawentintoStMargaret’stheillegitimate daughter of aJewish banker and hisFrench kept woman, but

sheemerged,tothestrainsof Wagner’s bridal marchfrom Lohengrin, the 5thCountess of Carnarvon.Her transformation wascomplete.This remarkable ascentup the social ladder hadnot been entirely trouble-free. Even Rothschildmoney couldn’t atone forthe fact that Mrs MarieWombwell–widowofthe

heavydrinkerandrecklessgambler, FrederickWombwell and, moreimportantly, the long-standing confidante of SirAlfred – was not receivedinSociety.Almina’s childhood wasspent between Paris andLondon,her teenageyearsin20BrutonStreet,W1,intheheartofMayfair.Therewere also occasional visits

to the Wombwells inYorkshire. Sir George andLady Julia remained verykind to Marie and herchildren even after herhusbanddied.Theaddressin Mayfair was excellent,but Marie Wombwell’scredentialswerenot.Shehadbeenamarried

woman, though estrangedfrom her husband whenshe met Sir Alfred. Sir

Alfredwasaleadingfigureinpublic life;hehadbeena director of the Bank ofEngland for twenty years,and was also a bachelor,an aesthete, and aconfirmed man abouttown. He delighted inspending the vast familyfortuneonalavishlifestylethat included ‘adorationdinners’, soirées for thepleasure of his gentlemen

friends, at which theycould meet the leadingladiesoftheday.Marie may have been

introducedtoSirAlfredbyher father,whoknewhimthroughconnectionsinthebanking world, or by SirGeorge and Lady Julia,whospentweekendsashisguests at Halton House inBuckinghamshire. AlfredandMariesharedapassion

for the theatre and theopera and became closefriends, and then lovers.Alfred was a generouscompanion who providedhandsomely forMarie andherdaughter. SinceAlfredwas prepared to settle avastsumofmoneyonher,Almina was a seriouscontender in themarriagemarket. But even Mariecould surely never in her

wildest dreams haveimagined that herdaughter would make theleap to the heart of theEstablishment.Apparently, this successrather went to Marie’shead. She was quiteinsistentthatthevenueforthe wedding breakfastshould be sufficientlygrand to do justice to theoccasion, but this

presented considerableproblems of etiquette. Itwas traditional for thecelebrationstobegivenatthe bride’s family home,but that was impossible,since her mother wasbeyond the pale and herfatherwas,forform’ssake,referred to as hergodfather. It wasRothschildmoneythatwaspayingforthemagnificent

festivities, but they couldnotbeheldinaRothschildhouse.Elsie, the 5th Earl’sstepmother and primemoverbehindtheweddingplanning,hadbeenfrettingover this conundrum forweeks.AsshewrotetotheCountess of Portsmouth,the Earl’s devoted aunt,‘We have a familydifficulty.Wehaveneither

called upon her [MrsWombwell] nor receivedher, tho’Alminaof coursehas been with usconstantly.’ With greatdelicacy,Elsie,whohadaninstinctive sweetness andhad taken Almina underher wing, had beenmaking enquiries amongstsuchfamilyfriendsasLordand Lady Stanhope,hopingtosecuretheuseof

a neutral but impressivevenue for the weddingbreakfast. Various houseswere offered but notaccepted before, in theend, Mr Astor offered theloan of Lansdowne Houseon the south side ofBerkeley Square, andMarie agreed that thiswoulddoverywell.So, after the churchservice, the guests made

their way to the Mayfairmansion. It was a statelyhouse,designedbyRobertAdam and built in 1763,with many elegantreception rooms. Theentrance hall was filledwith hydrangeas; theneach room was themedwith different flowers. Asin St Margaret’s, palmsand ferns featuredprominently in thesaloon,

where Gottlieb’scelebrated orchestra,which had been broughtover from Vienna, wasplaying the latestfashionablewaltzes.Drinkswere served in one room,the wedding breakfast,complete with a three-tiered cake, in another.Mrs Wombwell greetedguests wearing a darkpurple dress, while Elsie,

the Dowager Countess ofCarnarvon, whose ranknaturallydictated that shebe first in the receivingline,woreadressofgreenandpinkshotsilk.The wedding gifts toboth bride and groomwere carefully cataloguedanddisplayedattheparty.From Sir Alfred, Alminahadreceivedamagnificentemerald necklace and

tiara, jewels befitting hernew rank, to be wornwhen entertaining atHighclere or in town. Shewas given a vast quantityof beautiful things, fromcrystal vases to gold scentbottles and endless objetsde virtu. The bridegroomwaspresentedwithequallycharming bejewelledornaments andadornments, from rings to

cigarettecases.After all the worries

beforehand,thedaypassedoffwithoutahitch.Iftherewere mutterings at theelevation of MissWombwell, they weremuted. Mrs Wombwellbehaved impeccably andeveryone maintained adiscreet silence over thepart played by Alfred deRothschild. In fact, the

spectacular wedding wasjudgedtohavebeenoneofthemost successful eventsoftheSeason.Perhaps the realmoment of anxiety forAlminacamenotwhenshesteppedintothechurchorLansdowne House, whereshe was after allsurrounded by familiarfaces, but when she wasdriven away from her old

life, her girlhood, andbegan her journey toHighclere. She must havereceived some words ofencouragement from hermother,surelyakissandablessing from her father.But now she wasembarking on her firststeps as a wife, in thecompany of a virtualstranger who had so farshown no real inclination

togettoknowher.Leaving their guestsduring the afternoon, thenewly married couplewere driven by LordCarnarvon’s headcoachman, Henry Brickell,across London toPaddington to catch aspecial train for thecountry. They were tospendthefirstpartoftheirhoneymoon at Highclere

Castle in Hampshire, thegrandest of the Carnarvonestates. They had bothchanged theirclothes.TheEarlshruggedoffhis long,formal coat at the earliestopportunity and was nowwearing his favourite,much-darned blue jacket.Once out of town, headdedastrawhat.Alminawas wearing a charmingpompadour gauze dress,

diamonds and a hat byVerrotofParis.The train from

Paddington was due toarriveatHighclereStationat6.30p.m.LordandLadyCarnarvon alighted andtooktheirseatsinanopenlandaudrawnbyapairofbay horses and driven bythe under-coachman. Amile later, the carriageturned in to the lodge

gates, winding througharching trees and darkrhododendron bushes. Astheypassed theTempleofDiana above DunsmereLake,agunwasfiredfromthe tower of the Castle.Ten minutes later, thelandau arrived at thecrossroadsintheparkandthe couple got down fromthe carriage. Aprocessional arch studded

with flowers had been setupoverthedriveway.Thehorses were unharnessedby heads of departmentsfrom the estate: Mr Hall,Mr Storie, Mr Lawrenceand Mr Weigall. Ropeswereattachedbythefarmforeman and the foresterforeman, and the coupletook their places onceagain. Twenty men thenpickeduptheropestopull

the landau beneath thearchwayandupthehilltothe main door of theCastle, accompanied by alively march from theNewbury Town Band,whichhadbeenpaidsevenguineasforitsservices.The Mayor of Newbury

was in attendance andwould shortly present HisLordship with a weddinggiftonbehalfofthepeople

of the local town: analbum containing theirgood wishes on theoccasion of his marriage,exquisitely illuminated inthe style of a medievalmanuscript. It wasillustrated with views ofNewbury Corn Exchangeand Highclere itself, andbound in cream calf’sleather with the linkedCarnarvon initial C’s

stampedonthefront.Some of the estatetenants were in thegardens to watchproceedings. They had allbeen entertained in amarquee by the band andthere had also been a teapartygiven for330of thelocal children. The eventhad been threatened bythunderstorms, but luckilytheweatherhadclearedin

timeforboththeteapartyandthearrivalofthebrideand groom. It was almostthe longest day of theyear,andthesunwasstillstrong.Aswellasthefeeforthe

band,£1 11s 6dwas paidfor the attendance of fiveconstables and a donationof £2 was made to theBurghclere bell-ringers,whohadbeensendingout

peals of bells from thelocal church spire eversince the Earl andCountess disembarkedfromthetrain.The red and blue flagproudly displaying thecoloursofthefamily’scoatof arms flew from the topof the tower, whosedelicate turrets andstonework wereinterspersed with all

manner of heraldicsymbols and beasts, thatseemed to survey thescene.DrawingupattheheavywoodendooroftheCastle,the Earl and his newCountess alighted onceagain from the carriageand were greeted by MrAlbert Streatfield, thehouse steward (a positionmore commonly referred

to as that of butler) andMajor James Rutherford(the agent who ran theestate)andhiswife.WhatmustAlminahavethought as she watchedthe men of Highclerelabouring to haul her toher destination?What ranthrough her mind whenshegazeduponthishouseas its new chatelaine? Itwasnotherfirstsightofit.

She had visited twicebefore, for the weekend,withhermother.Butnowshe was the Countess ofCarnarvon, expected tomanagetherunningofthehousehold and to performher numerous duties.Everyone at Highclere,whether they workedabove or below stairs, onthefarmorinthekitchen,had a role to fulfil, and

Alminawasnodifferent.It must have felt

exhilarating. Almina wasan energetic and high-spiritedgirl,andmarriage,motherhood and nowservice to the Carnarvondynasty would havelooked like a veryagreeable destiny to mostgirls able to imaginethemselves in her shoes.She was accustomed to

livinganindulgedlife,andhad no reason to suspectthat she would ever wantfor anything she desired.She was already verymuchinlovewithhernewhusband. But surely theremusthavebeenfeelingsoftrepidation,too.If she had been in anydoubt beforehand, sheneeded only to glance atthe press on the Saturday

after her wedding to seethat her life wouldhenceforth be lived inpublic. Then, as now, theweddings of thearistocracy and the richand famous were eagerlycovered by the press. The‘World ofWomen’ columnin the Penny Illustratedpaper carried a full-lengthportrait of Almina(although in a slip-up she

was described as MissAlice Wombwell in thecaption)anddescribedhergownindetail.Alminahadpassed from almost totalobscurity to object ofmedia scrutiny in amoment. With her newstatus came all sorts ofpressures.Almina wasn’t given

very long towonderwhatlay in store for her. Lord

Carnarvon spent the nextfew days taking his bridearound the park andneighbouring villages tomeet the local families, inorder that Almina couldbegintoexplorealoneandbecome familiar with hernew home. They went toHighclere Church formorning service on theSunday after they weremarried. Sir Gilbert Scott

hadbeenatworkhere, asin Westminster. He’ddesigned and built thechurch some twenty yearspreviously, at the requestofLordCarnarvon’sfather,the 4th Earl. And then,business concluded, thecouple left for theContinent and the secondpartoftheirhoneymoon.Itwas a chance to get toknoweachotherproperly,

in private, at last. Theyspent two weeks awaybefore returning toHighclere, when normallife resumed. Except that,forAlmina,nothingwouldeverbethesameagain.

2

Welcometo

Highclere

When Almina steppedfrom the carriage outsideher new home on thatearly summer day, herarrival had been muchanticipated for months. Awebof rumour andgossiphad circulated all sorts of

information andspeculation about theEarl’syoungbrideamongstthe people living atHighclere.The life of the great

houses at the end of thenineteenth century wasstill marked by structuresand patterns unchangedfor centuries. Familiesserved for generations.Highclere Castle was the

familyhomeoftheEarlsofCarnarvon, but the Castlewas also the servants’Castle,andthefamilytheirfamily. Highclere was atight ship, captained byStreatfield, the housesteward. The reality, aseveryone knew, was thatCountesses come andCountesses go. It wasn’tthat Almina was withoutinfluence or importance,

but shedidneed tograsp,quickly, that shewasonlyonepartofamachinethatwould long survive her.Part of her initial task onarrival was to understandthehistoryandcommunitythat she was becoming apartof.HighclereCastleliesata

crossroads betweenWinchester and Oxford,London and Bristol, built

on a chalk ridge of highland and guarded by anancient route betweenBeaconHillandLadleHill.Just to the south ofHighclere is SiddownHill,topped by an eighteenth-century folly, Heaven’sGate. The views to thenorth extend beyondNewbury towards thespiresofOxford.Itisanarealongpraised

for its natural beauty. In1792, just over a hundredyears before Alminaarrived at Highclere,ArchibaldRobertsonwrotein his topographicalsurvey, ‘High Clere Parkstands in Hampshire; andfor extent, boldness offeature, softened by amixture of easy swellinglawns, shelving intopleasantvallies,diversified

bywoodandwater,claimsthe admiration of thetraveller, and may beconsidered as one of themost elegant seats in thecountry.’There has been a

settlementatHighclereforthousands of years. Thereis an Iron Age hill fort atBeacon Hill and the landwasownedby thebishopsof Winchester for 800

years before passing intosecular hands andeventually, in the lateseventeenthcentury,totheHerbert family, Earls ofPembrokeandancestorsoftheEarlsofCarnarvon.The park is a

harmoniousmixofnaturaland landscaped features,designedforthe1stEarlofCarnarvon in theeighteenth century by

Capability Brown. Thedifferent drives windamongst the contours ofthelandtohideandrevealthe first views of theCastle. Long and shortviews have been createdby skilful planting;everywhereyoulookthereare exotic imported trees,gracious avenues andornamental follies thatdirectyoureyealongsome

particularly glorious line.It is its own world and,even now, visitors arestruck by the strong senseofplace,theunitybetweenthe land, the Castle andthe people who live andworkthere.Thehouse in its current

incarnation was built forthe3rdEarlbySirCharlesBarry, the architect of theHouses of Parliament. It

was a major undertaking.The old Elizabethan brickmanor had beenremodelled into aGeorgian mansion in thelate eighteenth and earlynineteenth centuries, butall that was to betransformed entirely. Thefirst stone of the newhouse was laid in 1842.The work took twelveyears to complete and, by

the end, Highclere Castle,as it was now called,dominated itssurroundings completely.It is a statement house,purposeful and confident;it doesn’t feel like a placethat has grown up overtime, been added to andtinkered with. It is muchmore the product of asingle architect’s vision.Gothic turrets were

absolutely the pinnacle offashion as early Victorianarchitecture turned tomedieval influences in abacklash against theclassical designs of theeighteenth century. Thehouse was intended toimpress visitors with thestatusandgoodtasteofitsbuilders.Ithasapeculiarlymasculinefeelaboutit,anaesthetic that prizes solid

style and soaringimmensityoverprettiness.Almina and her mother

hadoftenvisitedAlfreddeRothschild’s countryestate, Halton House inBuckinghamshire, whichwas completed in 1888.Halton was a differentstyle again: all Baroquefantasy, and so over thetop that it embodiedwhatwas called, slightly

disparagingly, ‘le styleRothschild’. Shemust havebeen conscious when shelooked at Highclere that,although it was only fiftyyears older than HaltonHouse, its lands and itssetting, its gorgeoushoney-coloured tower inBathstone,representedanidea of English traditionthat was totally differentto anything she had

previouslyknown.Back in October 1866,

one particularly illustriousvisitorwasovercomewithdelight as he was driventhrough the park, cryingout, ‘How scenical, howscenical,’asheapproachedtheCastle.Benjamin Disraeli, who

atthetimeofthisvisitwasChancellor of theExchequer, but who went

on to be Prime Ministertwice, had caught aspeciallylaid-ontrainfromPaddington to Highclere.Hewasmetanddrivenbycarriage past LondonLodge, its gateway archupheld by classical pillarsand surmounted by theCarnarvoncoatofarms.Through groves of

rhododendrons and pastspreading Lebanon cedars,

now 150 years old,Disraeli, who wascomfortably wrapped incarriage rugs against theautumn chill, could lookaround him, full ofadmiration. Every vistaproved enchanting.As theroad wound past theTemple of Diana, builtover Dunsmere Lake, thehighesttopsoftheCastle’sturrets, still more than a

mile away, could beglimpsed above the trees.Disraeli noted the curvingmedieval embankment ofthe deer park beforesweeping around towardstheCastledrive.CapabilityBrown had takentremendous trouble toconstruct the lastapproach. The Castleemergesobliquely in frontof the visitor, thereby

appearing even larger andmore impressive than itactually is. The wholelandscape so romanticallylent itself to creativethought that the followingday,Disraeli and his host,the4thEarlofCarnarvon,tookaveryagreeablewalkin brilliant sunshinethrough the grounds, andtalkedaffairsofstate.The 4th Earl, father of

Almina’s husband, servedin politics for some fortyyears. At the time ofDisraeli’s visit he wasColonial Secretary, aposition that satisfied hisgreat love of travel andtook him to Australia,South Africa, Canada,Egypt and New Guinea.Much of the time hetravelledonhisownyacht,but there were also

numerous shortermissionson government businessacross Europe. Hepossessed considerableintellectual curiosity andwas one of the foremostclassical scholars of hisgeneration, translatingHomer and Aeschylus aswell as Dante. In all, heserved in threeConservative cabinets. HewasappointedSecretaryof

State for theColonies firstby Lord Derby, then byDisraeli, and then madeLord Lieutenant of IrelandbyLordSalisbury.Hewasrenowned for his hardwork and thoroughnessand for being a man ofprinciple, who twiceresignedhisposition,onceoverDisraeli’s handling ofthe Eastern Question, andlateroverthethornyissue

ofHomeRuleforIreland.The 4th Earl and hisCountess pioneered thepractice, which soonbecame a fashionabletrend, of giving weekendhouse parties at the greathouses. These were notonly social gatherings butalso networkingopportunities and, thanksto the Earl’s prominentpart in public life,

Highclere was a hub ofpower.He was fortunate to

have married a womanwho turned out to be theperfectpoliticalwife.LadyEvelynwasthedaughterofthe Earl of Chesterfieldand the couplemarried inWestminster Abbey inSeptember 1861, the firsttimethathonourhadbeenextended to a non-royal

partnership in manycenturies. Sincere, kind,and possessed of quickwits and an instinctiveunderstanding, LadyEvelynwasanassettoherhusband. Invitations toHighclere were freelygiven to men of politics,public officials,intellectualsandtravellers.Expertise could be pooledand congenial solutions to

difficult problems foundmoreeasilywhilststrollingin the park or over someexcellent brandy andcigars in the SmokingRoom, than in the febrileatmosphere ofWestminster.The couple had fourchildren: Winifred, whowas born in 1864, GeorgeEdward, the son and heirwhowouldgoontomarry

Almina, who had beenborn four months beforeDisraeli’s 1866 visit, andtwo more daughters.Margaretwasbornin1870and, on 30 December1874,thebabywhowouldbechristenedVictoria.Lady Carnarvon never

recovered from givingbirthtoher lastchild.Shelingered for a few days,during which time Queen

Victoria made constantenquiries aboutherhealthand that of the baby.Victoriahadbeenlivinginalmosttotalseclusioneversince the death of herbeloved Prince Albertfourteen years previously,but she kept herselfinformed about herfriends’ lives and, whenshe heard the news thatLady Carnarvon was

unlikely to survive, sheexpressed a desire to bethechild’sgodmother.Evelynralliedbrieflybutdied on 25 January 1875.Her husband wasdevastated, as was hermother, who had been ather bedside throughouther illness. The diaries ofher sister-in-law, LadyPortsmouth, contain agrief-stricken account of

the courage and calmnessthatEvelynshowedassheslipped away. ‘How soremy heart is,’ she wrote.Lady Carnarvon lay instate in the Library atHighclere and was buriedat the family chapel in abeautiful corner of thepark.It was a cruel loss forthe whole family.Childbirth was a perilous

business, and no one wasimmunetorisk,nomatterif they had access to thebest medical careavailable. Winifred wasten, George (who wasalwaysknownasPorchy,anicknamederivedfromhiscourtesy title, LordPorchester) was eight,Margaret four and littleVictoria just three weeksold when their mother

died. Although inaristocratic families thechildren were cared forprimarilybyananny,LadyCarnarvonhadbeenmuchloved and her childrenwere heartbroken. Afterher death they werepassed between thehouseholds of two dotingbut elderly aunts, aslightly chaoticarrangement that fostered

a particularly strong bondbetween the two eldestchildren. The loss of hismother at such a veryyoung age may well havecontributed to the 5thEarl’s sense of emotionalself-containment,something that his ownsonlaterremarkedupon.Forawhiletheweekend

house parties were nomore, and Highclere and

the Carnarvons went intoformal mourning. Therewas strict etiquettegoverning mourning innineteenth-centuryEngland, especially in thewake of the Queen’sdecisiontowithdrawfrompublic life after PrinceAlbert’sdeathinDecember1861. Special clothes hadto be worn and thebereavedwereexpectedto

seclude themselves fromsocial life. A widowerwould wear a black frockcoat for up to a year andchildrenwore black for atleast six months to markthedeathofaparent.Evenservants wore blackarmbands. No lady orgentleman could attend –muchlessgive–aballforat least a year after thedeath of a close family

member.But, eventually, the 4thEarl decided that it wastime tomove on. In 1878he visited relatives atGreystoke Castle in theLake District and found ahouse full of laughter andconversation. Itmusthavefelt like a return to life,and it ledtoaproposalofmarriage to his cousinElizabeth (Elsie) Howard

who, at twenty-two, wastwenty-five years hisjunior.Theyhadtwosons,Aubrey and Mervyn,during twelve years ofveryhappymarriage.LordCarnarvon’s friend LadyPhillimore wrote to herhusband, ‘They are happytogether, those two, andmake sunshine aroundthem.’There’s no doubt that

the children’s childhoodand adolescence weremade considerably easierby the arrival of theirstepmother, towhomtheywere close for the rest ofher life. Elsie was amotherly figure, and herpresence at Highcleremeant that Porchy, whohad always been a sicklychild, once again hadsomewhere stable to call

home. The house couldalso resume its role as asocial and political centreofpower.If Elsie could beindulgent, Porchy’s fatherwas quite clear thatdiscipline and diligencewere highly desirablequalities in a younggentlemanwhowasboundto inherit significantduties. The 4th Earl loved

practicaljokes,buthewasalso driven by a powerfulsense of public service,both at Highclere and inoffice.Heexpectedhissonto apply himself. ‘A goodeducation is the bestheritage we can give ourchildren,’hedeclared.But although Porchydiscoveredaloveofbooksand reading, his ‘greatestsolace’, he did not inherit

his father’s academicdiligence.Heoptedout ofEton early and brieflyconsidered a career in theArmybut,after failing themedical,he setoffaroundthe world on his travels.He was fortunate that hisfather was generous,broadminded andunderstood his restlessspirit perfectly, since hewas himself an avid

traveller.The4thEarlwason occasion frustrated byhis son’s reckless streak,but he appreciated hisheir’s native intelligenceand curious mind; in anycase, Porchy continued toreceivean education sincea tutor travelledwith himconstantly. He wasreasonably fluent in bothFrench and German aswell as the classical

languages, and alsostudied mathematics,musicandhistory.Twoyears laterhewentto Trinity College,Cambridge,wherethefirstthing he did was offer toscrape the paint in hisroomtorevealtheoriginalwoodenpanellingbeneath.He loved the town’scuriosity shops and wasmore often found at

Newmarket racecoursethan in the library. Hemanaged two years ofstudybeforebuyinga110-foot yacht, the Aphrodite,and sailing from Vigo tothe Cape Verde islands,from the West Indies toRio.HeheardItalianoperain Buenos Aires and waspersuaded not to returnthrough the MagellanStraits,sinceitwasfartoo

perilous at that time ofyear.Hisnextjourneywasto South Africa, where hewentelephanthuntingandgot a terrible shock whenthe elephant turned thetablesandchasedhimupatree.He read a vast amountabout the countries hevisited and learned on hisfeet, nurturing patience,self-relianceandcalm.The

practicalities of life at seameanthehadtobeoneofthe team, whether takingthehelmwhenthecaptainwas delirious or helpingwithsurgicaloperationsonboard. He usually spentsummers in towngoing tothe opera, then went forsomeshootingatBretbyinNottinghamshire, anotherof the Carnarvon estates,or Highclere, where he

stayedonintotheautumnbefore dashing off on histravelsagain.Hecollectedbooks, paintings andacquaintances in equalmeasure. He was, despitehis family’s concern thathe should begin to applyhimself, thoroughlyindulged.This delightful routinehad been interrupted bythe 4th Earl’s death in

June1890,athishouseinPortman Square inLondon. Porchy had beenable to get back from hisvoyage to Australia andJapan in time tobeathisfather’sbedside.TheEarl’shealth had been failingsince1889,andhisfriendsfromallwalksoflifeweremovedbyhispatience.Hewas said to possess agenius for friendship.

General Sir ArthurHardinge, an old friendand veteran of theCrimean War, wrote ofhim, ‘He was one of thegreatest gentlemen I haveever met, and whilst hedidnotgivehisconfidenceeasily, when he did, hegaveitinfullmeasure.’His coffin was brought

down from London to liein state in the Library as

his first wife’s had done.Lady Portsmouth recalledthat ‘there was a specialtrain from and to Londonbringing the Queen[Victoria] and Prince [ofWales] to the mortuarychapel. It was a beautifulservice by CanonLydonn…IfeelsometimesI must have beendreaming, but his lastwordswere“veryhappy”.’

Whenhediedheleftsixchildren.Hisheir,George,Lord Porchester, was nowthe5thEarlofCarnarvon.Succeeding to the titledidn’t actually mean anyimmediate change inlifestyle. After his father’sfuneraland the readingofthe will, the new LordCarnarvon went travellingagain, leaving Elsie withAubrey, Mervyn and his

two younger sisters,Margaret and Victoria(whowasknownasVera).They all lived betweenHighclere, Bretby inNottinghamshire, London,Elsie’sownestate,Teversaland a villa in Portofino,Italy,thatthe4thEarlhadlefttohiswidow.Winifred, Lord

Carnarvon’s older sister,hadjustmarriedthefuture

Lord Burghclere. LadyPortsmouth wrote in herdiary, ‘dear Winifred hasengaged herself to MrHerbert Gardner – worseluck–anaturalsonofthelate Ld Gardner, but if hecares for her and is wellprincipled and goodtempered what more canyouwish – she is a sweetdear child and I wish herhappy.’

Lord Carnarvon’s fatherhadbeenaprudentaswellas a successful man andhad safeguarded thefinancial fortunes of thefamily. The estates werewell managed by trustedstaff; therewasnothing tokeepthenewEarlathomeagainst his tastes andinclinations.Lord Carnarvon wasundoubtedly fond of his

father – he spoke of himwith warmth and respectall his life – but once thearrangements had beenmade and nicetiesobserved,hewas ready totake his inheritance andupgrade an already lavishlifestyle – even moretravels, more antiquitiespurchased, more ofeverything. His trip toEgypt in 1889 was a

particularly significantjaunt since it sparked alifelongobsessionthatwasgoingtoproveverycostly.Threeyearslaterhewas,if not broke, then veryheavily in debt. Yachts,rare books and arttreasures do not comecheap, and the runningcosts of maintaining ahousehold at Highclere, aLondon house at Berkeley

Square, plus his otherestates, was considerable.Heowed£150,000:avastsum, but by no means anunusual one for youngmen of his class at thattime. The Prince ofWaleswas themost impecuniousbut extravagant of themall, making it entirelynormal for the upperclasses to live utterlybeyond their means. Lord

Carnarvonwascarelessbuthewasn’treckless.Hewashis father’s son, after all,and he knew he had anobligation to protect thepatriarchal – basicallyfeudal – way of life thatstill existed at Highclere.Whole families dependeduponhim;andinanycase,he didn’t want to lose hisbelovedhome.Itwastimetolookforawaytosecure

hisfinancialfuture.

3

Almina,Debutante

In August 1893, threemonths after Almina’spresentation at Court, sheencountered LordCarnarvonwhentheywereboth guests at one ofAlfred de Rothschild’sweekend house parties at

Halton House. Sir Alfredwas very much in thehabit of entertaining inspectacular style. Hewoulddoubtlesshavebeenonly too delighted towelcome Lord Carnarvon,whowasanexcellentshotandhada great collectionof anecdotes from histravels,aswellasbeinginpossession of one of thegrandest titles and estates

inthecountry.Given that the 5th Earlwas also languishingbeneath a significantburden of debt, he hadseemingly arrived at theconclusionthatitwouldbeimprudent to marrywithout money. AndAlmina, with herrumoured connections tothe Rothschilds, hadcaughthiseye.

They probably met forthe first time at the StateBallatBuckinghamPalaceon 10 July,whichAlminaattended with her aunt,Lady Julia, and cousin.This was the openingevent of the debutantes’Season,andeveryonewhohad been presented went,as well as virtually everyDuke, marquess and Earlin the land. Given that

Almina was highlyunlikely to be invited toany other big socialoccasions by any of thegrandersortofpeople,thiswas probably her onlychance to attract theattention of a suitor fromthe upper echelons ofSociety. She didn’tsquanderit.Her wardrobe for the

Season had been carefully

selected after closeconsultation with hermother and aunt. Alminaloved fashion and waslucky enough to have themeans to purchase thefinest clothes, hats andjewels. There were strictrules about what wasappropriate attire at eachoccasionandherdress forthe ball would have beenwhite and relatively

unadorned, with minimaljewelsandshoulder-lengthwhite gloves. ConsueloVanderbilt, an Americanheiress who went on tomarry the Duke ofMarlborough six monthsafter Almina’s wedding,was shocked when shecame to London as adebutante, having firstbeenpresentedinParis.InFrance thegirlsworevery

demure dresses, but inEngland it seemed it wasthe done thing to use alower neckline so that thegirls’ shouldersweremoreexposed.Therewere hundreds of

debutantes at the palace,all of them nervouslyaware that they were ondisplay and longing tomeet a lovely and eligibleman. They sat with their

chaperones and theirdance cards, a littlebooklet in which a youngman couldmarkhis nameagainstawaltzorapolka.Itwas a subtly but highlycompetitive business thatcould be the making of agirlforlife.Almina was very pretty

with beautiful posture, alittleDresdendollofagirl.And she had all the

vivaciouscharmthatcamefrom growing up in Paris,the acknowledged capitalof refined elegance andluxurious decadence. LordCarnarvon must havespottedher,perhapsasshewas dancing, and made abeeline. Almina would goon to prove herself madeof stern stuff, not at allinclined to fits of thevapours, but her heart

must have been poundingas she curtseyed to theEarl. There would havebeena short conversation,an engagement to danceonce, perhaps twice, butnomore.Itwasenoughforthe two young people tocharm each other. Whenshe left BuckinghamPalace that night, Alminawas excited about theyoung man she had just

met. There was of coursenothing she could doexcept wait to see whatmighttranspire.ShemightneverhearfromtheEarlofCarnarvon again. But theEarl was taken with thislovely girl, and wouldhaveknownthat–aswellas being charming, prettyand fun – Almina hadfriends in the wealthiestcirclesinLondon.

If a youngman of goodcredentialswerelookingtoacquiresignificantsums,itwas natural that hisattention shouldbedrawnto some of the fabulouslywealthy financiers whohad amassed spectacularfortunes during the yearsof speculation of the1860s. The Victorianperiod is sometimesthoughtofasbeingoneof

strict morals and primbehaviour,inallaspectsoflife,butitwasalsoanageof materialism and wildconfidence. The Empirewasexpanding,andBritishcommercial interests withit. Dizzying amounts ofmoney were made in theCity of London by menwhowerepreparedtostepin and offer loans to thegovernmentor to theEast

IndiaCompanyor even toindividual entrepreneurs.Sir Alfred de Rothschildwasonesuchman,andhecame from a family whohad been at the heart offunding the Britishimperial project for twogenerations.Alfred’s father was

Baron Lionel deRothschild, who inheriteda fortune accumulated in

an extraordinarily shorttimebyhis father,NathanMayer de Rothschild.Nathan had arrived inBritain from Germany in1798; over the next thirtyyears he established theRothschilds as the pre-eminent investmentbankers in Europe. BaronLionel continued hisfather’s work and wasinstrumental in loans of

approximately £160million to the Britishgovernment over thecourse of his lifetime,including, in1876, the£4million advanced for thepurchaseof44percentoftheSuezCanalsharesfromthe Khedive of Egypt. Hecleared a profit on thisdeal alone of £100,000.His legacybears tribute tohisbrilliantjudgementand

tremendous influence: hewas the first Jew to beadmitted to the House ofCommons, without havingto renounce his faith, in1858.Alfredwasthesecondof

Lionel’s three sons. Hisolder brother, Natty, waselevatedtothepeeragebyQueen Victoria in 1885,thefirstJewishmemberofthe House of Lords, his

younger brother LeopoldwasmoreinterestedintheTurf andwas a prominentmember of the JockeyClub. Alfred wasindustrious, but loved thehigh life as well. Heworkedatthefamilybankthroughout his life,althoughhe rarely arrivedmuchbefore lunchtimeonanygivenday.Hebecamea director of the Bank of

England at the age oftwenty-six, a post he heldfor the next twenty years.When sent to aninternational monetaryconference by the Britishgovernment in 1892, hewas the only financier toturn up with four valets,vast quantities of luggageand an impeccablebuttonhole.So by the time Lord

Carnarvonwent to HaltonHouse for the first time inDecember 1892, probablyto shoot, the Rothschildswere by no meansmarginal figures. Theirwillingness to put theirvast amounts ofmoney atthe service of the Crown,coupled with the family’svery generous interest inphilanthropic causes,meant that they were

accepted figures inSociety. Sir Alfredepitomised the socialmobility of the VictorianAge.Alfred’s final stamp of

approval had beenprovidedbyhis friendshipwith His Royal Highness,thePrinceofWales.Alfredhadreceivedtheeducationof an English gentlemanand had become firm

friends with the Prince ofWales at Trinity College,Cambridge. They had asurprising amount incommon. They were bothof recent German descent,spoke that language aswell as French, and yetwere part of the EnglishEstablishment. They alsoshared a love of fine foodand wine, and a life ofpleasure. The difference

wasthatAlfred,unlikethePrince of Wales, couldaffordit.Bertie,ashewasknownto his mother even whenhe was in his fifties, waskeptonaverytightbudgetby thereclusiveandpiousVictoria. Periodically heapplied to the House ofCommons to supply anincrease in his livingexpenses, in return forhis

assumingsomeofthetasksthat Victoria no longercared to fulfil. He wasalways thwarted by hismother, who distrustedhim intensely, despitesupport from variousprime ministers, includingGladstone.SothePrinceofWales didn’t have enoughwork to do, and didn’thaveenoughmoneytopayforhis leisurepursuits.He

wasalwaysindireneedofvery wealthy friends, andAlfred was not only veryrichandverygenerous,hewas also a scholar, anaesthete,abachelor,awitand a sartorialist. Thefriendship endured for thewhole of the Prince ofWales’life.In fact, Alfred wasdisparaged more by hisown family than bywider

society, in particular hisolder brother’s wife,Emma, who thought himfrivolous, self-indulgentand eccentric. WhenAlfred,whonevermarried,began a relationship withMarie Wombwell, awomanwhowas not onlymarried to another man,but to a man who hadbeenarrestedforpoachingfrom his own in-laws,

there was strongdisapproval. The fact thathe maintained Marie inlavish style at one of themost exclusive addressesin fashionable Mayfair,andwenton todoteuponMarie’s child Almina, wasseenasfurtherevidenceofhis disregard for thedignityofthefamily.Whilst the question of

Almina’spaternitycan’tbe

conclusively determinedwith any certainty, Mariehad been estranged fromFred Wombwell for yearswhenAlminawasborn.Hedid turn up occasionally.She and Alfred werecertainly confidants andlovers, but they were notby any means anestablishedcouple.Marie’s backgroundwas

very respectable. Her

father was a Parisianfinancier and her motherwas from a wealthySpanish family. She grewupinParisbutspenta lotof time in England. Hertwo sisters both madegood marriages to titledEnglish gentlemen, butMarie’s marriage was lesssuccessful. FrederickWombwell was theyoungest son of a baronet

and their wedding wasattended by severalprominentmembersofthearistocracy. But Frederickproved to be a bad lot, adrunkard and a thief;although the couple hadone son, also called Fred,they were estranged afterFred senior’smisdemeanours becametoo much for Marie tobear. (The hapless

Wombwell eventuallydied, six years beforeAlmina married, thusavoiding any furtherembarrassment andallowing his brother, SirGeorgeWombwell, to stepinonherweddingdayandgiveheraway.)Marie was a lonely

woman when she metAlfred de Rothschild. Stillyoung and attractive, she

was marginalised by thefact that her husbandwasdisgracedandshehadverylittle money. Marie musthave delighted in thecompanionship of a manwho was happy to spoilher lavishly. Alfred andMarie appear to haveenjoyed a goodrelationship throughouttheir lives, but there wasnever any chance of

marriage, even after FredWombwell died, sinceAlfred had no desire togiveupthefreedomofhisbachelorstatusortomarrya Roman Catholic. WhenMarie’sdaughterwasborn,Alfreddoteduponher,andalthoughheneverformallyacknowledged thechildashis, Almina’s unusualname, which was formedof a combination of her

parents’, was a reference,albeit a coded one, to thereality of her parentage.Her mother was alwaysknown as Mina, to whichwassimplyaddedthe firsttwo letters of her father’sname.Bythelatteryearsofthenineteenth century,attitudes to affairs – atleast amongst the upperclasses – were generally

tolerant, so long asdiscretionwasmaintained.Adultery was definitely alesser evil than divorce.Disgracecameinexposure,not in the act, even forwomen.Although some ofthe Rothschilds wereoutraged (evidence,perhaps,oftheir lesswell-established status), andMariewasnotreceivedbythe higher echelons of

polite society (not justbecause of the affair butalso, crucially, because ofher husband’s fall fromgrace), the relationshipflourishedinagreyareainwhich everyone turned ablind eye and politelyagreednottonotice.Alminawas educated athome by a governess, aswas the custom for girlsfrom upper-middle- and

upper-class households.Theaimwastoensureshewas well read and couldfulfil the social skillsrequired ‘for the drawingroom’,whichmeantmusic,dancing, singing andsketching.Ordinarilytherewould also have beenFrenchlessons,butAlminaalreadyspokethelanguagefluently, having grown upspeaking it with her

Frenchfamily.Throughout herchildhood, whether inParis or London, Alminareceived a visit from her‘godfather’, Sir Alfred, onher birthday. He alwaysbroughtexcessivepresents.Almina got to know herbenefactor well, especiallywhen she was older, andwas very fond of him. Headored her; and at some

point,presumably,Alminamust have been told thetruth about her birth. Itwas, after all, an opensecret.By the time she wasseventeen shewasvisitingHaltonwithhermotherona regular basis. Alfredbeing Alfred, theatmospherewasexuberant–thewholepurposeofthegatheringwastohavefun.

Everything wasmagnificently excessive.Alfred, who loved music,wasfondofconductingtheorchestras – which werebroughtinfromAustriatoplayforhisguests–withadiamond-encrusted baton.Hehadaprivate circusatwhich he was theringmaster. He installedelectriclightingsothathisguests could properly

appreciatehisexquisiteartcollection.Alfred couldbefrivolous, but he was alsoa serious collector ofartists such as Titian andRaphael.Typically,hewasalsoagreatbenefactoranda founder trustee of theWallace Collection.Highclere still has somebeautiful Sèvres andMeissen porcelain almostcertainly given by Alfred

toAlmina.In an atmosphere inwhich no expense wasspared in the pursuit ofpleasure and theacquisition of beautifulthings, Almina enjoyedherself immensely. Shehad been spoiled all herlife, but now she had aspace in which to showoff. Good clothes wouldhave been ordered, day

dresses and eveningwear,hats and gloves in coloursto match. The fashion ofthe1890swasforcorsetedwaists laced down toalmost nothing, shouldersbare in the evenings,masses of lace trims andfeathered fans. They wereopulent times for theupper classes, andAlmina’swardrobewasherarsenal in the battle to

attractasuitablehusband.Doubtless the proprietieswere observed in terms ofher dress and herintroduction to malecompany, but Alminacertainly attended dances,dinners and concerts, allthe regular entertainmentsinAlfred’sweekendhome,always chaperoned by hermother,butverymuchondisplay.Outofsightofthe

critical gaze of LondonSociety, Almina could beintroduced, under strictconditions, to people thatshehadnoopportunity tomeet in town. Sheflourished and, given thatshe was petite, beautifuland charming, she begantoattractattention.Sir Alfred let it beknown, discreetly, that hewas prepared to settle a

fortune on his‘goddaughter’ on hermarriage. Lord Carnarvonhad been charmed byAlminaattheStateBallinJuly; on discovering thegood news about herprospects, he secured aninvitationtoahousepartyshe was attending atHalton House in August1893. They spent theweekend getting to know

each other a little better.They were never alone,but flirtation could bemanaged,discreetly,inthedrawing room or strollingin the gardens. She musthave been delighted withthis handsome, amusing,eligible young noble. LordCarnarvon could bereserved in big gatheringsof people, but he was aman with a knack for

makingyouwant toknowhimbetter.Alminawas,inanycase,vivaciousenoughfor both, and there was adefiniteattractionbetweenthem.Thecourtshiptookalong time to come tofruition, though.Carnarvon was asked toshoot at Halton in theDecember after he metAlmina, but after thatthereappearstohavebeen

ahiatus.HetookoffonhistravelsandleftEnglandtowinter in warmer climes,as usual, and there is norecordofafurthermeetinguntil almost a year later,again at Halton, inNovember 1894. It wouldseem, however, thatwhatever the doubts onthe Earl’s part, oroutstandingfinerdetailsofthearrangement,theyhad

by then been resolved,because in December1894, Almina was invitedwith her mother to spendtheweekendatHighclere.Itwasasmallparty:justAlmina, Marie and threeotherfriends.Alminamusthave known that she wason thebrinkof securingafuture as the Countess ofCarnarvon. Themachinations behind the

scenes had all beenoverseen by her father.The process sparked byCarnarvon’s attraction toher person and prospectswas drawing to aconclusion. She wouldhave been on tenterhookswhen she arrived at theCastle that weekend,awarethatherdestinywashanging in the balance. Ifshe was nervous, there is

no trace of it in hersignature in the Highclereguestbook.Thelettersflowin perfect copperplatescript, in faded sepia ink,looping gracefully.Almina’s handwriting isalmost a carbon copy ofhermother’s,whose nameis signed a little furtherdownthepage.

MissandMrsWombwell

clearly acquittedthemselves perfectly,because that visit wasenough to seal the deal.Sometime that weekend,the5thEarl askedAlminato be his wife. LordCarnarvon was not ademonstrably romanticman, but he was agentleman, he wassmitten,and,havingaskedMrsWombwellifhecould

request her daughter’shand in marriage, he wasabout to ask a beautifulyounggirl tobehisbride.It is tempting to imaginethat he andAlminamighthave strolled to theTemple of Diana, goddessof love, a mile’s ramblefrom the house, and thathemighthavechosenthatmoment.But,giventhatitwas December, and very

probably not walkingweather,perhapsit’smorelikely that he spoke toAlmina in the MusicRoom, or the DrawingRoom. Naturally, she saidyes.Unusually, theengagement was notannounced in The Times,but Lord Carnarvon didmake Almina a present ofsome magnificent pearls.

They had been in thefamily for generations;thereisasplendidpaintingby Van Dyck of AnneSophia, the 1st Countess,wearing them lightlystrungaroundherneck.Themarriage settlementwas discussed further bythe respective parties’lawyers and, on returningto town, the Earl paid acallonSirAlfred.

Lord Burghclere,Carnarvon’s brother-in-law, wrote to his wifeWinifred to reassure heron the subject of herbrother’smarriage.‘Porchyhad to see A. Rothschildanditispracticallysettledabout Almina. I am reallyglad…Pisnotthesortofpersontomarrymerelyformoney…he likes thegirland that being so the rest

will follow. You will hearfrom him yourself nodoubtand fromtheotherssoIwillnotenlargeonthetopic but I think youmayease your mind on thesubject and hope for theverybest.’With everythingresolvedtohissatisfaction,Lord Carnarvon promptlychartered a steam yachtand took off for South

America with his greatfriend Prince VictorDuleepSingh.Marie and Almina came

on a second visit toHighclere, in her fiancé’sabsence, to get to knowherprospectivefamilyandhome better. They madethe acquaintance ofWinifred, the Earl’s eldersister, and Aubrey, hisyoungerhalf-brother.They

hadalreadymetElsie, theDowager Countess, whohad been extremely kindto them both, and whowas equally charming onthis occasion. Plans beganto be made for thewedding, and Almina wasfizzy with excitement.ElsieinvitedAlminatocallon her in town, althoughnotably,MarieWombwell,whilemostwelcomeinthe

country,wasstillnottobereceivedinLondon.Almina now spent alarge proportion of hertime in Londonwith Elsieat the Carnarvon townhouse at 13 BerkeleySquareandwasapparentlyevery bit as excited as aneighteen-year-old engagedto be married could be.LordBurghclere,writingtohiswifeagain,said,‘Ihave

seen Elsie, who is verygood and a dear aboutPorch–andA.whoseemstolivethere.Idonotthink[she] can keep it secretany time – she wasliterally bursting withit…sheseemstobeheadover ears in loveand sayswhy can’t we be marriedand go on the yachtingcruisetogether?’But Almina was not

merely excited. She was,unsurprisingly, almostneedyinherclinginessandenthusiasm. After alifetimespentlivinghalfinshadows, between worlds,she was clearly relishingtheprospectofbeingmoresecure, not just socially,butemotionally.MarieandAlminaseemtohavebeenextremely close; the factthatMariewas a frequent

visitortoHighclereallherlife reflects the continuedstrength of therelationship. But, despitethe relative toleranceafforded by her parents’domestic situation, theanxiety and frustrationproduced by her mother’sdemi-mondaine status andthe antics of Marie’s latehusband, FrederickWombwell, must have

been considerable.Certainly it was obviousenough for LordBurghcleretocommenton.In the same letter hewrote, ‘The poor littlething seemsdesperate … (as I toldElsie) for a decent familyas well as a husband.’ Headded, rather sweetly, ‘Ihope Porch will get onwithA1/50thasmuchas

wedo.’Thesettlementhadbeen

drawn up by the couple’swedding day, but it wasnot executed until onemonth later, safely afterthehappyeventhadtakenplace. The three partieswereAlfreddeRothschild,Almina Wombwell – nowtheCountessofCarnarvon– and the 5th Earl.Carnarvonmay have been

struck by Almina’s manylovely qualities and havealready developed afondness for her, but hehad also sensed hisopportunity to drive abargain. The Earls ofCarnarvon had marriedheiresses before, therebyacquiring various otherestates, and he was fullyaware that aristocraticlifestyles frequently

needed injections of newmoneytomaintainthem.The first clausestipulated that Alfred deRothschild would pay£12,000 yearly to LadyCarnarvon, or LordCarnarvon if she diedbeforehim,throughouthislife. A Highclere footmanwaspaid£22ayearatthattime, so the multiplierwouldputthevalueofthis

annual income at £6.5million in today’s terms.Thisinadditiontothefactthat Lord Carnarvon hadasked Alfred to clear hissubstantial debts beforethewedding tookplace sohecould startmarried lifewith a clean sheet.Provision was also madefor any children born tothe couple. Alfred readilyagreed to everything and

the way was eased forthesetwoyoungpeopletolive in their gildedworld,with every sort ofextravagance and delighttoamusethem.

4

ATriumphforHer

Ladyship

Almina arrived atHighclere as an outsider,but with an enormoussense of excitement andself-confidence.Howcouldshe not, when recent

events suggested that shehad finally managed tocombinethesocialprestigebrought by her marriagewith the fabulous wealthof her father? Now shewas sure of her place andher role, for the first timeinher life. Shehada titlethattoldherwhoshewas:as of now, AlminaWombwell was the 5thCountessofCarnarvon.

But she was onlynineteenandthisrole,thistitle, was so much biggerthanshewas.ShewastheCountess,butshewasalsoa teenager, a high-spiritedgirl sure of herself onemoment, nervy the next.Moving into Highclerewas, if not humbling(Almina was never in herlife humbled), definitelyoverwhelming. Relics of

Almina’s desire to impressherself upon the place –literally – are still visibleall over the Castle. Sheengravedandstampedhernew initials and theCarnarvon coronet oninnumerable householdaccessories, from visitorbooks and notebooks, tostationery, travellingtrunks, linens,menucardsandcallingcards.

She brought trunks fullof clothes and set aboutinstallingherbelongingsinthebureausandcupboardsof Highclere. She alsobrought with her onetrusted personal servant,Miss Mary Adams, herlady’s maid, who helpedhertounpackandtosettlein. She, alone of all theservants, was allowed tosleeponthesamestoreyas

hermistress.Marywas anallyandafriend,theotherstranger at Highclere whowas her eyes and ears intheservants’hall,abridgebetweenthestaffandtheirnewmistress.Inthosefirstfew weeks after hermarriage, whilst touringthe estate, meeting thelocal gentry and thetenants, finding her feet,Almina grew to rely

completelyonMary.Alminahadalwaysbeen

the special child, dotedupon; lavished with loveby her mother and withmoney by her father. Herwedding had enshrinedher own sense of herimportance. But actually,nowshehadsignedupforlife as the Countess ofCarnarvon, she had toadjust to living inaworld

in which she was not thecentreoftheuniverse.Thefurniture and the superbpaintings didn’t reallybelong to her, or even toher husband, but to thehouse, to Highclere as apresence in its own right.The Castle, layered withdecorations reflecting thetasteofitsinhabitantsoverthe years, had to besustained across the

generations.When Alminaarrived,theDrawingRoomwas in need ofrefurbishment. Alfred deRothschild had given herbolts of green silk as partofhisweddingpresentandsheusedthemtocoverthewalls. Following his taste,she redecorated in thestyle of the ancien régime,with gilded ceilings anddoors. The green silk

damask had been inspiredby Marie Antoinette’ssitting room at Versailles.Meissen porcelain wasdisplayed on theeighteenth-centuryfurniture that Alminaloved.Six weeks after their

wedding, Lord Carnarvonleft Highclere to go toScotland to shoot, as washiscustomoncethegrouse

season opened on 12August. Given his newlyimprovedbankbalance,hedecided to take amonth’sshootingatagrousemoornear the Balmoral estate.Alminacouldgowithhimornot,asshepleased,butthere was no possibilitythat he would alter hisroutinesforher.Shewasverykeentogo

to Scotland with

Carnarvononhis shootingtrip. It wasn’t the customfor ladies to go out withthe gentlemen, and nor infact was Alminaparticularly interested inriding,butsheenjoyedhertimewithherhusbandandbegan to get to know hisfriends. Lord Carnarvon,whowasanexcellentshot,took a party of closefriends with him: their

royal highnesses PrinceVictor and Prince FreddieDuleep Singh and JamesRutherford, his agent atHighclere,amongstothers.It was a very maleoccasion,andAlminamusthave felt like anadornment rather than aparticipant, but it was amagnificent landscape,and a very popular andfashionable place, given

theproximitytoBalmoral,which was adored byQueenVictoria.AlfreddeRothschildwas

elegantly networkingbehind the scenes inLondon. He hoped toengineer a visit by thePrince of Wales toHighclere Castle; it wouldtestify to the success ofAlmina’sarrivalandgivearoyal seal of approval.

Highclere was renownedasoneofthemostexcitingshoots in England and thePrince knew the foodwould be exquisite andcopious in quantity, thewines the best that Alfredde Rothschild couldprocure. His privatesecretary confirmed thedatesforthevisit.The royal party had

accepted an invitation for

the middle of Decemberand Almina threw herselfinto preparations.Carnarvon continued totravel from one estate tothe next with the sameband of friends. He wentto Bretby, his house inNottinghamshire, and toShelford for moreshooting. In fact, by 1December,LordCarnarvonhad shot on more than

sixtydayssincetheseasonopened.Back at Highclere,

Alminasetaboutspendingan extraordinary amountofmoneyon redecorating,hiring extra staff andlaying in provisions. It isunlikely that she hadmetthe Prince before since,despite the fact he was agreatfriendofAlfred’s,hedidn’t visit Halton House

at the same time as her.Alfred’s advice on thedelicatedetailsthatwouldensure a successful visitwas most welcome. Thetwo men had beensocialising together foryears, either atMarlborough House, thePrince’s London home, atHalton House or atSeamore Place, Alfred’sLondon house, where the

Prince enjoyed theintimate dinners thatAlfreddelighted ingiving.ThePrinceofWaleswasagourmandand,asthenextKing and Emperor,tremendously grand.Almina wanted to makesure that every littlecomfort had been thoughtabout,thatallwasopulentand perfectly delightful,just as it should be and

justashewasusedto.Shethrew money at thesituation, spending£360,000 in today’s termsonthethree-dayvisit.The first task was toredecorate a bedroom forthe Prince of Wales. Alarge bed wascommissioned (the Princewas notoriously unable tocurb the amount he ateand had a girth of some

fourfoot),andnewFrenchfurniture,vasesandclocksfilledtheroom,whichwashungwithredsilkdamask.The adjoining dressingroom received the sametreatment.Almina spent £856 13s

9dwithW.TurnerLord&Co., who were specialistdecorative contractorsbased in Mount Street,Mayfair. Carpets were

bought from TurbevilleSmith& Co. for£312 13s2d. China, lamps andcurtains were bought andhired. The billiard tablewas re-covered; hundredsof the finest beeswaxcandleswerebought.Extra carriages and

horses were hired andspecial railway carriageswere commissioned tobring everything, and

everyone, down toHighclere. Records ofvarious gifts give an ideaof the extent of thepreparations. There weregifts in November to fourinspectors at PaddingtonStation, and all thestationmasters fromReading to Whitchurch,Newbury, Highclere andBurghclere benefited fromAlmina’s determination

that no detail was toosmall and that nothingshould go wrong. Therewere also gifts topostmasters, policesuperintendentsandallthetenant farmers on theestate.As for the food, whichwastobeacentralpartofthewholeproceedings,noexpensewas spared eitheron the supplies or the

kitchenstaff.Allthemealswererigorouslyplannedinadvance, and then Alminadispatched Streatfield toLondontohireSavoychefsand waiters, to orderflowersbythearmfulfromVeitch of Chelsea, and topurchase an incredibleamount of provisions,wines and champagnes.Streatfield spent £215 4s4d (approximately

£22,000 today) on meat,chickens, eggs, fruit, andchocolates fromCharbonnel.The stoical Streatfieldwas a loyal retainer andwell used to carrying outorderswithoutsomuchasa raised eyebrow. Inprivate, he mightnonetheless have lookedsomewhat askance at allthis expense.Hehadbeen

the house steward atHighclere for eight yearsand had seen a fair fewentertainments for thegreat and the good in histime, but the 4th Earl’staste in party-giving hadnot been on the scale ofAlmina’s. And, of course,Streatfield’s shopping billfortheweekendwasmorethanfourtimeshisannualsalary, a fact he surely

cannot have failed tonotice.When the day of the

visit finally arrived,Almina herself wrote themenus for that night, inFrench, as always. Theplacement of guests atdinner had taken sometime to arrange and herclothes had been plannedin advance with Adams.Fiveorsixdifferentoutfits

mightbeneededeachday.Thebareminimumatsuchanoccasionwasadressforthe morning, one forwalkingintheafternoon,ateadressandtheneveningclothes.Alminastoodnexttoher

husband, near the iron-studded walnut door ofHighclere Castle, to greetthe Prince ofWales as healightedfromthecarriage.

Asshedroppedintoadeepcurtsey,Alminahopedthatshehaddoneeverythinginher powers to provideamusement andentertainmentforhim.TheCastle loomed up behindthem in the low winterlight. Inside, it was lit byover 150 oil lamps, andcandles provided a warmglow around the galleriesand in the new Drawing

Room.TheEarlandCountessofCarnarvon had given agreat deal of thought tothequestionof theirotherguests. It was usual toinvitebothlocalfriendsofthe Prince of Wales andsome of his familiarMarlborough set, whosecompany he clearlyenjoyed. In theend itwasalargepartythatincluded

family: Lord and LadyBurghclere and friends:among them the Earl andCountessofWestmoreland,Lord Ashburton, Lord andLadyChelsea, theNevillesandtheColebrookes.Theyalso asked the RussianAmbassador, who was afriend of the Prince’s. Thecrowdweretherepartlytoenjoy themselves, ofcourse, but they had also

been asked in order toentertain the Prince andhadbeenselectedwithhisinterestsinmind.Dinnerthatnightwasan

Epicurean feast and thePrince was extremelyappreciative. Almina hadreceived numerouscompliments already onher exquisite taste, on thebeauty of the DrawingRoom she had decorated

and the charming andcomfortable bedroom shehad put at his disposal.The Prince was in ahumourtobepleasedwitheverything, and dinnerwas never going todisappoint.Itbeganwithasoup, a consommé,followed by the fishcourse: turbot grilléDugléré (after AdolpheDugléré, who was one of

the most famous chefs innineteenth-century Parisand had cooked for theRothschild family foryears). Then came theentrées: pâtés and achickendish.Nextupwerethe roasts, a vast amountofgamebirds,stuffedwithfoie gras, all served withnumerous vegetable sidedishes. Itwas followed bysouffléd’orangeandices.

After theentertainments(onthisoccasion,accountsshow that a band playedfortheassembledguestsinthe Music Room), therewasalittlelightsupperofcold meats such aspheasant and cold beef.Unsurprisingly, the Princeretiredtobedsatiatedandin an excellent mood.Almina must havebreathed a deep sigh of

relief.Theshoottookplacethefollowing day, and thiswas Carnarvon’s territory.It covered two drives ontheHighclereestate:Biggsand Warren. The higherchalk downland wasessentiallyarabbitwarrenandwasn’tfarmed,soastoprovideexcellentshooting.There were eight guns –HRH the Prince of Wales,

Lord Westmoreland, LordBurghclere, Lord Chelsea,the Hon. SeymourFortescue, Sir EdwardColebrooke, M. Boulatselland Lord Carnarvon.Between them they shot atremendous quantity ofbirds and rabbits – it wasthe era of quantity ratherthan quality in shootingcircles.The Castle’s game book

records the disposal of allthegameshotatHighclere–nothingwaseverwasted.It was compiled usingfigures given to thehousekeeper by the headgamekeeper who, at thetime of the Prince ofWales’s visit, was a mancalled Cross, soon to bereplaced by the long-serving Henry Maber.Flickingthroughthepages

it is possible to track thesocial life of the Castlefrom year to year, andmostly there are relativelymodestlistsofgamegivento guests at house partyweekends. But on thepages that record thePrince’sshoot,thecolumnsare full; the list goes onand on. Like everythingelse about that three-daystay, the extravagance is

startling.Ordinarily, guns weregiven six pheasants each,but the Prince was giventwelve. The long list ofrecipients demonstratesthe Prince’s wide socialnetwork: birds were senttotheRussianAmbassadorand Nellie Melba, as wellas to Mr Horace Voules,editorofTruthmagazine,awell-known investigative

periodical. (It is temptinghere to imagine adelicatebribe to a forerunner ofthepaparazzi – thePrincewas frequently the subjectof gossip in the media,unsurprisingly given thathe was an enthusiasticplayboy throughout hislife.) Marie Wombwell,Almina’smother,was senta brace of birds, somewere sent to Newbury

Hospital, and even thewaiters, the band and thevisiting valets were givenpheasant. The lamp-men,however, were givenrabbits.The visit was atremendous success. Itcould not have gone offmore perfectly, andCarnarvon must have feltdelightedthathisnewwifehadorchestratedtheevent

so well. She had dazzledher guests and overseen aseries of exquisite dinnersand entertainments.Clearly, Almina’s‘educationforthedrawingroom’hadensuredshewasan excellent administratorand talentedhostess – shewas already excelling intheroleoftheCountessofCarnarvon.The little nineteen-year-

old was no longer thenaïve damsel that LordBurghclere had observedsix months ago, desperatefor a decent family andgiddy with excitementabout her future. Shewasa wife, a Society hostess.Shewasatriumph.

5

LifeDownstairs

The fact was, of course,thatAlmina’striumphwascompletelydependentonasmall army of otherpeople. She occupiedcentrestagewhentheeyesof the world were uponher, but actually it wasStreatfield who ruled theCastle, and he continuedtodosofortherestofhislife. He knew perfectlywellthathewasmoreofa

fixture than the newCountess.Hehad,afterall,knownLordCarnarvonforratherlongerthanshehad.The little kingdom ofHighclere would carry onas before and the staffwouldsimplydotheirjobsandwaittoseehowthingsturnedout.At the time of his

expensive shoppingexpedition to London,

Streatfield was thirty-nineyears old. Since he was asingleman,helivedintheCastleitself,ratherthaninone of the staff cottages,which were reserved formarried couples andfamilies.Ashousestewardhe had a large squaresitting room in thebasement, next to theidentical housekeeper’ssitting room. This was

Streatfield’s domain,wherehe spenthis leisuretime, such as it was, andfrom where he ran thedownstairs life atHighclere. It wascomfortably furnishedwithanIndianrugandaneasy chair. In one cornerstood an old Englishgrandfather clock and theroom was full ofmahogany desks and

tables. It felt businesslike,as befitted a man with agreat deal ofresponsibility.Streatfield did the

household accounts,ordered provisions andwas in chargeof thewinecellars and the silver safe,wherethefamilyplatewaskept under lock and key.Thesafewasvast,awalk-in room, and contained

some famous piecescollected by the greatconnoisseur, the Earl ofChesterfield, as well asjewellery and otherheirlooms.Itwascarefullywrapped and stored inmuslins on baize-coveredshelves.Streatfield had mutton-chopwhiskersandahabitof dropping his aitcheswhere they needed to be

and adding them wherethey didn’t. He wasremembered by the 6thEarlasunflappable,utterlydevotedtoLordCarnarvonandevenmoredevoted toHighclere, a man whonever let his professionalmannerslipbutwhohadasoft spot for children. Hewould ruffle Porchy’s hairwhen he was a very littleboy, a gesture of

familiaritythatStreatfield,with perfect timing,dropped when the younglordwentofftoEtonfromprepschool.Itwasn’tuntil1897 that he married ateacher from Essex calledEdithAndrewsandmovedinto one of the grace-and-favour cottages in thepark.Streatfield’s bedroom

was one of the larger

roomson the first floorofthe staff wing. Thefootmenand thegroomofthe bedchambers, Roberts,hadsmallerrooms,allwellwithinStreatfield’sorbitsothat he could keep an eyeon them. The footmen’sroomslookedoutoverthecourtyard and the groomsand coachmen lived overthe stables, which formedtheotherthreesidesofthe

yard.Mr Roberts’s position

was a relatively unusualone;itwasamarkofgreatluxurytohaveagroomofthe bedchamber. Alfredhad such a person in hishousehold, and Almina,like Alfred, found havingsomeone in the roleextremely useful. Robertswas a sort of valet ‘atlarge’.Hewastaskedwith

ahostoflittledetails,fromensuring that Lord andLady Carnarvon never ranoutofwritingpaperorinkintheirbedrooms,tobeingin charge of calling cardsfrom visitors, announcingguests and liaising withFearnside, the Earl’sfiercely loyal valet, andMissAdams.Hisremitwasextended to cover thehouse parties when there

were guests. Roberts’soverall responsibility wasto ensure that everyone’sstaywasexquisite.The housekeeper at thestart of Almina’s time atHighclere was Mrs EmilyBridgland. Her title wasgivenasacourtesy,asshewas in fact single. MrsBridgland had her sittingroom next to Streatfield’s,but whereas his was dark

andfullofheavyfurniture,hers had a lighter touchandwasmorecomfortable.Shehadtwosofascoveredin brocade and a largerosewood lounge chair, aswellasawritingdeskandsewingmachine.Sheknewwhereall thekeystoeachroom were and kept thekey to the chinacupboards, which lay notfar from her sitting room,

on a chain around herwaist. As with Streatfieldandhissilver,sheguardedthechinafiercely.Everydayat10.00a.m.,

Mrs Bridgland made herway up the staff stairs tothe ground floor of theCastle. Lady Carnarvon’ssitting room was directlyunderneath her bedroomand could be quietlyreached from various

private stairs. Almina hadjust redecorated. It nowhad a thick, dusky pinkcarpet, and the delicateGeorgian plasterwork wascomplementedbysoftpinkwalls, against which hunga charming collection ofpaintings and miniatures.It was a peaceful room,full of light, in which shecould discuss householdmatters in privacy with

Mrs Bridgland. As ineverything at Highclere,the structures below stairsmirrored life upstairs, sojust as Mrs Bridgland andStreatfieldhadtheirsittingrooms next door to oneanother, so too did Lordand Lady Carnarvon. MrsBridgland could ask LadyCarnarvon for herinstructions and discussplans for the day: what

time guests were arrivingand departing, theentertainmentsplannedforthe afternoon, the menusforlunchanddinner.Oncethey had concluded theirbusiness, Mrs Bridglandretraced her steps anddelegatedthejobsthroughthe head housemaid andthecook.On the wall of the

corridor that ran the

length of the house, fromthebackdoor to thewinecellars, was the panel ofbells that the family usedtoringforattention.Itwaspositioned between thehouse steward’s and thehousekeeper’s sittingrooms and there weresixty-sixbells in total,onefor each of the StateRoomsandthe familyandguestbedrooms.Streatfield

employed a steward’sroom boy in order to runand alert a maid or afootmanwhenabellrang.Particularstaffansweredeach bell. Streatfield,Fearnsideandthefootmenensured that the familyand any guests wereproperly greeted,announced–andthattheylacked for nothing. Themore senior housemaids

wouldbeonhand to lookafter the female houseguests. But many of thestaff rarelymet the guestsas only the footmen werein attendance at eachlunchordinner.Akitchenmaidmightgo formonthswithout ever seeing amember of the familysince there was no reasonfor her to go upstairs andAlmina seldom came

downstairs.The unmarried female

servants lived in themainCastle,onthesecondfloorand inrooms in the towerreached by a windingstaircase.Eachsingleroomhad its own bed andfireplace where watercould be heated up forwashing, but some of thejunior maids shared, twotoaroom.Bedroomswere

strictly for sleeping in,sincetherewasaservants’hall and sitting room forrelaxing,andtherewasnosuchthingas trulyprivatespace. Bedrooms could beinspectedatanytime,andalthough Mrs Bridglandwasnotyrant,shetookherduties seriously, openingcupboards and lookingunderbedsforevidenceofany wrongdoing. Policing

ofmoralityandobservanceofthesocialcodeswereasmuch a part of the housestewardandhousekeeper’sduties as organising thewine cellar, keeping thekey to the silver safe,ordering provisions orsupervising housemaids.The maids were usuallyseventeen or eighteenwhen they started inservice, and were often

living away from familyfor the first time. Therewasanelementofpastoralcare to the role of thesenior staff, who had tospot upset of any kindsince it might disrupt thesmooth running of thehousehold.The girls were a goodlong way from the malestaff,whichwasobviouslythe intention, but they

werealsoalongwayfromthegroundiftherewereafire. The provisions forescape in such an eventwere pretty terrifying inthemselves. Outside thebedrooms there arepainted notices thatannounce,matteroffactly,‘Incaseof fire,usechute.’The heavy canvas tunnelswere on iron hooks thatcould be wedged in the

window frames. The farend was held firmly by acoupleofmenstandingfarbelow on the lawn. Theymust have worked,because later generationsremember being made topractise a fire drill withthem. The housemaidsknew the main thing wastowearthicksweatersandhold their arms close totheirbodies so theydidn’t

catch their elbows in themetalhoopsofthetunnel.There were rulesgoverning interactionbelow stairs at least aselaborate as those thatprevailed upstairs.StreatfielddinedeverydaywithMrsBridglandandMrFearnside,thevalet,inthesteward’sroom.Theywereserved by a juniorfootman. Mr Roberts, the

groom of thebedchambers, and MissAdams presided over thehousemaids and footmenin the servants’ hall,womenonone sideof thetable, men on the other.Precedence was carefullypreserved,with the seniorhousemaid sitting to therightofRobertswhilst thebutler and under-butlerwould be seated either

side of Lady Carnarvon’smaid. The chef’sdepartments were quiteseparate. Visiting ladies’maidsandvaletswouldbeplaced according toprecedence: the rank oftheirfamily’stitleandsizeof establishmentwouldbeascarefullystudiedbyMrsBridgland, poring overDebrett’s inherparlour,asby Almina doing a table

plan upstairs in the StateDiningRoom.In Almina’s time therewere at least eighteenmembers of male indoorstaff reporting in a stricthierarchical structure toMr Streatfield. Even theirclothes reflected theirstatus. Streatfield changedto white tie when LordCarnarvon dressed fordinner, since hewould be

serving in the DiningRoom. Footmen likewisehad to change from theirliveries into whitebreeches with dark bluejackets and powderedwigs. Female staff woreblue dresses with whiteaprons and little frillycaps:themoreseniortheirrole, the more elaboratethecap.Attheverytopofthe scale, Mrs Bridgland

could dispense with theapron, and at the verybottom, the scullery maidhad just one work dressand a vast quantity ofaprons that she had tochangeconstantly.The Castle household

ran like clockwork, withnew arrivals slotted in tojunior jobs in order tolearn how things weredone. Each different

employeeattheCastlehadtasks to perform atdifferent timesof theday.A scullerymaid, whowasthe most junior of all themaids,wasupat6.00a.m.to light the fire in thekitchen so the senior staffcould have their cups oftea. She would befrantically busy doing thewashingupduringcookinghoursandaftermeals,and

thereforeuptoherelbowsin suds and grease frombreakfasttimetolongafterthe family had finisheddinner. A housemaidmight have an hour ofrelative leisure mid-afternoon. On the otherhand,housemaidsalsogotupatthecrackofdawntobegin the enormous andcrucial task of lightingdozens of fires throughout

the house. A juniorhousemaidwouldbeginbycleaningthehousekeeper’sgrate,anddothejobeveryday first thing, until shegot the hang of it andcouldberelieduponnottodirty the carpets in theStateRooms.The fires had to becleaned of the previousday’s ashes and then re-laidwithfreshwhitepaper

before the footmenbroughtinthehotcoalstolightthem.Afterbreakfast,the maids would begin toclear the rooms andmakethebeds,ataskthatcouldtake them until lunchtimeif the family was inattendance with guests.The staff had their mainmeal at midday in theservants’ hall, an hourbefore the family ate at

1.00 p.m. The lateafternoons would bringanother round of duties.Once the Carnarvons andtheir guests had takentheirteaandretiredtotheLibrary for a game ofbezique or gone out for astroll in the park, themaids had to clear awayany evidence of theiroccupation of the roomsthey weren’t using,

plumping cushions,emptying ashtrays andsweeping carpets toremove footprints. Thetask of restoring animpression of pristinereadiness in the StateRoomscouldbecompletedwhen the house partyretiredtodressfordinner,but of course that alsomeant a new round ofwork in the bedrooms.

There were more fires tobe lit and then endlesspails of hot water to betaken up. Bathroomswerenot installed at Highclereuntil 1897, so before thenbaths were taken infreestanding tubs in frontof the fire in thebedrooms. If there weretwenty-five guests staying,plus family, that meantthirtyfiresandthirtybaths

to fill. There would havebeen a great deal ofrunning up and down theback stairs, trying not tospill the water as thedoormen lugged it up.Even once the plumbingwasinstalled,somejugsofhot water were still takenup. Old habits die hard,andmanyguestspreferredto use a jug and a bowlthan the marble inlaid

basins.The main kitchen atHighclere is a large, high-ceilinged room tiledup tobeyondtheheightofatallman.Thereisanenormousand elegant wooden-framed clock on onewall,so that everyone couldkeep to the rigorousschedules demanded bythecook,andahugetableinthemiddleoftheroom.

GwendolenGray,whowasa scullery and then akitchenmaid,remembered‘the huge Caron stove, ittook five hods of coal inthe morning and five inthe afternoon, the longwhite scrubbed table, theshelves with gleamingcoppers –andwhen Iwasscullery maid, how I tookaprideinthosecoppers!’The Earl and Countess

ate four times a day:breakfast, lunch, tea anddinner; there were atremendous number of‘removes’ for each meal,butespecially foradinnerparty. When in residence,Lord and Lady Carnarvonwere rarely withoutvisitors, and even on aslow day the pace ofactivity must have beenrelentless. Occasionally,

mistakes were made.Dorothy Wickes was akitchen maid duringAlmina’s time and yearslater she told a nephewabout theday the Ladyofthe House complained ofoak leaves in thecabbage.The following eveningAlmina prepared thecabbage herself butDorothy was feelingmischievous and added a

couple of leaves later.There was no furthercomplaint.The cook had her own

sitting room,a signofherhigh status, and food wastaken very seriously atHighclere. She had threekitchenmaidsaswellasascullery maid, and inaddition to the mainkitchenandtwosculleries,there was a still room for

more storage space andactivities like makingpreserves that were notdirectly connected to theday’s cookingrequirements.Therewasalot of equipment to store,from stew pans topreserving pans – and notmerelygeneral fishkettlesbut salmon and turbotkettles, too. Moulds ofvarious shapes and sizes

were used for cold firstcourses such as jelliesmousselines, as well as thefruit jellies and puddings,all of which werebeautifullypresented.Dinner was announcedat precisely 8.00 p.m. byStreatfield. Two footmencould serve dinner on aquiet evening,but if therewere ten guests or more,four footmen were in

attendance, and theywould be required topowder their hair, apractice that only ceasedin 1918. A scullery maidrecalled ‘what a longwaythesecondfootmanhadtogo to take the courses tothe Dining Room. If therewasasouffléonthemenu,IcanstillhearMrsMackiestanding at the servinghatchbeggingthefootman

to “run, run, run”. Thebutler would sometimesbring a note on a silversalver from His Lordshipcommenting on somethingconcerningthedinner.MrsMackie called these her“billydos”.’Both the Earl andCountess ate sparingly.Lord Carnarvonthoroughly enjoyedTurkish cigarettes, to be

smoked over brandy andcigars with the gentlemenguestsintheDiningRoom.The ladies took coffee, inthe Drawing Room.Alminadidn’tliketospendtoo long over a dinnerparty as the staff wouldhavetoclearandwashupand prepare for the nextday.There were always

quantities of dripping left

over from the preparationof these meals, so localpeople would bring alongbasins and Minnie Wills,who arrived at Highclereasakitchenmaidin1902,wouldletthemhavesomenourishing dripping inreturn for a penny or twoplaced in the slot of aneatly-made wooden box;at Christmas the coinswould be shared amongst

theservants.Eventually the staff hadtheir hot supper in theservants’ hall, which wasdirectly beneath the StateDining Room. It was alargeroomdominatedbyamassive seventeenth-century refectory tablemade of oak. ‘Our foodwas as good as in theDining Room,’ accordingto Mrs Hart, a long-term

Highclere resident whobegan as the fourthhousemaid. Sheremembered learning todance in the servants’hallaftersupperandtherewasoften singing around thepiano. The maids finishedtheir day with hot cocoawith the head housemaidin the servants’ sittingroom, a separate spacefrom the main servants’

hall,andmuchcosier–fullof easy chairs anddecorated with framedprints.It would be foolish topretendthatthelifeofthedomestic staff was idyllic,however. In some greathouses, any femalemember of staff who had‘a follower’, i.e. aboyfriend, would beinstantly dismissed – a

practice which seemsbarbaric today – althoughHighclere may have beenmoreliberalinthisrespectas numerous marriagesoccurred between estatestaff. The pay was notgenerous, but of coursefood and lodging wereincluded, so wages couldbe saved and service in ahousehold such as theCarnarvons’ was generally

seen as a good job withpossibilities foradvancement. By the1890s, changes tolegislation meant thatservantsgotaweek’spaidholiday a year, as well astheirhalf-daysonSundaysand, sometimes, anevening off in the week.During house parties theroutine was arduous anddays were extremely long

and busy, but when thefamily was away inLondon or abroad, therewas more opportunity torelax.The work might havebeen hard, but the rule atHighclere was not at alltyrannical. Minnie Willsalways said that she hadcome from a home thatwas not happy andHighclere became more

her home than that one.The piano in the servants’hall and the care impliedbythatcocoaattheendofthe day attest to abenevolent regime. Thestaff enjoyed trips toNewbury and, later on, tothe racecourse. There wasalsoanannualdance,heldin the Library, to whichstaff from all the otherlarge houses in the

neighbourhood wereinvited. Lord and LadyCarnarvon upheld atradition that Highclereshould be ‘a household ofkindness’. Winifred,Almina’s sister-in-law,remarked on thisapprovingly.AndasNannyMoss,the6thEarl’smuch-lovednurseputit,‘NoonefromHighclereCastlewillevergotoHell.’

Perhapsitwasatoneofthese dances, or at theraces, that Minnie andArthurHayter, the groom,first got chatting. It wasthe beginning of a longfriendship that wouldeventuallyendinromance.Relationships betweenmembers of staff were ofcourse relatively common,but they could onlyprogress if the couple

married, as, quite apartfrom any moral codes,their lives were sosegregated. For a woman,marriagemeanttheendofher working life, somanyservants delayed theirwedding a number ofyears, until they weremore financially secure.Somewomenalsodecidedtoprioritisemovingupthehousehold’s structure to

become housekeeper, or alady’s maid. That mightwell have been themotivating factor inMinnie and Arthur’sextendedcourtship.Highclere was asymbiotic system, andmutualrespectwasthekeytoitssuccess.The5thEarlprided himself on an OldWorld courtesy, and thatset the tone for the entire

household. He took aninterest in the well-beingof the staff and thecottagers on the estate;oftenadonationwouldbemadetowardsafundforatenantwhoselivestockhaddied, andmoneywas alsomade available for thestaff to have medicaltreatment. This attitudewas maintained by hissuccessor. The 6th Earl

wrote in hismemoirs thatheconsideredhis staff thelynchpin of hisestablishment and freelyadmitted that he wouldnot be able to runHighclere without theinvaluable help of hisbutler (Robert Taylor) offorty-fouryears’standing.The Castle was, of

course, only one part ofthe domain. The estate

was a self-containedcommunity with its ownforge, sawmills,carpenters, brickies, dairyfarm and electricians’workshops. There werevegetable gardens, fruitorchards, greenhouses andabrewery,pigsandcattle.There were security staffand gatekeepers,plantsmen, gamekeepersandforesters.

The gardens wereextensive and, as in allgreathouses,thequalityoftheflowersforcuttingandproduce to be used in thekitchens was a matter ofgreat pride. The headgardener in 1895 wasWilliam Pope, a fierceman, protective of histerritory. He had betweentwenty and twenty-fivemen working under him.

Thewalledkitchengardenwas a good five acres insize, with a charmingorchard beyond it, framedby plum trees whose fruitwasfamouslydelicious.MrPopehadnotonlyto

produce food throughoutthe year but also to knowhow to maximise yieldsand to store it so thatnothing should go towaste. Greenhouses lined

the south-facing walls toextendthegrowingseason.Avinery,peachhouseandorangerywereheatedbyaboiler, whilst rainwaterwas collected from all thegutters. A north-facingfernery provided acollection of differentflower species for theCastle and there wererosesfromtheRoseHouseand more flowers in the

designatedcuttingbeds.The dairy yard lay nearthe kitchen gardens, andwhen the family was intown rather than atHighclere, the milk andcheeses were sent up totheLondonhouseinsmallsilverchurns.Thesechurnsare still piled, somewhathaphazardly, inoneofthedozens of storerooms inthebasementoftheCastle.

All houses accumulateclutter,andthenooksandcrannies of Highclereprovide ample room forhundredsofyears’worth.Opposite the dairy wasthe hayrack for the dairyyard and, next to that,beneath the shelter of thewalls of the great kitchengarden,werethechickens.The damp boggy fieldleading west from the

kitchengardenwasusedtogrowpotatoes.Every day, Pope would

send his senior gardener,Samuel Ward, to enquireof the cook what wasneeded. There was anentire family ofdelightfully namedDigweed boys working asHighclere gardeners, andoneofthemwouldrunupto the kitchens with the

fruit and vegetablesrequired.The sawmills lay across

the cricket field nearWhite Oak, the largesprawling house whereJames Rutherford, theagent, lived. They hadbeen refitted by the 5thEarlwith the latest steam-poweredsaw.Thedivisionof labour in terms ofoverseeing the house and

estate was firmly alongtraditional lines: anythingoutside theCastlewas theEarl’s concern and, just asAlmina had wasted notime in refurbishing theDrawingRoom,Carnarvonhad spent money on thelatestequipmentoutatthesawmill. He was verymuch a gadget man,delighting in theadvancesin technology that were

comingfastthroughoutthe1890s.The yard outside themillwasstackedhighwithdifferent types of wood.The estate carpenters hada stock of planks,boarding, joists or posts;everything they needed.There were thirty menworking under headforester William Storieand,asinthegardens,one

family in particular, theAnnetts, worked forgenerationsasforesters.Henry Maber, whobecame head gamekeeperin1896,wasalarge,solidman who had moved toHighclere from EastAnglia.Herodeacobandwas steeped in knowledgeof the countryside. Helived with his family in ahouse called Broadspear,

overlooking the sweeping,Capability Brown-designedlawns. The house wasclosetotherearingpensatPenwood, theneighbouring village. Theyoung pheasants wereraised there before beingtaken out to the estate’svarious woods in latespring and left to grow tomaturity in time for theshootingseason.

ItwasaveryprestigiousjobbecauseHighclerewasregarded as one of thegreat Edwardian shoots.LordCarnarvonwasoneofthe finest shots in thecountry and his closefriends Lord de Grey andLord Ashburton rivalledhimforthesameaccolade.They were unsparing intheir comments if theythought Lord Carnarvon

hadmismanagedadriveorhis keeper was not up toform. Maber was alwaysworrying about theweather, where the birdswere and whether hecould meet His Lordship’sdesired bag. He had fourunder-keepersandanotherfifteen men working forhim. They were all givencottages and lived at thefurthest-flung corners of

the estate so that theycould patrol the limits forpoachers. He reported toboth Lord Carnarvon andtoMajorRutherford.Like other estate staff,

Maber talked frankly.Onemorning he greeted LordCarnarvon with, ‘Excusememilord;aforeyougoesany further I’d likeyou togettotheleesideofmeasMrs Maber told me my

breath didn’t smell verysweetthismorning.’Some of the gardenerswouldearnextramoneyasbeaters on the shoots inwinter. One of theDigweeds was acting as astop on a drive forMaberwhenthe latter foundhimrelievinghimself against atree. ‘Now, Digweed youturnip-headed gardener,you stop that there dung

spreadingandgetonwithyourjob!’His son was CharlesMaber who grew up,learned the samecountryside lore andserved in turn as headkeeper.The U-shaped Georgianbrickcourtyardtothewestof the Castle housed thesmall brewery and theriding and carriage horses

in large cobbled stables.The carriages were alsokept here. The groomslivedinawarrenofroomsabove, sleeping two to abedroom,theirtrunks, fullofpossessions,at theendsof their beds. ArthurHayter arrived to take upthepositionofmostjuniorgroom and coachman in1895. His family werefarmers and Arthur’s new

jobwas seen as a definitestep up. He loved thehorses in his care andcould manage thembrilliantly, whispering tothem when they wereupset. There were at leasta dozen horses and onegroomforeachpairsothestables hummed withactivity.Arthurreportedtohead coachman, HenryBrickell, who had driven

the just-marriedcoupleontheirweddingday.Brickellwas a longstandingemployee and a muchtrusted,steadyman.Nobody could possibly

have known it, butHighclerewaspassingintoa golden time. Everyonewho lived and workedtherewascaughtupinthelastspectacularflourishingof a secure existence. The

rules were understood byeverybody: upstairs anddownstairs worldsinteracted only in veryspecific and controlledways. A new Countess,evenonewithgrandideasandthecashtocarrythemout, was unlikely toprovoke much lastingchange. In 1895 theEmpire was at its peak,Queen Victoria was two

years away from herDiamond Jubilee, andBritain was, withoutquestion, the mostprosperous and powerfulcountry in the world. Itwas a time of peace andprogress, of supreme self-belief. The threat to theold ways, as yet scarcelyperceived, came not fromanyindividualupstairsbutfrom the new technology

and the bigger politicalforces reshaping societyand the balance of powerinEurope.If you’d asked Henry

Brickell howhe felt aboutthe future, though, hemight not have been toocheery. His job wasincreasingly marginalised,inasignofthingstocome,by Lord Carnarvon’spassion for gadgets. The

5thEarlwasexploringtheexciting possibilitiesoffered by the newhorsepower – the motorcar.

LadyAlmina,the5thCountessof

Carnarvon,1899.(photocrediti1.1)

HighclereCastle,drawnin1889.(photo

crediti1.2)

HighclereCastle,presentday.

TheSaloonoftheCastlec.1895.

TheStateDrawingRoomoftheCastlec.

1895.

Henry,the4thEarlofCarnarvon,inhis

studyattheCastlec.1870.Hewasa

CabinetMinister(SecretaryofStatefor

theColonies)inthe1860sunderPrime

MinisterLordDerbyandagaininthe

1870sintheGovernmentofBenjamin

Disraeli.Hewasresponsibleforthe

grantingofindependencetoCanada.

The4thEarlofCarnarvon,1883.(photo

crediti1.7)

EvelynHerbert,the4thCountessof

Carnarvon,1874.

Anearlyportraitofthe5thEarlof

Carnarvon.(photocrediti1.9)

AnearlyportraitofAlfreddeRothschild,

Almina’sfather.(photocrediti1.10)

AdrawingofAlminaWombwell,before

shewasmarried.(photocrediti1.11)

AlfreddeRothschild,inthelate1800s.

Alminainthe1890s,probablytaken

shortlybeforehermarriage.

AnotherportraitofAlminajustbeforeher

weddingin1895.

St.Margaret’sChurch,whereAlminawas

marriedtoLordCarnarvonin1895.

(photocrediti1.15)

AportraitbyPaulCésarHelleuonthe

occasionofAlmina’swedding,withher

marriedsignature.(photocrediti1.16)

Almina,the5thCountessofCarnarvon,

infullregalia.

6

DressingforDinner

Lord and Lady Carnarvonset out for Christmas atHaltonHouseaweekafterthey had waved off theirillustrioushouseguest,thePrince of Wales. Pleasedwith each other,themselves and theworld,they had no reason todoubt that life wouldcontinue in its delightfulround of balls, shoots andtravels abroad, as far as

they both could see. Theywere looking forward tobeing thoroughly spoiledby Alfred, who celebratedChristmas in style, despitebeing Jewish. It was anexcuse for a party, andalthough he wasn’t goingto participate in thereligious aspects, thesecular trimmings weretheretobeenjoyed.Itwasa predictably jolly

occasion,withCarnarvon’sgreat friend Prince VictorDuleep Singh a fellowguestaswell;athoroughlymulticultural and eclecticgathering of people, allbent on celebrating theirowngoodfortuneasmuchasanythingmorepious.The Carnarvons wereregular visitors to HaltonHouse throughout theearly years of their

married life. There was apermanent whirl ofmoving betweenHighclere, London, Bretbyin Derbyshire and Pixtonin Somerset, as well asforeign travel. GivenAlmina’s lifelong devotionto the city of herchildhood,theywentoftentoParis,usuallystayingintheRitzhotel,andpoppedout to the Bois de

Boulogne for racing atLongchamps on a fineweekend.For Lord Carnarvon it

was a relatively sedateexistence,compared tohislongsailingmissionstotheothersideoftheglobe.ForAlmina, though, theworldwas expanding faster andfurther than ever before.Young ladies simply didnot travel as men did.

Theywerekept indoorsorclose to home andgroomed for the transitionfromtheirfather’shometotheirhusband’s.Onlynowthat she was Countess ofCarnarvon could shediffuse some of herformidable energy inseeing a bit of the world.Inthefirsttenyearsofhermarried life, Alminaaccompanied her husband

to France, Italy, Germany,Egypt many times,AmericaandtheFarEast.When they were at

HighclereorattheirhouseinLondon,theCarnarvonswere always entertaining.It was a curiously publicexistence compared todomestic life for mostmarried couples today.They were hardly everalone,andtheirhousewas

always full of staff andguests. In the summerthere were racing partiesand tennis weekends; inthe autumn there wereshoots.Allyear long therewere local fetes andgarden parties and, to allof these functions, theyinvited the latest stars ofthesocialscene,thenewlymarried,theintriguingandtheglamorous.

In May 1896, almost ayear after their ownmarriage, they invited thenewly wed Duke andDuchessofMarlboroughtostay. Consuelo VanderbiltwasanAmericanheiressofspectacular wealth, whomthe 9th Duke had quiteplainly married only forher money. She was abeautiful and charmingwoman, but the fact was

that the couple loathedeachother.Theyhadbothgiven up the people theyreally loved in order tomarry each other, andConsuelo, who was onlyseventeenatthetime,hadbeen coerced into themarriage by herdomineering mother. Shelaterreportedhavingcriedbehindherveilasshesaidhervows.

Consuelo spoke inalmosthushedtonesofherfirst London season, thatsummer of 1896. ‘Thosewho knew the London of1896 and 1897will recallwith something of aheartache the brilliantsuccession of festivities.’Partof those festivities,ofcourse,weretheinevitableweekend house parties,such as the one she

attendedatHighclere.SheandAlminawere inoddly analogous positions.They were both beautifulyoung heiresses who hadmarried into thearistocracy because oftheir family’s fortune anddespite its roots in trade.They were both outsiders.Alminahadbeensidelinedby her illegitimate status,Consuelo was constantly

sneered at for beingAmerican and thereforehardly worthy to be aDuchess. But there thesimilarity ended. Consuelowas miserable before andthroughout her marriage,and separated from theDuke of Marlborough in1906. Almina was giddilyin love on her weddingday and the Carnarvonshad a happy and

companionable marriageformanyyears.Did the girls recognise

something in each otherthat weekend? Did theytalk about the mishapsthey’dhadinthecourseoftheir apprenticeship in‘Being a Chatelaine’?Consuelo always recalledthat she was totallyunprepared for the rigidobservance of precedence

in her new world. ADuchess was higherranking than amarchioness, who camehigherupthanaCountess,but there were endlessdistinctions betweenDuchesses, marchionessesandCountesses,theageofeach title had to be takeninto account, and olderwomen took precedenceover younger ones, all of

which could reshuffleeverything intoadifferentorder. Once, at a party atBlenheim Palace, herhusband’s seat, Consuelowas unsure of thesequence in which theladies should bewithdrawing from thedining room. Not wantingto appear rude, shedithered in the doorway,only to be shoved in the

back by a furiousMarchioness, who hissedather,‘Itisquiteasvulgarto hang back as to jumpahead.’Perhapsitwasareliefto

speak to someone whounderstood that alongsidethe luxury and privilegewas the constant pressurenot to do ‘The WrongThing’,sincefewpeopleinthatstrictlycodifiedworld

wouldhavebeenpreparedtolaughitoff.Andalltheconventionsonlyservedtoremindthemthatwiththerankcametheriskthatalltraceof their individualitywould be swept away.AlminaandConsuelowereadjusting to the fact thattheir personal wishes anddesires were considerablyless important than themain tasks in hand:

producing an heir for theestate and enacting theirrolesasgreatladies.Itwouldhavebeenhardeven to find amoment tohave that conversation,sinceprivacywasvirtuallyimpossible to come bywhentherecouldbeuptoeightypeopleinthehouse.But the impulse to sharesecrets and stories isstrong and, in any case,

newwaystogetroundtheconventions were alwaysbeing devised. It wasconsidered improper toplay games on the Lord’sday, for example, so itbecamefashionablefortheladies to spend theirSundayafternoonswalkingin pairs, for tête-à-têteconversations. Socialprestige could bemeasured by how many

invitations to walk a ladyreceived. Part of theappeal must surely havebeen that the strollsthrough thebeautifulparkafforded the opportunitytospeakfrankly,oratleastmore frankly than in thedrawingroomtakingtea.Hostingaweekendparty

was liable to produceendless opportunities toslip up, or to overlook a

crucial detail. Almina hadacquitted herselfsplendidly at her baptismof fire, the Prince ofWales’s visit back inDecember, but the franticactivityandexpenseattestto a certain level ofanxiety as well asexuberance. She mighthave tried to reassure thenew Duchess, with thebenefit of her extra six

months’ experience andher greater familiaritywith English customs. Heradvice would have comein handy a few monthslater, when the Duchesshad to host her firstshooting party atBlenheim, once again inhonour of the Prince ofWales.The marriage betweenConsueloandMarlborough

was already becoming abyword for loveless butlucrative arrangements atthe time of the couple’svisittoHighclere.Almina’scuriosity and sympathymight have led to a fewenquiries as the girlsstrolled. Unfettered gossipwould not have been onthe agenda, though.Everything about Alminasuggests that she was

deeply conscious of herowndignity.Shehadonlyjust arrived at such anexalted position that shecould be arm-in-arm withaDuchess,andneithergirlwould have wanted to begrouped together as theoutsidersortocommitthecardinal sin ofindiscretion. Almina wassensitive to anyinsinuation that she was

letting herself down.Shame was a powerfulinhibitor and could beexperienced by proxy, ashersonlaterattested.Butfornow,Alminahadno reason to worry aboutanything. She had beenwelcomed into the familywith open arms, for thebreezyenergyshebroughtto the Earl’s life, and ofcourse for the immense

amount of good that herwealth could do for theestate. A house such asHighclere, not to mentiontheotherproperties,wasaresponsibility as well as aprivilege. The sense ofcustodianship that camewiththeinheritancemeantthat – to a large extent –the Castle owned thefamily, rather than theotherwayaround.Almina

was key to securing itsfuture,andsheknewit.Quite apart from

relieving everyone’sanxiety about bills andmaintenance, Almina’sfortune allowedimprovements on a scalethathadn’tbeenseensincethe 3rd Earl pulled downthe old house. She didn’thesitate in calling againupon Sir Alfred’s

generosity to makeHighclere one of the best-equipped and mostcomfortableprivatehousesinthecountry.It took the best part of

sixmonths,muchofwhichLord and Lady CarnarvonspentinLondonsoastobeout of the way of theworks, and cost Alfred deRothschild manythousands of pounds, but

in 1896, electric lightarrived at the Castle.Almina took theopportunity to have morebathrooms installed aswell.Therewerenumerouswater closets by the mid-1890s, not only adjoiningthe family’s and guests’bedrooms, but also in theservants’ working andsleepingquarters.Highclere was

transformed into a beaconofmodernity:theshadowswerebanishedandahugeamount of labour wassaved. The whole housewas wired, including thekitchens, sculleries, cellarsand servants’ hall andsittingrooms.Betweentheelectric light and therunning water in thebathrooms, there was asignificant easing in the

household’s centuries-oldwork schedule. The lamp-men were saved thenightly ritual of lightingover a hundred oil lamps,and the housemaids nolonger had to struggleupstairs with enough hotwater for everyone tobatheinfreestandingtubs.Elsie, the Dowager

Countess of Carnarvon,found the introduction of

the lights and the watersystems a huge practicalimprovement to thehouseshe had once run. Elsiewas a supremely good-natured and capableperson, never in her lifeinclinedtocomplainaboutanything. She had provedherselfanallybackduringAlmina’s engagement andcontinued to advise andhelpoutonheroccasional

visits.On10June1896,atBuckingham Palace, shepresented her successor tothePrincessofWales,whowasstanding in forQueenVictoria. This occasionmarked Almina’s formalintroduction to the Courtin her new role asCountess of Carnarvon. Itwas three years since thelast time Almina hadcurtseyed in front of a

representative of hermonarch and her life hadbeen transformed in theinterim.By23June1897,almosttwo years since theirwedding day, Almina wasfeeling confident enoughateventplanningtoinvite3,000 local schoolchildrenand 300 of their teachersto spend the afternoon inthe grounds of Highclere

Castle. The occasion wasQueen Victoria’s DiamondJubilee. The Queen hadbeen on the throne for anunprecedented sixtyyears,and there werecelebrations across theland. In the depths of heralmosttotalseclusionfrompublic life she had beenunpopular, becoming asymbol of a stubbornrefusal to move with the

times. Britain’s republicanmovement had its onlymoment of real publicsupport. But her Goldenand then her DiamondJubilee increased theQueen’s popularity again;and, in any case, popularor not, therewas protocolto observe: the Earl andCountess would not beshown up throughinadequate festivities.

More specially-commissioned trains toHighclere were laid on totransport people, and amile-long processionwound through thewoodsandpark, accompaniedbythe marching bands fromNewbury. Fortunately itwas a beautiful day andAlmina had organisedswingboats and otherentertainments, as well as

a sumptuous tea, all laidout on trestle tablesbeneaththecedartreesonthe lawns around theCastle.Two weeks later on 2July,theEarlandCountessattended a fabulouslylavish celebration, theDuchess of Devonshire’sJubilee Costume Ball,givenatDevonshireHouseon Piccadilly. The

invitation stipulated thatcostumes should beallegorical or historicalfrom a period pre-1820and, judging by some ofthe surviving photos ofguests, no opportunity todazzlewaspassedup.LadyWolverton, for example,was dressed as Britannia,complete with abreastplate over herflowing white dress,

plumed helmet, tridentand shield emblazonedwith the Union flag. MrsArthur Pagetmade a veryfetching Cleopatra andPrinceVictorDuleepSinghwas much admired as theMoghulEmperorAkbar.Lord and LadyCarnarvonspentChristmasat Alfred de Rothschild’shouse,ashadbecometheircustom, and then, in

January 1898, theyattended the wedding ofPrince Victor DuleepSingh, who married LadyAnne, the daughter of theEarl of Coventry, in StPeter’s Church, EatonSquare. The weddingcaused somethingofa stirsince it was the first timean Indian Prince hadmarried an Englishnoblewoman. The whole

thing was typical of thecontradictions of late-Victorian attitudes: at atime when patronisingattitudes to England’scolonial empire wereendemic, wealthy Indianswere nonetheless acceptedinto London Society andconsorted with the bestpeople. Marrying one ofthem proved to be just astep too far for some,

though. The Prince ofWaleswas instrumental incalming chatter about thealliance’s suitability andwas also a guest at theceremony. Prince Victor’sbrotherwas bestman andLordCarnarvon’syoungestsister,Vera,wasoneofthebridesmaids.Straight after thewedding, Lord and LadyCarnarvonleft thecountry

on what was to becomethe first of many voyagesto escape the Englishwinter. The destinationwas Egypt, which wouldprove so fateful for thecouple. They arrived inAlexandria and wereimmediately immersed ina very different worldfromanythingthatAlminahad ever known. Hertravelsuntilthenhadbeen

confined toEurope, so thewhitewashed walls anddaily life of Alexandriaprovoked something of aculture shock. There werecamels noisily kneeling tobe loaded before swayingoff,draggedalongbysmallboys with sticks. Thenoises and smells wereoverwhelming; the streetsfull of donkeys and Arabhorses pulling carts at

barely controlled speeds.The bazaar wastremendously colourful,full of spices and leathersand antiquities of dubiousprovenance. However,although it felt exotic, theCarnarvons were in goodcompany. Alexandria,Luxor and Cairo were allfullofforeigntourists,andit wasn’t unusual to seerunners clearing the way

before distinguishedpeople.Itwaseasytospotthe English on theirthoroughbreds, ridingbetween sportingengagements.They enjoyedthemselves in theluxurious surroundings oftheWinterPalaceHotelinLuxor, and the Earl waskeen to show Almina themysterious temples and

the glorious treasures thathad captured hisimaginationbackwhenhehad visited as a solotravellerin1889.While they were onholiday in Egypt, Alminafell pregnant. It was whateveryonehadbeenwaitingfor, and Carnarvon inparticular was naturallydelighted. They returnedto Highclere well rested

and in high spirits andspent a quiet few monthsat home. For Almina thesummer season that yearwas less rigorous thanprevious ones since, as apregnant woman, therewere a great manyactivities that were notconsidered appropriate forher. Almina spent moretime in town, restingwithher mother, and less time

at Highclere organisingweekendhouseparties.InSeptembershemovedinwithElsie,theDowagerCountess of Carnarvon, sothatshecouldgivebirthinLondon where the bestdoctors were available.Lord Carnarvon wastouring the Continent inhisbelovedPanhardmotorcaratthetime,whichwasprobablyanother factor in

Almina’s decision to leaveHighclere and head forLondon, where she wouldhave congenial companyand guidance as shepreparedformotherhood.The5thEarlwasknownby the moniker MotorCarnarvonandhadboughtseveral of the first carsimported into Britain. In1898 the choice of Britishcars was still very limited

indeed, and the bestmarque for experienceddrivers was considered tobe the French Panhard-Levassor. Lord Carnarvontravelled with GeorgeFearnside, his valet, andhis French chauffeur,Georges Eilersgaard. Thecar was left-hand drive,had four gears and couldtravelatthecorrespondingspeedsof4.5,7,10and13

miles per hour. Back inEngland later that month,he was summoned toappear in court inNewbury for driving atmore than 12 miles perhour(thelegallimitatthetime).ItwastobethefirstofnumerousspeedingfinesforLordCarnarvon.Lord Carnarvon was at13 Berkeley Square,thoughnaturallynotinthe

roomwith his wife, whenon 7November 1898, shefulfilled her primary taskas the Countess ofCarnarvon by giving birthtoanheir.Thesafearrivalof a healthy baby boymeant an uncomplicatedline of succession, andthere was rejoicing bothupstairsanddown.Alminawas still only twenty-twoyearsoldand,asusual,her

life seemed charmed. Shehad a beautiful healthybaby boy – she wasunassailable. Nothing everlooked too difficult forAlmina. She hadaccomplished everythingshe’deverputhermindto,hadthegoodfortunetobeprettyaswellas rich,meta man whom she lovedand who loved her, livedexactlyasshepleased.She

wasaCountess,awifeandnowamother.Thebabywaschristenedalittleoveramonthlater,afterthetraditionallaying-in period. His sponsorswereAlfreddeRothschild,Marie Wombwell, PrinceVictor Duleep Singh andFrancis, Lord Ashburton,another friend ofCarnarvon’s from Etondays. He was accordingly

given a very long list ofnames: Henry George (forhis father – both weregood Carnarvon names)Alfred Marius VictorFrancis.Inpracticehewasmost usually calledPorchy, as his father hadbeen before him and hisson would be in duecourse.The Carnarvons didn’tstaylongintownafterthe

christening.Porchywas tobe brought up atHighclere, in the nurseryon the second floor thatAlmina had prepared forthe purpose. When Lordand Lady Carnarvonarrived at the Castle withtheirsontheyweremetbythe entire staff, who hadlined up on the graveldrive outside the frontdoor to welcome them.

Almina stepped from thecar with the baby in herarms, followed by thenurse she had engaged inLondon.Later that afternoon allthe staff assembled again,thistimeoutsidetheEarl’sstudy, and weresummoned one by one tosee him. The kitchenmaids were twittery withnerves since they had

never been upstairs; thegrooms were just as badbut trying not to show it;everyone was dressedimpeccablyincleanapronsand caps. When a namewas called, the personentered the study,curtseyedorbowedtoHisLordship and received agold sovereign in honourofhissonandheir.The photo taken at the

Castle to mark Porchy’sbirth isheart-melting.Thebaby’s crib is enormousand draped in muslin.Almina stands behindwearingalongloosegownand stares, rapt, into thefaceofher first child.Theshot captures all thetendernessandamazementof a woman who has justbecomeamother.Aristocratic childcare in

1898 was radicallydifferentfromanythingwewould recognise today.Children lived not withtheir parents but in aseparate realm, lookedafter first by a nanny andlater by a governess,assisted by a couple ofnursery maids. Alminaarrived back at Highclereaccompanied by a nursewho was on hand during

the firstweeks togivehersupport and reassurance.The advice in those dayswas that the mothershould feed the babyinitially and thengradually introduce amixture of diluted cows’milk. When Almina gavebirth to her daughter,Evelyn Leonora Almina,whowasalwaysknownasEve, in August 1901, the

baby joined Porchy in thenursery, under the care ofNannyMoss.It is impossible to knowwhat Almina felt aboutbeing a mother. It wouldbeanachronistictoassumefromthe fact thatshewasoften away from herchildren (as shewas) thatshe did not love and careforthem.Theirday-to-daywelfarewasattendedtoby

otherpeople,but thatwasentirely normal inAlmina’sday.Her son, Porchy, laterthe6thEarlofCarnarvon,recalled in his memoirsthat his parents’ visits tothenursery,usuallyattea-timeonSundays,couldbeexcruciating occasions.There is a rather heart-breaking description of afamily too awkward with

each other to know whatto say, the Earl blusteringout questions about howthe schooling was comingalongjustashisfatherhadwithhim.Porchyheavedasigh of relief when theadults turned on theirheelsandreturnedtotheirworld. Almina doesn’tappear to have been abletobridgethegulfbetweenfatherand son,or to form

a close bond with Henryherself.Part of the problem

must surely have been farbigger than any of theindividuals concerned:Almina’s children wereborn at a time when themaxim‘childrenshouldbeseen and not heard’ wasnot a laughably old-fashioned cliché but astatement of fact. Their

status was quite simplylower than that of theirparents, as wasdemonstrated by the factthatPorchyandEve,foraslong as they lived in thenursery, used the backstairs,withtheservants.Theredoesseemtohavebeen something else atwork,though.Inthesamememoir, Porchy recountsthe story of a childhood

mishap. He was attendinga garden party atBuckingham Palace, agedabout nine, with hismother, and, in his over-excitement, not lookingwhere he was going, hebarged into King EdwardVII’s very ample stomach.His Highness hadn’t lostanyweight since the daysofhisvisit toHighclereasPrince of Wales; grunting

from the blow, hestaggered to the ground.He was unhurt, andreassured the little boythat no harm had beendone, but Porchy wasmortified. Princess Marysawthathewasupsetandtook him off to feed himice cream. Disaster struckagain when Porchyfumbled his plate andspilled some of the pink

raspberry confection allover the princess’s whitesatin gown. As Mary wasbustled away by herfurious governess tochange her dress, Alminaarrived on the scene likesome wrathful fury,grabbed his arm andhustled him home, wherehe was sent to bed withnothing but bread andmilk. The words she used

to express her anger wererevealing. ‘You disgracefulboy,’ she told him, ‘youshamed me today.’Perhaps, even after yearsoflivingattheheartoftheEstablishment,Alminastillhad flashes of anxiety.Exposuretodisapprovalorridicule was anathema toherandtherewasnoroomfor slip-ups, evenschoolboyones.

Maybe Almina justfound it easier to get onwith adults than children.Certainly,thingsseemedtoget easier as her son gotolder.Afterhebecamethe6th Earl, he continued torely on his mother foradviceonthesuitabilityofhissecondmarriage,toaskher to stay at Highclereand to attend familyoccasions such as an

engagement party for herbeloved grandson. AndAlmina was extremelyclose to her daughter Eveallherlife.The year 1901 was ofhuge significance, not justonapersonallevelfortheCarnarvons,butnationally.In January, when Alminawasjustpregnantwithhersecond child, QueenVictoria finally passed

away at Osborne House,her holiday home on theIsle of Wight. She wassurrounded by herchildren andgrandchildren. Her son,Bertie,PrinceofWalesandsoon-to-be Edward VII,was already sixty yearsold. Her eldest grandson,Kaiser Wilhelm II ofGermany, who thirteenyears later would lead

Germany into war againsthis beloved grandmother’scountry, was also at herbedside. Queen Victoriahadbeenonthethroneforalmostsixty-fouryearsandpresided over Britain’sconsolidation as theleading figure on theworld stage. Her name isstill synonymous with theera. For her subjects, all440millionofthemacross

theEmpire,herdeathwasanepochalevent.TheQueen’sbodylayin

stateatWindsorCastlefortwo days. The wholecountry was in deepmourning: every adultwore black, and shopswere festoonedwithblackand purple banners. Evenblack iron railings wererepainted to make themmore appropriately

gloomy.The Carnarvons were

present at the StateFuneral at St George’sChapel in Windsor Castleon 2 February,whichwasattended by the crownedheads of all Europe andrepresentatives of everyBritish dominion. Therewas an outpouring ofpublic affection for thedead queen and the new

king, but also someanxiety. What wouldhappen next? The BritishwerestillembroiledintheBoerWar in South Africa.Itwasnotpopular,andtheArmy had learnt somesharp lessons aboutstructure, tactics and theimpact of disease on theability of their men tofight. Lord Kitchener’s‘scorchedearth’policyand

the Army’s use ofconcentration camps werecausing deep uneasiness.The campaign had alsorevealed the extent of thepublic health crisisamongstthenation’spoor.Forty per cent of Armyrecruits were found to beunfitformilitaryservice.Queen Victoria’s reigncoincided with a bustlingperiod of progress,

industrialisation, and thecreation of extraordinarywealthinBritain.Herlonglifespanledtoareassuringsense of continuity, andany unpopularity stilllingering from when shewasareclusivewidowwastransformed at her deathintoareverenceforatimenowlost.The Prince of Wales,

who was about to be

crowned Edward VII, hadvery little experience ofgovernment matters,despite his age. He waswithoutdoubtgenial,fondof processions and thetrappings of kingship. Hismother and courtiers,however, had alwaysworried about his lack ofreadingandapplication,aswell as his indiscretionswith various mistresses.

Those liaisons werefacilitated by friends suchasAlfreddeRothschild.NeverthelessEdwardVII

was to prove a dignified,charming king andEmperor, and theEdwardianera, famousforits high glamour and easyelegance, was becomingthe reality. The new Kingdeclaredthattheperiodofmourning for his mother,

the late Queen andEmpress,wastoextendforonly the following threemonths. Preparationscould then begin for hiscoronation, at which nopompwastobespared.In the event, becauseoftheKing’sappendicitis,theceremony took place overa year later, on 9 August1902, in WestminsterAbbey. Alfred de

Rothschild was invited toattend,as,ofcourse,wereLord and Lady Carnarvon,the Dowager Countess ofCarnarvon, and othermembersofthefamily.The new century wasunderwayandthemodernworld was fastapproaching: not justCarnarvon’sbelovedmotorcars, but also poweredflight, the rise of the

Labourmovement and,ona distant horizon,socialism, revolution andwar. But as theCarnarvons, dressed intheir ermine robes,watched Edward beingcrowned King of theUnited Kingdom and theBritish Dominions,Emperor of India, theymusthave considered thattheir world looked as

glitteringly splendid asever.

7

EdwardianEgypt

The year 1901 openedwith an outpouring ofnational grief, but by latespring the black bannershadbeenfoldedawayandtherewasa sense that thecountry needed to look tothefuture.‘Motor’ Carnarvon washaving abusyyear.Birthsand deaths wereimportant, but so was hisobsessive love for his car.

In July, a month beforeEvelyn’s birth, he’doutraged a policeman inEpping,whodescribedhimascoming‘dashingdownahillattheterrificspeedofwhat must have been 25miles an hour.’ To makemattersworse, neither theEarl nor his mechanic,who was following in asecondcar, stoppedwhen,blowing furiously on his

whistle, thepolicemanputhis hand up. Difficult forus to imagine a world inwhich 25 miles an hourwas considered recklessdriving, but the Earl wassummoned to appear incourt again for thatoffence, something thatwas becoming almostroutine. Fortunately forhimhehadabarristerwhoalready specialised in

defending motorists, whowas able to get the casedismissed. But a fewmonths later, LordCarnarvon’s luck ran outwhen he suffered the firstand most serious of hismanycarcrashes.It was late September,

and Lord and LadyCarnarvon were both onthe Continent, staying inGermany. They had

travelled separately andwere supposed to bemeeting at BadSchwalbach. The Earl andhis chauffeur, EdwardTrotman, were bowlingalong,enjoyingtestingthecar’s speed and handlingwhen, as they crested ariseintheroad,theycameupon an unexpected dipand two bullock cartsblocking their way.

Carnarvon tried to steerthe vehicle off the road,but the grass verge hid ascreeofstonesandhelostcontrol of the car as itskidded, somersaulting toits resting place upsidedown across a muddyditch. Trotman, who hadbeen thrown clear, rushedto help Carnarvon andmanaged todraghimout,unconscious and

unmoving, but stillbreathing. Some workersfrom a nearby field heardthedesperatecriesforhelpandwentoffinsearchofahorseandcarttotransportthe injured man to thenearesthousetoawaitthearrivalof the localdoctor.Carnarvon had a swollenface, concussion, burntlegs, a broken wrist andjaw and was covered in

mud. He was lucky to bealive.Almina had been sent

for immediately and sherushed to join herhusband.The first sightofhim was terrifying, butAlminawasted no time inmaking arrangements forthem to return to Britainso that Carnarvon couldbegin the long-termtreatment he needed. On

that voyage back, Alminadiscovered a talent thatwas to grow into hergreatest passion: nursing.She looked after herhusband tenderly, andfound that she could bearthe stress and the worrywith calm and resilience.Once back in London,Almina summoned thefinest surgeons andCarnarvon had a series of

operations, but his health,always fragile, never fullyrecovered. The accidentwastohavealastingeffecton the dynamic betweenthem, aswell as changingbothof their lives inwaysneither could havepredicted.The first and most

visiblechangewasthattheEarl, at the age of thirty-five, was no longer a

vigorous man. He had touseasticktowalkandwaseven more prone topicking up any and everyinfluenzaorvirusthatwasmaking the rounds. Hesuffered cripplingmigrainesforthenextfiveyears, the result of hishead injuries. Alminainsisted that he needed apersonalphysician,andDrMarcusJohnsonjoinedthe

household as the familydoctor. Over time hebecame a great friend,virtually a member of thefamily, and was alwayscalledDrJohnnie.Dr Johnnie initiallyadvisedtheEarltoadoptamore sedate pace of life,but Lord Carnarvon hadother ideas. He wasdeterminednot to losehisnerve after the accident,

and had begun drivingagain as soon as he wasable. Riding was now toomuch for him so he tookup the newly fashionablepastime of golf, anddecided to construct anine-hole course on theestate.Hewasalsoakeenphotographer. His lifelongloveofgadgetsandgizmosmeant he was an earlyadopter of all the latest

advances in technology.He proved to be talentedand meticulous and builtup a reputation as one ofthe most respectedphotographersofhis time.But it was travel, his firstlove, specifically his tripsto Egypt, which providedhim with the hobby thatwould metamorphose intothe obsession thatguaranteed his lasting

fame.As winter settled in, Dr

Johnnie suggested to theEarl that – given the stateof his lungs – he shouldavoid the cold dampEnglish winters and headforsomewherewarm.Thistime Lord Carnarvon wasentirelyinagreementwithhisphysician.Theobviouschoice was Egypt, wherethere is virtually no

humidity and the air isalways clear and dry.Carnarvon had visited forthe first time in1889 andloved it. Then in 1898 hehad been holidaying therewithAlminawhenshehadfallen pregnant. NowEgyptwassettobecomearegular part of theCarnarvons’lives.By the end of the

nineteenth century, Egypt

was very firmly on thetourist trail. Throughoutthe seventeenth andeighteenth centuries,travellersreturnedtotheirnative lands laden withantiquities, and interest inall things Orientalprovoked a craze ofEgyptomania acrossEurope. The floodincreased throughout thenineteenth century, and

well-to-do British touristsastounded their friendsback home with theirwatercolour sketches ofthepyramidsandstoriesofevengreaterwonders, justwaiting to be discoveredbeneath the sands. Bytoday’s standards, though,the visitor numbers werepretty small. Travel wasstill the preserve of theverywealthy,andwasnot

only expensive butarduous.ThejourneyfromBritainstartedwithatrainto Southampton, then asea crossing to France,another train to theRiviera and a boat fromMarseilles to Alexandria.Thelastlegofthetripwasviaanother train toCairo.But even in his enfeebledstate, Lord Carnarvonwasa man full of wanderlust

and a need for distractionanddiversion.Virtually every yearfrom 1902, just afterChristmas, which oncethey had children theyalmost always spent atHighclere, Lord and LadyCarnarvonsetouttogetherfor Egypt. There wereexceptionstothischoiceofdestination: in 1903 theythoughttheywouldtrythe

United States, butalthough the New YorkTimes describedAlmina as‘a very pretty youngwoman, small andpiquante’, it seems shedidn’t love America back,considering it too brashandtoofast forhertastes.Inthewinterof1906theywent to Colombo andSingapore. Porchy andEvelyn were left in the

careof theirgrandmother,Marie, much to theirdelight since they weretremendously spoiled.There was a summerfamily holiday to Cromerin Norfolk when Alminajoined the children andNurseMoss on the beach.But mostly, theCarnarvons’ trips were toEgypt.Sometimes they stopped

off in Paris en route.Almina had many friendsthere and perhaps herhusbandjudgedthatafewdays in the luxurioussurroundings of the Ritzwould be a delightfulinterlude before thediscomforts that awaitedher on site at the Earl’sexcavations.In the early days,though, the trips to Cairo

were leisured affairs. Lordand Lady Carnarvonstayed at Shepheard’sHotel on the banks of theNile in Cairo, amagnificent building inclassical French style thatbetrayed the influence ofNapoleon’s 1798 militarycampaign. It was thefashionable place to stayand was always full ofartists, statesmen and

sportsmen, as well asgenteel invalids andcollectors. Almina, whodelighted in a good socialscene,enjoyedherself,andLord Carnarvon’s healthbegantorecover.That first season in

Egypt was so beneficialthat on their return toHighclere Lord Carnarvondecidedtofocusonalong-cherished dream, and in

1902 he founded the studthat has been such a vitalpart of life at Highclereever since. He had alifelong obsession withracing and racehorses andhad a lot of success as abreeder.Almina also indulgedher passion – in thisinstance, for clothes. Thenewspapers of her erawere every bit as avid as

any of today’s glossymagazines for the detailsof trendsetters’ wardrobesand Almina’s taste wascommended numeroustimes in the press. Thedescriptions of her dressesare mouthwatering. Onone occasion ‘her dress ofall white orchids wasmuch admired’. At agardenpartyatKensingtonPalaceshewas‘verysmart

in white muslin withincrustations of fine lace’.After another function itwas reported that ‘LadyCarnarvonwasgorgeousinterracotta satin with apearl and diamondnecklace.’Hercombinationof petite beauty andimpeccable dress sensemade her a cover starmany times over. On 8November 1902, a little

over a year after Eve’sbirth,sheappearedonthefront coverofCountry Lifemagazine, figure fullyrestored,waistlaceddownto nothing, lookingradiant.The routine of summer

at home, winter in Egypt,improved theEarl’shealthimmeasurably. In fact, hegot so much better thatwithin a couple of years,

he was determined toapplyforaconcessionandundertake someexcavations himself. Hehad been reading aboutthe cultures of AncientEgypt ever sincehewas aboyand,ashewrotetohissister Winifred, had beenseized with the ‘wish andintention even as far backas 1889 to startexcavating.’ Now that he

was spending more timeout there, he struck up aclose and enduringfriendshipwithSirWilliamGarstin, who was directorof the Ministry of PublicWorks. One of thedepartments within hisministry was that ofAntiquities.Itwasrunbyacharming and gallantFrench Egyptologist calledProfessorGastonMaspero.

Napoleon’s campaign inEgypt had renewedinterest and knowledge inall things ancient andcurious, because his armyhad been accompanied byone hundred academics torecord, sketch andinvestigatethelostculture.Thereafter, scholars,adventurers and bona fideEgyptologists had all setoff to explore and return

with histories of thearchitecture and works ofart for public and privatecollections.The fortunate discovery

oftheRosettaStonebytheFrench,anditssubsequentacquisition by the British,ledtothedeciphermentofhieroglyphs. The tabletwas engraved with adecree repeated in threedifferent languages –

demotic script, AncientGreek and AncientEgyptian hieroglyphs –which allowed ThomasYoung and Jean-FrançoisChampolliontounlockthekey to the ancientlanguage.Only at end of the

nineteenth century wasthere any sort ofrequirement for amethodical approach

towards excavation.Egyptian ExplorationSocieties, universities andprivate individuals couldallapplyforpermissiontoexcavate. Scholars werejust beginning toappreciate how importantit was to record thecontext of any discovery,and the Britisharchaeologist FlindersPetrie set the standard for

painstaking recording andstudyofartefacts.The competition forconcessions was intense,and private individualssuch as Lord Carnarvonaccepted that, to beginwith, the sites they weregranted would be the lessexciting ones. PresumablyCarnarvon was not sureabout his own level ofcommitment either, given

that the sums involved inmounting a seriousexcavationwereabsolutelyvast. As Carnarvon wrotein thepreface tohis 1911book Five Years’Explorations at Thebes,therecouldbeanythingupto 275 men and boyslabouring on any team,and during one season hewas running five teams.Therewerealsooverseers,

mules and boats to behired and digging andstorage equipment to bebought. Lord Carnarvonhad soldhis twoSomersetestates, Pixton and Tettonin 1901 to his mother-in-law,Elsie,whowastogiveone each to his brothers,Aubrey and Mervyn.Carnarvon was at thispoint well able to financehis excavation work,

whilst Almina’s fortunecontinued to fund therunningofHighclere.Back in1906,when theEarlbeganhisexcavations,the first site he wasassigned was anunprepossessing rubbishmoundnearLuxor.Hewasthere for six weeks,enveloped in clouds ofdust. Lord Carnarvonwrote to his sister

Winifred, telling her that‘every day I go to mydigging and command asmall army of 100 menandboys.’Alargescreenedcagehadbeenconstructedtoprovideascrapofshadefrom the sun andprotection from the flies.Carnarvon was poised,optimistically,tocataloguefindsanddraftmapsofthesite.

Almina loyally attendedevery day. Photos of LordCarnarvon show himwearing a three-piecetweed suit, a wide-brimmedhatwithawhiteband, and stout Englishshoes. Almina, on theother hand, was dressedfor a garden party on afineEnglishsummer’sday,in a floaty tea dress andpatent leather heels,

complete with jewellerywinking in the blindingsunshine.It was gruelling and

rather dull.Nothingmuchseemed to be happening.The couple would share asandwichatlunchtimeandstruggle to keep eachother’s spirits high in theface of very little success.Almina always supportedherhusbandinEgypt,and

in themost concreteways–withhermoneyandwithherpresence–butshewasinterested in, rather thanpassionately intrigued by,hiswork.After the travails of thedustydays,theCarnarvonsretired to the WinterPalace Hotel, in time towatchthesunsetovertherocky escarpments andtemples on the west bank

of theNile.Thehotelwasby far the best place intown to stay: an elegant,dusky pink building withbroad curved staircasessweeping up to theentrance, and magnificentgardens. It had a coolmarble salon shaded withwhiteblindsanddecoratedwith aquarelles of theancientsites.Outsidetherewere lovingly watered

lawns,hibiscusbushesandpalms.It was extremely

luxurious but, naturally,the Carnarvons wereadding even moreextravagant pleasures totheir stay. They took thecentral rooms, withbalconies lookingoutoverthe river and towards thecliffs around Hatshepsut’stemple. Their view at

Highclere was over thelush rolling hills of alandscape that symbolisedthe permanence of power.When they looked out inLuxor,theysawthedesertthat had engulfed thepalacesofkings.If theywere inclined toworry about theimpermanenceofthingsastheytooktheiraperitifsonthe balcony, they could

always distract themselveswith an excellent dinner.They dined in a privateroom and had broughtwiththemsuppliesoffoodand wines, brandies andMadeira from theRothschild cellars werealsoshippedin.Asalways,they were generous withallthisabundance.Alminaenjoyed the social lifemore than the day’s

activities, and the hotelwas full of interestingpeople to invite to jointhem.Domestic concerns andthe small tensions ofmarried life lurked in thebackground. Carnarvonwas pleased to hear fromHighclere that Henry[Porchy] had a new tutorwho was ‘very satisfiedwith him, says he has

exceptional quickness anda remarkable memory.’The parental pride istouching,especiallyfromaman who struggled to beat ease with or expressaffection to his son. ‘Ishouldlikehimtobegoodat games,’ Carnarvoncommented. Perhaps itwas the wish of thefrustrated sportsman in afailingbody.

He was also concernedthatAlminawasboredandhad been suffering somehealth problems. She wassomewhat nervy, but hecommented to WinifredthatLuxorseemedtoagreewithher.‘IamgladtosayAlmina is lookingbetter … the air on thehills is so pure andchampagne-like. I amafraid she will have to

have a small operation onour return, scraping thewomb. Iconsider itcomeschiefly from nerves but Iam not a very nervousperson, soperhapsamnotagoodjudge.’That firstdigmusthavebeen extremely trying forany casual observer. Aftersix weeks of hard labourand dashed hopes,Carnarvon brought

operations to a close. Thesum total of artefactsrecovered was a singlecase for amummified cat,which Lord CarnarvongavetoCairoMuseum.Hewasnotdiscouraged.Asheassured Winifred, ‘thisutter failure, instead ofdisheartening me had theeffect of making mekeener.’In1907, theCarnarvons

were back, and this timethe Earl was well awarethat he had previouslybeenpalmedoffwithasitethat the authorities knewwas a dud.With the helpof Gaston Maspero,Carnarvon chose a sitenearamosqueenroutetothe temples at Deir el-Bahri.He had gathered inthe local coffee shops thatthere were rumours of a

tomb,andaftertwoweeksof hard digging, his teamfoundit.Itprovedtobeanimportant EighteenthDynasty tomb, that of aKing’s son: Teta-Ky. Therewas a principal decoratedchapelmoreor less intact,niches in the courtyardcontained shabti figures(small servant figurines)and eight more paintedshabtis lined the corridors

tothesubterraneanvaults.Carnarvon was incrediblyexcited – and hooked. Hespent days takingphotographsasarecordofeverything he found. Healso donated a limestoneofferingtabletotheBritishMuseum. Carnarvon knewthat if he carried on inEgypt he would needprofessional help andinterpretation. Gifts of

antiquities were anexcellent way of gainingattention. In the end DrWallisBudgeoftheBritishMuseum became a closefriend and frequent guestof the Carnarvons inLondonandatHighclere.GastonMasperowasstill

receiving disparagingletters from his inspector,Arthur Weigall in Luxor,concerning Lord

Carnarvon’s excavations.To be diplomatic and toimprove Carnarvon’schanceofsuccess,Masperosuggested that he hireHoward Carter tosupervise and advise onthe excavations. In termsof subsequent events, themost significant event ofthis season was thereforetheplantingofaseedthatledtoafriendshipbetween

Howard Carter and LordCarnarvon. It was to beanother two years beforethey embarked upon acollaboration that lastedfourteen years andeventually, with thediscovery of the tomb ofTutankhamun, ensuredthat their names are stillremembered by anyonewith more than a passinginterestinAncientEgypt.

HowardCarterwasborninLondonin1874,thesonofanartistwhospecialisedin animal paintings. Hehad been in Egypt almostconstantly since 1891,when he arrived as aprecociously talentedseventeen-year-olddraughtsman. He rose tobecome one of the mosteminent experts in thefield, but in 1905 he had

fallen on hard times. Hehad resigned earlier thatyear from theposthehadheld since 1899 asinspector of Lower EgyptfortheAntiquitiesService.There had been a fracasbetween French touristsandEgyptiansiteguardsinwhich he supported theEgyptians,andhispositionbecameuntenable.In1909LordCarnarvon

engaged Carter to be hisman in Luxor and waspaying him a salary; thefollowing year he builthim a house that becameknown as Castle Carter.His concern was thatCarter should besufficiently well providedfor to be able to get onwith the job in hand.Carnarvoninstalledadarkroom, which helped

enormously with hisphotographic work. CastleCarterwouldalsocome inhandy as a lunchtime restpoint.Carterwasdelightedto have secured afinancially generous,committed and serious-minded colleague. Despitethe differences in the twomen’s social background,they were a formidablealliance and became great

friends.This change in fortuneswas exhilarating;Carnarvonwasecstatic.Headored the exquisiteobjects that he wasdiscovering and beforelong established areputation for hiscollector’s eye. ‘My chiefaim … is not merely tobuy because a thing israre,butrathertoconsider

the beauty of an objectthan its pure historicvalue.’Hewasnotmerelyan aesthete, though. Thebook he wrote withHowardCarterabouttheirfive years’ digging atThebeswasaseriouswork,published by the OxfordUniversity Press andillustrated with his ownphotos. Although he wasregarded by many as a

maverick, he was wellliked by the locals, whoreferred tohimas ‘Lordy’.Carnarvon was unfailinglycourteous,oneof theverylast of the gentlemanexcavators.Almina shared herhusband’s appreciation ofthe highly aesthetic andwasthrilledthatnowtheywere seeing concreteresults, an abundance of

gorgeous things. ButAlmina wouldn’t havebeen Almina if she hadn’talso looked for an outletfor all her restless energy.Before long, she found away to stamp her geniusforpartyorganisingonthelocalsocialscene.One evening sheorganisedanunforgettabledinner party in KarnakTemple. She appropriated

all the staff from theWinter Palace Hotel anddressed them in costumesinspired by the OneThousand and One Nights.The Carnarvons receivedtheir guests in the templeofRameses.Longtablessetwith crisp white linen,glass and silverwarestretchedthelengthofthechamber. The food andwine were, naturally, of

the very best quality.Masperosatattheheadofone tableofEgyptologists,theCarnarvonsatanother.The whole scene wasfloodedwithmoonlight aswell as candles and lampsthat Almina had arrangedto throw into relief thecolumns of theHippostyleHall. When the mealfinished, everyonewandered down to the

Sacred Lake andcontemplated in silencethe breathtaking viewbefore making their waybacktotheWinterPalace.Then the staff glided inand removed every traceof the event. It was as ifthepartyhadbeenavisionconjuredupbyoneof thegenies in Scheherazade’sArabianNights.

8

ThePassingofthe

GoldenAge

The Edwardian era cametoaclosewiththedeathofEdward VII on 6 May1910. He had been kingforjustnineyearsbuthadrestored thesparkle to themonarchy and embodiedthevaluesandvicesoftheupper classes inspectacularform.AlfreddeRothschild, hislongstanding supporterand friend, was terribly

grieved. It was thebeginning of a long slideinto disappointment forAlfred,whowasshortlytosuffer the pain of havingfamily and friends inbothBritain and Germany, asthe two countries lurchedtowardswar.The new king was in

precisely the same boat.George V was related tovirtually every crowned

headinEurope.Oneofhisfirst cousins was the Tsarof Russia; anotherwas, ofcourse,theKaiser.Victoriahad made little secret ofpreferring Wilhelm II toGeorge V, but the newKing had identifiedGermany as a seriousthreatasearlyas1904.Hewas right; there wasdisaster bubbling under,mudandhorroranddeath

on a scale that no onecould imagine in an erawhen mechanised masswarfare was stillinconceivable.But Britain had a last

few precious years ofpeace to relish before thecarnage. Not that it wasuneventful: 1910 was ayear of political turmoiland, in a sign of thepressure of the times,

Almina briefly becameinvolved with politicalactivism.ButatHighclere,for now, all was calm. Orrather, all was the usualmad swirl of fun andadventure. Throughout1910, Almina put onparties and balls,accompanied her husbandon trips to Scotland forshooting,madetheannualtrek to Egypt. When they

were in town, she andLord Carnarvon – alongwith her mother Marie –were often at Alfred deRothschild’sboxatCoventGarden.The Earl, meanwhile,was facilitating a piece ofaviation history. Heremained fascinated bymotorcarsandtechnologyof all kinds. As early as1908 he had begun to

invite pioneers of aviationsuch as John Moore-Brabazon and MonsieurGabriel Voisin to stay atHighclere. In 1909, whenthe brilliant youngengineer Geoffrey deHavilland was castingaround for somewhere tostore and test hisexperimental aircraft,Moore-Brabazon suggestedhe use his sheds on the

edge of Highclere estateand approach LordCarnarvon for permissiontocarryoutatestflightoffthelowerslopesofBeaconHills. In November of1909,deHavillandandhisassistant loaded thebiplane that was theprototype for the famousGipsy Moth into a lorryand took it to Highclere.WhenLordCarnarvonand

MrMoore-Brabazonvisitedthemen,whowerestayingatthelocalpub,theywerehugely impressed.Carnarvon said deHavilland could use thefields, and promised tokeepthegrassmown.Over the next ten

months, de Havillandmade numerous testflights.The firstwere tinyhops but gradually, as he

tweaked the design, theflights grew longer. Hewas lucky to escapeseveralcrashes,butbytheend of autumn 1910 hehad kept the aircraftairborne formore than50feet, banking to the leftover the road intoHighclere, turning a fullcircle and then landing.Lord Carnarvon, whowitnessed this flight, was

‘elated at the successwhichattended the effortsoftheflyingmen.’Thatautumntherewasa

family celebration. LordCarnarvon’s half-brotherAubrey was gettingmarried,andnoone, leastof all the groom, couldquite believe his luck inacquiring such a lovelywife.Aubrey was careless

withmoneyandphysicallyfrail, just like his olderbrother. He had terriblypoor eyesight andunconventional taste inclothes, but his gestureswereexpressiveandwarmand, like Lord Carnarvon,he was whollyunpretentious. Mary, hisintended,wasthedaughterofAnglo-Irishnobility: the4thViscountdeVesci,and

was tall, elegant and verywell educated; she alsomoved in the mostfashionablecircles.AubreymetherthroughhisfriendRaymond Asquith, thePrime Minister HerbertAsquith’s son, who was agreat friend of his fromOxford, and whose sisterViolet was one of Mary’sconfidantes. Opinion onAubrey’s spectacular luck

divided the Asquithsiblings, with RaymondhappytoacknowledgethatAubrey would be a veryfortunate man on hiswedding day and Violetsniffily retorting that hewas quite undeservedlyblessed.Mary seems to have

thought that he wouldbrush up well enough tobetakentoGosfordCastle

in Ulster to meet hergrandfather the Earl ofWemyss. She was moreworried about curtailingthe overflowing parties ofdrunken diplomats atPixton, the house inSomerset he had beengiftedbyElsie,hismother.Aubreymighthavebeen

a scruff and a dilettante,but he was also anacknowledged regional

expertontheMiddleEast.He had been in Egypt in1904 and then gone toConstantinople on a two-year diplomatic posting.He was reasonably fluentin Turkish, Greek,Albanian and Arabic aswell as French andGerman, and well likedacrosstheregion.(Sowellliked that, just before theoutbreakoftheGreatWar,

he would be approachedby the government ofAlbaniaandaskedwhetherhe would like to becomeking. He cabled home.Havebeenoffered throneofAlbania stop may I acceptlove Aubrey. The Earl’sreplywas terseand to thepoint.No.Carnarvon.)Aubrey and Mary were

married on 20 October1910 at St James’s,

Piccadilly. It was aquintessential Societywedding, and Almina wasinsistent that the coupleshould begin theirhoneymoon at Highclere.The children, Porchy andEve, were particularlydelighted with thatsuggestion, since theyadored their bumbling,exuberantuncle.It wasn’t long before

Aubrey’sdress returned toits naturally chaotic state,and the house parties atPixton were made onlymarginally more dignifiedby the introduction ofMary’selegantfriends.Aubrey and Mary weregiven her mother’smagnificent house at 28BrutonStreetasaweddinggift. Theywere living justa few doors down from

Almina’s mother Marie,androundthecornerfromCarnarvonHQ inBerkeleySquare. The familynetwork was extremelyhandy when Lord andLady Carnarvon wereabroad, as they veryfrequently were. Porchyremembered lots of stayswithhisgrandmother,whowas only too pleased tolookafterthechildrenand

spoke nothing but Frenchwiththem.Alminawasbythistime

thirty-six years old. Shehad been married forseventeen years, hadmetamorphosed from aslightly suspect youngunknown to the publicface of the Carnarvonpartnership. As herhusband’s health gotworse, she took on more

and more of the hostingduties, more of thenetworking that sustainedtheir lives. These days,Carnarvonpreferredtoaskconnections fromEgypt tostay at Highclere. He wasbeginning to acquire anotablecollectionof smallexquisite works ofEgyptian art. Carnarvonappropriated the breakfastroom for his ‘Antiques

Room’ and – through theBritish Museum –organised proper displaycupboards to be made.Alminahad toensure thatthe staff completelycleared the Dining Roomat the end of an eveningbecause the family wouldhave to breakfast in therefromnowon.Small details like thiswere not enough to keep

Alminaoccupied.Hervastenergy lacked outlets andshe was patently lookingaround for somethingotherthanthesocialwhirland householdmanagement to occupyher.Forawhilesheseemstohave thought her passionmightbepolitics.Theyear1910 was a big one inBritish politics. In 1909

the Chancellor of theExchequer in the Liberalgovernment, David LloydGeorge, had proposed the‘People’s Budget’, whichincluded radical reform ofthe tax system, explicitlydesigned to redistributemoneyfromthewealthytothepoorviaanincreaseinsocial welfare. Morecontroversially, it alsoincluded a land tax. The

budgetwasrejectedbytheHouse of Lords, causing afurore and triggering ageneralelectioninJanuary1910 that produced acoalition government ledby the Liberals in alliancewith the IrishParliamentary Party. TheLiberalswonjusttwomoreseats than theConservatives andpromptly began to try to

limit the power of theHouse of Lords to vetolegislation. By the middleof the year, everyonewaswaiting for anothergeneral election to becalled since thegovernment was virtuallydeadlocked, particularlyover the budget and theissue of Home Rule forIreland.Therewasahugefeeling

of outrage fromConservative voters aboutthe possible break-up ofthe Union, the Liberals’attempts to reform theHouse of Lords,immigration and theinadequacies of theNational Insurance Bill.Alminafeltitwasherdutyto get involved tochampion the Tory Partycause. In anticipation of

her increasing workload,shehiredasecretary,MissMaryWeekes.Mary had previously

worked for Alfred deRothschild and wassupremely efficient, usedtodealingwiththeslightlycapricious style thatcharacterised both Alminaand her father. She wasvery much the equivalentofthemodernPA,booking

in Her Ladyship’s socialengagements in London,organising her atHighclere, travelling withher at all times. She wastall and slim andcompletely devoted toAlmina. She was also asignofthechangingtimes,awomanintheCountess’semploy who was notstrictlyspeakingaservant,certainlynotalady’smaid.

Mary helped Almina topush the bounds of herrole far out beyond theconfines of the Castle.There is a red cuttings-bookatHighclereinwhichare pasted the transcriptsof Almina’s speakingengagements in the years1910and1911.Theymusthavebeen typedbyMary,and they range from thestraightforward speeches

deliveredatvillagefetes:‘Iam delighted to declarethis bazaar open!’ toaddresses to the ladies ofthe South BerkshireUnionist [Conservative]Association.Almina’s tone when she

spokeatpoliticalmeetingswas highly charged, herlanguage designed totouch the hearts of herlisteners as well as to stir

their campaigning zeal. Ina speech opposing theLiberal government’sattempts to reform theHouse of Lords, shepointed to the Lords’defence of every parent’sright to determine whatreligious education theirchild should receive asevidence that the UpperChamber didn’t needreforming. Almina’s

rhetoricisperfectlyjudgedforher audience, her tonesupremely confident. ‘Wemaintain that the poormanhasasgoodarightastherichtochooseinwhatreligionhischildshouldbebrought up … [Here wesee] the importance of astrong Upper House toeverymother in the land.’You can almost hear theenthusiastic applause of

the mothers in theaudience.Almina goes on to urgeher listeners to campaignfor their values, whichwere seen to be underattack by the Liberals,whom she insists oncalling the Radicals. Herspeeches are eminentlyreadable; she seems to berelishingthischancetogetoutintotheworldandtalk

about something ofnational importance,rather than being merelythe public face ofHighclere. There is anexuberance in her wordsthat suggests she wasprobably a very goodpublic speaker. ‘TheConstitution under whichwe have flourished andfound the highestcivilisation and the most

perfectfreedomisinperil.Remember, we werecaught napping in 1906[when the Conservativeslost their seat inNewburyin a landslide victory fortheLiberalParty]andthatthe slightestweakening inour work may jeopardiseMr Mount’s seat …’Alminacomesacrosslikeaseasoned pro of politicalspeeches, buildingup to a

stirring finishandadirectcalltoaction.‘Don’tforgetReading.Urgeyourfriendsnot to rest content untilthe flag of national unity,trade reform and socialprogress wavestriumphantly in thatimportant centre ofindustry.’In the January 1910general election, theConservatives regained

Newbury from theLiberals. You can’t helpwondering what part wasplayed by the army ofSouth Berkshire womenAlmina sent out tocampaign.Alminamighthavebeena skilled orator andenergetic defender ofConservative politics, butshewasalsoawomanatatimewhenwomendidnot

have the right to vote, letalonetostandforelection.Any ambition to beinvolved in politics wouldhavetobechannelledintobehind-the-scenescampaigning work. ItseemsthatAlmina,despitehermodest assertions thatshe was unaccustomed topublic speaking, verymuchenjoyedit,andwhenAubreydecidedtostandas

theConservativecandidatefor Somerset South in a1911 by-election, sherelished helping him towrite electioneeringspeeches and campaigningonhisbehalf.Aubreywon.They must have been adream team,bothof thembig personalitiesoverflowing with self-assurance.Almina’s values and

politics were very muchthoseyouwouldexpectofa woman of her socialclass at the time and itwould, of course, beoverstatingthecasetosaythat she was a championof women’s rights. Shenever voiced any supportforwomen’ssuffrage.Evenso, some of her speechesgiveaverystrongsenseofher forceful personality,

her wit and her faith inwomen’s power toinfluence public life. ShetellstheNewburyUnionistWomen’s Association inJanuary1911:‘Inthedarkages, which are not veryfar behind us, we used tobe called the weaker sex.We never were, and wenever shall be weaker inourpatriotism.Inthisasinall similar matters we are

neither inferior norsuperior, but only verydifferent and I amconvincedthatweshalldomost good to our countryandhercauseifinsteadofimitating men weendeavour to widen andperhapsenrichthespiritofpubliclifebybeingsimplyourselves.’After her successescampaigning in the 1910

general elections andAubrey’s by-election,Alminaseemstohavecastaround for the nextchallengeandrealisedthatthere wasn’t one thatreally suited her. Shewastoo theatrical and toorestless tobecontentwithdelivering rousingspeeches to local politicalsocieties, and althoughnow you can imagine her

as a fiery, eccentric MP,then she had no suchoutlet. Her instinct to beuseful was clearly verystrongbecauseshekeptupher public speaking andappearances at variouscharitable occasionsincluding the East HamChrysanthemumShowandthe Tunbridge Wellsfundraiser for DrBarnardo’s children’s

homes. But she wouldhavetowaitanotherthreeyearsforherbigchancetodo some good in theworld.And in the meantimethere was alwayssomething to distract herfromanylingeringsenseofpurposelessness. Racingwas perfect for that, andon15May1911LordandLady Carnarvon were at

Ascot with the new King.There is a striking pictureof them in the RoyalEnclosure. The Earl is intop hat and tails, using asilver-topped cane tosupport his bad leg. Helooks like a man who isconfident that he is aboutto have fun in thecompany of friends.Almina is wearing anankle-length dress in

black-and-white stripedsatin, a dark fur and aspectacularwide-brimmed,ostrich-feather-trimmedhat. She is leaning awayfrom her husband,seemingly laughing as sheextends her hand tosomeone by her side. Shelooksasifsheisgraciouslyreceiving the tributes dueto her. It is utterly unlikethe sweet and purposeful

demeanourinthephotoofherinnurse’suniformthatwas taken barely morethanthreeyearslater.Glitz, public life, the

dignity of the Carnarvons– these were still veryimportant to her in 1911,and they all combined on22 June 1911, the day ofthe coronation of KingGeorgeVandQueenMary.The whole household had

gone up to town toprepare. Fearnside,RobertsandJessieMoney,Almina’s new lady’smaid,had been in charge ofbringing everything thatwould be required to thehouse in Berkeley Square.Meticulously, Fearnsidebrushed down the Earl’sermine robes. They hadlast been used eight yearspreviously, at the

coronation of Edward VII,and had been carefullykept in camphor andchecked twice a year formoths.RobertsandMoneylaid out Almina’s ornatedress, tiara and jewels.Lord and Lady Carnarvoneach had a bedroom anddressing room on thesecond floor of the houseand, by the time theyarrived to get ready, the

running along corridorsand frantic unpacking ofboxeswasall finishedandeverything was ready forthem. The Earl andCountess set off forWestminsterAbbeytojointhe throng of peers andnoblesoftherealm.The procession to the

abbey was splendid. TheKing and Queen travelledin the gold State Coach,

drawn by eight heavilycaparisoned carriagehorseswithfourpostillionsridingandseveralfootmenaccompanying. LordKitchener rode in a placeof honour to the right ofthe State Coach. He hadbeen made Field Marshal,the highest rank in theArmy,byEdwardVIIashelay on his deathbed, inrecognition of his service

inSudan,SouthAfricaandIndia.As they waited for theceremony to begin, therewas plenty of time toobserve the splendours ofthe abbey, familiar tothemofcoursefromalltheState occasions they hadattended there, and thedressoftheothermembersof the congregation. Thechurch was full of the

Carnarvons’friendsandallthe crowned heads ofEurope, but Almina musthavebeenirritatedtohaveto shake hands withHerbert Asquith, theLiberal Prime Minister,leader of the dreadful‘Radicals’.TheCarnarvonswatched

anxiouslyforthearrivalofthe procession andstrainedtocatchtheirfirst

glimpse of their son, whohadbeenchosentobeoneofthePagesofHonour.Hehad been granted leavefrom his prep school,Ludgrove, to attend theendless rehearsals for thecoronation, allmastermindedbytheDukeof Norfolk. The Duke wasapparently meticulous inhis supervision of thepages and required

complete attention todetail, but Porchyremembered that, if arehearsal had gone well,he dished out deliciouschocolates to everyoneafterwards.On this occasion,doubtless to Almina’srelief, her son acquittedhimself perfectly and thewhole ceremony wasmagnificent, with the

guns’ salute thunderingacross Hyde Park and thebells of the abbey pealingout over the newlycrowned King and Queenas they left the church. Itwasprobablythelastgreatgatheringoftheoldorder.Europe’s political scenewas tense and gettingworse;therewerejustoverthree years to go beforewar was declared. Of the

eight Pages of Honour onthat occasion, only twowould survive the comingcarnage. Lord Porchesterwouldbeoneofthem.On New Year’s Eve1911, Almina gave herannual children’s party atHighclere, with hundredsof guests, andentertainersbrought down fromLondon.Twelvedays latershe threw a ball for 500

local people. Almina hadtogreetherguestswithoutthe Earl, whose migrainewas so bad that he couldnotattendformorethanafewminutesbeforeretiringto his rooms. That wasn’tunusual; Almina wasincreasingly the powerthat was keepingeverything going. Sheaddressed the throng ofpeople at midnight, from

thebalconythatoverlooksthe beautiful vaultedSaloon at the heart of theCastle,apologisingonLordCarnarvon’s behalf. ShewasflankedbyhermotherMarie, her husband’ssisters,andbyAubreyandhis wife Mary. PrinceVictorDuleepSinghstayedto lend his support toAlmina as she spoke andthen loyally retired to the

Earl’ssittingroomtokeephis old friend company.Aubrey welcomedeveryone again at supperand then the Mayor ofNewbury thanked theCarnarvons and family onbehalf of the guests. Thedancingbeganaftersupperwith music supplied byMerier’s Vienneseorchestra and twentydifferent dances on the

programme. Almina hadplaced lanterns all alongthe carriage driveways tolight her guests home inthe early hours and theparty didn’t finish until6.00a.m.It had been fun, it had

beenasuccess;butbynowAlmina could managethese occasions in hersleep. It was not thechallenge sheneeded.The

Earl’s health continued tobepoor and shewasbusyoverseeing all histreatments. She loved totake care of him and,gradually, nursing becamea preoccupation, not justat home but in general.She attended operationsperformed by BerkeleyMoynihan, the eminentsurgeon at Leeds GeneralInfirmary who made

occasional trips toLondontocarryouthisdutiesasaconsultant at UniversityHospital. A plan wasforminginthebackofhermind, and she wanted tobepreparedifthemomentforactionpresenteditself.Almina continued toaccompany Carnarvon onhis trips to Egypt, wherehe and Carter werestruggling to get access to

the sites they weredetermined to excavate.They had their eye on aspot in the Valley of theKings, rather than theValley of the Queens orNobles, where they hadalways been based, but atthat time the concessionwas still held by anAmerican,TheodoreDavis.Alternatives wereproposed and rejected.

Private excavations wereno longer favoured andMaspero insisted that thepyramid site Carnarvonhadbeenconsideringmustbe reserved for officialexploration.Ever resourceful,

Carnarvon contacted LordKitchener, who was apersonal friend, andaskedif he could lean onMaspero. After his nine

years as Commander inChief of India, Kitchenerhad been sent to Egypt in1909, where he wasConsul General and defacto Viceroy. It wasinevitable that KitchenerandCarnarvonwouldmeetand socialise out there,since they moved inprecisely the same circles.Despite this high-levelconnection, though,

Carnarvonhadnosuccess.Unsure where toconcentrate next, he waspersuaded by PercyNewberry,anotedEnglishEgyptologist, to apply forsome delta sites at Sakhaand Tell el-Balamun.WorkinginthedeltaoftheRiverNileputthemoutofrange of civilisedamenities: it was going toentail camping. The fact

that amanofCarnarvon’sfragile health should evenconsider such a thing isproofofhisobsessive loveforhiswork.ThefactthatAlmina went along too issurelyproofofherloveforhim.Carnarvon asked Percy

Newberrytoorganisetentsand provisions for him,Almina, his valetFearnside, Her Ladyship’s

maid Edith Wiggal,HowardCarter,DrJohnnieand himself. Provisionssuch as tins of soup wereshipped from Fortnum &Mason’s in London. Theexpedition duly set off. Itwas an adventure byanyone’s standards, andone imagines Jessie andAlmina rolling their eyestogether at the privationstheywerebothexpectedto

bear. Jessie was a regulartraveller since sheaccompanied Alminawherever she went, but itwas the first time the twowomenhadrougheditanditprovedtoomuch.The delta was muddy

and full of cobras but thegroupstuckitoutuntiltheEarlfellillwithbronchitis,at which point theyrepaired to Luxor and the

Winter PalaceHotel.Withhis weak lungs, he wasquite seriously sick, andAlmina had to nurse herhusband, who was not aneasypatient,back towhatconstituted more or lessfull health over a numberofweeks.Carnarvonwroteat one point to Budgesaying he could not putany weight on. Heweighed less than nine

stoneandwasfivefeetteninchestall.ByEaster,LordandLadyCarnarvon were back atHighclereanddiggingwasoverforanotheryear.TheEarl used the summermonths to entertain hisEgyptian contacts, sincewithout a supportivegroup of friends in highplaces, it was likely toproveharderandharderto

workoutthere.Thisroutineofwinterin

Egypt and spring andsummer at Highclere wasdisrupted in 1913 whenAlmina’smothergrewveryill. Marie had been a keypresence throughoutAlmina’s married life,coming to Highclere forweekend parties and forChristmaswithPorchyandEve, looking after the

children in London whenLord and Lady Carnarvonwereaway.Alminaadoredher all her life and thebond they had formedwhen times were muchharderwassustainedwhenAlmina’s circumstanceschanged. It was a terribleblow when Marie’s healthbegan to fail in spring1913. Almina’s instinctwas to bring her to

Highclereandcareforherthere, with the aid of DrJohnnie, but Marie wasadamant that she wantedto visit her native Franceonelasttime.MarieWombwell’sdeath

was announced in theDaily Mail on 1 October1913. She had passedawaythepreviousweekatherhouseinBrutonStreet.Marie had got her wish

and travelled to France,taking the waters inVernetles-Bains with herdaughter by her side, butAlmina had beenconcernedthatthemedicalcaretherewasnotasgoodas that in Londonand thewomen returned toMayfair. For six weeksAlmina put into practiceeverythingshehadlearnednursing her husband over

the years to make hermother’s last days ascomfortable as possible.Sheowedheranenormousamount, from her Frenchcharm to herdetermination and self-belief, and when Mariewasgone,Alminawaslostwithout her. Alfred wasterribly saddened. He andMarie had beencompanions for almost

fortyyears.A few days later,Almina’suncle,SirGeorgeWombwell, also died. Hehadstoodbyherall thoseyearswhenrumoursabouther paternity circulatedandhadsteppeduptogiveher away on her weddingday. Sir George and LadyJuliahadoftenbeenattheCastle when Marie hadbeen visiting and now,

withhis loss, itmusthavefelt as if onemore link toherpastandtohermotherhadbeenbroken.She went home to

Highclere and resolved toresume all her duties, butnever had the everydaytasks of hosting herhusband’s friends andbusiness contacts seemedsuch a struggle. Earlier intheyear,Alminahadbeen

delighted to write toRutherford from Egypt toacceptarequesttobecomethe Patroness of Cold AshHospital, which lay fivemiles north of Highclere.She had always said shewoulddoanythingtohelpthem, and now, moredetermined than ever thatnursing was her vocation,she applied herself tofindingouthowshecould

be most useful at thehospital.The guests at the

Highclere house partieshad always been eclectic,and now they werebecoming more than alittle odd. The Earl hadbeen interested in theOccult for years, aninterest that deepened themore time he spent inEgypt. By 1912 he

occasionally employed apalmist to read his palmand quite frequentlyengaged a clairvoyant tohold séances at Highclere.Therewasnothingunusualin that. Spiritualism,which had begun as animport from the UnitedStates in the 1850s,rapidly became a craze.The first nationalSpiritualist meeting in the

UK was held in 1890, bywhich time it was agenuine mass movement.All over the country,people were sitting incircles, hands joined,hoping to make contactwith the spirit world andreceivemessages from thedead.Therewerecelebrityfans such as Sir ArthurConanDoyle,theauthorofthe Sherlock Holmes

books, who wroteextensively on thephenomenon.Sometimes the séances

were private affairs, butsometimes they wereofferedasentertainmentata house party. Porchyremembered observingseveral, sometimes withhis sister, Eve. They wereheldinoneoftheupstairsguest bedrooms, with the

shuttersclosedagainstanyglimmer of light, andcould be very tenseoccasions. Once, Porchyand Evewitnessed a bowlofflowerslevitatingoffthetable. Eve got so nervousshe reportedly had to gointo a nursing home for afortnight’s rest. At one,Howard Carter and afemaleguestwerepresent,andtheladywasplacedin

a trance in order tochannel a spirit message.She began to speak in astrange voice and alanguage that at first noone could identify. Carterproclaimed, in a tone ofamazement,‘It’sCoptic!’Out in the real world,

therewerethingsfarmorefrightening thaninexplicably floatingflowers or even the

reappearance of long-deadlanguages.Youdidn’tneedtobepsychictosensethatsomething nasty wascoming for the people ofHighclere.

ThestaffofHighclereCastleinAlmina’s

day.

ApartofthestaffstaircaseintheCastle

whichbeginsinthebasementandruns

rightuptotheroofthroughseveral

bedroomfloors.Thestaircasewasusedin

thefilmingofITV1’sDowntonAbbey.

SomeofthestaffoftheCastleonan

outingtoBeaconHillLodgeGatein

Edwardiantimes.Sometimescalled

WinchesterLodge,itwasoncethemain

gatewaytotheEstatefromthesouth.

Thebellboardinthelowerground

corridoroftheCastle,photographedin

2011butexactlyasitwas100yearsago.

TheoriginalstaffroomoftheCastle100

yearsago.

Agroupshot,takenbythe5thEarlof

CarnavoninDecember1895,ofAlbert,

HRHThePrinceofWales,onhisvisitto

HighclereCastle.Albert,laterKing

EdwardVII,isinthemiddle,standing

behindAlmina,seatedwithfurstole,on

whoseleft(rightinthepicture)isLady

WinifredHerbert,the5thEarl’ssister.

Alminapicturedwithhernewbornson,

laterthe6thEarlofCarnarvon,in

January1899.Hewasalwaysreferredto

as‘Porchy’,neverHenry,hisrealname.

AlminaasfrontcoverstarofCountryLife

magazineinNovember1902.(photo

crediti2.8)

The5thEarlandCountessofCarnarvon

andLadyEvelyn,withthepeopleof

Newbury,celebratingtheCoronationof

GeorgeVin1911.

EdwardianestateworkersontheCastle

grounds.

Panhard-Levassormotorcarriages

arrivingattheCastle,c.1910.

LivingtheEdwardianHighLifeat

HighclereCastle.(photocrediti2.12)

9

TheSummerof

1914

The summer of 1914 wasdelightfully warm. AlminaarrivedbackfromEgyptinlateApril andwasonlyatHighclere for a fewweeksbefore she made a week-

long trip to Paris. On 11June, the Earl andCountesswereentertainingalargehousepartyfortheNewbury Races; amongsttheir guests were Mr andMrs James Rothschild. Ifyou were a casualobserver, youmight say itwasbusiness asusual, buta glance at thenewspapers, or at Alfredde Rothschild’s distraught

face as he sat puffingcigars nervously in theSmoking Room, wouldhavetoldyouotherwise.Europewasonthebrinkof war, despite the bestefforts of numerouspeople, including Alfred,to avert it. Alfred hadplaced his considerablepowers of influence, hisnetwork of contacts andhis money at the disposal

of the British government,acting as an unofficialintermediary between theunravelling Austro-Hungarian Empire andGermany. Half of Alfred’sfamily and friends werebasedinEuropeanditwasagony to him thathostilities were about toopenupbetweencountriesthat had until relativelyrecently been bound

together so closely. Thegrowing certainty thatconflictwas inevitable lefthim worried sick aboutloved ones on both sidesandsufferingfromasenseofhelplessness.Thechallengeofholding

back war was too big forany single individual,family or politician,despite all the desperate,behind-the-scenes

negotiations. For monthsthe newspapers hadcarriedstoriesofGermany,Russia and Austria allconscriptingmenintotheirarmies and hurriedlyconstructingmorerailwaysto transport them.Germany, althoughvirtually landlocked, hadbeen building up a Navybig enough to rivalBritain’s.

Alminasensedwhatwascoming and made adecision.Shehad,afterall,been thinking about it forat least two years. Sheconsulted LordCarnarvon,who was lukewarm, butwhen pressed, agreed thatit might be a possibility.Lady Almina wanted toconvert Highclere into ahospital for injuredofficers, to bring in the

most expert medical staffand provide the best ofeverything a soldier couldpossibly need to recover,from state-of-the-artequipment and pioneeringoperations to abundantfresh food and soft cleansheets. Almina’s instinctwas to create a hospitalthat soothed and cheeredthesensesofmenwhohadbeen half destroyed by

horror.With her husband’s

assent secured, Almina’snext step was to speak tothe military authorities.She would need theirassistance at least on theadministrative side, if notthe financing. Alminaalready had a thirdconversation planned thatwouldresolvetheproblemof who was going to pay

for everything: themoneyquestioncouldwait.ItwasentirelytypicalofAlmina’slifethatwhenshedecidedto establish a militaryhospital, the person sheelected to call to discussher plans should be thehighest-ranking official inthe Army. Straight to thetop – that might as wellhavebeenAlmina’smotto.Field Marshal Earl

Kitchener,SirdarofEgypt,accepted her invitation tolunch in late June andarrived dressed in animmaculate tweed suit,accompanied by hismilitary secretary ColonelEvelyn Fitzgerald. Thefamous hero was nowsixty-fouryearsoldbuthewas an upright, imposingman, with the piercingeyes and perfectly

groomed moustache thatwould shortly be put tosuch iconic use in thefamous recruiting poster‘YourCountryNeedsYou’.He was also alongstanding friend of theCarnarvons and Alfred deRothschild. Almina hadprepared a delicioussummerlunchandshowedLord Kitchener around,explaining what she

wished to do. He wasimpressed by herenthusiasm and sincerity.She needed his approvaland blessing, and apromise that he wouldencourage the Services,particularly SouthernCommand, to take her uponheroffer.Shegotit.Porchy had been

allowed to join them forlunch. He was an

overexcited Etonschoolboy in awe ofmeetingoneofhisheroes,and years later he stillvividly recalled themoment his father turnedtoK,ashecalledthegreatman, and said, ‘In future,dear K, our telegraphicaddress will have to beCarnarvon, Amputate,Highclere.’Almina was euphoric.

Shehadneverdoubtedfora moment that she wouldbringthenecessarypeopleround to her way ofthinking. She immediatelysetaboutlayingplans.Thefirststep,naturally,wastosecure the finances. Andequallynaturally,thatwasas easy as getting on thetrain to London andmaking her way to theRothschild offices in New

Court,StSwithin’sLane,tospeaktoAlfred.Alfred had never ceased

to be astoundinglygenerous with his time,money and affection overthe years. It was hardlyunprecedented for Alminatoapplytohimforsupport– the electric lights inHighclere were testamentto that. Porchyremembered being taken

up to visit his relativesfrom time to time andrelishing the fact that hewaslikelytofindallthreeRothschild brothers atwork,allofthemonlytoowillingtopressasmuchasten gold sovereigns intohis hand. Alfredoccasionally used toremonstrate gently withAlmina, saying, ‘Oh, puss-cat, I gave you ten

thousand pounds only lastweek. Whatever have youdone with it, my darlingchild?’ But he neverrefusedher;hesimplytookout his chequebook andunscrewed the lid of hispen.Evenso,thisrequestwas

foralotofmoney.Alminaasked Alfred to give her£25,000 for the set-upcosts. He agreed

unhesitatingly. Alfred wasdelighted to help. He hadbeen actively trying toavert conflict, but nowthat it was coming, heswitched his attention tosupporting the Britishwareffort. He lent HaltonHouse,hisbelovedcountrypleasure ground, to thearmed forces for theduration of the hostilities.(It would be used as a

training centre, completewith dug-out trenches, forsome of Kitchener’s ‘firsthundred thousandvolunteers’ later in theyear.) He also supportedothergrand ladies in theirrelief work. (Almina wasby no means the onlySocietyhostessengaged inwar work – LadySutherlandwastosetupafield hospital in France,

and the indomitableDowager Countess ofCarnarvon, Elsie, wouldplay a crucial part inalleviating thesufferingofsoldiers caught up in thesavage fighting inGallipoli.)The Rothschilds had

always had a strongcommitment tophilanthropic work andwere particularly

interested in supportinghospitals. The familyinterest might have beenone of the spurs forAlmina’s own fascinationwithnursing,andprobablyfuelled her belief that itwasaperfectly reasonablethingtoaspiretodo.Afterall, the Evelina Children’sHospital that waseventually merged withGuy’sandStThomas’shad

begun as a Rothschild-financed memorialhospital for Lady Evelinade Rothschild, who haddiedinchildbirthin1866.Almina left New Courtwith a sense of purposeandanirondetermination.She was going to makethingshappen.The eighteenth of Julywasthestartofthelastbighouse party at Highclere

for years. There weretwenty-six guests, plus alltheir servants. Among thevisitors were General SirJohn Cowans, General SirJohn Maxwell, AubreyHerbert and HowardCarter. Lord Carnarvonwasverymuchalivetothethreateningstateofaffairs,and advised Sir John torecall his wife anddaughter from Aix-en-

Provence in France andHomburg in Germany,immediately.TheEarl,liketherestof

the country, was worriedthattheGermanshadbeenbuilding up their Navy inorder to blockade Britain.If that did happen, foodshortageswere likely. Thefarm at Highclere wouldbeacrucialresourceinthewar effort and, in fact,

Carnarvon had alreadyreceived a large offer forhis grain stock.Considering that he wasmorallyresponsibleforthewelfare of the entirehousehold, as well as thetenants, he refused theofferandsetaboutaddingtohisflocksandherds.Healsoboughtoneandahalftons of cheese and animmenseamountoftea.

Having sorted out theprovisions, Carnarvonwent to the Bank ofEngland and asked towithdraw £3,000 in gold.The clerk suggested thatperhaps His Lordshipmightconsideruppingthatamount to £5,000, whichhe duly did. Once he haddeposited the gold in hisbank in Newbury, he wasin a position to provide

243 men, women andchildrenwithallessentialsforatleastthreemonths.Theclerk’stipprovedto

be verywell judgedwhenfrom 31 July there was arun on the banks as thenationrealisedwithhorrorthat war was nowimminent.Meanwhile, the rest of

thefamilywasalsocaughtupinpreparations.Aubrey

and Porchy were bothdesperate to fight, despitebeing either too blind ortoo young. Carnarvonknew he would never seeactive service, given hishealth problems, but hevolunteered to advise onaerialphotography,shouldthe need arise, which induecourseitdid.Lord Carnarvon’s sister

Winifred and her husband

Herbert, Lord Burghclere,had been in Europe sinceJune,butsotensewastheatmosphere that theyturned around and madetheir way back from theVichy spa atwhich they’dbeen intending to staysome weeks. They arrivedback in London on 25July, with a copy of thenewspaper announcingnews of the Austrian

ultimatum to Serbiafollowingtheassassinationof the Archduke.Winifredwrote to Lord Carnarvonthatitwas‘thelastSundaymorningoftheoldworld’.Arriving unexpectedly ather London house onCharles Street, she addedthat she had just enoughservants to contrive ‘apicnicexistence’.After all the build-up,

theexcusetotakethefinaldramaticsteptowardswarhadbeentheassassinationof the Austrian ArchdukeFranz Ferdinand on 28June 1914 by a Serbnationalist. Once theultimatumcameandwent,Austriadeclaredwaron28July. That triggered adomino effect as varioustreaties were invoked andallthegreatpowerswaded

in.Russiamobilisedon31July and Germany couldthereforeclaimthatitwasacting in its own defencewhen it declared waragainstRussiaon1Augustand against France on 3August.Britainhadsignedthe Entente Cordiale withFrance in 1904 and theAnglo-Russian Entente in1907, both of whichdictated that it should

fightagainstGermany,butits hand was in any caseforced by Germany’sinvasion of neutralBelgium. Great Britaindeclared war on Germanyon4August1914.TheHighclereguestbook

has ‘August 1–4 WAR!’written in a shaky handacross the topof thepagethatrecordsthenamesofafew guests who stayed on

atthehousethatweekend.Leonard Woolley wasstaying as was LadyMaxwell and Dr Johnnie.The scale of the imminentcarnage was literallyunimaginabletothosemenand women carefullystudying the newspapersandsippingonabrandytosteady the nerves, ordownstairsinthekitchens,discussing the latest news

as they scrubbed potatoesorwasheddishes.Already it was obviousthat recruits would beneeded. Porchy, sixteenyears old, declared hewould join the cavalry.Kitchen maids joshedfootmen about whethertheywereplanningtosignup. Teenagers withnothing but bravado tosustain them boasted of

their bravery. Everyonethought thewarwouldbeover by Christmas. Therewas nervousness, ofcourse,butalsoconfidenceand a sincere passion toserve King, Country andEmpire.Upstairsanddownstairs,the people of Highclerewere staring life-changingtragedy in the face. Theyjustdidn’tknowityet.

10

CalltoArms

After the tense summer ofwaiting for somethingdefinite to happen, oncewar was declared therewas an explosion ofactivity.Almina immediatelypressed her sister-in-law,

Winifred, for anintroduction to a womancalled Agnes Keyser, thefounderof theEdwardVIIHospital.Agneshadbeenavery rich, very prettyyoung socialite of the1870s and 1880s.Somewhat inevitably shecame to the attention ofthe Prince ofWales. Theybecame friends and, later,lovers.Agnes allowedhim

to use her house inBelgravia for entertaininghis various other friends,including Mrs AliceKeppel. The two formed astrong bond and theirrelationship, which wasaccepted within courtcirclesandevenbyQueenAlexandra, lasteduntil theKing’sdeath.The Prince of Wales’sextravagant generosity

meant thatwhen he cameto visit Agnes in WiltonPlace he brought presentsfor everyone in thehousehold, from thehousekeepertothenewestscullery maid. But whenthe Boer War broke outand Agnes discovered avocation for nursing, hisassistance became moreconsequential.Agnes was horrified by

the plight of officersreturning from the Boerwar,whomshediscoveredwere mostly highly self-sacrificing, unable to payfor surgeons’ fees andconsequently medicallyneglected. She used herown money to finance ahospital but relied on herconnection to the King tosecure the co-operation ofthe most distinguished

doctors and surgeons. Shehad a genius fororganisation and by 1914was a very well-respectedhumanitarian.Here was the perfectrolemodelforAlmina.ShewasabsolutelydeterminedtomeetAgnesandaskheradvice. But Sister Agnes,as she liked to be known,was already extremelybusy with her own

hospital. As soon as warwas declared, she wasoffered fiveprivatehousesto expand the work shewas already doing, andhadjusttakenonanextrasurgeonandanotherhousedoctorwhenAlminasentanoterequestingameeting.Almina, very practised

in getting her own way,was insistent, andeventually Agnes granted

herhalfanhour,althoughshe stayed standingthroughout, saying shewastoobusytosit.Alminatook her cue from hermore experiencedcolleague and refused aseat. She put her casesimply and clearly, andAgneswassowonoverbythe woman standing infront of her that sheembraced her warmly as

thetwoparted.AlminaleftSister Agnes’s hospitalarmed with practicaladvice from a rigorouslyorganisedandexperiencednurse, and full ofinspiration.Across the country,

dozens of well-off womeninsimilarcircumstancestoAlmina were also rushingtoestablishnursinghomesand hospitals. The need

was desperate. QueenAlexandra’s ImperialMilitary Nursing Servicehadjust463trainednurseswhen war was declared,although it was rapidlybeing augmented byTerritorial NursingServices and othervoluntaryorganisations.Meanwhile, the British

Expeditionary Force (BEF)was preparing its

departure for France,commanded by Sir JohnFrench and under thedirection of LordKitchener. The latter hadpreviously been planningto return to Egypt toresumehisduties,andwasinfactwaitingatDovertoboardasteamerboundforFrancewhenhereceivedatelephone call from thePrime Minister requesting

his immediate return toLondon.On5August,LordKitchener, now theSecretaryofStateforWar,confirmed to thegovernment’s Council ofWarthattheArmy’sforceswould cross the channelimmediately. Fourteenthousand extra horses hadbeen secured for thepurpose by General SirJohn Cowans, the General

Quartermaster (andHighclere house guestback in July, inwhatwasrapidly feeling like avanishedage).Kitchener was doubtful

about the French capacityto defend against theGermans,but in truth, theBritishwerescarcelybetterplaced. The entire Army’sstrengthwas250,000men,ofwhom nearly halfwere

stationed overseas. Therewas of course theTerritorial Army, foundedin1908andmadeupofafurther 250,000volunteers, someofwhomhad even attended shorttraining camps. TheGerman professionalArmy, by contrast, was700,000strong,andby10August a further threemillion men had been

calledup.Still, the nation was

buoyedbythefactthatitsgreat military hero wasleadingthechargeandtheBritish ExpeditionaryForcebegantodeployjustthree days after war wasdeclared. It was led byofficers in scarlet or bluecoats, carefully pulling ontheir white gloves as theyreturned the salute of the

staff officers who wereissuing orders to themen.The commanding officersrode beautifully groomedandburnishedhorses.Thewhole scene was like apageant,unchangedinthelasttwohundredyears.Aubrey Herbert, with

amazing bloody-mindedness, disregardedthe fact that he had beenrejected from both the

professionalArmyand theTerritorialsonthegroundsthat he was more thanhalf-blind. It was true hewas somewhatdisadvantagedinthatarea,but he was also highlyeducated, with a First inhistory from Oxford; hewas also a seasoneddiplomat, fluent in sixlanguages and passionateabout the national cause,

and he was damned if hewasgoingtostayathome.Sohegotauniformmade,acompletecopyoftheoneworn by the Irish Guards,in which regiment hisbrother-in-law was acolonel. When the GuardsmarchedoutofWellingtonBarracks oppositeBuckingham Palace earlyon the morning of 12August 1914, he simply

fell into step. His motherElsieandwifeMarywavedhimoffatVictoriaStationand Aubrey sat with hisfriends in a train carriageboundforSouthampton,toboard the boat to theContinent. He wasn’tdiscovered until they alldisembarked in France,andbythattimeitwastoolate for the Army to sendthe stowaway back, so

they took him on as aninterpreter.Aubrey had written toWinifredashepreparedtogooff towar.His letter ischarming in its expressionof love for his sister andpoignant in its naïveoptimism.

Mydearone,

Itwassodearofyoutohavesent me the lovely flask. I

wasonthepointofgoingoutto buy one. I had given upthefoolishhabitofbelievingone could do without adrink. I suppose it will bevery uncomfortable withoutaservantetc.,butonereallyhas the time of one’s lifebefore one goes. Thiswar isamostextraordinarything.Ithas made the governmentpopular, the House of Lordspopular, the House of

Commons popular, theChurchpopularnowthattheBishop of London is going,the King popular, the Armypopularetc.Thankyouagainso much my dear, and alllovetoallofyou.

Aubrey’sgallantmissiontoserveasafrontlinesoldierdidn’t last long. The IrishGuards travelled northeaston foot and by train,

welcomed everywhere bythe French Army andcivilians. Finally reachingthe Front, Aubreydismountedfromhishorseto march with the troopsthrough a village andmakesomesortofreplytothe German guns theycould hear. He noted thathewentintothefirstfightpreparedonlyforpeaceashe had left his revolver

and sword on his horsetethered in the woodsbehind. Scarcely had theyreached the battle lines atMons before they cameunderfire,andlessthanadaylaterweresweptupintheretreat.The British force’s rolewas to protect the FifthFrench Army’s flank andprevent theGermans fromexecuting their long-

planned pincer movementto cut off the Allies. TheBEF was outnumberedthree to one but initiallyheld the enemywith suchgood marksmanship thatGerman soldiers laterreportedtheythoughttheywere being fired at withmachine guns rather thanrifles.ButoncetheFrenchArmytook theunexpecteddecision to retreat, there

was nothing for it but tofall back, fightingrearguard actions andblowingupbridgesall theway to the outskirts ofParis.Aubreyfoundaroleasagalloper, passingmessagesbetween commanders,ridingafastiftroublesomehorse called Moonshine.He out-galloped severalbullets before, on 1

September,onefoundhim,punchingaholeinhissideandpassingcleanthrough.A Royal Army medicdressed it and left him ona stretcher heavily dosedwithmorphine,slippinginand out of consciousness.HourspassedandsuddenlyAubrey found he wasbeingjabbedwiththebuttofarifle.ItwasaGermansoldier doing the jabbing.

The man must have gotthe shockof his lifewhenthe heavily woundedBritish soldier suddenlystarted mumbling ingroggybutfluentGerman.Itwasprobably the fact

that he was an object ofinterest that savedAubrey’slife.Thatandtheheavy dose of morphinethathadkepthimsedatedand immobile. He was

taken to a German-runfield hospital andeventually moved on tothe town of Viviers anddeposited with otherwounded officers in amakeshift triage station.Stories and informationabout friends wereswapped and Aubrey’sspirits recovered, butconditions were tough.The only food was

unleavened biscuits, thebandageshad runout andthemorphinewasreservedforGermans.Therewasnoway to get a message toanyoneontheBritishside.Back at Highclere,reports were filteringthrough of the IrishGuards’involvementinthebattle and the retreat.Everyone was terrified forAubrey, who cut an

unlikely figure as afrontline soldier; aftersome days of anxiouswaiting, the Earl decidedto take matters into hisown hands. He set off inhislargestmotorcartogoto rescue Aubrey fromFrance.Thiswasofcoursehugely dangerous, but atthat point it was still justabout possible. Carnarvonwas on the brink of

boarding a boat fromSouthampton when heheard the news that theFrenchhadretakenViviersfrom the Germans. Theseriously wounded hadbeen left behind in thetemporary hospital towonderwhatwasgoingonand listen in frustration tothe machine-gun firerattling around outside.Amongst them was his

brother. Lord Carnarvonwired back to his sister,‘Aubrey wounded in thestomach; leftbehindwhenArmyretired;willwire.’Winifredthenreceiveda

rather more detailedaccount from Almina. Ittranspired that theinformation aboutAubrey’s whereabouts hadbeen given to her by SirMarkSykes,agreat friend

ofAubrey’swhosharedhispassionfortheMiddleEastand was working in theWar Office with LordKitchener.ThemomentSirMark received news, hecalled on Almina inLondon, who cabledWinifredwithanupdate:

Aubrey last seen in vicinityofCompiègnelyingwoundedin abdomen. English

surgeonsadvisedleavinghimto care of Germans as tomove under existingcircumstancestoorisky.Twothings in Aubrey’s favourwerehavinghadnofoodforconsiderable time andassurance that whenwounded are tended byGermans they are welllooked after. That is all IknowofAubreysofar.Ihavepersonally requested

American Ambassador,French Councillor and SwissMinister to make everypossible enquiry. Am inLondon for two or threedays,wireifyouwantmetodo anything. Elsie andMarylunching.AmdoingallIcan.Almina.

Almina’s telegrams causedsome acerbic amusementamongst her Carnarvon

relatives as they wereneverconspicuousfortheirbrevity. She retorted thatparsimony incommunicating importantinformation was a falseeconomy, and she wasright in this instance.Dueto all the pressure in theform of telegrams flyingaround, Sir John Frenchallowed Aubrey to betransportedtoLeHavreby

road under the care of anurse rather than in thesomewhat rough troophospital trains. Alminawasn’t going to let a littlethinglikeawargetinthewayofherpolicyofaskingfor what she wanted and,as usual, she wasvindicated.Winifred had justfinished her breakfastwhen another telegram

arrived, this one only aslong as it needed to be toconvey the good news.‘Aubreyfound;disembarksatSouthamptontoday.’He was met by Elsie,Mary,LordCarnarvonandDr Johnnie. Carnarvonwanted to take himstraight to Highclere butAubrey’s wife and motherpreferred to have him intown, close to them, at a

smallnursinghomerunbyAlmina’s sister-in-law,Vera. The family set offslowly in convoy forLondon. Aubrey wasincredibly lucky to havesurvived his injuries, andwhat was mostextraordinary was thatwhen he recovered, hewentbacktothefrontline.Hiswarwasfarfromover.Fired up by her

conversation with AgnesKeyser, and fuelled bynervous energy fromfretting about Aubrey,Almina had set about theprocess of convertingHighclere into a hospital.The first step was to findthe people to staff it. Shehad appointed Dr MarcusJohnson, the family’smuch-loved personalphysician, as medical

director.DrJohnniewasaGP. He knew theCarnarvons well, hadtravelled with them foryearsandwasmore likeamemberofthefamilythananemployee.Hehad longago grown used to beingteased by the Earl who,indulging his love ofpractical jokes, onceplanted a piece ofGorgonzola cheese in one

of poor Dr Johnnie’stravelling trunks andteased him relentlesslyabout the smell waftingfromhiscabin.DrJohnsonmoved in to theCastle on12 August 1914 andproved himself to be acapable administrator andtheperfectright-handmanfor Almina, whom headored.Theyplacedadvertsand

called on all the nursingagencies in London and,betweenthem,AlminaandDrJohnnierecruitedthirtynurses. There must havebeen quite a run onnursingstaff,whatwithallthegrandladiesrushingtoperform their patrioticdutybyopeninghospitals,but Almina had plenty ofmoney topay for thebestpeople.Shehadadecided

preference for Irishnursing staff and theHighclere nurses alsotendedtobegood-looking;Almina seems to havedecided that pretty nurseswouldbegoodformorale.As it turned out, shewasn’twrongaboutthat.Since she was also

somewhat prone to self-importance, Almina had avisionofherselfintherole

of all-powerful matron.She certainly relishedusing the sameorganisational andleadership skills she hadbeen honing for years inthe running of Highclereand in her political work.Forthefirsttimesincehercampaigningdays,shefeltherself flexing somementalmuscle.Shewasinherelement.

It is deliciously typicalof Almina that the thingshe did next wascommissionahigh-fashionuniform for her nurses.Theirdressesweremadeoffine wool in a cheerfulcrushed-strawberry-pink,withstarchedwhiteapronsand caps. This detail setthe tone: Highclere wouldbeacutting-edgehospital,but also a sensual retreat

fromthehorrorofcombat.Almina proved herself tobeaninstinctivemasterofwhat we might call,nowadays, holisticmedicine. She understoodthat to treat the injuredsoldiers as individuals inneed of space, time andcomfort,aswellasmedicalattention, was the key tosuccess.Once the staff were

engaged it was time totackle the equipping ofHighclere. Almina reliedheavilyuponMaryWeekesto help her. Mary hadalreadyprovedherselfasavery useful secretary, butnow she took on the roleof deputy hospitaladministrator and foundherself liaising withvisiting doctors, ArmyMedical Boards and

patients’relatives.The first task was to

organise for blinds to beconstructed for all theCastle’s south-facingwindows. Arundel, abedroomon the first floorin thenorthwest cornerofthe house was to be usedas an operating theatre. Itwas right opposite theback stairs, so hot waterand other supplies could

berushedupanddownasrequired. There was noquestion of installinghospitalbedsinanyofthelarger rooms to makecommunal wards. Thepatients,uptotwentyatatime, were to haveindividual rooms or, attimesof great pressure, toshare with one otherperson. All the guestbedroomsonthefirstfloor

were readied for use, aswell as some of those onthe floor above. The menwouldbemadetofeelasifthey were house guests,sleeping in comfortablebeds with soft downpillowsandbeautifullinenandcottonsheets.The Castle had its ownlaundry on the northernedgeoftheestate.Whenanew laundress was

required in 1915, aservants’ employmentagency was engaged tofindasuitablecandidatetoensure an efficient supplyof clean linen to thehospital; Harriett Russellwas recruited with herhusband Harry, and theestate paid for theirremoval expenses fromFolkestone.Highclerewas of course

well used to receivingguests,but still, themaidshad to double up in theirbedrooms,sincetheywereto make way for all thearriving nurses; andeveryone,fromthekitchenstaff to the housemaidsand the footmen to thegardeners, had to bracethemselves for anenormousincreaseintheirworkload. Almina’s vision

of her refuge for the menstipulatedthatthepatientswould be served theirmeals either in theirrooms, if they were notwellenoughtoleavethem,or at a large table at theend of the North Library,behindthegildedcolumns.In either case, theywouldbe waited on by footmen.Ineffectitwaslikemovinga house party of fifty

people into the Castle, onapermanentbasis.Streatfield and Mrs

Macnair,whohadreplacedMrs Bridgland ashousekeeperby1911wereinstrumental in making itall happen. Mrs Macnairreceived her orders fromLady Carnarvon in thesitting room as usual, butnow they concerned thenurses’ accommodation

and thebest foods to givemen recovering fromfractures or dysentery.Almina had adopted thenurse’s uniform she worethroughout the war whenworking, but her newoccupation in no waycountenanced any changeintheinteractionsbetweenher and the staff. Alminamight have had a job todo, but she was still Her

Ladyship.Almina reported anupbeatspiritofwillingnessin her household staff asthey helped her to makeHighclerereadyforitsfirstnew guests. They musthave been run off theirfeet, but of course theywere also involved in animportant element of thenation’s war work. Foreverybody, keeping busy

wasawelcomedistractionfromwondering when thecall-up might come, forthemselves or theirhusband or son. And thenagain there were somemembersof thehouseholdwhoconsideredthat,giventhe usual strict regime ofMr Streatfield, it was apleasuretohavesomenewblood around the place, adifferent set of tasks and

plentyofnewfaces.So it was all change atHighclere.Almina decidedthat the Library would beused as the men’s dayroom. None of thefurniture was moved outbut additional chairswereadded, so that there wasamplespaceforthementosit and play cards or toread the books. The roomruns the width of the

house and is elegant butsupremely comfortable.The leather-bound booksand veneered woodenshelves, the oriental rugsand the lamps on lowtables next to overstuffedsofas make it feel like aplacetositbythefireandbe soothed. The Frenchwindowsopenstraightouton to the sweep of thedrive and look out over

thegardens,soonasunnyday the room is floodedwith light, and withinmoments you can crunchover the gravel and feelspringylawnbeneathyourfeet.Everything had beendesigned to makeHighclere’s luxuriouscountry-house lifestyleavailable to the injuredsoldiers; Almina had re-

imagined the Castle as atherapeutic space, onewhere the atmosphere intheLibraryortheexcellentcooking from the Castle’skitchen was as importantas the services of theradiologist she planned tobring down from London.The first patients arrivedin mid-September,members of the SeaforthHighlandersandtheRoyal

Artillery, who hadfractures, gunshot woundsandnodoubta largedoseof what would soon becalled shell shock, andwhat we now describe aspost-traumatic stressdisorder. No wonder theyreported that when theyfirst laid eyes onHighclere, it feltas if theyhadarrivedinParadise.

11

ParadiseLost

Assoonasthecallformenwent out, Highclereanswered. Most of themale staff worked on theestate, as gardeners andforesters,gamekeepersandgrooms. Naturally theyhadtoaskpermissionfrom

theiremployertogo.LordCarnarvon let itbeknownthat anymanwhowishedto volunteer would beguaranteed his job whenhe returned. LordCarnarvon also offered topay the men’s wives halftheir wages to ensure thefamilieshadsomeincome.Arthur Hayter, who hadstarted as a groom andrisen to be the head man

in the stables, volunteeredand was told he was tooold,butsixothermenhadgone by the beginning ofSeptember.History chronicles thebraveryofthemenjoiningup – as it should, giventhat by December 1914over onemillionmen hadenlistedinKitchener’sNewArmy, and recruitmentwasmaintainedat100,000

a month until August1915. But the flip side ofthe coin is the movementin the other direction:24,000 men a weekcomingbackwounded.Theclearinghospitalsin

France and Belgium wereextremely rudimentaryand barely able to copewith the huge numbers ofcasualties. They weredesperately short-staffed.

The Royal Army MedicalCorps had 1,509 officersand16,331other ranks in1914, and all itsprocedures were based onexperience gained in theBoer War. Conditions inFrance and Belgium werevery different. Bacterialurkedinthesoil thatwasbeingdugoutfortrenches;it caused gangrene,whichwas the biggest killer of

soldierswhomade itbackto a clearinghospital, andtetanus. Typhoid was rifethroughout the WesternFront and isolation unitswere often not a toppriority,somoremendiedfrom infection. Doctorsresented the fact that theywereexpectedtoturntheirhand to anything ratherthan being encouraged tospecialise.

Once the wounded hadbeen evacuated from thefieldand transported fromtheir unit base, via adressing station, to theclearing hospital, triagecouldbecarriedout.Butitwas haphazard at best.Surgeons would walk therowsofstretcherslinedupunder a makeshift coverandhave toassesswho togive basic treatment to

there in the field, who tosend home for operationsthat could only beperformed in a fullyequipped hospital, andwho to allow to die. Thelucky few whose injuriesmeritedanattempttotreatthembutwere too seriousto be seen by a doctor inFrance, got put on anambulancethatbumpeditsway to the nearest

working train station forreturntoEnglandbyboat.The journey frombattlefield to a hospital athome could take up tothreeweeks.Plentyofmendiedenroute.Southamptonwasoneof

the principal points ofreturn for the injuredsoldiers, and from therethey were dispatched allover the country. Some of

them came to Highclere.Later on, when thehospital’sfamehadspread,stringshadtobepulledtogain admission, but at thestart of the war, yousimply had to be in theright place at the righttime. This was an erabefore public healthcare,when all hospitals werefunded by wealthyindividuals or charitable

organisations.Women likeAlmina and the otherSocietyladieswhosteppedin to help with the hugenumbers of war woundedwere not just on somevainglorious mission; theywere fulfilling aneed thatwouldn’t have been metwithouttheiractions.InSeptember1914there

were justadozenpatientsat Highclere. Lady

Carnarvon greetedeveryoneatthefrontdoor.She showed the men totheir room and, havingseen that they weresettlingin,hernextcourseof action was to send atelegram to their familiestoletthemknowthattheirson or husband was safe.Almina loved thesemoments of being able togivepeople thenews they

were desperately waitingfor.GiventhelengthofthetelegramshesentWinifredabout Aubrey’swhereabouts, you imaginethat she didn’t skimp onherwords,wanting to tellthe family every possibledetail that might reassurethem.The patients knew they

had arrived somewherespecial from the moment

they opened their eyes torealisetheywerenolongerin a dugout in Belgium,but surveying an Englishpark.Theyspenttheirfirstfew days at Highclere intheir rooms with books,home-brewed beer fromthe Castle’s brewery andexquisite meals. Onepatient,Basil Jones,wrotelater to Almina, ‘You geton as well as they do in

fairy tales, howevergrievous your hurt maybe.’ He was the first ofmanysoldiers tocommentappreciatively on thecharming nurses, singlingout one Sister Bowdler,whom he thought ‘justwonderful’. The patientscouldn’t thank Alminaenough for giving themherhomeand,asoneman,John Pollen, put it,

‘personally attending tothemanythingsthatmakeahousearealhome.’LadyCarnarvonassigned

a nurse to each patient tobathetheirfeet,dresstheirwoundsandoffercomfort.She wanted to be verymuch a hands-on nurseherself, though, andenjoyed her roundsenormously, making suresheknewexactlywhatwas

going on with every manin her care. She alsobrought the Earl round tosee her charges. Patientswhose ‘nerves … wereutterly wrong’, even thisearly in thewar,wrote toher later of theirenjoyment of the Earl’scalls. Almina alwaysencouraged their ownfamilies to come to seethem. Saturday was

visitingday.Itwasallpartand parcel of thedeliberateattempttoresistthe anonymity of bighospitalsand to lookafterthe men in every waypossible.Almina’s approach

might have beenexemplary,but itwasalsoexpensive; in fact it wasturning out to be aconstant drain on the

Rothschild coffers. Notthat Alfred really minded.Quite apart from thefamily commitment tophilanthropy, not tomention Alfred’s keenpatriotism, he was also ahospital administrator,being Treasurer of QueenCharlotte’sHospital for31yearsby the timehedied.When,afterafewweeksofHighclere being up and

running, Almina took aday off work to travelagain toNewCourt toaskherfatherformoremoney,Alfred’s protests werenothing but routine.‘Darling, it was only lastmonthIgaveyou£25,000,what on earth have youdone with it? I know it’sall in a good cause, butplease do be careful.’Almina reassured Alfred,

pocketed another £10,000and returned to theCastleto put her plans intoaction. Given theway thewarwasgoing,sheneededeverythingshecouldget.On22OctoberLordand

Lady Carnarvon lent theirsupport at a stirring massmeeting in Newbury toencouragemento join theArmy. There was a ‘moodof gravity’ in the country

and, although the pace ofrecruitment was brisk,more and more troopswere needed. TheCarnarvonswerejoinedonthe platform by LordCharlesBeresford,AdmiralandMP, whowas a greatnaval hero and neverappearedinpublicwithouthis bulldog. LordCarnarvon, as HighSteward of Newbury,

opened the meeting andexpressed the belief that,althoughthewarhadbeenforced uponGreat Britain,itwould all be over soon,provided the nation stoodfirm. Then Lord Beresfordexhorted the crowd to dotheir bit, and echoed thesentiment that any boysjoining up now could dotheirdutyandbehomeintime for Christmas.

Beresford stayed atHighclere that night; asyet, not quite all the bedswereoccupiedbypatients.By this point theBritishExpeditionary Force wastaking part in the firstbattle of Ypres. Thepressure on the WesternFront had increased sincethe Russians suffered aheavy defeat on theEastern Front. The Allies

were holding the line, butit was already abundantlyclear that with more thana million men on bothsides dug in acrossBelgium and northernFrance, this war wasdefinitely not going to beoverbyChristmas.The Carnarvons heard

that Winifred’s nephew,Bar Maitland, had beenkilled by a shell. His

brother Dick, a delicateboy who had pneumoniamost winters and was anartist, volunteered to takehis brother’s place andobtained a commission inthe Scots Guards. Thencame the news from evenclosertohome.Twooftheyoung lads who hadvolunteered from theestate, Harry Garrett andHarryIllot,haddiedwhile

serving in India andFrance respectively. Theyhad both been gardenersunderAugustusBlakewhohad succeeded Pope inabout 1908, and HarryIllot’s family had beenworking at Highclere forthepasttwentyyears.The casualties werehigh, much higher thanthe men in charge ofstrategy had ever allowed

for.AsAlmina couldhavetestified,thewoundedandthe dead were frequentlyexperienced soldiers. Thecream of the Alliedprofessionalfightingforceswasbeingshippedhomeinbits.Almina seems to have

respondedtothehorrorina very characteristic way:by using her money anddetermination and

contacts to keep up thepressuretogetmoredone.She decided that theyneeded more expertise atHighclere and so, bymid-October,RobertJoneswasoperating in the Arundelroom on a succession ofmenwithbrokenbones.Jones, who was later

knighted in recognition ofhis work, was already anexperienced orthopaedic

surgeon who had learnedhowtotreatfracturesfromyears working as thesurgeon-superintendent onthe construction of theManchester ShippingCanal.Hedevisedthefirstcomprehensive accidentresponse service in theworld,andimplementeditalong the length of thecanal, so he wasaccustomedtotreatinglots

of people in stressfulconditions. By contrastwiththeon-siteserviceheprovided for the canallabourers, the damaskcurtainsandcarpetsoftheArundel bedroom musthave made a surrealbackdrop. Joneswas fifty-seven years old and felt ahugedutytodohisbitonthehomefront,giventhatso many of his younger

colleagues were in thefield hospitals, battlingwith conditions thatmadethe ship canal look like aSunday stroll aroundHighclere’sgardens.Two-thirds of all

casualties during the FirstWorld War (those whosurvived long enough toreach a hospital) hadinjuries to bones fromshrapnel and gunshot

wounds.Therewasalotofwork for orthopaedicsurgeons. (Abdominalwounds,by contrast,wereconsidered too complex totreat and these men, likeAubrey Herbert, weresimplydosedonmorphine;and, unlike him, mostdied.) Jones was adamantthat by using a particulartechnique called theThomas splint, which had

been developed by hisuncleHughThomas,inthetreatment of compoundfractures, the mortalityrate could be broughtdown from80 per cent to20 per cent. It seems oddtousnow to imagine thata broken leg could killyou,butonthebattlefieldsof the Great War, itfrequently did. The femuris the longest bone in the

body and the musclessurrounding it arecorrespondingly strong.When the femur breaks,the muscles contract,pullingtheboneendspasteach other, causingadditional injury,dangerous loss of blood,nervedamageandalotofpain. Jones’s idea was touse traction toensure thatthe two broken pieces of

bonewereheldendtoendso healing could takeplace. It was a brilliantlysuccessful treatment andsaved countless lives atHighclere and throughoutthewar.Thepatientswhobenefited were so gratefulandsoconsciousofothers’needs that they frequentlyreturned their splints toAlmina’s hospital oncetheyweredonewiththem.

AlminaandherteamgottoDecemberbeforehavingto deal with someonedying in their care,whichsuggests that someone atSouthampton docks wasmaking therightdecisionsabout whom to prioritisefor their attention. RobertJones left Highclere,having instructed LadyCarnarvonandDrJohnnie,who assisted at numerous

operations, how to carryout the morestraightforwardproceduresthemselves. The nexteminent medical man tocomedowntothehospitalwasHectorMackenzie.Hewas a renowned specialistin chest surgery but,despiteallhisbest efforts,one of the patients heoperatedon, aman calledThompson, died. When it

became clear that herpatient was not going torecover, Almina sent awire to his daughter andinvitedhertocometostayat Highclere. AgnesThompson wrote toAlmina later. ‘I will neverforgetmyfewdays’visittoHighclere and that I sawthe death of Daddy andthe very kind treatmentthathereceivedfromyour

hands. I do hope you arefeeling better … youlookedveryill.’The family spentChristmas 1914 atHighclere. Almina did herbest todecorate thehouseand create a specialChristmas for everyone.There was the usualenormous Christmas treein the Saloon, beautifulwinterflowersscatteredon

the tables and garlands ofgreenery.Thevisitorbookrecordsthatthehousewasfull to bursting withwounded soldiers as wellas a few close friends.Thosewhocouldleavethehouse attended services atthe village church, alongwith the entirehousehold,from the nurses, whowould not be taking anyholiday, to the maids and

estate staff. The kitchenstaff had been preparingforacelebratorydinnerfordays. Lord Carnarvon’sworries about securingenough food for thehospitalweregettingmoreacute,butthiswasnottheday for stinting, andStreatfieldandhisteamoffootmen served thepatients soups, then roastgoose followed by a plum

pudding, in the northLibrary. Lord and LadyCarnarvon joined them intheLibraryafterwardsandthey shared a brandy infrontofthefire.Out on the WesternFront, therewas a strangemeeting taking place, aneventthathasassumedanalmost mythic status. Itbegan when German andBritish soldiers called out

Happy Christmas to eachother across No Man’sLand. Tentatively,disbelieving, the soldiersnegotiated their owntotally unofficial truce fora day. Unarmed soldiersfromboth sideswentoverthe top to collect theirdead and, when they metin the bog of blood andmud that lay betweenthem, they shook hands

and agreed to bury theirfallen comrades together.Somebody suggested agame of football.Provisions were producedandexchanged:sauerkrautandsausagesforchocolate.That night, as the men atHighclere thanked theirlucky stars they weretucked up in warm beds,comfortably full ofbrandyandpudding,thesoundof

‘SilentNight’beingsunginGerman and English rosefrom the trenches. Foralmost twenty-four hoursthere was peace on theWesternFront.Itwasthetiniestrespite.ThefirstbattleofYpresinOctober and Novemberhad left the BritishExpeditionary Forcescrambling to adapt itstactics in the face of

morale-devastating losses.The following year, 1915,was set to deliver loss oflife on an even greaterscale.At Highclere, LordCarnarvon invited a fewfriends, including thestalwart Victor DuleepSinghtostayonforaweekbetween Christmas andNew Year. There is adejected scrawl in the

visitors’ book. ‘Seeing theNewYearin…thesaddestand most trying owing totheawfulwar.’In early January thehousehold readied itselffor the arrival of morepatients. Most of thetwenty men who arrivedfor treatment were fromthe 9th Bhopal Infantryandthe8thGurkhaRifles,but not all of them. In a

letter to Winifred, LordCarnarvon related thestory of one patient, asailor,who had arrived inthe first week of January.Themanwas called S.W.Saxton,andhehadhadanextraordinary escape. Hehad been serving on HMSFormidable,whichwasoutonexercisesonNewYear’sDay when it wastorpedoedbyaGermanU-

boat. As the ship wentdown,Saxtonclung to thepropeller, despite hisinjuries and the immensewaves, strong winds andhail that threatened towash him away.When helosthisgripon thebladesof the propeller, hisinstinct to swim pushedhim to head for a distanttrawlerboat, butwhenheeventually made it, he

found he was totallyincapable of haulinghimself up the side of theboat.Hewasabouttogiveup and let himself drownwhenahugewave caughthimup and swepthimondeck. Saxton arrived atAlmina’s hospital withbroken bones, shock andhypothermia–buthewasoneoftheluckyones.TheFormidable was the first

dreadnought sunk in thewar,andonly199menofthe 750 on board weresaved.Saxton respondedbrilliantlytotheregimeatHighclere and was soonwellenoughtobesentouttooneof theconvalescenthomes that were used asstaging posts before themenwerereturnedtotheirduties. Many of these

homes were run byacquaintancesofAlmina’s,and she would arrangetransport and ensure thatthe men were transferredwith all their records oftreatment. Trotman, theEarl’s chauffeur, woulddrive them to the stationto catch their train, allwrappedupinrugsforthejourneyandwithastoreofprovisions. Sometimes

Trotman drove them allthe way to theirdestination. On severaloccasions, Alminaaccompanied him, andwouldlaterreceivealetterfromagratefulparentwhohad not realised that thelady who had escortedtheir boy back home wasthe Countess whosehospital had restored hishealth.

By the end of January1915, the British HighCommand had decidedthat any recovered BritishExpeditionary Forceofficers should not bereturned to the front lineto face almost certaindeath, but retained inBritaintotrainthemenofKitchener’s New Army,hundreds of thousands ofwhom were needed. Vast

numbers of those menwould of course beheading for their owndeaths in due course. Theyear saw the war expandto Italy, the Balkans andthe Middle East, andconflict deepeneverywhere.In the meantime,

although Almina felt shehad foundher vocation inlife,exhaustionwassetting

in at Highclere. No onehadhadanytimeoffsincethe hospital opened. Thenurseswere shattered; thestaff were at breakingpoint. The scale of whatthey were dealing withwas now becominghorrifyingly apparent.Almina had been workingconstantly since herdecision to open thehospitalbackinJuly1914

and was exhausted,physically andemotionally. She decidedthat they all needed abreak. The Castle wasclosedforsixweekssothatit could be readied formore patients in March,andAlminaandCarnarvonheaded for Egypt and arest.

12

WarHeroes

After six months oflistening to horror storiesfrom the Western Frontand tending desperatepatients, the familiarity ofthe winter trip to Egyptmusthavefeltlikeareturnto a rapidly vanishingworld. Travel to NorthAfrica was still possible,thoughdifficult.They were following inAubrey, Mary and Elsie’s

footsteps,allofwhomhadseparately made thejourney just beforeChristmas. Aubrey hadrecoveredfromhisinjuriesandbeenpassedforactiveservice. In fourmonthshehad gone from being anobjectofmildfun,stowingaway because the Armydidn’tthinkhimfitenoughto serve, to desperatelyneeded and rubber-

stamped for duty.Attitudes had changedsince the war had shownitself to be a bloodynightmare. Now, virtuallyeveryone was welcome inHisMajesty’sservice.AubreyheadedforEgypton the strength of hisexpertiseinMiddleEasternaffairs and knowledge ofseverallocallanguages.Heset offwith nothing but a

few random clothes andhistypewriter,andarrivedto find that General SirJohnMaxwell,commanderoftheArmyinEgypt,wasstill feeling confident thattheTurkswouldbeunableto pose much of a threat.Lifewascarryingonmuchas it ever did in Cairo,with the usualentertainments still inplace for the winter

tourists and the same castof oddballs andadventurers flittingaround. Aubrey met T. E.Lawrence,whowentontobecome a close friend butwhoseinitialimpressionofAubrey was the entirelytypical oneof amusement.‘Then there is AubreyHerbert,whoisa jokebuta very nice one: he is tooshort-sighted to read or

recognise anyone butspeaks Turkish well,Albanian, French, Italian,Arabic, German.’ Aubreydescribed the man whowould be Lawrence ofArabia as ‘an odd gnome,halfcad–witha touchofgenius.’Aubrey’s mother, Elsiethe Dowager Countess ofCarnarvon, sailed acrossthe Mediterranean to

Alexandriatobewithhim,butarrived inCairo justafew hours before he wassent to the Dardanelles.Shefoundherdaughter-in-law Mary already thereand, having decided shecouldbeuseful,beganthetask of organising thelogistics for the hospitalships: once the campaigngotunderway,theywouldbe coming and going out

of Alexandria’s port.Within four months therewere dozens a day,ferryingthesurvivorsfromthe slaughter at GallipolibacktoBritain.Almina and Carnarvon

stayed at Shepheard’sHotel, as they had beendoing for more than tenyears, andAlmina focusedonrecuperatingenough tobestrongforherreturnto

work. The problem wasthat Egypt was turningfrom an upmarket touristdestination to the nexttheatreofwar.Theaimofthe campaign was to usecombined naval andmilitary power to capturethe Turkish capitalConstantinople, therebysecuring the sea route toRussia via the Black Sea.That way the Russians

fighting on the EasternFront could be properlysupplied and somepressure would be takenoff the Western Front,which was in a state ofhopeless stalemate. Ayoung Winston Churchill,then the First Lord of theAdmiralty,was one of thechiefarchitectsoftheplan.Cairowasfillingupwith

volunteertroopsfromNew

Zealand and Australia intheir thousands. ThesewerethemenwhoformedtheANZACforcethatwenton to suffer staggeringlosses in the Dardanellesoverthenextyear.Alminawandered the streets; theywerethrongedwithyoungmen still full of theoptimism anddeterminationthatshehadseen in Aubrey and his

friends before they set offfor northern France. Sheknew what those boyslooked like when theyreturned,withlegsinneedof amputation and nervesshot to pieces. It washeartbreaking to see thesame thing happening allover again, and it madeAlmina desperate to getback to Highclere and doeverythinginherpowerto

help.By early March,

Highclere had regrouped.In Almina’s absence onlythe very sickest men whowere too ill to be movedhad stayed, with a coupleof nurses in attendance.Once they had been seenofftoconvalescenthomes,the entire staff had a rest.Thepausedidn’t last long.By April the Allies were

suffering huge losses inFrance and in theMediterranean and thehospital was busier thanever.On the Western Front

the secondBattle ofYpreswas under way. TheGermanslaunchedamajorattack to try to breakthrough the Allied linesand, on 22 April,introduced a new and

particularly horribleweapon. Gas. Theyfollowed up the artilleryshellingwiththereleaseof168tonnesofchlorinegasintotheAlliedpositions.Itwas totally unexpectedand terrifying. Fivethousand French soldiersdiedwithintenminutesofthe gas dropping downintothetrenches.Afurther10,000 were blinded and

maimed as they tried toflee.Everythingwaschaosas the Germans advanced,fitted with theirrudimentary gas masks,picking off the desperateFrench soldiers as theywent. The Allies werecompletely wrong-footedand, over thenextmonth,the Germans gained threemiles. They repeated thegas attack, with the same

devastating results, on theBritish ExpeditionaryForce. One hundredthousand men died, morethan two-thirds of themAllied soldiers, andthousandsmorewere sentback to Britain with awhole new raft ofsymptoms for the medicalstafftotreat.Thingswerenobetterin

the Mediterranean. Three

days after the Germansusedgasforthefirst time,the British, French andANZAC forces arrivedbeneaththetoweringcliffsof Gallipoli and began todisembark onto thebeaches. The Turks hadhad plenty of time toinstallartilleryontheclifftops and lay out barbedwire on the beaches toprotectmachine-gunposts.

As the first troops wadedfrom their ships on to thebeaches,theTurkishArmyopened fire. The Alliedsoldiers died in theirhundreds, their bloodturningtheseared.Ofthefirst 200 soldiers todisembark, only 21 madeit ashore. Those whomanaged to struggle upthebeachmetthemachinegunners, who were

runningoutofammunitionbutnotdetermination.TheOttoman 57th InfantryDivision were wiped out;the regiment lost everysingleman as they foughtwithnothingbutbayonets.Their sacrifice allowedenough time for moretroops to arrive and thebattletogrindon.Any Allied survivorswere forced to cling to

narrowledgesonthecliffsand watch as theircomrades died aroundthem; medics picked theirway through the chaoswith stretchers, huntingfor the wounded. By theendofthefirstfewdaysoflandings, it was obviousthat the anticipated swiftvictory was not going tohappen. As the campaigncontinued, it turnedintoa

brutal disaster withenormous numbers ofcasualties on both sides.The ships that the Alliedforceshadarrivedonweretransformed into floatinghospitals,andmorgues.Aubrey Herbert was

there, forcing his waythroughthebattle,pickinghis way past the trenchesthat were full of mentryingtostaysaneenough

to fight, despite the hellthatwasunfoldingaroundthem. Aubrey was tryingto reach the Turkishcommanding officers tonegotiate armistices toburythedead.Onemonthafter he landed atGallipoli, Aubreynegotiated with MustafaKemal, who later foundfame as Atatürk, the firstPresident of the Republic

of Turkey; Aubrey offeredhimself as hostage whiletheTurkishArmycollected3,000 bodies from KabeTepe.Aubreywrote in hisletters to Elsie inAlexandriathatthethyme-filled gullies in the hillsbehind the beach stank ofnothingbutdeath.The battle dragged onfor months, despite thedesperate loss of life and

the fact that no headwayhad been made. Aubreysurvived summer on thecliffsbutbecameverysickinearlySeptember. Itwashardly surprising:conditions in Gallipoliwere notorious. Thesummerwasblisteringhot,causing the corpseslittering the area todecomposeevenfasterandcause even more disease.

Thewinterwascold,sleetyand prone to storms thatwashed away the shallowgraves and sent bloatedcorpses flooding intotrenches.Aubrey was shipped toAlexandria, where he wasreceived by his mother inher capacity as co-ordinatorofhospitalships.Elsie was delighted to seehim but, once having

establishedthathewasnotin any immediate danger,dispatched him to Cairofora restandgotonwiththe job. Aubrey spent afew days in Shepheard’sHotel, now almost totallyclosed up and full ofghosts from happier days.Mary joined him and thecouple had a few days’rest. His fever cleared upbut he was restless and

guilt-ridden at beingensconced in the lastshredsof luxurytobehadin Egypt. As soon as hewas well enough, hereturned to Gallipoli, buthe fell sick again almostimmediately and wasshipped out for good inmid-October,wornoutandlow in spirit. TheDardanelles had nearlydestroyed Aubrey’s peace

ofmind.By then the Allies were

havingtofacethefactthatthe campaign had failed.There had been calls forevacuation from Octoberonwards, but only afterone last, disastrous push.BackinAugust,thelackofprogress had already beenbeginning to causepolitical problems for thecommanding officers, but

there was an insistencethatreinforcementsshouldbebroughtin.Oneofthemwas a man called DavidCampbell, who made hisway to the slaughterhouseofGallipoli fromhishomeinIreland.Campbell hadvolunteered for the 6thRoyal Irish Rifles,answering Kitchener’s callfor men to join up.

Following training inDublin and then atBasingstoke nearHighclere, the battalionembarked for Alexandriaand the Dardanelles. Theyhad no idea what theywere sailing to: pressreports in Britain at thatpointwerestilldominatedby propaganda. The menarrived at Gallipoli on 5August,intheintenseheat

of high summer. Theycould smell the decayingbodies on the beach fromhalf a mile away. Twodayslatertheymovedout,rattled by shells landingaround them and tensewith nerves, up DeadMan’s Gully. Occasionally,breaks in thecliffs framedstunning views of thedazzlingsea,whilstinland,tongues of fire showed

them where the shellswerecomingfrom.Duringamissiontotake

a summit at Suvla,Campbell was shot in thecalf. As a fellow soldierhelped him to dress thewound, the man was shotin the foot. David nowhelpedinturntodresstheman’swound,butgunshotwas still raining down allaround them, and up

ahead they could see awheat field full of thebodies of dead soldiers.Sure enough, David washit again, by a bullet thatdrilled through his foot.Unable to move, losingblood from his twogunshot wounds, Davidpassed out. Coming to, hesawthatthemanwhohadhelpedhimwasdead.He decided to try to

crawlbackthewayhehadcome. He fell in with astream of other bloodiedsoldiers,butbeforelonghecollapsed, too weak fromloss of blood to carry on.Then David felt himselfbeing lifted up andrealisedthataGurkhawasmanhandlinghimoverhisshoulderandcarryinghim,dodging from cover tocover, back towards the

first-aidpost. It took themtwohourstogetthere,andDavid was shot again inthe leg, but theymade it.TheGurkhadepositedhimandmelted away into thecrowd, even asDavidwasthanking him for savinghislife.The orderlies on dutydressed his wounds butthere were no stretchersleft, so David hopped

between two other menuntilhehadnoenergyleftto do anything but crawl.Exhausted from the effort,he and his helpers finallymade it to the fieldambulance station andDavid was placed on astretcher and leftovernight to try to getsome sleep between theshouts of the otherwoundedanddyingmen.

In the morning,stretcher-bearers began totransport those who hadsurvivedtotheevacuationpoint. They had to crossthebeachtogetthere,andonce again the sniperspicked them off, untilthere were not enoughstretcher-bearers left alivetocarrythewounded,whocould only lie there,helpless, wondering

whether each shot wouldbe the final sound theyheard. The sun burneddown on them and theyhad no water to drink.David came to theconclusion that the onlywayhewouldsurvivewasbydragginghimselftotheevacuationpoint.Whenhefinally got there he wastreatedimmediately.Therewas no pressure on the

medical staff becausehardly any patients madeit to them alive. Thehospitalshipswerefullbutan officer managed tocommandeer a fishingtrawlerandDavidwasoneof themen loaded onto itand, the next day, onto aBritishArmyhospitalship.He was assigned a cabinwith three other officers.All threedied in thenight

and were replaced withthreemore.DavidCampbellcouldn’thave known it, but theharbourmasteroverseeingthe arrival of his ship atAlexandria was ElsieCarnarvon. Sir JohnMaxwell, Commander inChiefoftheMediterraneanExpeditionary Force,commented to his staffthat she was doing really

good work and she wasgiven a motor launch tomeet the incoming ships,whichmadeherjobeasier.Evenbythebeginningof

May it was obvious toeveryone out there thatthe casualties in theDardanelles werecatastrophic, farexceedingwhat had been expected.Sir John’s confidentprediction that the Turks

wouldn’t be able to domuch damage had provedto be laughably illinformed.OnceElsiegotasense of how bad thingswere,shetookmattersintoher own hands. Shecontacted Almina andbetween them the twowomen arranged fortwenty-seven nurses totravel out to Alexandria.The nurses left Tilbury on

15May1915onboardtheP&OsteamerMongolia.Aubrey’s wife Maryhelped Elsie to sort thingsout in Egypt. Thebureaucracy proveddifficult since the nurseshadnopermitstoworkorvisas to stay, and themilitary authorities wereinitially more concernedwiththerulebookandthebudgetthananythingelse.

MaryandElsiearguedthattheywerepreparedtopaythewagebillof£22sperweek per nurse, whichremoved one obstacle;they also suggested that,giventhatthenurseswerehere now and they werecertainly desperatelyneeded, perhaps it wastime to change the ruleson visas and permits. Itwas a persuasive

argument, and eventuallyElsie got her nurses. Itprobably helped that SirJohnMaxwellwasagreatfriendofhers.Elsie,nowinhersixtiethyear, was one of thoseformidablewomenwithanenormous capacity forgetting things done. Theintenseheatnever seemedto bother her and shenever ever complained.

Whentherewasashortageof stretchers shewent outand scoured the city forsewing machine andfabrics, organising workteams to make up theequipment that was sodesperately needed. Shestarted a canteen for theANZAC forces andprovided all the cutleryandcrockery.Onedaythemen got so rowdy that

plates and cups weresmashed, andElsie took itupon herself to march inthere and demand whatthey thought they weredoing. What would theirmotherssay?Somethinginher manner brought thefracas toahalt,andwhenthe men realised who shewas and what she haddone for them, they lineduptoapologisetoher.

Meanwhile, DavidCampbellhadstrucklucky.He was assessed assuitable for return toBritain and, havingavoided the Egyptianmilitary hospitals, hesailedoutofAlexandriaonthe Aquitania. Conditionsaboard could mostgenerouslybedescribedasbasic. Everyone gotdysentery, including

David.Hehad splinters oflead removed from hisgunshot wounds withoutany anaesthetic.Unsurprisingly, his footbecame gangrenous, andwas marked foramputation, but then thesurgeon fell sick and wastoo ill to carry out theoperation, so DavidarrivedbackinBritainstillin possession of both feet.

In Southampton his luckheldandhewastaggedforHighclere. So, in mid-September, he bumped upfromthesouthcoastinanambulance with threeotherpatients, all of themgroaning every time theywerejoltedoverapothole.The trailer rumbled up tothe frontof thehouseandDavidwashelpedout andinto a wheelchair by a

footman,who pushed himcarefully across the graveldrive and in through thefrontdoorofHighclere.As always, Almina wasthere towelcome thenewarrivals, accompanied bytwo nurses. It took twofootmen to help Davidmake his way up theornatecarpetedstairs,pasttheItalianmarblestatueofthe4thEarl andhis sister

Eveline at the bottomlanding, up past theseventeenth-centuryFlemish tapestry and intohis bedroom. There thenurses helped him towash.Hewasstillcakedinthe filthof thebattlefieldsand all his clothes had tobetakenawayandburned.Pyjamas and a dressinggown were provided andthen, once he was clean

and comfortable, AlminaandDrJohnnievisitedhimtomaketheirassessment.The foot lookedghastly.It was swollen and darkand almost too painful totouch. But Almina haddecided something. Shewanted to avoidamputations whereverpossible, believing thatthey were too frequentlyperformed, sometimes for

the doctors’ convenienceratherthanthegoodofthepatient. In the field itmightbeamatteroflifeordeath, but here atHighclerewheretheriskofinfection was so muchlower, she took the viewthat they could beambitious about reducingthe number ofamputations.Almina washed and

dressed David’s foot everyday, and came atmealtimestocheckthathehadeverythingheneeded.Theexcellentnursingpaidoff – after aweek hewasencouraged to go and sitoutside and then heprogressed to crutches.Somefriendscametovisitandhardlyrecognisedhimbecause his frame was soshrunken and his face so

hollow from the effects ofthe dysentery and thementalfatigue.Buthewashealinginmindaswellasbody. He wrote to hisfamily, ‘there can be nobetter solace than towander over the coolgreen grass and sit underthecedars.’Actually, David wasn’tquiterightaboutthat.Onelucky patient received

evengreatersolace, in theform of the attentions ofHighclere’s sweetheart, aparticularlyprettyauburn-haired nurse. Porchy, bythattimeaseventeen-year-old schoolboy who hadfallenslightly in lovewithher himself, delighted inrecounting the story ofhow one evening, on herpatrols, Almina stumbledacross the fortunateMajor

George Paynter, from theScots Guards, in thenurse’s embrace. Alminatactfully withdrew fromthe bedroom, but thefollowing morning shecalledthenursetoseeher.Apparently, Almina’schampioning of holisticcare had its limits. ‘Lookhere, my dear, I’m afraidyou’llhavetogo.Icannothave my nurses behaving

in this fashion. It musthaveputagreat strainonthe patient’s heart. Hemight have died as aresult!’ The flame-hairedbeauty left, much to thepatients’sorrow.David was soonconsideredwell enough tobe discharged, and wasordered to appear beforethe Army Medical Boardon 4 November. He was

loath to leave Highclere,but he had to make wayfor other patients andreport to the authorities.Hewasgivenonemonth’sleave before he had toreport again, so he set offfor Ireland. The journeyprovedtobetoomuchtoosoon for his foot and heended up back in hospitalin Dublin. David spent amonththerebeforehewas

discharged and finallymade it home, but it wasonly two weeks before hereceived another telegramtelling him to attend forassessmentby theMedicalBoard. This time DavidwaspassedfitandorderedtoreporttotheIrishRiflesfor active dutiesimmediately.

13

Hospitalonthe

Move

Christmas 1915 arrivedand Almina had no spareenergy to devote tofestivities. The hospitalwas a success: she couldsee the good itwas doing

her patients; could readthe gratitude in theirletters. Shewas training aselect band of nurses,engagingthemosteminentdoctors of the day toperform pioneeringoperations that savedcountless lives. She hadthe means to enable herstaff to treat all theircharges with everypossible care and

attention.ShewasgainingtherespectoftheSouthernCommand of the militaryauthorities, who came totrust her judgementcompletely–sothatifshesaid a man was not yetwell enough to attend theMedical Board, theybelieved her. By anyaccount, Almina’s hospitalat Highclere was thriving;she knew for certain that

she had found her life’swork. Still, she wasexhausted and frustratedthatshecouldn’tdomore.Andtherewasnothingbutbad news, from alldirections.Reports of another

Highclere death hadfiltered back. George Cox,a groom, had been killedatYpresbackinMaybutithad taken six months for

the authorities to informhis mother. There hadbeen no system in placefor registering casualtieswhenthewarstarted,andthe scale of the lossesmeant that it wasn’t untiltheendof1915thatwhatbecame, two years later,the Imperial War GravesCommission managed toestablish a workablesystem. Following the

French government’s giftof land forwarcemeteriesfor Allied soldiers on theWestern Front, the task oflogging graves began.Army chaplains had usedbottles containing slips ofpaper with the soldier’sname scrawled on it tomark graves, and thesecould now be replaced bywooden crosses. GeorgeCox’sbodyhadlaininthe

fields of France for sixmonths while his motherwaited with dwindlinghopefornews,butnoneofthat deterred two moreHighclere men fromjoiningup.MaberandAbsalonwere

both gamekeepers whoelected to join the newlycentralised Machine GunCorps. They handled gunseverydayoftheirworking

lives, so were presumablyregarded as an asset.Despite the strategicfailures, the lack ofprogress and the morale-sapping casualty rate, thepublicmoodat theendof1915wasstilldetermined.There was, as yet, noshortageofrecruits.But the last fewmonths

had been depressing foreven the most vehement

and positive patriot. Onthe Western Front theAllies had lost nearly90,000 men compared tothe Germans’ 25,000, andSir John French, thecommander of the BritishExpeditionary Force,continuedtoditherandtofalloutwithbothhisowncolleagues and the Frenchcommand.InDecemberhewasrecalledtoBritainand

replaced by Sir DouglasHaig.Itwas thesamestory in

the Dardanelles. Kitchenerfinally gave permission toevacuate; ironically, thatpart of the operation wasthe only success story,with relatively fewcasualties. But theANZACand the MediterraneanExpeditionary Forces lostnearly 35,000 men

between them, up to 70per cent in someregiments, and totalcasualties – including thehorrific effects of illness –were close to half amillion. The whole thingwas suchadisaster that ittriggered the collapse ofthe Liberal government.Winston Churchill, whohad been one of theGallipoli campaign’s

principal and earliestcheerleaders,wasforcedtoresign his position at theAdmiralty.AsSecretaryofState for War, Kitchenerwashithardby these twofailuresandthegreatheronever recovered hisreputationforinvincibility.The country was at adesperatelylowebb.One of the few brightspots for Almina was her

relationship with herdaughter.Alminahadbeengetting a lot of help andsupport that year fromLady Evelyn. She wasfourteen in 1915 and stillbeingeducatedathomebyher governess. ShemissedPorchy, who was away atEton, terribly; althoughunlike her brother, Evewas close to both herparents. Sheoften tried to

mediate between herbrother and her parentsbut with only limitedsuccess. As Winifredcommented in another ofherletterstoherhusband,Lord Burghclere, ‘Alminawas a genius whenorganising a hospital, butnotsowithherfirst-born.’But then, Eve presented

noneofthedifficultiesthatPorchydid. Shewasmore

diffident,soshedidn’trubher flamboyantmotherupthe wrong way. They hada tremendous amount incommon since they bothenjoyed parties andfashion and possessed arestless energy thatmeantneither of them could sitstill for long. Almina andPorchy,ontheotherhand,clashed partly becausethey were such wilful

personalities, who bothliked to be the centre ofattention. Eve was alsoharder working and morescholarly than hercharming but fecklessbrother,andhadagenuineenthusiasm and curiosityabout her father’sexplorations in Egypt thatPorchy never shared.Perhaps the weight ofexpectation on both sides

wasalsoa little less,sinceEve would not inherit.Whatever it was, she wasnever short of familyaffection. Lord Carnarvondoted on her throughouthislife,asdidPorchy,andshe and Almina adoredeach other. They lookedremarkably similar; Evewas tiny, just fractionallymore than five foot tallandveryslim.Shegrewup

to be a beautiful girl, allrosebud lips, highcheekbonesanddarkeyes.Whenwarwas declared

andhermotherdecidedtomake the Castle into ahospital, Eve was plungedinto a very differentroutine from the one shehad enjoyed in hergirlhood years. Ratherthan quiet days at lessonsandoccasionalexpeditions

to town with her motherto seeAlfred andvisit theWallace Collection, whereher grandfather was atrustee, she found herselfliving in a house full ofgrievouslyinjuredsoldiers.The atmosphere couldchange from tense totriumphant, depending onhow well things weregoing in the operatingtheatre or how many

names of friends therewere on The Times’s dailylist of casualties. It was asharp jolt out of a veryprivileged life and forcedEve to grow up fast.Almina’sphilosophyofthedesirability of publicservice extended to herdaughter’s leisure time.Once she’d done herlessons, Eve used to helpAlmina on her rounds,

chatting to the patientsand doing basic nursingtasks. This sweet prettygirl was understandably agreat favourite of thepatients.Oneof themhadsmuggled an Alsatianpuppy back from Francewith him, which he gaveto Eve. The dog slept inher room on the secondfloor of the Castle andbecameabsolutelydevoted

to her. Eve was a goodhorsewoman and oftenwentoutridingintheParkwith thehead stableman,Arthur Hayter. The puppyalways went with her,racingtokeepup.Even Lady Evelyn’s

assistancecouldn’tconcealthefactthatHighclerewasreachingthelimitsofwhatitcouldachieve.TheteamofAlmina,DrJohnnieand

Mary Weekes, backed upby Streatfield and MrsMacnair, was running atmaximum efficiency, butAlmina was still torturedby the sense that sheneededtodomore.BythebeginningofDecembershehaddecided that theyhadoutgrownHighclere and itwas time to move thehospital to London. Shecould have converted the

downstairs rooms intohugewards,ofcourse,andbeen able to house up totwenty men in each, butshe was convinced that agreat part of her successhingedonthefactthatthenurse-to-patient ratio washigh,andthemenhadtheluxury of peace andpersonal space. Thehospital was run as apersonal labour of love

and she wanted it to staythat way. It would be awrench: there wassomething uniquelyhealing about Highclere.Almina was particularlysorrytolosethewonderfulgardens and the abundantsupply of fresh fruit andvegetables, so she decidedthat her new premiseswouldat leasthaveaccessto a garden, and that she

would continue to sourcefood from Highclere andhave it sent up to thehospital.Alminasecuredtheleaseon48BryanstonSquare,adelightful town house inMayfair overlooking apeaceful garden behindrailings. The CadoganTrustees noted in theirminutes that ‘they wereloath to entertain the

application’ from LadyCarnarvon but, if theydeclinedit,theWarOfficemight use their powers tocommandeerthepremises.SotheyagreedtoAlmina’srequest. The house hadtwo distinct advantagesover Highclere: specialistdoctors were never morethan half an hour away,and it could be far betterequipped to treat a wider

range of injuries than theCastle ever could. Alminainstalled a lift, a purpose-builtoperatingtheatreandan X-ray machine. Thenshetransferredallherstafffrom the country up totown and put them underthe charge of SisterMacken,theheadmatron.TheLondonhospitalwas

not only going to bebetter,itwasalsogoingto

be bigger: Alminasacrificed her cherishednotion of individualbedrooms in order todouble capacity. Therewerenow40patientsatatime, with some singlerooms but, more usually,twotofourmentoaroom,and she gave the mini-wards the same names asthe Highclere bedrooms:Stanhope,Sussex,Arundel,

andsoon.Itstillfelttothepatients likeahomeawayfrom home, withcomfortablebeds,thebest-qualitybedlinenandsparepyjamas and clothes untiltheir families could sendtheir own. Alminacontinued to make liaisonwith family a priority,sending telegrams andletters with regularupdates when patients

werethemselvesunabletodo so. True to her visionfor the new hospital, themen could spend time intheresidents’gardeninthesquare,andtheystilldinedon the vegetables andcheeses sent up every dayfromHighclere.TheLondonhospitalhadbarelyopenedwhenitwashonoured by visits fromtwo of Almina’s earliest

supporters. On January 4Lord Kitchener came toinspect the new premisesand pronounced himselfvery impressed. Twoweeks later, Sister Keyser,who had beeninstrumental in providinginspiration and advice atthe start of the war, alsocame. Almina was almostburstingwith pride as shetookherguestsaroundthe

building.The Castle returned to

something approachingnormal life, except ofcourse that even if thehospitalhadgone,thewarwasstillraging.Thenurseshadtransferredtotown,ashad Mary Weekes, but DrJohnnie was basedbetween London andHighclere. Almina hadengaged the additional

services of Dr Sneyd forBryanston Square.Streatfield, Mrs Macnairand the rest of the staffstayedatHighclere–afterthefranticpaceofthelastsixteen months, they welldeserved to take abreather. LadyEvelynandLord Carnarvon wouldcontinue to live betweentheir house in BerkeleySquareandHighclere,and

Almina visited forweekends when she couldtakethem.Therewouldbeprecious little grandentertaining for theforeseeable future, but ofcoursetheCarnarvonshadno desire to see anybodylet go, so the staff simplyhadfewerjobstodo.It was a sad crowd ofmostly women who keptup appearances at

Highclereduring1916.Allthe talk in the servants’hallwasofthewar,andofthe fortunes of theHighclere men inparticular.Florence,oneofthe housemaids, had leftbecause she had marriedthe gardener Tommy Hill.Theyhadplannedtomakeadifferentsortoflife.Nowshe was terrified that herTommywasgoingtoenlist

and she didn’t think shecould stand it if he did.Theyhadbeenmarriedforless than two years andFlorencewanted to startafamily.The only news thatfiltered back was of thoseon the casualty list orkilledinaction.Therewasalways tension betweenthe sincere sense thatsacrificewasrequiredfrom

everyone and the entirelynatural terror of losing aloved one. The public’sstomach for sacrificevariedthroughoutthewar,with a general feeling ofrevulsion growing overtime. Blessedly, Florencecouldn’tknowthatTommywouldbecaughtupintheeventsof1916thattippedthe mood of the nationintofuriousdespair.

Another long-runningromance between staffmemberscametoahappyend later in the year.Minnie Wills had beenworking her way upthrough the kitchen rankssince 1902,when she hadstarted as the most juniormaid.By1916shewasthecook, first at Highclere,and then, when Alminamoved the hospital to

London, at 48 BryanstonSquare. Minnie wore alongwhiteapronoverheruniform and a tidy whitecap, and swore by thepowers of Mrs Beeton’sBook of HouseholdManagement: A Guide toCookery in All Branches.Having reached thepinnacleofherprofession,she decided that nowwasthe moment to accept

Arthur Hayter’s proposalof marriage. After thewedding they left theCarnarvons’ service andbought a pub. The femalestaff atHighclerewere alldelighted for her but saiditwassuchashamethatitwasn’t a restaurant: theycouldn’t visither inapubas they were very muchmen-onlyplaces.The urge to join up

gripped Porchy just asmuchas itdidTommy. Inearly 1916, Porchy wasonlyseventeen,buthewasabsolutely desperate toleave Eton and enrol atSandhurst. Both Lord andLadyCarnarvonhadgravemisgivings on the groundsof his age, but their sonwasinsistentandtheyalsofelt itwaswrong to try todissuade him from doing

his duty. Porchy went totake the entrance examandscrapedthrougheverysubject except maths,which he failedspectacularly. It wasmentioned that LordKitchener was a closefriend of the family and,mysteriously, Porchy’sshortcomings seemed tofade from sight. So hewent off to Sandhurst and

left his sister and parentsfretful on his behalf.Porchywasdestined tobea cavalry officer, whichwasfortunatesincehehadfallenarchesandflatfeet.Almina needed thedistractions of work morethaneverandflungherselfinto life at BryanstonSquare. She had broughtmuch of the hospitalequipment from Highclere

and spent her ownmoneyontoppingitupwithmorebeds, linens and crockery.But Alfredwas continuingtopay forstaffcosts,bothfor the nurses and thehouseholdstaff.Therewasacook,adozenmaidsandseveral footmen. Evenmorecrucially,hesuppliedmorereservestoinstallthestate-of-the-art equipmentand essential medical

supplies that Alminaneededtosavemorelives.Alfredwasbythistimeabrokenman.He had beensomething of ahypochondriac all his lifebutnowhewasgenuinelysuffering. He was plaguedbythecombinedeffectsofyears of high living andemotional fatigue. He hadbeen sick at heart eversince the declaration of

war,andnothing thathadhappened since had doneanything to relieve hisgloom.Hiscloselyknitbutfar-flung extended familyhad found themselves onopposing sides, just as hefeared. There werebranches of theRothschilds in centralEuropethatwerenowlostto him, and the world inwhichhehadlivedhislife

– the banks, the familyholidays with Continentalcousins and the socialwhirl – had beencomprehensivelydestroyed.Alfred’sonlyconsolationwas his support for theAllies’ war work. Later inthe year, once thebloodbath of the Sommegot underway, he offeredthe glorious beech trees

from Halton House to theTimber Control Board, tobe used as props in thewaterlogged trenches ofnorthern France. For now,he concentrated onmaintaining Almina’shospital.Almina’s X-ray machinewas her pride and joy. X-rays had been discoveredin 1895 and theirrelevance to military

surgeons was immediatelyobvious: being able tolocate a bullet preciselywithout messyinterventions wasincalculably useful.BryanstonSquarenowhadthe means to carry outcutting-edgeproceduresonfractures and gunshotwounds. There was noshortage of patients inneed.

In February, the Battleof Verdun, whicheventually claimed306,000 lives, got underway, and a man calledBates arrived at Almina’shospital.HaroldBateswasapadre,anArmychaplain,a reserved and stoicalperson who, even fortyyears later, refused todiscuss what he had seenanddoneintheGreatWar.

He had been on theWestern Front sinceAugust1914whenhewassent out with the 6thDivision. At some pointlate in 1915 he waswoundedatYpres, shot intheleg.There have been Armychaplains for as long asthere have been armies,buttheirroleexpanded,ofnecessity, in the Great

War. For the first time inhistory, large numbers ofmen were living on thebattlefield in atrociousconditions, for weeks andmonths at a time. Theywere in desperate need ofcomfortandguidance,andthe padres, while beingunarmed non-combatants,were often in the thick ofthe horror. Clearly MrBateswas close enough to

take a hit, and quite anasty one, since he endedupspendingsevenmonthsin Almina’s care atBryanston Square. Hewasa dedicated churchmanwhowent on to serve theChurch of England untilhisdeathinthe1960s.At the hospital hecarriedouthisdutieswithdeterminationanddignity,accompanying Almina on

her rounds from themomenthewasabletogetout of bed and limp.DespitetheX-raymachine,the operation andexcellent nursing, Bates,whowasatall,broadman,waslamefortherestofhislife. He used a stick andalways struggled withstairs.Whenhewasfinallywell enough to leave thehospital, he was

dischargedfromtheArmy.Hewasanexcellentpadre,but his days of wadingthrough mud to comfortinjured soldiers werebehind him. He had gotoutjustintime.

14

Deathinthe

Trenches

Mr Bates’s war was over,but Aubrey Herbert,despite his severedisillusionment in theaftermath of the Gallipolicampaign,was gearing upto return to the MiddleEast. In March 1916 he

was sailing forMesopotamia in thecompany of theCommander-in-Chief ofEgypt, the Commander-in-ChiefoftheMediterraneanandthePrinceofWales.Itwas the first time Aubreyhadmet the eldest son ofGeorgeVandQueenMary,who was briefly EdwardVIII before his desire tomarry Wallis Simpson

sparked the abdicationcrisis. Aubrey, clearlysomewhat underwhelmed,commented that at least‘he was more imaginativethan I expected. He saidthat he hated being athome, it worried himthinking of the others inthetrenches.’British militaryinvolvement inMesopotamia had started

out as an operation tosafeguard the oil fields inwhat is now Iraq; crucialgiven that the navalcampaigninparticularwasheavily oil-dependent. Butit was spiralling into ahumiliating disaster, andAubrey’s language skillsandlocalknowledgeagainmadehimindispensable.The 6th Indian division

hadbeendispatchedtothe

region from the Army’sbases in Bombay, underthe command of GeneralTownshend,buttheywerewoefully poorly suppliedin terms of both food andtransport. As the militaryproblems escalated, suchcost-cutting measuresproved catastrophic.Aubrey had a very badfeeling about the wholething, but was hoping to

beprovedwrong.Whenhearrived he wrote back tohis great friend Sir MarkSykes,whowasstillbasedat the War Office. ‘Well,the position here isabsolutelybloody.’General Townshend hadretreated toKut al-Amara,which he was trying todefend against the vastlysuperior Turkish forces.Attempts to relieve him

and break the siege hadfailed. His troops werestarving;someaerialdropsof rations had been madebut,evenso,byApril, themen were down to fourounces of food a day andriddledwithdisease.Therewas no choice but tosurrender.AubreywrotetoColonel

Beach,theheadofMilitaryIntelligence in the region,

offering to accompanyGeneralTownshend to thenegotiations – he knewsome of the leading Turksvery well. While he waswaiting for a response, hevisitedTurkishprisonersofwar in the British Armycampsandnotedthattheirmorale was high. Theybelieved that afterGallipoli, Salonika andnowKut, theywere going

to win. Aubrey’s responsewas typical of the bullishdetermination thatpersisted in the Britishforces and public, despitethe shock of failures. Heinformed the confidentTurks that it was hiscountry’s‘nationalhabittobe defeated at thebeginning of every warandtowinintheend.’A year to the day after

Aubrey’s arrival atGallipoli, he was reunitedwith his friend T. E.Lawrence, and sent to goand talk terms with theTurkish High Command.Thetwomen’shopeswerelimited to being able tosecureatrucetoallowthewounded soldiers to beshipped out, but theBritishgovernmentseemedtohavealonger-termgoal

in mind. The men wereauthorised to offer £2millionandthepromiseofnot launching furtherattacks on the OttomanEmpire. This offer wasrejected and, althoughtherewasa truce toallowfor an exchange ofprisoners, on 29 April1916 General Townshendsurrendered. Thirteenthousand British and

Indian soldierswere takenprisoner.The whole incident wasa tremendous humiliationfor the British Army. Itmusthavebeenhardevenfor Aubrey to remainpositiveaboutthenationalchancesashesurveyedtheRiverTigris,fullofbloatedcorpses. They washed upon the riverbanks andbumped up against the

smallboatsthatpliedtheirway up and down. Therehad been a choleraoutbreak that ragedthrough the alreadyweakened troops. Of the13,000 prisoners of war,more than half died ofstarvation or at the handsoftheircaptors.Aubrey wasn’t the only

Highclere man out in theregion. Major Rutherford,

theEarl’sagent,hadasonserving as a Lieutenant inthe ¼th HampshireRegiment. He eventuallymade it back to Almina’shospital and survived thewar.LordCarnarvonwroteto Aubrey asking him tofind out what hadhappened to ‘[his] boysfromthestudfarmandtheestate.’ He ‘hoped to sendmoney or some small

comforts.’ The newstrickled back agonisinglyslowly. Albert Young,Charlie Adnams andGeorge Digweed had allbeengardeners and joineduptogether,alsoservinginthe ¼th HampshireRegiment on the ill-fatedattempt to take Baghdad.Perhapswhenthefliesandthe stifling air and thestench of the cholera-

infested corpses becametoo much, they dreamt ofthe peaceful walledgardens and talked aboutthe Dutch azaleas thatwouldbefloweringontheCastle’s east lawns. Theywere all buried inMesopotamia.AdnamsandDigweed were takenprisoneratKutanddiedincaptivity. Thomas Youngwaskilled inactionat the

crossing of the ShumranBend on 21 January 1916as was Frederick Fifield.Hisbodywasneverfound.Hisyoungbrotherwasstillat home at Highclere,working in the buildingsdepartment. Only TomWhincup, who workedunder his half-brotherCharlie Whincup at thestud, and Charles Steerwho had also worked

there, survived thecampaign and were luckyenough to avoid beingtakenprisoner.Aubreymade it back to

Britain in early July andwent to Highclere. Hewanted to seehis brother.All his life, even after hehad established himself asa man to call upon tonegotiate for soldiers’lives,Aubrey felt theneed

to touch base with hisbrother. Lord Carnarvonwas of course delightedthat Aubrey was safe andin a position to tell himexactlywhathadgoneon.He was also infinitelyfrustrated that he couldonly play a part on thesidelines. Through hisfriendship with Moore-Brabazon he had becomeclosely involved with the

development of camerasandinterpretationofaerialphotography carried outbytheRoyalFlyingCorps,but he wished ardentlythat his health permittedhimtodomore.It was the second timein a year that Aubreyreturned from the MiddleEast feeling helpless anddespairing.Hewanted thecomfortofbeinghome.

Just weeks later, sevenmore men left theHighclere estate. HenryBerry from the saw mill,Charles Brindley, aplumber, Charles Choules,awoodsman,WillieKewellwho worked at the farm,Ernest Barton also awoodsman, GilbertAttwood and WilliamBendle, both from thebuildingsdepartmentwere

allspurredonbythenewsAubrey brought of theircolleagues’ deaths. Theyheaded for France. Theywere heading for theSomme.Summer 1916 was

dominated by the nation’sdismay and grief over thedeathofLordKitchener.Kmighthavelosthisauraofthe unimpeachable hero,but in death he was

restored to mythic status.Thenaval battlehadbeenescalating brutally as theeffects of the Britishblockade on Germany’strade routes and foodsuppliesbegantobite.Thewaratseaclaimeditsmosthigh-profile casualtywhenthe HMS Hampshire wassunkbyamineon5June.Six hundred and forty-threemen, including Lord

Kitchener,losttheirlives.The Carnarvons wereevenmoredevastatedthanmost as he had been afamilyfriend.Porchy,whohad two more months togo at Sandhurst, wasutterly laid low: K hadbeen his great inspirationfor a career in the Army.He was due to go toIreland for four months’training at the end of the

summer, but was mopyand uncharacteristicallyreflective forweeks. If K’slosswasahammerblowtoBritish morale, alreadyshreddedbystalemateandsurrender, nobody couldhave predicted howmuchworsethingswereabouttoget.TheBattleoftheSomme

was planned by GeneralHaig as a decisive

breakthrough in thestalemate in France.Instead it has passed intoBritish and Canadianconsciousness as theepitome of catastrophicand futile loss of life. Onits opening day, 1 July1916, the British Armysuffered 60,000 casualties– still the highest numberever sustained in a singleday of combat. The 1st

Newfoundland Regimentwas totally annihilated asafightingunit,with500of801 men killed. Over thecourse of the battle’s fourand a half months, thatstory was repeated overand over again. Wholebattalions of men, whohadjoineduptogetherandcame from tight-knitcommunities, were wipedout, creating lost

generations back home.Highclere, like thousandsofotherplacesallovertheEmpire, was about tosuffer a test of its abilityforself-sacrificethelikeofwhich ithadneverknownbefore.The impact on every

hospitalinthecountrywasenormous. Four hundreddoctors were killed andinjured in July, increasing

thepressureonthealreadyhorrifically overstretchedmedical corps. Patientswere sent back to Britainin a barely controlledflood. The Somme wascharacterisedbytheuseofveryheavyartillery.Itwasalsomarkedthedebutofanewweapon–thetank.Aswell as their physicalinjuries, the men weresuffering from devastating

shell shock. The humanframe couldn’t withstandthe impact of this new,fullymechanisedslaughteron a grand scale and thenumberofcasesofmentalbreakdown began toincreaseexponentially.LadyAlminahadtostepuptothetask.ThestaffatBryanstonSquarehadbeenworking steadily,with thesame attention to every

little detail as ever. Thework was tough, but theroutineswereinplacenowand there was a palpablesensethattheresultswereenough to justify all thelabour involved. Everyonewas tiredanddemoralisedby the war, but at thesame timekeenly investedin and positive about thehospital. Into this stabilitycrashed the vast numbers

of officers arriving withcomplex injuries andsevere trauma from thebattlefieldsoftheSomme.One such man was

Charles Clout, twenty-oneyears old, a Cambridge-educated linguist from amodest middle-class homeinsouthLondon,whohadbeen recruitedby theWarOffice in August 1914, onthestrengthofhismilitary

cadet training atCambridge University.CloutjoinedtheTerritorialArmyandwas gazetted totherankof2ndLieutenantin the 20th Battalion theLondonRegiment.Hewasa serious-minded manwho, even in later life,disapproved of the use offirstnamesexceptbetweenclose friends of the samesex.Thisseriousnessmade

him an excellent officer,and he took pride intraininghismenupbeforetheyshippedouttoFranceon 9 March 1915. Cloutwas terribly disappointedwhen on disembarking hewas moved to anotherbattalion thatwas inneedof a goodofficer to lick itintoshape.By August 1916, Clout

hadseenalmostayearand

a half of action on theWestern Front. He hadbeeninreserveforthefirstbattle of Neuve Chapelleand fought for months attheBattleofLoos.Hehadseen a man shot in thehead by a German sniperas he ran towards himdown a trench. Thebomber’s brain was‘excised as if on anoperatingtable’andfellin

two neat hemispheres onthe ground behind himand lay there ‘steaming inthesunlight’.WhenClout’smen refused to touch theman’sbrains,Clout tookaspade and shovelled theremainsoutofthetrench.In August 1916, aftertwoweeks’ leaveinwhichhe visited his parents inBlackheath, he foundhimself back out on the

front line at the Battle ofthe Somme. His first jobwas to accompanyamoreinexperiencedofficerasheventuredoutofthetrenchto collect all the propertyof the dead men who layscattered in the mud, sothat it could be sent backto England. Clout wassitting reading a map,trying to locate the finalresting place of the

battalion they had beensent to search for,whenasnipershothimintheface.Thebulletentereddirectlybetween his eyes, passedthrough his palate andshattered the right-handsideofhisjaw.Partofthebone severed an artery inhis throat. Instinctivelyheclutched his neck and,finding the place whereblood was gushing, he

tried to stem it as hestaggered back in thedirection of theheadquarters’ dugout,shouting at his juniorofficer to stay low sincethe sniper was certainlystilllookingoutforthem.He was almostunconsciouswhentheygotbackandwasimmediatelysenttothebasehospitalatLe Touquet on the coast.

The hospital was fundedby the Duchess ofWestminster and – inanother of the surrealcontrastsof theGreatWar– had been set up in thecasino of the elegantholiday resort. Clout hadbeenunlucky to behit onhis first day in the newpost (although luck likethat was not terriblyunusual on the Somme),

but he must have beenboth fortunate and toughtosurvivehiswoundevenas far as Le Touquet. Thescience of bloodtransfusion was in itsinfancy in 1916, and suchprocedures were veryrarely attempted, so theonlyhopewhentreatingapatient losing a lot ofblood was to keep themimmobile and administer

drugs like morphine toslowtheheartrate.Clout was operated on

to remove part of thebullet lodged in his jawand,twoweekslater,oncehe was stable, he wastransferred to a hospitalship for return to Britain.From Dover he went bytrain to Victoria Station;there, as he lay on theplatformwithhundredsof

other wounded men, hewas labelled for theCountess of Carnarvon’shospital at 48 BryanstonSquare. Clout tried toinsistthathewouldrathergototheGeneralHospitalin south London.Hemusthave been thinking ofvisits fromhis family,andofgettingasclosetohomeas possible. He wasdispatched to Bryanston

Square in any case, andarrived late at night on 2October1916.Clout always recalledthe pleasure of beingallowed to sleep late atAlmina’s hospital. At LeTouquet thematronmadeher ward rounds at thecrack of dawn. In theslightly more tranquilsurroundings of BryanstonSquare,themensleptuntil

breakfast, and then theysaw the medical staff.Clout was there until 13November and made areasonable recovery,although he had to returnin January for a series ofoperations to continueremoving fragments ofbone and shrapnel. Helater had reconstructivesurgery to enable him toeat solids, but his speech

wasimpairedforyears.Hetooktowearingabandageon his throat because hewas embarrassed by hisspeechandconcernedthatpeoplewouldn’tappreciatethat itwas the result of awarwound.About two weeks afterhis arrival, when he wasable to sit up in bed andthe swelling and pain inhis face had improved

enoughforhimto takeaninterestintheworldagain,Charles noticed thatAlmina had a verycharming assistant whoaccompanied her on herrounds, taking notes on aclipboard as Alminadirected. Mary Weekes,who was rather tall andneatly dressed with akindly and efficientmanner, was by then 26

years old. She had beenwith Almina first as asecretarythenasahospitaladministrator for fiveyears, and the two hadbecome completelydependent on each other.Charles wrote in hismemoirs that Alminaregarded her more as adaughter than anemployee, which iscertainly borne out by

Almina’sgenerositytoher.Charles caught Mary’seye. There was small talkand she made sure shevisited him every day; anattraction formed andwithin weeks it hadprogressed to a definitecourtship. Charles andMaryfrequentlywentforaturninthegardensbehindthe railings of BryanstonSquare. Almina thought

that going out for a walkorgoingtothetheatrewasvery therapeutic. Perhapsshe had been quietlyencouragingMary.Charlesasked Mary to marry himinearly1917.Despitehisinsistenceon

formality, Charlesdefinitely had a roguishstreak, and he certainlylookedgood in auniform.Herecordedinhismemoir

that when he returned toKing’s College Cambridgeafter his Army training toinformtheauthoritiesthathewasheading toFrance,he also called on a ladystudent from Newnhamwhom he’d met at auniversity society forreading plays in foreignlanguages. The TabardSocietywasoneofthefewopportunities the

undergraduates had tomeettheoppositesex,andalthough the girls werechaperoned, sparks hadclearlyflownastheyoungpeople recited linestogether. As they sat overtea in her rooms, ‘herflatteringcommentsonmyappearanceinuniformputme out of countenance,especially as a number ofother girls were

summoned to meet me. ItseemedIwassomethingofatrophytobedisplayedtoherfriends.’On another occasion,

before Charles waswounded and hospitalisedback to London, he foundvery attractive billets.Since he spoke French, hewas often asked to helpout when another officerwashavingproblemswith

his accommodation.Officerswerebilletedwithlocalpeople,butitwasnotobligatory for householdsof women to take in aguest.Ayoung lady livingwith her mother hadrefused to allow a Britishofficer to lodgewith thembut the communicationproblemsmeant therewasa lot ofmisunderstanding.Clout went to investigate

withhisfellowofficerandthe matter was resolvedand alternativeaccommodation found. ‘Ioffered to escort the ladyback to her home.On theway, with a side-longglanceatme, she said, “Ifit had been you whowanted our room I wouldnot have refused.” ’Charles was not about topass up this opportunity.

‘As she was a veryattractive person, Iimmediately took up theoffer and had my orderlymove my kit into herhome. My friend wouldnever believe that I hadnot “pulled a fast one” onhim. That night the ladycame into my bedroom,and for the rest of theperiod that we were inactioninthissectionofthe

line I was always able tovisit her during any restperiod, which probablyhelpedkeepmesane.’Mary and Charles weremarried in July 1918,when Charles ‘believedthatthewarmightdragonfor years yet’. They haddecided to wait until hisrecoverywascompleteandall the work on his jawwas finished. Lord and

LadyCarnarvonweretheirguests of honour and, infact, their witnesses.Almina arranged for themto be married at thefashionable church StGeorge’s, Hanover Square.She then set themup in ahouse in Paddington,buying all their furniture.They went on to havethree children, and untilMary became briefly ill

afterthebirthofherthirdchild, she continued toworkforAlmina.All her life, Almina hadwildlycavalierattitudestomoney. She could be abullyaboutit,butshewasalso generous to a fault,often indiscriminately so.Itwasahabitthatgotherintoagreatdealoftroublein later life, but on thisoccasion her generosity

was born out of sincereaffection and inrecognitionofMary’syearsofhardwork.ShealsolentthecoupletheLakeHouseon the estate at Highclerefor their honeymoon, and,as a souvenir, she gaveMaryaspeciallymadefan,paintedwithaviewofthebuilding. It is a beautifulhouse, an elegant, lowvilla right on the water’s

edge, and a peaceful idyllfor two people who hadbeen working surroundedby death and destructionforyears.Almina,whowasgood at detail, made surethat food and staff werelaid on so that the couplewould not have to lift afinger.Charleswrotealetterto

Almina on the evening ofhisweddingday,justafter

the couple arrived at theLake House, thanking herforhergiftstohimandforeverything she had donefor them. ‘My dear FairyGodmotherIshouldliketocall you, for that is how Ishall always think ofyou … thank you for thelinks and studs,which arecharming, and the gift ofplate, which is so fine Ithink I will never wish to

dine away from home…’The man who wonderedabout the propriety ofusingfirstnamesexpressedhimself fulsomely toAlmina, who had nursedhim back to health,introducedhimtohiswifeand set him up in life. ‘Iwill try to live up to thetrust you have placed inme.Withverybestwishesand love from, yours

sincerely,CharlesClout.’The following dayMary

wrotetoher‘DearestLittleLady’totellAlminaofherperfect happiness at theLakeHouseandtoaddherown thanks. ‘How can Ieven try to thank you forallyouhavedoneforme.IlongtotellyouwhatIfeelaboutyourwonderfulloveand affection but alas nowords of mine could

adequately express what Ireally feel…Ihope Iwillalways be a credit to thekindest lady I know, whohas indeed been amotherto me for the last sevenyears and I know will goon being so … With lovefrom us both, yoursaffectionately,Mary.’

LetterfromCharlesClouttoLadyAlmina,

1918.

Seethispageforfulltranscriptofthe

letter.

LetterfromMaryWeekestoLadyAlmina.

Seethispageforfulltranscriptofthe

letter.

These voices from asupposedly buttoned-downage overflow with sincereemotion.There’snodoubtthat Almina could befrivolousanddomineering,but she also transformedpeople’s lives with herenergetic desire to makeothers happy. For that,many of them loved herbackwithdevotion.

OneofLadyCarnarvon’snursesatthe

Castle.Hernurseswerealways

exceptionallywellturnedoutandLady

Carnarvonpaidforalltheiruniforms

personally.

OneofmanypicturesfromtheCastle

ArchivesofGreatWarsoldiers

recuperatingattheCastle.

ThesouthelevationofHighclereCastle

duringtheGreatWar,completewith

sunblinds,sinceremoved.

Ahand-writtenletterfromGeneralSir

JohnCowans,Quarter-Master-Generalof

theBritishArmyduringtheGreatWar,to

AlfreddeRothschild,afteravisithe

madeto‘HighclereHospital’.‘…Itis

simplythebest…anditslittleLadyisa

marvel,anotherFlorenceNightingale…’.

PatientsrecoveringattheCastle.

Thisbenchisstilltobeseen(andsaton!)

intheGroundsoftheCastle.

AwoundedsoldierontheSouthLawnsof

theCastlenearthesoutheastcorner.

Apictureofarecuperatedofficer,who

wasnursedatthehospitalin1915,

kindlydonatedtotheCastlebya

descendant.

MajorJARutherfordwithhisfivesons,

allofwhomservedintheGreatWar.

MajorRutherfordwastheEstateManager

tothe5thEarlofCarnarvon.Threeofhis

sonswereinvalidedfromtheArmywith

warwounds.Thereare75namesonthe

HighclereEstateRollofHonourforthose

whowenttofightduringtheGreatWar.

13arelistedas‘Killed’.MajorRutherford

is‘MentionedforValuableServices’.

MaryWeekes,Almina’sloyalsecretary,

andherhusband,CharlesClout.Charles

wassenttoHighclerewhenhewas

injuredinWorldWarOne,andtheysoon

fellinlove.(photocrediti3.10)

ThefanthatAlminagavetoMaryasa

weddingpresent.

SirBerkeleyMoynihan,afamoussurgeon

andMajorGeneralintheBritishArmyin

theGreatWar,andPresidentoftheRoyal

CollegeofSurgeons.Heoperatedonthe

5thEarlin1918whenhehadalmost

diedofperitonitis.LadyAlmina’smedical

experiencehelpedsaveherhusband’slife

asshenursedhimbacktohealth.

OneofmanypicturesfoundintheCastle

archivesoftheGreatWar.

Avictoryparade,shortlyafterthe

Cenotaphwaserected.

Acertificatefromtherecuperating

soldiers,thankingthe5thCountessfor

herefforts.

Aremarkabledrawing,foundinthe

CastlearchivesintheWartimeVisitors

book,madebyarecuperatingsoldierin

praiseofthe5thCountess’seffortsasthe

hospitalwasbeingmovedtoasitein

London.

AportraitofLadyEvelynHerbert(1901-

1979)duringtheGreatWar.

15

TheDarkTimes

The romance betweenCharles Clout and MaryWeekes was an untypicalbright spot in a gloomyyear. Charles was neversentback to the front line–hisinjurywastoosevere– andhe spent the rest of

the war helping to trainbattalions of new recruits.But the sickening rhythmof injury, recovery andreturn to the war wasrepeated over and overagain for hundreds ofthousands of others. Somemen had to find thestrength to return two,three, even four times, inthe full knowledge thatwhilsttheyhadbeenlucky

sofar,theirluckcouldnotholdforever.At the same time thatCharles Clout was beingshippedoutof theSommewithabulletlodgedinhisshattered jaw,Alminawasfrantically pulling stringsto secure a pass for thefatherofayoungmanshehad treated back inFebruary, to go over toFrance. Monty Squire had

been at ‘48’, as theBryanston Square hospitalwas known, for a monthand had made a fullrecoveryasa resultof theexcellent nursing he hadreceivedthere.Alminahadas usual made it herbusiness to contact andbefriend Monty’s family,and his parents wrote agrateful letter to her aftertheirson’srelease.Assoon

as he was well, he wassentbacktoFrance,andtothe Battle of the Somme.Some time in August, Mrand Mrs Squire receivedthe news they had beendreading. Monty was hit,he was being held in abase hospital in Franceand treated there. It wasan admission that he wasgoingtodie.They wrote again to

Almina, this time beggingher to do anything in herpowertohelpthemsecurepermission from themilitary authorities totraveltobeattheirchild’sbedside. Once again,Almina’s connections, andher willingness to usethem, got results. A passwas secured to speed MrSquire out to the fieldhospitalwherehis son lay

dying. Monty wasunconscious for his lastfour days, during whichtime his father sat by hisbedside talking andreading to him. Monty’smother Alice wrote toAlmina afterwards to saythat she had beencomfortedby the fact thatMontywasnotalonewhenhe died. ‘I have to bestrong formyhusband, as

wellasmyson,’shewrote.Winifred Burghclere’s

nephew RichardMaitland,whosebrotherhadalreadybeen killed, was alsoserving at the Somme. Hewasbadlywoundedintheleg and sent back toSouthampton and fromtheretoBryanstonSquare.Hespentfivemonthsthereand survived the warthough,evenafterhisfinal

operation in 1917, hewalked with a limpbecauseofastiffknee.No family was immune

to death, and theCarnarvons, although theywere becoming almostnumbfromtheendlesslossof friends, were stilldevastated to hear inNovember that theircousin, Bron Herbert, wasmissing in action. Aubrey

Herbert was especiallyclose to Bron, who hadjoined the Royal FlyingCorps.Hehadlostaleginthe Boer War and thenfollowed family traditionby becoming a politicianand serving in Asquith’sgovernment as Under-Secretary of State for theColonies, thesamepostashis uncle, the 4th Earl ofCarnarvon, had held. He

was confirmed dead inDecember. Aubrey wrotetohiscousin,Bron’ssister,‘Ohmydear,Ican’twrite,I am too selfishly sorry. Idid love him so.’ In hisletter to his wife Mary,Aubreysaid,‘Bronismorethan I can bear, for himthis time as well asmyself.’Mary was worried that

the news would push

Aubrey over the edge andmake him do somethingstupid. His nerves hadbeenfrayedbythehorrorshe had seen in theGallipolicampaignandthefutilityhesaweverywhere.Aubrey could no longerbear to readTheTimes fornews of the death offriends, and began toexpress the view that the‘military solution’ had

failedandcouldnotgoon.That was not a popularposition, in spite ofeverything, and Aubreywas increasingly seenasacrackpot and a potentialdangertohimself.Aubrey was still a

serving MP, though, andtook the job extremelyseriously. He was wellplaced to substantiate hisopinion that the new

governmentwasnot tobetrusted. In December MrAsquith, who wasincreasingly blamed forthe drift in strategy andthe lack of decisiveprogress,hadbeenousted.David Lloyd George, whohad been made SecretaryofStateforWarafterLordKitchener’s death, tookover as Liberal PrimeMinister of the

Conservative-dominatedcoalitiongovernment.It was not a good

momenttotakeonthetopjob. The public wasrestive, the generals werepatently confused and thewarwasadisaster.Ontopofthat,theEasterUprisinginDublinhadreawakenedthequestionofHomeRulefor Ireland, which hadbeen the recurring

nightmareforeveryBritishPrime Minister for morethan fifty years.Overshadowing everythingwas an almostunimaginable number.When the Battle of theSommefinallypeteredoutin November 1916,415,000 soldiers from theBritish and DominionsArmy had been killed orwounded or were missing

in action. The totalnumber of casualtiesacross all the nations thatparticipated was 1.5million. Eventually, ofcourse, Lloyd Georgewould be associated withvictory,regardedasoneofthe greatest politicians ofthe twentieth century, butfor now, he had inheritedaverypoisonedchalice.Lord Carnarvon had

been ill again in theautumn of 1916 andAlmina begged him tocome up to London andstay at the house inBerkeley Square so shecouldkeepaneyeonhim.He was fretful about thenew government,particularly theiragricultural policies forlandrequisition,andwroteto Winifred that he was

worried about his son,Porchy,whowassuddenlylookingfartooyoungtobeserving in the Army. OnBoxing Day 1916, Lordand Lady Carnarvon hadto wave Porchy off whenhe sailed with hisregiment, for war. Theirbig consolation was thathe was heading not toFranceor theBalkansbut,for now at least, to the

backwatersofIndia.LordPorchesterwasjusteighteen when he landedat Bombay and was aboisterous, self-importantteenager who had beenenjoying his first loveaffairs inbetween trainingto join the cavalry.Porchy’s attitude was theembodiment of the youngman’s inability to graspthat he may die, that

something bad mighthappen tohim.Healwaysrecalled the awful sinkingsensation of scanning thecasualtylistsforthenamesofhisschoolfriends,butasaboyhewasquitecapableofresistingthemelancholyand hopelessness that hisuncleAubreycouldnot.Nothing Porchy found

when he arrived atGillespie Barracks to join

the 7th Hussars disabusedhim of his good-naturedexpectation that his lifewould continue to workout very well indeed. Ashe wrote in his memoirs,‘the changing pattern ofwarfare on the WesternFront hadn’t filteredthrough to India. TheIndian Army still trainedand drilled to a patternthat hadn’t altered in 200

years:sword-playexercise,mounted combat withlances, revolver practiceand polo, to practisehorsemanship.’The niceties weremeticulously observed outin Meerut. The Anglo-Indian military’s way oflifewastotally imperviousto the austerity that wasbiting back home. Therewere fourchangesofkita

dayanddressuniformwasworn for dinner, whichwas always served on thebest silver plate by aretinue of staff that putHighclere’stoshame.Porchy enjoyed himself,buthewasalsofrustrated,aswasthewholeregiment,that despite the awfulnews fromFrance and theEastern Front, there wasno sign of them being

called up and given anyworktodo.Porchy would have to

endure the luxurious calmuntil the late autumn, buteverywhere else, all waschaos. The naval battlewas being stepped up byGermany,sinceithadbeendecidedthatdominationofthe seas was the way tobreak the public supportfor the war in Britain.

FromFebruary1917 therewasa‘sinkonsight’policyand civilian boats wereincreasingly targeted. USboatswerealsobeingsunkin the Atlantic, andGermany was gamblingthat British morale wouldcollapse before theUnitedStates’ neutrality wastested too far. GermanHighCommandmisjudgeditandtheUSdeclaredwar

ontheCentralPowerson6April 1917. That wouldeventually prove decisive,butinitiallytheAmericans’involvement couldn’t alterthefactthatGermanywaswinningthewar.BoththeFrenchandtheRussian armies weremutinying. The Russians’ability to fight on theEastern Front, which hadbeen ebbing away since

1915,wason thebrinkofcollapse. In March 1917the Russian people’sloathing of the war andcontempt for theirgovernment’s leadershipspilled over into violentdemonstrations. The Tsarabdicated; the RussianArmyhadonlyoneeyeonthejoboftryingtowinthewar. The provisionalgovernment launched a

highlyunpopularbigpushagainsttheCentralPowersin July and that wasenough to prepare theground for the OctoberRevolution inwhichLeninand the Bolsheviks seizedpower.AtBryanstonSquarethe

hospital was busier thanever. In January andFebruary there were stillmen staying who had

come from the Somme,menwhoneededtoomuchnursing to be sent out toconvalescent homes, someof whom had been therefor five months. Newpatients were arrivingfrom France every day.TheybeggedAlmina tobeallowed to come back toher hospital the next timethey were wounded. Noonehadanyhopethatthe

war would be over soon,and no one wanted to goback to the Front. Aconditionof stasis grippedpeople; it began to feel asif war was a permanentstate. Almina instructedher nurses to spend asmuch time as possiblesitting with the men,talking, listening andplayingcards.Shelivedbytheprincipleoftakingone

day at a time and stayingbusy.Therewasverylittlealternative.InFebruary therewas a

boost to the spirits of theresidentsof‘48’whenKingGeorge and Queen Marypaid a visit. Almina hadmet the royal couple ofcourse, had been to theircoronation dressed in herfinest silks and jewels.Now she greeted them on

the doorstep wearing hernurse’s uniform with alarge starched cap andfloor-length apron. Onlyher trademarkwaved hairand enormous smile werethe same.Shecouldneverresisttheopportunitytobecharming, and shewelcomed her guestseffusively. They spoke toevery singlepatient, nurseand doctor, walking from

ward to ward andcommending the excellentequipmentandstandardofcare.Alminawasnaturallyoverjoyed by thisrecognition and delightedwhen,followingtheKing’sglowing report, shewelcomedhisuncle,PrinceArthur, Duke ofConnaught, the followingweek.The King and Queen

were accompanied byAdmiral Louis Battenbergand Sir Thomas Myles, ahigh-ranking member ofthe Royal Army MedicalCorps.Admiral Battenbergwas a German Prince anda cousin of George V. Hehad been serving in theRoyalNavyforfortyyearswhen war broke out, andhad been First Sea Lordsince1912.Hehadbegun

to draw up the Navy’splans for war, but a hugewave of anti-Germanfeeling had forced hisretirement. Just as AlfreddeRothschild’s familyhadfound itself on twodifferent sides of theconflict, so the BritishRoyal family had tocontend with theperception that somemembers might have split

loyalties. The issue cametoaheadinthesummerof1917 when anti-Germansentimentwas so insistentthat King George issued aproclamationchangingthename of the Royal familyfrom Saxe-Coburg andGothatoWindsor.Loyalty was anincreasinglyvexedissuein1917.TheMilitaryServiceAct of January 1916 had

introducedconscriptionforallsinglemenbetweentheagesofnineteenandforty-one. That was adjusted inMay to include marriedmenwithoutchildren.Thefact was that by 1917,although the Armymanaged to reach itstarget of an additional800,000men, the numberoffitsoldiersabletoserveat the front line was

falling. Those who wereserving were able to takeonly half the leave theywere entitled to. Feelingsof resentment towardsthose who were notperceivedtobedoingtheirbitwereincreasing.The Western Frontcontinuedtostackupwiththe bodies of young men.In June 1917 the Britishscoredasignificantsuccess

when they captured theMessines Ridge, nearYpres, using a differenttactic: the deployment ofmines before the artilleryattack. But any forwardmomentumwas lostwhenthere was an eight-weekdelaybefore the launchofthe next attack. After thestrategic success atMessinesandtherelativelylow casualties,

expectations were high.Passchendaele crushedthem all back into themud.Thebattleopenedon31Julyand lasteduntil earlyNovember. It was anotherexchange of pitilessattrition,withheavyshellspoundingintobotharmies’defences and no-man’s-land between them, dayand night. The ground,

whichwasboggyeveninadry summer, wasdestroyed by theexplosions, which leftbehind overlappingcraters, huge pockmarksthatfilledwithwater,mudand bodies. Then it begantorain.ItrainedeverydayapartfromthreeinAugust.Themudwas inescapable.Trenches collapsed,burying men alive; they

drowned in mud up anddown the lines.Therewasno relief anywhere, fromthe noise, the fear, thethreat of a gas attack.Depending on the amountofpoisonreleased,gaswassometimes merely onemore irritant, but othertimes it was a terrifyingchoking fog that causedblindness. In very heavygas attacks, men drowned

in it as it dissolved theirlungs. There were manyways to die in the GreatWar.The little band ofHighclere men who hadjoinedupinthesummerof1916, who had trainedtogether and been out inFrance for six months,dodging bullets, stayinglucky, fought atPasschendaele. Stan

Herrington survivedseveral months but waskilled in September, agednineteen.InOctoberitwasTommy Hill’s turn. Hiswife, Florence, had bornehis absence as best shecould, cherishing everyletter, refusing to believethat her Tommy wouldn’tmake it back. His body,like so many others atPasschendaele, was never

found.When she got thetelegram to say that hewas missing in action,Florence decided to waitfor better news. Perhapsshe believed he had beentaken prisoner. Florencewaited and waited untilfinally, more than twoyears later, after theArmistice, she had toaccept that her husband

was dead. She neverremarried. When hernephewwas born, hewasnamed Tommy, in honourof the uncle he had neverknown.HenryCrawleyhadbeenfighting in Ypres in 1917andwaswoundedandsentto Lady Carnarvon’shospital. He had alreadyfought at Gallipoli andnow he had also survived

the Somme. His parentslived in Bethnal Green inLondon so it was easy forthem to visit their son.Apprehensive after thestressofthepreviousthreeyears, they said goodbyeasheleftagainto joinhisbattalion in France. Thistime the letters stopped,and like so many otherparents they could onlyvisit his named grave in

the war cemetery inFrance. He was killed inMay1918.Bycontrast,Alminawasthrilled when DavidCampbellturneduponherdoorstep at BryanstonSquare.Shehadnotheardfrom him since he leftHighclere. ‘She gaveme aterrific welcome,’ hewrote, and then shewhirled him upstairs to

show him round herwonderful hospital andmeet all the patients. Shewas thrilled that he hadbeenawarded theMilitaryCross and made himpromisetocomeagainthefollowing week so shecould spoil him and takehimouttolunch.

16

ThePromisedEnd

Highclere in 1917 echoedwith ghosts. It wasvirtually shut up; LadyEvelyn was the onlymemberof the family stillspendingmostofher timeat the house. LordCarnarvon was back and

forthbetweenLondonandthe Castle, depending onthestateofhishealthandtheneedtoworkonestatematters. Almina hated toleave Bryanston Squareunattended,butshefrettedabout her daughter andpopped down for the oddweekendtobewithher.Eve missed Porchy and

was lonely and unsure ofherself; she was sixteen

years old with a sense ofwaitingforherlifetostartthat was exacerbated bythe nation’s endlesssuffering. The house feltsad without the bustle ofthe hospital, which Evehadenjoyed,andalthoughshewas naturally inclinedto work hard on herlessons, it was difficult tofeel confident about abrightfuture.Theoldpath

foragirl inherposition–the debutante season thatwould lead to making agood marriage – wassomething of a sideshowcompared to the traumathe country wasexperiencing. Eve lookedforward anxiously to hertrips to town and herparents’ visits, anddevoured the letters fromherbrotherthatconnected

hertoabiggerworld.When her father was at

the Castle they dinedtogether in the StateDining Room, seatedbelow the Van Dyckportrait of Charles I onhorseback. The wonder ofa house like Highclere isthat, although changerages around it, itsphysical fabric stays sorecognisable. There is a

comfort in the way somany things endure. Evemight have been lonelysometimes, but she couldnever feel completely lostwhen shewas at home inthehouseshehadlivedinall her life, a house thatwas a monument to herfamily’spermanence.Eve and her father hadalways been devoted tooneanotherandnowtheir

conversations about estatebusiness, the war and thehospital brought themeven closer together. LordCarnarvon was desperateto get back to Egypt andresumehislife’swork,andEve,whowasasfascinatedbytheeleganceofAncientEgyptianartasher father,lovedtolistentohisplansfor resuming theexcavations. There was

sporadic news fromHoward Carter, who hadreported for duty in Cairoand been assigned to theIntelligenceDepartmentofthe War Office. He wrotetotellLordCarnarvonthathe had been able toundertake some clearingwork in the Valley of theKings, but there could beno real progress until thewarwaswon.

Onetopicthat,givenhisinstinctive reticence, LordCarnarvon probably chosenot to discuss with Evewas his concern to avoidgiving up any of the landat Highclere to thegovernment. Since 1916therehadbeenapolicyofland requisition, withcompensation for owners,sothatmorefoodcouldbeproduced. But Lord

Carnarvon found theofficial agriculturalpolicies absurd. He hadwritten to his sister inDecember 1916, ‘Most ofthe agricultural schemes Iseemootedaretoofoolishforwords.As ifyoucouldsowwheatoncommonsinthat casual way.’ He wasdoing everything he couldto keep enough men atHighclere for the farm to

continue to function, andwas convinced that thiswould be amore efficientway to maximise outputthanhandingover land tobe farmedby strangers onbehalf of centralgovernment. Carnarvonhadaskedhis long-servingagent, James Rutherford,towrite to the authoritiesto request a dispensationfor Blake, the head

gardener, removing hisobligation tovolunteer. ‘Itis farmore important thatthe Hospital shouldcontinue to be suppliedwith fruit and vegetablesthan that Blake should beput to some unsuitableformoflabour.’Aubrey and Mary wereoccasional visitors toHighclere and Eve lookedforward especially eagerly

to their arrival now thatshe was a teenager andoften starved of company.Aubreyhadalwaysbeenafavouriteofbothhisnieceand nephew and theyadored him, but his elderbrother was troubled bysome of the conversationsthat went on around thedining-room table. Politicscould not be kept off theagenda when Aubrey was

aroundandhisviewswerebecoming more and morecontroversial. He wasincreasingly voting withthe Labour Party and thepacifists in the House ofCommons.Marycautionedhim that Lord Northcliffe,the newspaper baron whoownedbothTheTimesandtheDailyMail,hadahabitof destroying thereputations of men like

Aubrey. Look at LordLansdowne,whohadbeenvilified for writing that‘the prolongation of thewar [would] spell ruin forthecivilisedworld,andaninfinite addition to theload of human sufferingwhich already weighsuponit.’But if ever there was a

time for the pacifistposition to be taken

seriously, it was thesecond half of 1917. TheAllies’ prospects wereworsening by the day.Field Marshal Haig wasinsistent that theGermanswere on the brink ofcollapse and that the warof attrition was working,but that simply wasn’tborne out by results. Inreality the Germansbenefitedhugelyfromtwo

developments.Firstly,theymanaged to knock Italyout of the conflict in justtwo months throughsuperb logisticalmanagement, and therebyprop up the crumblingAustro-Hungarian Empirealittlewhilelonger.Then,in December, thedemoralised and defeatedRussians sued for peace.Ukraine, Georgia and the

Baltic states were allturned into a Germanprotectorate and fortyGermandivisionscouldbetransferred from theEastern to the WesternFront. TheCentral Powersbelieved the end was insight. They were to makeone last huge effort tobreakthroughontheWestand defeat the Allies.Morale in England could

nothavebeenlower.Eighthundred thousand Britishsoldiers were killed orinjuredin1917.Theendoftheyearsawinches’ worth of groundgained and then lost, adepressing back and forthacross the bog that hadbeennorthernFrance.TheBritish Army’s attack atthe Battle of Cambraiutilised tanks aswell as a

lighter, more mobileartillery, andwas plannedwith the benefit of aerialreconnaissance. Initialgains couldn’t be held,though, and the Britishwere fought back byGermanstormtroopers.At the same timeas thedeadly dance on theWestern Front wasclaiming more lives, LordPorchester was rejoicing

over the telegram forwhichhehadbeenwaitingalmost a year. The 7thHussarswerebeingsenttofight the Turks.Mesopotamia had claimedthe lives of thousands ofBritish and Indian menafter thehumiliating siegeof Kut al-Amara, but thepressing need to defendthe oil fields hadn’tabated, and since then

therehadbeenachangeoffortunes. Two hundredthousandmendeployedtothe region had succeededin taking Baghdad inMarch 1917. Porchy wasgoing to join a brigade ofreinforcements who wereneeded to respond to therumoured counterattackfromtheOttomanArmy.The war in Arabia was

thelastcampaigninwhich

there could stillconceivably be a role forthe cavalry. Only a fewmonths beforehand, FieldMarshal Haig had finallygiven up on his cherishedurge to deploy themagainst the Germantrenches, when he hadorderedamountedunittowaitforabreakthroughatPasschendaele and thenrush through the lines to

attack. The breakthroughnever came, the horseschurned the ground toeven stickiermud and theplan to use the cavalry inFrance was at lastabandoned. But the desertsands of the Middle Eastwere very different: therewere no heavily defendedtrenches to contend with.Porchy’sregimentjoinedaforce being shipped from

India over to Basra andfrom there theybegan the500-mile march onBaghdad.The troops’ enthusiasm

for finally seeing someaction evaporated almostinstantly in the ferociousheat.Evenas they set off,Porchyandhismenheardthat there had been 360deathsfromheatstroketheprevious day. It was

blisteringly hot by day,freezing by night, anddysentery, malaria andsand-fly fever wererampant.Allied High Commandwere proved right aboutthe usefulness of highlytrained men and horses,though. One band of menrode hard into the desertaway from the Euphratesto cut off the flank of the

Ottoman Army, andPorchy and his menmounted an ambush ontheAlepporoadtopickupthe Turkish forces as theyretreated. It all workedexactlyasplanned,andtheOttoman 50th Divisionwasdefeated.But,even inthe midst of this low-casualty success, a boy’sown adventure comparedto the slaughter in France

and Belgium, there washorror. Porchy cameupona cave in the hills of thedesert in which an entireArab village had takenshelter from the conflict.Theyhadbeen completelycut off by the OttomanArmy and hundreds ofpeople had starved todeath. At first he thoughttherewasnooneleftalive,that the cave was full of

emaciated corpses, butthenhe saw that a fewofthemwerestillclingingonto life. The regiment ofhappy-go-lucky Anglo-Indians, who had beenplaying polo just twomonths before, wereincredulous at the fate ofthesecivilianmen,womenand children. When theydesperately tried to feedthe villagers their rations

of condensed milk, it wasmore than the Arabs’wasted frames could take.The last remainingsurvivors died in thesoldiers’arms.The war turned upsuffering everywhere –there was a never-endingsupply of it – but atBryanston Square therewas an enclave where itcouldatleastbealleviated

with expertise andpatience, and in comfort.Thecontrastbetweenwhatthe men had seen andwhat they experiencedunder Almina’s care wasalmost surreal, like thesickening disconnectionbetween starving villagersandcondensedmilk.SidneyRobertswas sentto Lady Carnarvon’shospital from France with

a shattered right leg. Theorderly who dispatchedhim said he was sendinghim to Lady Carnarvon’splace ‘because they likedgood surgical cases there.’Sidney captured theoddness as well as theluxurious ease of life at‘48’ perfectly when hewrotetothankAlminaandtold her what heparticularly remembered.

There was the exquisitebreakfast inbedservedbyAlmina’s butler, while thefootman politely enquirednotwhetherhewouldliketoreadapaper,butwhichpaper he required first.Like so many of Almina’scorrespondents, Sidneywas obviously muchcheered by the banter ofthe Irish nurses. DrJohnnie had also made a

great impression. He wasundoubtedly an excellentdoctor but apparently henever really got the hangof the X-ray machine. AtSidney’s first examinationheturnedvariousswitcheson and off in ‘anexperimental way’ beforesaying brightly, ‘Well, thewhole place will probablyblow up. You don’t minddo you?’ It’s a good thing

Sidney Roberts wasinclined to laugh, becauseone can’t help thinkingthat some of Almina’spatients might have takenthatquipratherhard.Sidney was out byChristmas 1917 and ableto go back to his parents’placeinWorthingwithhisleg in a splint. Not all ofAlmina’spatientssurvived,though. Sid Baker arrived

at Bryanston Square atabout the same time asSidney Roberts, but allAlmina’s skill and nursingcouldn’t save him. Whenhe died he left a littledaughter and his widow,Ruth,whowrote to thankLady Carnarvon for notmerelysendingabeautifulwreath but actuallyattending his funeral.There is the familiar

movingstruggletoexpresslimitless gratitude andappreciation. ‘I amunableto find words to expressmy thanks for yoursweetnessandkindness.’It was the end of themost terrible year.Battlefields all over theworld were still filling upwith corpses, and citieswere acquiring morewidows like Ruth.

Whoeverofficiallywonthewar,itwasstartingtofeelimpossible to establishwhat victory would looklike.Themoralandmentalexhaustion was too greatto allow any meaningfulassessment.As the Carnarvonsembarked on 1918, theyhaddramasoftheirowntofocus on. In themiddle ofJanuary, the Earl spent a

morningoutshootingwitha friend and was justfinishing lunch at theCastlewhen hewas takenill with agonisingabdominal pain. Alminareceived the telegram atBryanston Square anddroppedeverythingtoracedown to Highclere, fetchherhusbandandbringhimbacktothehospital,wherehe was immediately

operated on forappendicitis. Almina’slongstandingcolleague,SirBerkeley Moynihan, whohad rushed to help, toldLord and Lady Carnarvonafter the operation thatwith half an hour’s delay,the Earl might have died.Lord Carnarvon wrote tohis sister Winifred to tellher what had happenedandattributedhisrecovery

to ‘the skill and devotionofmywife’.The Earl’s lucky escapehad to be set against theloss of Alfred deRothschild just threeweeks later. The oldman,who had never recoveredhis joie de vivre after theoutbreakofwar,hadbeengetting frailer and frailerfor years. He died on 31January after a short

illness.Alminawasalreadyexhausted, and had onlyjust recovered her calmafter her husband’s close-run thing. Now she wasdevastated. Lady Evelyncame to London themoment she heard thenews and found hermother weepinguncontrollably at Alfred’sdeathbed in SeamorePlace.

Alfred was buried withgreat ceremony at theWillesden UnitedSynagogue Cemetery innorth London thefollowing day. Hisextraordinary generosityandboundlessaffectionforhis family had sustainedAlmina in the enviablepositionofbeingbothwelllovedandalso giftedwithevery material thing she

desired. His loss was aterrible blow and was tohave profoundimplications for Almina’sfuturelife.Almina had lost herfather, just barely savedherhusbandandhadasonfightingintheMiddleEasttoworryabout.Oncemoreshe threw herself into herwork; it was the bestpossible distraction. Lord

Carnarvon remained inLondon until March,recovering from hisoperation and frettingabout Porchy. Every timehe received a scribbledmessage from him, herushedroundthecornertoWinifred’shousetoreaditto his sister. He was alsoworried about Aubrey,whose record of votingwithLabourhadmadehim

so unpopular with hisConservative constituencythat he’d left the countryfor Italy and Albania,leavingMary to dealwiththefallout.The news from theContinentwasallbad.TheCentralPowersjudgedthatthe time to secure adecisive victory was now,beforetheUStroopscouldarrive in France in big

enough numbers to makeAllied victory all butinevitable. GeneralLudendorff planned aspring offensive for theWestern Front, and threweverylastresourceintothebattle. Seven hundred andfifty thousand men weremade ready and on 21March, vast quantities ofartillery pounded theBritish positions. The

German Army proceededto advance fortykilometres and the Britishfell back to Amiens,retreating over the fieldsof the Somme that theyhad been inching acrossfor the last three years. Itwas only when thelandscape reasserted itselfand the heavy Germanartillery became boggeddowninthemud,thatthe

offensive slowed. Britishreinforcements were sentin to Amiens in reddouble-decker buses andthe two armies paused toassess.It was the biggestmovementinanydirectionsince 1914 and, withhindsight, the start of theendof thewar,but itwasalso the end of FieldMarshalHaig’sdominance.

He placed himself underthe command of anoutstanding FrenchGeneral, Ferdinand Foch,andon26March,GeneralFoch was appointedSupreme Commander oftheAlliedforces.The Germans were still

advancingandon13AprilHaigtoldhistroopsitwas‘backs against the wall’,urging every last man to

‘fight on to the end’.Everyonewasprayingthatthe US Army underGeneral Pershing woulddeploy in time togive theAllied forces the boostthey so desperatelyneeded. The Germans lostat least 110,000 men atthe Battle of the Lys, andthe Allies even more. Butby the end of April itbecame clear that the

Germans wereoverextended andundersupplied.TheBritish,for all that they had lostthegroundtheyhadspentyears defending, had infact conceded little morethan a muddy swamp. By29April the extraordinaryGerman advance wasagain temporarily halted.The outcome of the warwas felt to hang in the

balance. Both armiesgathered their forces,called up more reserves,and then Ludendorffmoved emphaticallyagainst the French,northeastofParisatAisne,catching them completelyby surprise. The GermanArmy reached the RiverMarne and Paris waswithin sight. KaiserWilhelm was elated – the

Germans thought victorywas near. Their elationwasshort-lived.The Battle of Château-Thierry on 18 July was adayoffightingasferociousas anything that had beenseenearlierinthewar.Butnow,finally,theAmericanExpeditionary Force hadarrived: hundreds ofthousands ofuntraumatised, well-rested

men. It was a turningpoint. American machinegunners fought alongsideFrench colonial troopsfromSenegalandbeat theGermans back. At last theAllies had gained theinitiative.Summer 1918 saw aseriesofstrategicwins,butmen kept dying andBryanstonSquarewas stillfull to the rafters. Major

Oliver Hopkinson of theSeaforth Highlanders waswoundedforthethirdtimein France in 1918, and tohis relief it was seriousenough for him to beevacuated back home. Hehadpleadedtobereturnedto Lady Carnarvon’shospital.‘Ifyouknewwhatadifferenceitmadetomethe last time I went toFrance,knowingthatifhit

again I should have everychance of being underyour special care …’ hewrote to Almina when hewas discharged from thehospitalforthelasttime.Almina became firmfriends with some of thereturningmenand invitedthem to Highclere to taketheir convalescence there.KennethHarbordwaswiththeRoyalFlyingCorpsand

had spent a month atBryanstonSquarein1916.British pilots in the FirstWorldWarwereincrediblyluckytosurvivebeingshotdownbecause,unliketheirGermancounterparts, theywere not issued withparachutes. If they werehittheyhadnooptionbutto try to land their planesafely. Many of themsuffered horrific burns

because the planes caughtfire on theway down butthey couldn’t bail out.Kenneth Harbord survivedthis ghastly Hobson’sChoicenotoncebuttwice.Hehadaskedtobepassedfit after his first crashlanding and recovery, buthe got shot down againand was back in Almina’shospital at the end of1917. He again recovered

and Almina, who wasdeeply impressed by hisbravery, invited him tospend the weekend atHighclere with LordCarnarvon.Almina was naturallythinking of the good itwould do KennethHarbord, but shewas alsoworried about herhusband.Hewashavingadreadful few months and

needed cheering up ingood company. Hischildhood friend PrinceVictor Duleep Singh haddied of a heart attack inJune in Monte Carlo.Victor had been animmoderate eater all hislifeandbytheendhewasclinically obese. LordCarnarvonwasutterlycastlow. He was also furiouswithAubrey,whohadgot

theCarnarvonnamemixedupinalibeltrial.Lord Carnarvon hadonlymet the defendant inthe ‘Billing Trial’ once bychance for ten minutes,but Aubrey, who didn’thave a judgemental bonein his body, had beeninviting him to Pixtonrather indiscriminately.The case revolved arounda delusional American

eccentric and a libellouspoementitled ‘TheCultoftheClitoris’.ConductedbyMr Justice Darling, thetrial degenerated intofarce, albeit one thenewspapersadored.Bythetime the case came tocourtthatsummer,Aubreywasabroadagain,headingup the British AdriaticMission and co-ordinatingspecial intelligence in

Rome. It was left to hisolderbrothertohandlethefallout as the newspapersraked over the stories ofanyone even remotelyconnected to thedefendant. Carnarvon hadto instruct Sir EdwardMarshallHall,QC,Aubreyrefused tocomeback,andCarnarvon tried to ignorethewholematter.KennethHarbordproved

to be extremely congenialcompany and was invitedtoHighclereseveraltimes.The Earl of course sharedHarbord’s passion forflying. He invited anotherhouse guest, alongstanding friend of his,to participate in theirconversationsaboutplanesand aerial reconnaissance.JohnMoore-BrabazonwasthefirstEnglishmantofly,

albeit in a Frenchmachine, and in August1914 he had joined theRoyal Flying Corps. LordCarnarvon’s knowledge ofphotographic techniquewas highly regarded, andhe had discussedreconnaissance withMoore-Brabazonthroughoutthewar.Bythetime the Allies launchedtheir Hundred Days

Offensive, whicheffectively ended theconflict, the Royal FlyingCorps had been combinedwith the Royal Naval AirService to form the RoyalAirForceandwasplayinga crucial role inintelligence.The Germans believed

that the great lossessuffered by the Allies in1917 would preclude the

British and French fromundertaking any majoroffensive in 1918. TheGermans knew that theyhad to strike beforeAmericantroopsarrivedinforce and the generalconsensus was that therewould not be enoughAmerican troops inFranceuntil early 1919. Alliedactivityin1918,therefore,would have to be

restricted to meeting theplanned German advance.The Americans did notwant to amalgamate theirtroops into French andBritish battalions,preferring towaituntil anindependent AmericanArmy could be shipped toFrench soil, whichexasperated the Allies.Events rapidly overtookthe disputes as salients

were pushed forward orheld, and the estimate ofearly 1919 for the arrivalof the American forceturnedout,crucially,tobewrong.August1918 reallywas,at last, the endgame. Bythen, 200,000 Americantroopswerearrivingeverymonth, and the BritishArmy was reinforced bythe return of large

numbers of troops fromtheMiddle East and Italy.The British Navy’sblockade of Germany haddestroyed the Germanpublic’s spirit and theCentral Powers’ resolvefoldedinaseriesofheavydefeats. In the end, afterfour decimating years ofdeath,victorycameinjustthree months of sharp,decisive battles that cost

the Germans two millionmen killed, captured orinjured. Once the Alliedforces had broken theHindenburg Line ofdefence,theGermanArmywas inretreat.ByOctoberthe Allies were claimingvictory and the exhaustedGeneral Ludendorff, whohad been certain that hismenwere on the brink ofcapturing Paris just four

shortmonthsbefore,hadanervous collapse. AcrosswhathadbeentheAustro-Hungarian Empire,countries were declaringindependence; now it wasthe turn of the politiciansto begin the long andpainfulprocessofworkingout the termsonwhich toend a conflict that hadengulfed millions ofpeople.

Kaiser Wilhelmabdicated on 9 Novemberand the guns stopped atthe eleventh hour on theeleventh day of theeleventhmonth,1918.Thewar had stuttered to aclose, with rearguardactions being fought rightup to the very lastmoment. TheGermans satdown to negotiate USPresident Woodrow

Wilson’s proposal forpeace, with General Foch.The Armistice was signedinacarriageofhisprivatetrain, stopped in thecountrysidenorthofParis.The news was passed asfast as possible to thearmies, and hundreds ofthousands of men fromdozens of differentcountries finally dared tohopeitwasreallyallover.

The end hadn’t comesoon enough for everyonein the last little band ofHighclere men to go tofight. Fred Bowsher whoprobably worked in thegardens had joined upwithseveralSheermanandMaberboys in thegloomydays of 1917. Both theMabers made it back toHighclere but one of theSheerman boys, Harry,

was drowned when theHMSLeinster was sunk byaGermansubmarineintheIrish Sea a month and aday before the Armistice.Fred Bowsher was killedon 21 June, aged twenty-one. His friend ArthurFifield,whosebrotherhadbeen killed inMesopotamia back in1916,wasburiedinFrancein the summer of 1918.

The last Fifield boy madeit to Armistice Day andwenthometohismother.

17

FromWartoPeace

Of course, after the initialdisbelief, there waseuphoriaeverywhere,fromthebattlefieldsofFlandersto the servants’ hall atHighclere. David LloydGeorge issued an officialcommuniquéat10.20a.m.

on 11 November,announcing the ceasefire,andbytheendoftheday,Newburywasdeckedwithflags and the localnewspaper reportedfireworks and ‘liveliness’in the streets. Aubreywalked through thecrowds in London, whichhad ‘gone wild withdelight’, according to theDaily Mirror, and noted

their jubilation. It wasn’tuntilafewdaysandweekslater that sheer fatigueovertook people, civiliansand soldiers alike. Acrossthe Middle East, NorthAfrica and all of Europe,millions of men werecrisscrossing countries,trying to get home.Florence, the formerhousemaidfromHighclere,whose husband Tommy’s

bodywasneverfound,hadto face a future withoutthemanshe loved, likesomany otherwomen acrossthe world. Nerves hadbeen stretched almost tobreaking point over fouryears, and now, as thePeace Conference ofVersailles got under way,it was time to ask thequestion: what had it allbeenfor?

On Sunday 17November 1918, a serviceof thanksgiving was heldat the Newbury CornExchange. Lord Carnarvonspoke in his capacity asHighStewardandtoldthecrowd of local dignitariesthat, although itwas veryproper to rejoice, thepeople there that daycouldneverrepaythedebtthey owed to those who

had fought. Almina andEvewereboth at his side,but Porchy of course wasnot.HehadsentwordthathisregimentwastostayinMesopotamiaforatleastacouple of months beforebeginning the long tripback. At the end of thegathering, a patriotic notewas struck by the singingof the new verse of thenationalanthem:‘Godsave

ourvaliantmen’.Almina lost no time in

returning to BryanstonSquare after the service.Thehospitalwouldhavetobedismantled, like all therest of the apparatus ofwar, but for now it wasstill home to some twentyor so men, as well as thebandofnurses.Just asAlminagot back

toLondon,shewentdown

with the Spanish flu, asdid some of her patients.Newsofthisgreatdisasterhad been emerging sincethe summer and now thenumbers affected wereterrifying an alreadytraumatised population.Broken Europe was sweptby an influenza pandemicso deadly that it claimedmanymore lives than therecently finished war. At

least 50 million died allover the world, from theArctic to the PacificIslands. The war had notcausedtheflu,butthefactthat men with weakenedimmune systemshadbeencloselyherdedtogetherforfouryearsprobablyhelpedto incubate it. The sickestflu patients werehospitalised and shippedhome with the wounded,

spreading the diseaseacross the Continent andthen the world. It was anunusual strain in that itafflicted healthy youngadults rather than themoreusual victims, and itwas terrible to nurse, asthesuffererdrownedinhisownmucus.Dr Sneyd, the doctor at

BryanstonSquare,wasoneof those affected; Almina

sent him to Highclere torecover. She had onlycontracted a mild strainherself,soshestayedonatthe hospital and, as soonas she was better,continued to nurse herpatients. There was cruelluck for one young manwhom she couldn’t save:having survived three anda half years at the Front,he died of the flu just

weeksafterArmisticeDay.At the end of the year,Almina was alsopreoccupiedwithresolvingthe matter of herinheritance. Alfred deRothschild had left hervirtually everything. Hegave generously in deathas he had done in life.There were sizeablebequests for friends andfamily and £50,000 for

charity, £25,000 of whichwent to Lord Kitchener’sMemorial Fund for therelief of sufferingamongstmembers of the ArmedForces. The NationalGallery received aspectacularpaintingbySirJoshua Reynolds. Alfred’sbeloved Hal ton HousewenttohisnephewLionel,since he was ‘the onlyRothschild not to have a

great house’, but SeamorePlace was left in itsentirety and with all itscontents toAlmina. Itwasan impeccable andenormous house inMayfair and it wascrowded with beautifulthings and pricelesspaintings, some of whichAlfred asked that Alminaconsider as heirlooms andnotdisposeof.Inaddition,

Almina receiveda tax-freelegacy of £50,000 andLord Carnarvon, Porchyand Lady Evelyn allreceived bequests of£25,000. This was wealthon a staggering scale,given that a gardener atHighclere was paid £24 ayear in 1918, and the topsalary, for the chef, was£150.From now on the

Carnarvon family home inLondon was SeamorePlace;BerkeleySquarewassold. Almina, who all herlife loved few thingsmorethandoingupahouse,setabout a programme ofrenovations. The property,for all its museum-qualityfurnishings,apparentlyleftsomething to be desiredwithregardstothedrains.In December she was

askingher solicitors,FrereandCo, towrite toAlfredde Rothschild’s solicitorsto ask for a substantialcontribution to her funds.Sheexplainedthatshehadbeen obliged to carry outmajor repairs to SeamorePlace and had alsoincurred very heavyliabilities with regard toherhospital.Shethereforeintendedtoselltwoofthe

paintings left to her, tax-freeaslongassheretainedthem, and required theexecutorofAlfred’swilltobear thecostof thedutiespayable.If there was one sin of

which Almina couldcertainlybeguilty,itwasatendency to fecklessnesswith money. She wasunfailingly generouswhengiving it away and

delighted in the spendingof it;shewasalsoentirelycasualaboutthegettingofit. The fact that Alfred’sdeath meant his moneywas now by definitionfinite does not seem tohave occurred to Almina.Shesimplyaskedformore,as she had done all herlife.The executor of Alfred’swill was the distinguished

barrister Sir EdwardMarshallHall,who took astand and refused to bowto Almina’s somewhatimperiousdemand.Alminadid sell her paintings,despiteAlfred’s stipulationthatsheshouldn’t,andshedidhavetopaythetaxonthem herself. It was asmall adjustment to thenewrealityof lifewithoutherbelovedbenefactor.

Adjusting to the newreality was the nation’swork for January 1919.Elsie, the DowagerCountess of Carnarvon,was sixty-three years oldin1919but,withtypicallyunflagging energy,determinedtodoherbittoalleviatetheaftershocksincombatants’ lives. Shebecame vice-chairman oftheVocalTherapySociety,

whichwasinstrumental indevelopingmodern speechtherapy. The aim was torestore normal speech tothousands of ex-soldierswho were struggling tocope with disabilities.Many of them had severeshell shock, as well asamnesiaandpanicattacks;they stammered or simplycouldn’tspeak.Elsieraisedfunds and awareness, but

herbigideawastheuseofmusic and singing to helppatients breathe moreeffectively, relaxandhavefun. She founded King’sServices Choirs, whichwere hugely successful atimprovingpatients’speechso that theycould reclaimtheir social lives and lookfor work. Some mendiscovered a passion forsingingandhadindividual

lessons; some took upSpanish classes. One manwith a stammer recoveredsowellthatElsiewasabletofindaplaceforhimasagardener on an estate notfar from Highclere. At aconcert in Lancashire, amillhandwasaskedaboutbeing wounded. Hereplied, ‘I lost t’leg andt’voice but t’voice is backagain, so t’leg doesn’t

matter!’Almina was winding up

the hospital, but before itwas formallyclosedon15February 1919, she, herteamofmedicsandnursesand the last few residentsreceivedanothervisitfromPrince Arthur, Duke ofConnaught. He had beenso impressed and movedby what he’d seen on hisprevioustourthathecame

to personally thank thestafffortheworktheyhaddone.The hospital’s closurewasreasontobethankful,of course, but it waspoignant as well, to leavetheplace thathadbondedsomanypeoplesoclosely.As Kenneth WithamWignall, one of the lastinmates put it, ‘It wassimplypatheticleaving48.

I am quite sure that if ithad not been for all themagnificent care andskill … I should certainlybe without my oneremaining leg.’ Letterscontinued topour in frompatients and theirrelatives. Lizzie Hooperwrote in an uneven handto thank Lady Carnarvonfor all she had done forhertwoboys.‘Iamutterly

in your debt for all thecare and skill theyreceived.’Almina wrote to thank

all the surgeons withwhom she had workedoverthepreviousfouranda half years. She sentmany of them gifts, silvertea caddies with theirnamesanddatesofserviceengraved, mementoes oftheirtimeatHighclereand

Bryanston Square. HectorMackenziewrotebyreturnto thank her for all hersupport and for theenormous amount ofenergy she had spentinstilling the sense in hercolleagues that they weredoing everything theypossiblycould.‘Ihaveseenyou as an angel, rejoicingwhen your efforts havebeen crowned with

success, hoping againsthopeandfightingforsomedesperate case and nowsorrowing when all youreffortshavebeeninvain.’A great many peopleworked, as Almina did,throughouttheFirstWorldWar, to provide adesperately neededmedical service. Sheknewonly too well that shecould not have done it

without her doctors andnurses. It was of coursepleasant to be recognisedfor these efforts, anddoubtless Alminaappreciated it, but theendless small acts ofkindness: the funeralsattended personally, theexquisite attention todetail that made everypatient feel like a houseguest, the willingness to

get down and dress aman’s gangrenous stumpherself were carried outfor their own sake andwithout expectation ofanythinginreturn.Almina’s generosity and

energy combined, in herhospital work, to producea significant achievement,one that was noticed bythehighestauthorities.SirRobertJones,theInspector

of Military Hospitals,wrote to her on 28January to express hispersonalthanks.

I have always looked uponyouasoneofthediscoveriesofthewar.Youhavedevotedyourself with suchextraordinary vitality tohelping our woundedsoldiers and I am sure thenation should be very

grateful to you for it all. Ishall always have thepleasantest memories ofHighclere, the wonderfultimes the officers had there,and particularly of the self-sacrificingwayinwhichyouministered to their mentalandphysicalwell-being.

Having devoted herself tothe health of others foryears, Almina was in

desperateneedofarest.InFebruary, once the lastpatient had been sent offto a trusted convalescenthome, and the last nursehad found anotherposition,thefamilyleftforEgypt for the first timesince 1915. LordCarnarvon was besidehimself with excitementand desperate to joinHoward Carter to resume

their work. London wasbitterly cold that winter,with snow and icy winds,which gave him an addedincentivetoleave.They crossed toBoulogne, and from therethey caught a train toParis. France was in thegrip of a giant clean-upoperation. At Versailles,the political fallout wasbeing picked over in

painstaking detail bydelegations from everycombatant nation. Acrossnorthern France andBelgium, the task ofburying the dead in warcemeterieswasunderway.The Carnarvons made astop in Paris to visitAubrey, who had rushedtherewhenheheardnewsthat his great friend,Colonel Sir Mark Sykes,

whowaspartoftheBritishdelegation to the peacenegotiations,was dying offlu. Sir Mark, who hadcalled on Almina back inthe opening days of thewar to give her theinformation that Aubreyhadbeenshot,diedon16February,agedthirty-nine.He was the creator of theArab Bureau, whichexisted to ‘harmonise

British political activity intheNearEast’.AubreyandT.E.Lawrencebothservedinthebureauandallthreemen spent weekends atHighclere and Pixtondiscussing the future ofpolitics in theMiddleEastover port and cigars. SirMark had been diligentlypushingthecausesofbothArab nationalism andZionism up the Versailles

agenda when he wasstruck down. Aubrey washorrified that his friendswerestilldying,evenafterthecessationofhostilities.Whenhetoosuccumbedtothe flu, he and his wifeMarydecidedtogotoItalyfor the winter so thatAubreycouldconvalesce.Theyspentthreemonthsat thehouse thatAubrey’sfather, the 4th Earl, had

acquired in 1882 anddubbed ‘Alta Chiara’,Highclere in Italian. Itperched on the cliffsoverlookingtheharbourofPortofino and commandedspectacularviewsover theMediterranean. It musthave been the mostromantic and peacefulplace to calm the spiritandregainstrength.The Carnarvons pushed

on toMarseilles and fromthere sailed via Bizerte inTunisiatoAlexandria.Thewar had been over forbarely four months andtravelwas still verymuchaffected, with potentiallydeadly consequences. TheCarnarvons’ shiphadbeenused to transport sick andwoundedmenandhadnotbeen disinfected properlybefore it was returned to

civilian use. Underpressure from people’sdesire to see things returnto normal, corners wereinevitablycut.Inthiscase,conditions were sounsanitary that severalpassengers died ofinfections they picked uponboard.AlminahadonlyjustrecoveredfromfluandtheEarlwasneveringoodhealth, but they made it

ashore without problems.For the first time in fouryears,LordCarnarvonwasagaininthedryairand,asthey disembarked inAlexandria,heandAlminawere surrounded by afamiliar cacophony ofsounds and confusion.Thingsweredifferentheretoo, though. The end ofthe war had fomented anew vision of nationalism

andindependenceamongsttheEgyptianpeople.They travelled to Cairo

before catching the traindowntoLuxor,wheretheywere met by HowardCarter. Carter andCarnarvon were desperateto resume their work intheValley of theKings. Ithad been five long,frustratingyearssincetheysecured the concession for

excavating in the valleyjustbeforetheoutbreakofthewar.Theywereintwominds about whether itwas, as they wererepeatedlytold,exhausted,but they weren’t going togive up on the long-cherished dream ofdigging there without atleastoneexcavation.Almina and Eve stayedattheWinterPalaceHotel,

which had been virtuallyshut up during the waryearsbutwas resurrectingitself as fast aspossible tomeet the needs of thereturning travellers. LordCarnarvon stayed withCarter out at his house,which was much moreconvenient for the site ofthe dig. ‘Castle Carter’, asit was nicknamed, hadbeen constructed nine

years ago from bricksshipped out from EnglandbyLordCarnarvon. Itwasmodelled on a traditionalEgyptiandesignandhadadome in the centralcourtyardthatkeptitcool,as well as more moderncomforts.The two men werebrimming over withenthusiasm at beingreunited and working

again. They were bothconvinced that thereweremoretreasurestobefoundintheValleyof theKings;thesitetheyhadidentifiedto test their hunchwas infront of the tomb ofThutmose I. Everymorning, as dawn wasbreaking, they set off,astride their donkeys, tooversee progress. Mostdays,AlminaandEvewent

tojointhem.Almina was relieved to

have a project to distractherself with, even if itwasn’therown.Shewasn’tused to relative idlenessand, although it wasrestorative to be in thefamiliar luxury of theWinter Palace, she feltmore ambivalent aboutlife’sreturntooldroutinesthaneitherherhusbandor

her daughter. UnlikeCarnarvon and Eve,Almina had spent the lastfive years working on anexhausting but hugelyrewarding and importanttask. Now that task wasconcluded, and Alminamissedthesenseitbroughtherofdoingsomegoodinthe world. In the back ofher mind she waspondering plans for her

next hospital. Havinglearnedthatshehadagiftfor nursing and hospitaladministration, and giventhat the need for good,dedicated carewas hardlyabout to vanish, shewanted to continue withhermission in some form.Itwouldbeacontinuationof her father’sphilanthropic legacy. Fornow, though, she was

gatheringherstrength,andwas an enthusiasticparticipant on site. As itturned out, Almina’s lifewould be irrevocablyaltered by the events thatovertook the Carnarvonfamily, and it would beanother eight years beforeshecouldrealiseherplans.On 26 February, they

discovered a cache ofthirteen alabaster vessels

at the entrance to thetomb of King Merenptah,the son of Ramesses II.Lady Carnarvon knelt inthe sand tohelpdig themout with her own hands.This was exciting, but itwasn’t the breakthroughdiscovery the men werelonging for. They wouldhave to wait another twoyearsforthat.The unsettled political

situation in Egypt wasgetting worse, and LordCarnarvonbegan toworryabout his wife anddaughter’s safety. On 9March 1919 there was anuprising, led by Egyptiannationalist Saad Zaghloul.He had served as agovernment minister foryears, steering a carefulcourse between extremenationalistsandtheBritish

ruling powers. Buteverything changed withPresident Wilson’s famous‘FourteenPoints’speechinJanuary 1918. During thewar Britain had declaredEgypt a BritishProtectorate, with scantregard for nascentEgyptian nationalism. TheEgyptians, however, wereinspired by PresidentWoodrow Wilson’s

declaration that ‘everypeace-lovingnationwhich,like our own, wishes tolive its own life anddetermine its owninstitutions, [should] beassuredofjustice.’Theendofhostilitiesandthepeaceconference in France gavethemtheirbestshot.Zaghloul began acampaign to send adelegationtonegotiatefor

Egyptian autonomy atVersailles, but hisactivities did not endearhim to the British rulingforces, who promptlyarrestedhimandsenthimintoexile.Thisservedonlytoexacerbatethesituation.There were studentdemonstrations, generalstrikes and rioting. A fewEuropeanswerekilledandseveral hundred Egyptians

diedoverthecourseofthenextfewmonths.Inthemidstofthechaosthat followed Zaghloul’sarrest, Lord Carnarvonresolved to send Alminaand Eve home. Hemanaged to get thempassage on a ship fromPort Said and was veryrelievedwhen he receivedatelegramfromAlminatosay they were on board

andboundforEngland.He stayed on in Cairo.Hewasdeeplyinvolvedinlocal politics and knewmany of the key playersfrom both the Egyptianand British sides. He had,afterall,beenentertainingthematHighclere,oftenatthesamehouseparties,foryears.When General LordAllenby was dispatchedfromLondonon25March

andtoldtorestoreorderinCairo,LordCarnarvonlenthis servicesasamediator.He dined with ministersand Sultan Fuad of Egypt,who upset Carnarvon’sconstitution terribly byserving a lunch of twelvecourses within half anhour.The diplomacy seemed

to ease the situation.Zaghloulwas freed by the

British on 7 April and on11April1919heachievedhis goal when he led adelegationtotheVersaillesPeace Conference,demanding autonomy forEgypt. The day theyarrivedwas,ironically,theday the US issued astatement recognisingBritain’s Protectorate overEgypt. Nobody in Pariscared about Zaghloul’s

cause: extractingreparations fromGermanywas the main event andeverything else wassidelined. That wouldprove fatal for long-termstability in Germany andtheMiddleEastalike.

18

AnotherGlittering

Season

On a beautiful sunny dayinJune1919,Porchyrangthe bell at Seamore Place.He had finally made ithome from Mesopotamia.An astonished Roberts,who had progressed frombeing the groom of thebedchamber at HighcleretothepositionofbutleratSeamorePlace,openedthedoor to him. Roberts hadbeen an ally since Porchy

wasalittleboybeingsenttobedwithouthis dinner,and was delighted to seehim. Porchy askedwhetherhismotherwasinand, collecting himselfsufficiently to shake HisLordship heartily by thehand,Robertstoldhimshewas. Porchy might havebeen forgiven forexpecting a hero’swelcome, but when

Almina sawhim she criedout, ‘Oh darling, what asurprise!’Almina was plainly stillinnursemodebecausesheproceeded to ask himwhether his uniform hadbeenfumigatedandhehadbeen deloused. Delousing,which was supposed totake place on board theships bringing the menback fromwar, was not a

trivial matter, sinceconditionssuchassand-flyinfestation could be veryunpleasant. Nevertheless,Porchy was somewhattaken aback. They hadn’tseen each other for morethan two and a half yearsand a great deal hadhappened in between.Porchy had grownup andAlminahadgrownintoherrole as a respected nurse;

it was no wonder that ittook a moment to adjustbefore there was a properwelcome. Her son hadcome home in one piecewhen, as Almina knewonly too well, so manyyoungmenhadnot.The whole family was

overjoyed to have himback.Therewasamomentof brief anxiety when hedeveloped appendicitis

shortlyafterhisreturn,butAlmina leapt into action,just as she had with herhusband’s case thepreviousyear.Sheensuredthat Sir BerkeleyMoynihanoperatedonherdarling son and thensupervised hisconvalescence herself athomeatSeamorePlace.The summer of 1919saw an uneasy mixture of

thereturntowhatusedtobe normality and a sensethatnothingcouldeverbethe same again. Alminawas looking for newoutlets for her energy butforthemomentwashappynursing Porchy; LordCarnarvon was overjoyedto be able to excavate.Elsie had her new speechtherapy project and Evewas an excited eighteen-

year-old in the middle ofher debutante season, butfor some in the family, asin the country at large,therewas a deep sense ofdespair.Aubrey was a bitter

man. He was utterlydisillusionedbyeverythinghe saw at the peaceconference at Versailles.He felt that England wasbeing‘tiedtothetailofall

this continental hate’.Aubrey dined mostevenings during theVersaillesmeetingswithT.E. Lawrence, who wastrying tomake the Britishgovernment honour thevarious promises they hadmade during the war.Theircolleague,thewriterand expert on MiddleEastern politics, GertrudeBell,wrotethatitwasalla

nightmarish muddle. ‘Youforesee all the horriblethings that are going tohappen and can’t stretchout your hand to preventthem.’The peace treaty was

concluded on 28 June1919intheHallofMirrorsat Versailles. It had takenmonths of wrangling,duringwhich thehopesofmanynationsandaspiring

nations dwindled. TheMiddle East was dividedinto spheres of influenceamong the Allies, withdisastrous fallout thatlingers to this day. TheGermans lost variousterritories,whichprovokedhuge resentment, andabove all they were finedbillions and billions ofgold marks. France wasdetermined to totally

dominate its neighbourand Britain wanted torepayitsmassivewardebt.The scale of thereparations demanded bythe Allies was consideredby many to be excessive,notjustinGermanybutbysuch figures as JohnMaynard Keynes, theTreasury’s mainrepresentative at thenegotiations. It was

reducedin1924andagainin 1929, but by that timeGermany was feelingpersecuted, and Hitler’selection was only fouryearsaway.As Versailles drew to a

close, many of theCarnarvons’ friends fromEgypt came down toHighclereforaweekendofracing.Thesummerseasonofpartieswascrankingup

again and, for the firsttime in years, Highclerereadied itself to receivedozens of guests.Streatfield, who was stillthe house steward,was incharge of seeing thatstandards hadn’t slipped.He had only three moreyearsofserviceleftinhim.He was sixty-three yearsold and was starting totire. But he was as

meticulousaseverandtheteam of footmen didn’tdisappointhim.It was not exactly the

same as it used to be,though. How could it bewhenthepre-warworld,apolitical and sociallandscapethatthe4thEarlwould have recognised,had gone for ever?Millions of men had diedin the service of the old

regimes and the publicresentment and griefwereenflamed by an austeritydrive combined with arecession.Carnarvonnotedin the guestbook entry forthe party, ‘Races’ and‘Strike’.Therewerelotsofthose in1919.Nearlyhalfa million workers in thecottonmillswalkedout inJune, the police were outin August, and in

September itwas the turnof the railway workers.Paywaslowandjobswerescarce: disillusionedveterans went begging inthestreets.Even the Earl of

Carnarvon was concernedabout money, albeit on avastly different scale. Hisincome from agriculturehad been falling sincebeforethewarandhistax

bill in 1919, after LloydGeorge’s legislation,wasasizeable £7,500. He hadsold some of the furniturefromhishouseatBretbyinMay 1918, and now hesold the cream of theBretbylibraryatSotheby’s.He was well aware thattherewasnomoreincomefor Almina and thatbudgetingwas not exactlyherstrongsuit.

Almina, however, felttotally insulated by theenormous legacy she hadbeen left by Alfred deRothschild and saw noreason not to carry onspending. While the Earlfretted about his tenants’ability to pay their rent,Almina planned a ball forEve, whowasmaking herdebut in Society thatsummer. No expense was

to be spared.Hundreds ofguests were invited fordancing until dawn andThe Times reported that itwascrammedwithpeople.Entertaining at SeamorePlace was constant. Thechefwasrequiredtomakesure the foodmatched theopulent surroundings,which, given that thehousewasamonument toAlfred’s love of treasures,

meanthehadhisworkcutout. His must have beenone of the most covetedcook’s jobs in London. Hehadafreehandtoindulgehis imagination and thebudgettobackitup.There could not have

been a more resolutestatement of Almina’sintention to escalate, notto scale back, theCarnarvons’ pre-eminent

position in post-warsociety than her passionfor throwing the biggestand best parties. It wastypifiedbyanoccasionthefollowing year in theSeason of 1920. AlminaandEvehadbeentoaballgivenbySirErnestCassel,one of the wealthiestfinanciers of the era, forhis daughter Edwina.Almina so enjoyed it that

she said to her daughter,‘Let’s give a ball of ourown tomorrow night.’ Evewas horrified andwondered how on earththeycouldmanageit.(Evewas always considerablymore grounded thanAlmina;perhapsshecouldimaginethechef’sreactionin the kitchen at beingasked to prepare SeamoreHouse-worthy party food

with less than 24 hours’notice.) Almina informedEve that she had ‘alreadyinvited everyone here soI’m sure we will have awonderfultime.’It seems Almina hadn’tinformed her husband,though. Not that he likedbig parties, anyway. ThenextdaywasaFridayandCarnarvonleftonthe6.00p.m.traineveryFridayfor

Highclere. Eve could tellheknewsomethingwasinthe air from the way hehovered around. Alminawas desperate to get onwith preparations andasked Roberts repeatedlywhether His Lordship hadyetleft.Eventuallyhedid,but Roberts had to reportto Almina that Carnarvonhad walked past the backstairs just as ten dozen

lobsters were beingbroughtinbythefootmen.The ball was a totalsuccess and,when Alminaarrived at Highclere thefollowingday,Carnarvon’sonly reaction was to askher with a smile whethershe was not very tired. Awise man knows how topickhisbattles.Lord Carnarvon wasexpert at dealingwith the

whims of his morecapricious familymembers. Aubrey wasdiverting himself from hisanguish by spendingmoreand more time in hisbeloved Albania. In thelate summer of 1920 hewas on his way toConstantinople when hediscovered that the PrimeMinister of Bulgaria wason the train. Stamboliski

introduced himself toAubrey,wholaterwrotetohisbrotherthat‘thefellowlooked like a brigandmoving through ablackberrybush.’Thiswasclearly not as damning asit sounds, because he alsorequested that Carnarvonask Stamboliski toHighclere, whichCarnarvon duly did. TheBulgarian premier signed

the guestbook on 17October. Bulgaria hadsided with the CentralPowers in the Great Warand Carnarvon had gotnervous about his guest,despite Aubrey’sassurances that he wastotally pro-British. Hedecided to invite some ofhis Orientalistacquaintances along tokeep the conversation

ticking over; Sir WilliamGarstinandT.E.Lawrencewere also staying. In theend, a good timewashadby all. Carnarvon showedStamboliski the stud andthe farm and discoveredthat, unsurprisingly givenhisguesthadbeenborntopeasant farmers, theycould talk at length aboutlivestock.All the family were in

London for the ArmisticeDay memorial on 11November 1920. It was aday of national mourningand thanksgiving.Hundreds of thousands ofpeople lined the streets topay their respects as theguncarriage,drawnbysixblack horses and bearingthecoffinoftheUnknownBritish Warrior, began itsjourney through London.

King George V unveiledthe Cenotaph and, aftertwo minutes’ silence, thebody of the UnknownWarrior, which had beentransported from anunmarkedgraveinFrance,was carried towards itsfinal resting place. It wasaccompanied by 100recipients of the VictoriaCross and buried withgreat solemnity in the

central nave ofWestminster Abbey.GeorgeV threw a handfulofthesoilfromaFlandersbattlefield into the grave.Families of those menwhose place of burialwasunknown, such asFrederick Fifield andTommy Hill, could derivecomfort from the respectpaid to this one unknowncomrade. The moment

marked a line in thenation’s grieving. Peopleup and down the landremained traumatised, butat least now the countryhadhonoureditsdead.The following April

Aubrey and Mary had ason, Auberon Mark HenryYvo Molyneux, who wasnamed for the cousin andfriend whom Aubrey stillmourned. Aubrey had

always been typicallyeccentric inhisattitude tochildren. He wrote to hisbrother Mervyn on thesubject of Mary’spregnancy, ‘It’s veryprovoking. I have neverlooked on children asanything but a misfortune– like public speaking aduty and a bore – butthereitis’.Butheandthefamily needed some

positivenews.Itwasgoodtohave anewbabywhenfor years life had felt likeone long succession offunerals.TheCarnarvonswent asusual to Egypt in January1921.Theyfounditalmostasunstableasever. Itwasbecoming clear that theBritish would have torelinquish theirProtectorate. They had

exiledSaadZaghloul forasecond time after he hadorganised demonstrationsto protest against SultanFuad’s appointment of arival as Prime Minister.The reaction from thepublicwas,astheprevioustime, toriot.LordAllenbywas leaving Cairo as theCarnarvons arrived,headingbacktoLondontotrytopersuadetheCabinet

to declare Egypt’sindependence.There was a sense ofwearyingfamiliaritytotheexcavations as well.Despite attaining thelonged-for concession inthe Valley of the Kings,Carter and Carnarvon hadstillnot foundanythingofreal note. Money worrieswere now becoming acutefor the Earl, whose

expenditure in Egypt wasenormous.InJuly1921hesold the furniture fromBretby Hall. He hadalready sold land toDulvertonRuralCouncilat£5 an acre for housebuilding.Lord Carnarvon mightsellhis landbuthewouldneversellhisEgyptianart.Hehadbuilt up the finestcollectioninprivatehands

in the world and hadturned the SmokingRoomat Highclere into the‘Antiques’roominordertoexhibit it. The walls werehung with paintings thathadbeeninthefamilyforgenerations. Over thefireplace was the still lifebysixteenth-centuryDutchpainter Jan Weenix thatstillhangstheretoday.Butalong two sides of the

room there were darkwoodencasestheheightofatallman,onwhichwereranged theEarl’s exquisitepieces: a faience chalice,jewellery from QueenTye’s tomb, a bronzemirror from the 12thdynasty which wastherefore about 4,000years old, a beautifulelectrum statue, severalvases, charming pieces

with delicately carvedanimals and a gold statueof the god Amun as thePharaohTuthmosisIII.Howard Carter was at

Highclere for the summerwith other friends fromEgypt such as LeonardWoolley and PercyNewberry. A new guestthatyearwasayoungmancalled BrograveBeauchamp, a very tall

and striking gentlemanwho went on to beConservative MP forWalthamstow East forfourteenyears.HehadmetAubreythroughhisfather,whowas also a politician,and Aubrey had – in histypicallyopen-handedway– invited him down toHighclere.One person wasparticularly glad to make

his acquaintance. Eve hadbeen out in Society forthreeSeasonsnowandhadmet Brograve at variousballs; she adored dancingwith him. Eve wasbeautiful and charmingandofcourseshewasrich,so was never going to beshort of admirers. But shewas no timorous mousedesperate to find ahusband. She had helped

her mother to nursewounded soldiers whenthe hospital was atHighclere and had beengoingforyearstoEgypttoshare her father’s passionfor ancient art. She had abookishmind aswell as alovelydisposition,andshewas perfectly conscious ofher own worth. So wereherparents. Evehadbeentold she should take her

time in choosing ahusband,andshedid.Brogravecaughthereyeat Highclere that summer.Howcouldhenot,whenatmore than six foot tall hetoweredoverher?Hewasthe son of the Liberalpolitician and formerChairman of Lloyd’s ofLondon Sir EdwardBeauchamp, and washandsome, thoughtful and

excellent company. Thetwo young people flirtedgently in the DrawingRoom and Eve found shehad a decided preference,but she resolved to waitand see what the comingmonths would do toBrograve’s interest. Theywere sure to see eachotherinLondonbeforetoolong.That summer, Lord

Carnarvon spent a fewdaysinPariswithhisson.It was a city they bothloved. Porchy’s Armycareerwasprosperingandhe had been in Gibraltarformostoftheyear.Itwasthere that he met a girlcalled Catherine Wendell,anAmericanwithnogreatfinancial backing butconsiderable charm andsweetness. Porchy always

figuredprominentlyonthesocial scene wherever hewas – he was a greatladies’ man; but he wasquite clear that Catherinewas ‘the only one I couldeven begin to see as afuture Lady Porchester.’He, like Eve, was notminded to make suddenmoves, and although hehad his preference, hebidedhistime.

At the end of 1921,Howard Carter washelpingLordCarnarvon toorganise the catalogue foran exhibition mounted bythe Committee of theEgyptian ExplorationSociety, of which the Earlwas a prominentmember.Carnarvon lent the societythe bulk of his collectionfor the show, which washeldattheBurlingtonFine

Arts Club and was aroaring success. Then, inJanuary, the two men setoff on the annual trip.They spent most of thefirst threemonthsof1922outinEgypt.Aubreywasalsobackinone of his favouritestamping grounds –Constantinople; as wasPorchy,whohadjustbeensent on secondment from

his regiment to theBritishEmbassy there. Aubrey’svocal criticism of theBritish position in theMiddle East had earnedhim the suspicion of HisMajesty’sgovernment,soajuniormemberofembassystaffwas to be dispatchedtokeepaneyeonwhathewasupto.Whoeverwasincharge of that missionhadn’tdonehishomework

properly,becausehechoseto send Lord Porchester,Aubrey’snephew.Thetwomenweredelighted toseeeach other, and overdinner on the first night,Porchytoldhisunclewhathewasupto.Theyagreedtocookupafewstoriestokeep Porchy’s superiorsentertained.Porchy was having a

fine time, aswashisway.

He ran into GeneralBaratoff, the WhiteRussian commander towhom he had delivered ashipment of gold on theshore of the Caspian SeawhentheBritishwerestilltrying to prop up theRussian Army back in1917. Porchy was sentbecause he spoke French,thecommonlanguage,andhad been under orders to

ascertain how much fightthe Russians still had inthem.Theanswerwasnota great deal: Baratoff wasgenerally depressed,though plainly relieved toreceive the gold. SincethentheGeneralhadlostalegandbeenforcedtofleethe Bolshevik revolution.Hewaspennilessandevengloomierthanever.Porchyalso bumped into Miss

Catherine Wendell again.Shewasaccompanyinghermother onher travels andthe three of them dinedtogether several times. Itwas enough to make upPorchy’s mind. He askedCatherine to marry himand, being accepted,invited her to meet hisparents when she was inLondonlaterintheyear.When the time came,

Porchy was very nervous.Heknew fullwell thathisfather was worried aboutmoney and would havehopedforhissontomarryanheiress,ashehaddone.Porchy wrote to Evebegging forhersupport inthe matter. His sisterstepped in to playmediator once again. Thefamily assembled inSeamore Place to receive

Catherineandhermother.Despite the Earl’sdisappointment he couldsee that Porchy was inlove and that the girlwasdelightful, so he allowedhimself to be won round.Almina was enthusiastic,as one might expect,unconcerned aboutanything except thatPorchy be happy andCatherine be welcomed

into the family in style.She threw herself intoarrangingthewedding.Alminadecidedtogivealittle dance for Catherineon 14 July, at SeamorePlace: The Times reportedthat 1,000 people wereinvited. The wedding washeldthreedayslater,inStMargaret’s, Westminster,thesamechurchatwhich,twenty-sevenyearsbefore,

Almina Wombwell hadmarried the 5th Earl ofCarnarvon.Catherineworeasimplesatingownandafloor-length veil over herfashionable waved bobcut. She had eightattendantswhoworelargewhite hats dressed withostrichplumes and, in thephoto of her and Porchywith their pageboy, thecouple look relaxed and

happy.Naturally, given that

Almina was the drivingforce,itwasahugeevent.The church was packed,and among the relationsand friends were PrinceGeorge the Duke of Kent,the Marquess of MilfordHaven, the AmericanAmbassador,theDukeandDuchess of Marlborough,Miss Edwina Ashley and

Lord Louis Mountbatten,who were to be marriedthe following day and, ofcourse, Elsie, theredoubtable DowagerCountess of Carnarvon.The guest list must havebeenoverwhelmingforthebride,withahostoftitleddowagers and aristocrats.Her own friends fromAmericawere of necessityamuchsmallercrowd.

Watching Catherinemarry her son, Alminacouldn’t help butremember standing in thesame spot and pledgingher life to the Carnarvoncause. The difference wasconsiderable, though.WhenshemarriedintotheHerbert family she mighthave been a relativeunknown, but at least shehad a fortune backing her

up.Catherinedidnot,andit was up to Almina tochampionher.SheassistedMrs Wendell in finding ahouseinwhichtoholdthewedding reception, just asElsie had helped her andMarie all those years ago.Twenty-one GrosvenorSquare was lent for theoccasion and the couplewere given a tremendoussend-off. Henry and

Catherine Porchester leftto spend a few days’honeymoon at Highclerebefore sailing for India torejoinPorchy’sregiment.Almina revelled inextending her habituallargesse, but it was a badmoment for Porchy to bemarrying without money.TheEarlhadspentmonthssteeling himself to have aconversation he was

dreading, with HowardCarter. He had decided to‘draw stumps’ on hisconcession to excavate intheValleyoftheKings.Hesimply couldn’t afford tocontinue. It is estimatedthat by1922 theEarl hadspent some £50,000 (£10million in today’s money)overthecourseoffourteenyears on excavating inEgypt. It was a serious

outlay, even for aman ofmeans. He had sold threeof the four estates he hadinherited and was one ofthe last private excavatorsleft. Britain had given upits Protectorate anddeclaredEgyptasovereignstate earlier in the year,and the era of Britisharistocratic archaeologistswas fading. Excavationwas increasingly the

province of museums orgovernment bodies. And,to cap it all, although hehad amassed a greatcollection of art and wasrenownedforthediligenceand scientific method ofhis expeditions, he hadfailed to find the greattreasure, the tomb thatheandCarterhadbelievedinforsolong.He told Carter of his

decision at a Highclerehouse party duringNewburyraces.Carterwasdesperate and, havingbeenunable tomoveLordCarnarvon by persuasion,said simply that hewouldfund one last seasonhimself. Carnarvon knewthis would bankrupt hisold friend. He considered.Touched by Carter’swillingness to risk

everything he owned, theEarl agreed to pay for alast season. He was, afterall,agamblingman,anditwas true that thereremained an unexploredarea in the vicinity of thetombofRamessesVI.The twomenmet againinLondoninOctober.LordCarnarvon came straightfromtheMemorialServicefor the war dead at

Newbury, where theBishop of Oxford hadpresided over a ceremonyattendedby8,000people.The mood was sombre

allround.Thiswasthelastchance for Carnarvon andCarter’s joint dream ofglory. They had decidedthat theywould begin theexcavation work earlierthan usual this year. ByJanuarytherewerealways

so many visitors to thetomb of Ramesses VI thatit would be quiteimpossible to investigatewhat lay under theremains of the workmen’shutsinfrontofit.Carter arrived in Luxor

on Friday 27 October. Hebegan work the followingWednesday.OnMonday 6November, less than aweek later, he sent Lord

Carnarvon the cable thatwouldchangetheirlives:

At last have made wonderfuldiscovery in the Valley. Amagnificent tomb with sealsintact. Recovered same foryourarrival.Congratulations.

Agroupphotographofthe5thEarl’sson,

whilehewasLordPorchester,to

CatherineWendellin1922.Thiswas

takenfourmonthsbeforethe5thEarl’s

discoveryoftheTombofTutankhamun

inNovemberofthatyear.

TheEarlofCarnarvonwithhisdaughter

LadyEvelynatDeauvilleRaces,August7,

1922.(photocrediti4.2)

AphotooftheEarlofCarnarvontaken

shortlybeforehistriptoEgyptin1922.

(photocrediti4.3)

AportraitoftheEarlofCarnarvon,

currentlydisplayedinthesaloonat

Highclere.

TheEarlofCarnarvonrelaxinginEgypt,

1923.(photocrediti4.5)

TheEarlofCarnarvonwithLadyAlmina

atAscot,1923.(photocrediti4.6)

TheEarlofCarnarvon,hisdaughter

Evelyn,andHowardCarter,meetingwith

H.E.MudirtJehirBey,inLuxor,shortly

beforetheopeningofthetomb.

GeneralEdmundAllenby,High

CommissionerinEgypt,withhiswife,

LadyAdelaide,andthe5thEarlof

Carnarvon.(photocrediti4.8)

HowardCarterandtheEarlofCarnarvon

attheopeningofKingTutankhamun’s

tomb,1922.

Standingonthestepsleadingtothe

doorwayofTutankhamun’stomb,

December1922.LadyEvelynisstanding

withherfather,alongwithHoward

Carterandhisassistant.Evelyn

accompaniedherfathertoEgyptoften

andwastherewhenthetombwasfirst

opened.(photocrediti4.10)

LordCarnarvonphotographedworking

onthesummitofBeaconHill,shortly

beforehedied.Coincidentally,thiswas

wherehewasburied.(photocrediti4.11)

Thewidowed5thCountessofCarnarvon

keepingvigilonBeaconHillafterthe

funeralofthe5thEarl,onthe30thApril,

1923.Sheremainedthereuntilevening.

The5thEarlofCarnarvon’sfaithfuldog,

Susie.Sheisfamouslysaidtohave

howledanddroppeddowndeadat2am

onthemorningthathermasterdied.

ThePallMallGazette’sfrontpagefrom

the5thApril1923,announcingLord

Carnarvon’sdeath.

The5thEarl’sdeathcertificate.It

mistakenlylistshisdateofbirthasthe

22ndJune1865.Hewasactuallybornon

the26thJune1866.(photocrediti4.15)

AportraitofLadyEvelyntakenshortly

afterherfather’sdeathin1923.(photo

crediti4.16)

TheChristeningofPorchy’sdaughter,at

Highclerecastlein1925.Lefttoright:Sir

BrograveBeauchamp,MrJacWendell,

the6thCountessofCarnarvonandbaby,

the6thEarlofCarnarvon,LadyEvelyn

Beauchamp,MrandMrsPortmanwith

littleLordPorchesterandMrsWendell.

(photocrediti4.17)

Almina’ssonPorchy,the6thEarlof

Carnarvon,withhiswifeanddaughter,in

the1930s.(photocrediti4.18)

LadyEvelynwithhermotherAlmina,at

theExhibitionofFrenchArtattheRoyal

AcademyofArts,1932.(photocredit

i4.19)

19

‘WonderfulThings’

Howard Carter dispatchedthe telegram and thenreturned to the Valley ofthe Kings to refill thestairway down to theentrance to the tomb. Heand Carnarvon had beencolleagues and friends for

fifteen years, and he wasnotabouttopressonwithwhat he was convincedwas the find of a lifetimewithout his patron. Butwhatanenormousamountofrestraintthatmusthavetaken. Carnarvon andCarter’s hunch or, betterput, their informed guess,closelycherishedforyears,had paid off. And nowHoward Carter was going

tohavetowaitthetwoorthree weeks it took forLord Carnarvon to arrive.The tomb had to be keptsafe fromgraverobbers inthe meantime, so Carterwas all discretion, tellingas few people as possibleaboutwhathebelievedhehad found. He hunkereddowntowait.He left Luxor for Cairoon 18 November, only to

discoverwhenhegottherethat Carnarvon’s ship wasdelayed. Carter made useof this enforced pause tobegin to assemble a teamof experts to assist at theopening of the tomb.Arthur Callender was anoted chemist andlongstanding friend. HehadtoaskCartertorepeathimselfwhenheheardthenews.Itsoundedtoogood

to be true: the sealed,unplundered tomb of apharaoh? If Carter wasright, then this was atotally unprecedentedmoment in archaeology.Callender agreed at onceto come along and helpout.Lord Carnarvon paced

the deck of the ship fromMarseilles, willing it totravelfaster.Evewaswith

him but Almina was not.She had gone with herhusband on every trip hehad made to Egypt sincetheir marriage, but nowshe was unwell withterrible pain in her jawandhead.OnDrJohnnie’sadvice she had reluctantlyelected to stayathome incase she should needdental treatment. Shewaved her husband and

daughter off, demandingthattheycallonherifshecouldbeofanyuse.The whole family knew

what was at stake. Theyhad been discussing ‘theundiscovered tomb’ foryears. Carter’s informedguesswasbasedinpartonAmerican EgyptologistHerbert Winlock’ssuggestion that some ofthe interesting fragments

turned up by TheodoreDavis, Carnarvon andCarter’spredecessor in theValleyof theKings,mightbe items used duringTutankhamun’s funeralrites. Davis wasn’tinterestedinsuchminutiaeat the time, but Winlock,who had been a guest atHighclere, was. And sowere Carnarvon andCarter.

OnFriday24November,Lord Carnarvon and LadyEvelyn arrived at Luxor.The mood was of tenseexcitement; everyone wason edge. Eve was veryfondofHowardCarterbutshe also found him a bitdifficult to deal withbecause of his absolutelysingle-minded obsessionand tendency to sarcasm;nowshebracedherselffor

the increase in pressure.Carter and Callender lostno time in clearing therubble away from thestaircase once more. Itwasn’t until the afternoonof Sunday 26 Novemberthat the party of fourfound themselves standingin front of the doorway.LordCarnarvonwrote,‘Wewondered if we shouldfind another staircase,

probably blocked, behindthis wall or whether weshouldgetintoachamber.I asked Mr Carter to takeouta fewstonesandhavealookin.’Cartermadeasmallhole

through which he couldinsert a candle into thespace beyond. He woulddescribe the moment ofdiscovery for thenewspapersoverandover.

‘Presently, as my eyesgrew accustomed to thelight, details of the roomwithin emerged slowlyfrom the mist, strangeanimals, statues, and gold– everywhere the glint ofgold.Forthemoment–aneternity … I was struckdumb with amazement,and when LordCarnarvon … inquiredanxiously, “Can you see

anything?” it was all Icould do to get out thewords, “Yes, wonderfulthings.”’Carter’s three

companions exploded intorelieved delight. His heartpounding, Carter widenedtheholeandmadewayforEve,who tookher turn topeer through into thechamber. ‘On getting alittle more accustomed to

the light, it becameapparent that there werecolossal gilt couches withextraordinaryheads,boxeshere, boxes there …’Carter could containhimself no longer. Hepulled at the wall,scrabbling to enlarge thehole sufficiently to lethimself down to thechamber.He scrambled inandstartedtotread,softly,

reverently, as he held thecandle above his head tocast its light as far aspossibleintothecornersofthe space. The othersfollowedand stood still inamazement at what theysaw by flickeringcandlelight. ‘We knew wehad found somethingabsolutely unique andunprecedented.’Carnarvonwrote that there was a

throne of ‘surpassingbeauty…thedelicacyandgraceindescribable … from aperiod when Egyptian artreached one of itsculminating points.’ Here,finally, after fifteen yearsof searching, were thetreasures of the Pharaohs.And,astheireyesadjustedand their minds raced tocatch up with what they

were seeing, the grouprealised that just assignificant, ifnotmoreso,was what wasn’t there.Therewasnosarcophagus.Which meant that therehad tobemore chambers,perhaps a whole series ofthem.Then they spied

something, ‘between twolife-size statues, a wallcovered in seals and low

down… traces of a breaklarge enough to admit asmall man.’ Perhapsthieves of early millenniahad robbed the innerchamber. Overwhelmed,Carnarvon called a halt.Carter agreed: there wereprocedures that needed tobefollowed.The group clambered

backoutandstoodstaringat one another in the

fading daylight. Everyonewaselated.CarnarvonandCarter clapped each otheron the back in mutualcongratulation. Carterlookedasifhemightburstwith excitement. ArthurCallender had theexpression of a man whocouldn’t believe his luck,andEve,overjoyedforherbeloved father, thoughtwistfully of how much

Almina would long to betherewhentheytoldher.There were drinks onthe terrace of the WinterPalaceHotelandthenLordCarnarvonplacedacall tohiswife,duringwhichhe,likeCarterwithCallender,had to repeat himselfseveral times beforeAlminacouldtakeinwhathewas saying.Who couldsleep after what they had

seen? A small partysecretlyreturnedlaterthatnighttoexploretheother,partly closed room. Itwasnot difficult to knock outthewallthroughwhichtherobbers had gained access3,000yearsearlier.Carter,Lady Evelyn andCarnarvon simply had toenlarge it again and slipthrough.The little party left

unable to speak aboutwhat they had seen. Theycarefully placed some oldrush baskets against thelower part of the falsedoor. Attention fromvisitorswouldbetakenbythe pair of life-size gold-kilted statues. They hadfound it: the burialchamberofTutankhamun.The following morning,

Carter sent a note to

Engelbach, the local ChiefInspectoroftheAntiquitiesDepartment, informinghim of the developments.Engelbach had been toldabout Carter’s initialdiscovery of the steps andwas present whenCallender and Carterbegan to clear the debrisaway again. But he, likealmost everyone else,believedthattheValleyof

the Kings was exhausted,and didn’t considerCarter’s staircase worthhanging around for on aFridayafternoon.Now he sent arepresentative of theDepartment to accompanyCarnarvon’s group as theyreturnedtothetomb.Theyhadarrangedtoconnecttothemainselectricityinthevalley, so this time, when

they stepped into thechamber, they could seeeverything in crisp detail.Carter later wrote in hisbook, The Tomb ofTutankhamun, ‘Threethousand, four thousandyears maybe, have passedandgonesincehumanfeetlast trod the floor onwhich you stand, andyet…theblackenedlamp,the finger-mark upon the

freshlypaintedsurface,thefarewell garland droppedupon the threshold – youfeelitmighthavebeenbutyesterday … Time isannihilated by littleintimate details such asthese…’Carnarvon and Carterstood in wonder,beginning to assess thescale of the glorious taskthat lay ahead of them.

They were going to needan army of expert help toremove, catalogue andpreserve every singleobject, each one at least3,200yearsold.Theywerealsogoingtohavetomakethe tomb secure,immediately.Anyfindthatincluded gold was amagnet for every tombrobber in the area. Thatnightanarmedguardwas

placed at the top of thesteps leading down to thefirst chamber and thefollowing day, Carnarvonhired military policemanRichard Adamson tooversee security.Carnarvon built him apolicehuttoprovidesomeshelter from the blisteringsun, and Adamsonvirtuallytookupresidencethere.

The first viewing forvisitors took place onWednesday 29 November.There was to be a tourwith Howard Carterfollowedbylunch.Itwasalow-key affair. LadyAllenby deputised for herhusband the British HighCommissioner;alsoinvitedwere Monsieur Lacau, theChief Inspector ofAntiquities; the local chief

ofpoliceand,cruciallyforsubsequent events, thecorrespondent of TheTimes,ArthurMerton.There had been a seriesof murders of Britishcitizens since thedeclaration ofindependence and theimposition of martial law,so there were anxietiesover drawing too muchattention to what was

taking place. But evenmore thanthat,nobody inofficialdomhadyetwokenuptotheenormityofwhathad just been found ontheir doorstep. M. Lacauand his assistant missedthe official unveilingentirely: they were toobusy to turn up until thefollowingday.By the time they did,The Times had published

the first article in whatbecame the longest-running news item ever.There has still never beena story that took morecolumn inches thanCarnarvon, Carter andTutankhamun. Merton,like a goodnewspaperman, hadimmediately seen thesignificance of what hewasbeingshown.Instantly

the world’s pressdescended upon Luxor inforce, camping in hotelgardens when the roomsran out. The Timesapproached Almina andasked her to write anexclusive article aboutaccompanying herhusband on his trips toexcavate in Egypt, whichshedulydid.There was a siege

around the site, and itimmediately createdproblemsforthemenwhoweresimplytryingtocarryouttheirpainstakingwork.CarnarvonandCartertookthe decision to reseal thetombwhiletheydealtwiththe publicity andassembled a full team ofexperthelp.Still, alongside the

desire to get on with the

job was a huge urge tocelebrate.Carnarvonthrewa party that was open toeveryone at the WinterPalaceHotel.Telegramsofcongratulation poured infrom all over the world.One of the first was fromKing Fuad, who thankedthe two men warmly fortheirwork.M.Lacau,whohadevidentlyputrighthisprevious indifference,

wrote to commend themfor their disinterestedattitude and scholarlyinvestigations.The scaleof the interestfrom the world’s public,not to mention theunprecedented historicalandculturalsignificanceofthe find, had knocked itsdiscoverers sideways.Carnarvon decided toreturn home with Eve to

plan how they shouldproceed. He left with agrowing sense of uneaseabout the vested interests,tension and rivalries theyhadunleashed.Carnarvon and hisdaughter arrived back inBritain as celebrities. On22 December he visitedBuckingham Palace at theKing’s request to regaleTheir Majesties with the

storyofthediscovery.TheKingandQueen requestedmore and more details,and Carnarvon listed thepriceless objects andexquisite workmanship ondisplay in the firstchamber. He assured theKing that further searcheswould yield the actualtombofthePharaoh.The family spentChristmasatHighclereina

state of mild shock. Theyall wrote to Carter onChristmas Eve.Carnarvon’s letter was along summary of thecurrent issues, to bedispatched with their oldfriend Dr Gardiner, whowas sailing for Egypt inearly January and whomhe had asked to join theteam. Carnarvon toldCarterhehadarrangedfor

them tohave theuse of aFord motor car, whichwould make life easier. Aplum pudding wasenclosedinthepackage.Eve wrote to say howthrilled she was forHoward, and that hethoroughly deserved hissuccess after all the yearsof hard work. ‘Of courseone is pestered morningnoon and night … there

[is] no hour or place thatone [is] not met by areporter.’ She remarkedthat her father was reallytired by all the attention,but that if she needed toperk him up she simplyreferred to the imminentdiscovery of thesarcophagus and thisreference to ‘the Holy ofHolies always acts like amagnum of champagne.’

Eveissweetlysweptawayby the splendour of beingthe first woman to stepinsidetheburialchambers.‘I can never thank yousufficiently for allowingmetoenteritsprecincts,itwas the best moment ofmylife.’Almina sent her love,

blessings andcongratulations for hissuccess after all his long-

suffering perseverance.She had been discussinghow to manage thenewspapers with herhusband and had varioustypically practicalthoughts on the subject.She also told Carter thatshewasstill toounwelltocome out to join them. Itlooked as if she wouldhave tohaveanoperationonherjaw.

After Christmas, Carterresumed work. He hadbeen busy sifting throughthe numerous offers ofhelpanddecidingwhichtoaccept.Mr Lythgoe of theMetropolitan Museum inNew York cabled hiscongratulations and wasdulytakenuponhisoffer.Four more AmericanEgyptologists joined him,includingthedistinguished

Chicago Universityprofessor, James Breasted.Harry Burton joined asofficial photographer andMr Lucas, a chemicalspecialist with theEgyptiangovernment,alsosigned up. The teamheaded to Cairo topurchase supplies ofwadding, rope, packingmaterialsanda steelgate,which was placed at the

entrancetothetomb.Carter was irascible atthe best of times, and heloathed the constantinterruptions from thepress. All he wanted wastogetonwiththecomplexjob in hand. On 27December the team hadbegun to remove the firstobjects and transfer themto the Tomb of Seti II,where further work could

be done before they weretransported to Cairo.Carter was completelyfocused on clearing theantechamber in amethodical way, and itdrovehimmad tohave todeal with the endlessstream of journalists andsupposedVIP visitorswhowere invariably inpossession of a ‘specialpass’. The work was hard

and stressful: space wascramped and hot and theobjects were extremelydelicate. Each onepresented difficulties: howto stop it disintegrating,how to restring beads orstop wood from shrinkingas it was exposed to thedry air. As far as Carterwas concerned, all of thatwas far more importantthan talking to the media

ortotourists.Meanwhile, back inLondon, Carnarvon wasconcentrating on preciselythat. He had been talkingto Pathé-Cinéma aboutfilming,tothedirectorsofthe British Museum andthe Metropolitan in NewYork–andatlengthtoTheTimes. He discovered thatthe newspaper had justpaid £1,000 for fifteen

exclusive cables from theMount Everest Expedition.After a lot of discussionwith Howard Carter (hesent him the summary ofterms in cypher), LordCarnarvon decided to signan agreement giving thepaper sole rights tointerviews and black-and-whitephotographs.Hewastobepaid£5,000, and heretained all rights to any

book, lecture or film.Carnarvon stipulated thatThe Times had to pass onarticles,withoutcharge,totheEgyptianpressandtheNewbury Weekly News butcouldchargeafeetoothernewspapers.It was a money-makingscheme, of course, adesperately needed onegiven the expense of theoperation, but it was also

intended tomakeworkingconditions on site moremanageable. The theorywent that this way theywould only have to dealwithonesetofjournalists.The plan backfiredspectacularly when therestofthepress,furiousatbeing cut out of thebiggest story in history,steppedup theirhoundingand began to spread all

sorts of scurrilous reportsabout Carnarvon andCarter’s plans. They werepainted as arrogantadventurers who intendedto close the Valley of theKingstotourists.Carnarvon summoned

his resolve ashepreparedto return to Egypt. In hismindtheissueofthepresswas settled, whatever theludicrous headlines in the

papers.Hesaidgoodbyeto‘poor Almina’, who, as hewrote to Carter, had been‘doing various things, allofthemverywell’,butwasstill too poorly to travel.He encouraged her to gofor treatment in Paris,where she would be lessvisibletothepress,andtojoin them whenever shecould. Then he took hisleave of his son and

daughter-in-law. He wasrelieved to catch thembeforetheysailedforIndiaagain with Porchy’sregiment. They left himSusie, the little three-legged terrier that hadbelonged to Porchy whenhewasaboybuthadbeenadopted by LordCarnarvonandsleptonhisbed when he was atHighclere.

Susie stayed at theCastle when LordCarnarvon and Eve set offonceagainfromHighclere,even more burdened withhopes and expectationsthanthelasttimetheyhadmade this trip, just weekspreviously. The 5th Earl’sattention was all focusedon his destination, not hispointofdeparture.Hepaidno particular mind to the

last view of the house ashe and his daughter weredriventhroughtheparktothe waiting train thatwould take them toSouthampton.Why shouldhe?Heassumedhewouldbeback soon enough, andwith plenty of new piecesforhis‘Antiques’Room.Infacthewouldneverseehislifelonghomeagain.

20

LightsOut

There was an enthusiasticwelcoming committee tomeet Lord Carnarvon andLady Evelyn as theystepped on to the redcarpet that had been laidon the platform of thelittletrainstationinLuxoron25January1923.Inhisexcitement, the Earl, whowas always absentminded,hadlefthistwofalseteethin the railway carriage;

theywerereturnedtohimonacrimsoncushion.Evewas presented with abouquet and the camerasoftheworld’spressflashedas she, her father andCarter edged their waythroughthecrowds.Carterwent straight to the site;Eve got her father settledcomfortably at theWinterPalace and spoke to thechef about the menus for

various lunches anddinners that she washelping her father with.There was going to be agreat deal of entertainingand Eve was delighted toact asher father’s hostess.The Times had assignedArthurMertontocoverthestory round the clock. Hewrote that it was‘impossible not to beimpressed with the

extremely friendly, evenaffectionateattitudeoftheEgyptians towards LordCarnarvon. He likes themandhelikesEgypt.’The same positivity

could not be said tocharacterise relations withthe rest of the press. TheValley was full of people,journalists and touristsalike, hanging around tocatch a glimpse of the

latest precious artwork asitwasremovedtothefieldlaboratory.When theygotfrustrated, as theyinvariably did, tempersfrayed.Thecriticisminthenewspapers was gettingmore vitriolic and lookedlikely to affect crucialrelationswiththeEgyptianDepartment ofAntiquities.Carnarvon decided toleaveCarter and the team

to their work and go toCairo to settle mattersdiplomatically and makepreparations for thegrandopening of the burialchamber.Thedaychosentobreakthrough was Friday 16February. Theantechambers had beencompletely emptied bythen and only the twoblack and gold-kilted

guardianstatueswere left,staring at each otheracross the sealed entranceto Tutankhamun’s burialchamber. There wereabout twenty peopleassembled at the entranceto the tomb: LordCarnarvon, Lady Evelyn,the Hon. Mervyn Herbert(Carnarvon’s half-brother),the Hon. Richard Bethell,(Carnarvon’s private

secretary,recentlyhiredtoassist him with his nowvast correspondence),Howard Carter, ArthurMace, Arthur Callender,Professor Breasted, HarryBurtonwithhiscamera,DrAlanGardiner,MrLythgoeand Mr Winlock from theMetropolitan Museum, SirWilliam Garstin, SirCharles Cust, equerry toKing George V and M.

Lacau from theDepartment ofAntiquities,Mr Engelbach with threelocal inspectors, andH.E.Abd el Halim PashaSuleman, representingKingFuad’sgovernment.Carter began to remove

the stones from theblocked entrance,workingfromthetopdown.Hehadbuilt a little platform tocover the gap through

which the three of themhad entered the previoustime.Afterhalfanhourhisaudience could see whatappeared to be a sheet ofsolidgoldappearing,justafew feet beyond theentrance.Carterdroppedamattress through toprotect the object andlaboured on, assisted byLacau and Callender, foranother two hours of

infinitely careful work.When it was done theyhad revealed a largegoldenshrine,asbigastheantechamber they werestanding in but some fourfeetlower.Carter, Carnarvon and

Lacau lowered themselvesinto the narrow passage,paying out the electriccable to give themselvessome light. The walls of

thechamberwerebrightlypainted with scenes fromthe Book of the Deadfeaturing larger-than-life-size figures. In one cornerwere propped the sevenoars needed by the deadPharaoh to ferry himselfacross the Underworld.The two golden shrinedoors were covered incartouches andhieroglyphsandwereheld

shut by a bar and ropes.Gently extricating the barand loosening the ropes,they drew back the outerdoors to find anothergolden shrine nestledwithin,sealsintact.Therestofthepartywas

following them. Eve camenext.Carterhadturnedhisattention to a furtherchamber, a treasury,containing a canopic

shrineof creamyalabasterthat he later described asone of the most awe-inspiring works of beautyhe had ever seen. Theburial chamber was nowfilled with people, all ofthem struck dumb by anenormous sense ofprivileged amazement.Theywere in thepresenceof the Holy of Holies,staring at the spectacular

remains of a vanishedworld.Thatwasenoughforone

day. To go any furthermeant handling thesarcophagus itself andCarnarvonandCarterwereboth quite clear that itshouldbetreatedwiththestrictest reverence andultimatelyleftinitsrestingplace in the Valley of theKings. The group

retreated,utterlystaggeredby what they had seen.Thetwomendirectingtheenterprise were exhaustedand stressed already, tornbetween jubilation andworry.From19to25February

the tomb was opened tothe press and public.Carter and Carnarvonhoped in thisway to takethe edge off the press’s

rancour. It didn’t work.The American journalists,furious that US expertisewasbeingusedwhiletheywere being deniedcomplete access to thestory, began to report theentirelyerroneouslinethatCarnarvon wanted toremove Tutankhamun’smummy to England. Hewasangryandhurt.Carterwas at breaking point,

ground down by theendless interruptions. Hisdiary tersely records,‘Visitors to tomb, Given upto visitors’ for eightconsecutivedays.Relations were strained

between the twomen.On21 February, CarnarvonvisitedCastleCarter to tryto smooth things over.They had a heatedargument and Carnarvon

stompedbacktothehotel.Eve was a practisedmediator and she helpedto soothe her father andplacate Carter. She knewhow much the friendshipmeant to both men. Withher encouragement, LordCarnarvonwrotealettertoCarter on the 23rd, tomakepeace,and fivedayslater they took the jointdecision toclose the tomb

and have a week of rest.Carterstayedathomeandspent a few quiet daysseeing no one except oldfriends General Sir Johnand Lady Maxwell.Carnarvon hired adahabiyah (a sailing Nilehouseboat) and cruised toAswan in the company ofhis daughter Eve, CharlesMaceandSirCharlesCust.He was completely

exhausted but the riverbreezes and gentle pacewere very restorative. Theonly irritation was themosquitoes at night.Annoyingly he was bittenon the left cheek. By thetime he arrived back atLuxor he had nicked thebitewhileshavingwithhisfavourite old ivory-handledrazor.Lord Carnarvon arrived

backinLuxoron6March;tempershadcooledandheand Carter were friendsagain. A few days latertheywere discussing theirplansforthenextphaseofthe work in LordCarnarvon’s hotel room.He was still feeling tiredandslightlyunwell,andhecomplained to Carter thathefeltratherpoorly.Doctors advised more

rest, sohe took tohisbedasEvehurriedofftoCairotoseehermaidMarcelle,acasualty of the EgyptianheatwhowasreturningtoEngland, onto the ship toMarseilles. Carter visitedCarnarvon every day andhe seemed to be stronger,so he followed LadyEvelyn to Cairo on 14MarchandsettledintotheContinental Hotel. He still

wasn’t right, though, andhad to leave one socialengagement because hewasfeeling‘veryseedy’.Eve nursed himconstantly and tried tosuppress her risinganxiety. Her father wasnever in the greatest ofhealth, but Egypt usuallymade him better, notworse.ShewrotetoCarterafewdayslatertotellhim

thatPierre Lacauwas laidup with flu but added,‘what is much moreimportant is that the oldman is very, very seedyhimself…alltheglandsinhis neck startedswelling … and he had ahigh temperature.’ Giventhe hounding that theyhadalreadyreceivedatthehands of the press, Evewas anxious to keep her

father’sworseningillnessasecret. She ended herletter, ‘I wish, Dear, youwerehere.’Dr Alan Gardiner wasalso staying and wrote tohiswife, ‘ourgreatsorrowduring the last few dayshas been Carnarvon’sserious illness … Evelynhasbeensplendid,really,amagnificent little girl fullof pluck and common

sense and devoted to herfather. I really amextremelyfondofher.’News reached Carterfrom Mr Lythgoe thatCarnarvonhadgonedownwith blood poisoning andwas gravely ill. By thetimeRichardBethell,LordCarnarvon’s secretary,wrotetohimtosaythathewasmoving into thehotelto be of assistance, Carter

had already received atelegram from Eve askinghim to come toCairo andwasabouttosetoff.Panicwas rising. Evetelegraphed Almina, andGeneral Sir John Maxwellcabled Porchy’scommanding officer inIndia.Hewastogranthimthree months’compassionate leave andexpedite his immediate

passage to Egypt.Porchester left thatafternoon,leavinghiswifeCatherine topackup theirhouse and return toEngland.Almina was at Seamore

Place when she receivedEve’s telegram. She hadbeen ill for weeks now,and seeing virtuallynobody apart from DrJohnnie. She loved to talk

on the telephone, though,and had been in regulartouch with Eve and herhusband,sosheknewthattensions had been gettingthe better of him and thework was on hold untileveryone had had a rest.She was still totallyunprepared for thisescalation in theseriousness of Eve’scommunication.Carnarvon

was grievously ill, twothousandmiles away, andtheir daughterwas clearlyterrified.It was the sort ofsituationAlminapossessedall the right qualities tohandle. Immediately shephoned De Havilland andenquired about charteringa plane and a pilot. Thenshe threw some clothes ina bag, informed Dr

Johnnie that they wereleaving for Egyptimmediately, and set offfor Croydon aerodrome.Theyflewinathree-seaterplane to Paris, took thetrain to Lyons and pickedup a second plane to takethemall thewaytoCairo.A journey that could stilltakeup to threeweeksbyboat and train took themthree days.Almina rushed

to her husband’s bedsideand, pausing long enoughonly to embrace Eve andresume her nurse’s air ofpatient calm, set aboutnursing him back tohealth. She had done itmany times before andwould not countenanceanything less than acomplete recovery. Herbeloved husband was inthehourofhistriumph;he

simplymustgetbetter.On 27MarchThe Times

reported that LordCarnarvonhadrallied.TheKing sent a message ofencouragement. On the28th it informed itsreaders that the Earl ofCarnarvon had relapsed.TherewasapressbulletinfromSeamorePlaceonthe30th: ‘patient slightlybetter; temperature 102;

condition still veryserious.’ By 3 April thepresswerereportingeveryfew hours on LordCarnarvon’s progress. Hisillness was now the story:on the state of his healthdependedthenextchapterin the Tutankhamun sagathathadgrippedtheentireworld.On 1 April AlanGardiner went in to see

Carnarvon. ‘He had aterriblecrisis justbefore6o’clock … I was quitemiserable about it…whyamIsofondofhim…andthat poor little girl, itnearly breaks my heartwith her devotion, thereshesitsdayandnighttiredout and waits. Yesterdayhe was given up forhopeless but Evelyn andLadyCarnarvoninsistedhe

would pull through. Thismorning he insisted onbeingshavedandhasbeenmuchbetter.’By the time LordPorchester arrived,Carnarvon had developedpneumonia and wasdelirious. Almina waslosing hope. Henry stareddownat the feverishman;thefatherhehardlyknew,who he had only lately

beguntorealiselovedhimdearly. The war hadseparatedthematthetimewhen they might havebecomefriends,andnowitseemed it was too late tocatchup.In the early hours ofThursday 5 April,Carnarvon appeared torallybriefly. ‘Ihaveheardthe call, I am preparing.’Hediedshortlyafter.

Almina was kneeling athis side, weeping softly.Gently,sheclosedhiseyes.One of the nurses rushedto fetch Porchester andLadyEvelyn.Astheymadetheir way to their father’srooms, the hotel corridorwasplungedintodarkness.The lights went out allover Cairo. Back atHighclere, LordCarnarvon’s beloved

terrier Susie howled once,wakingthehousekeeperinwhose room she wassleeping,anddied.Eve was inconsolableand, having kissed herfather’shands,herbrotherhelped her out of theroom.HowardCarter,AlanGardiner, Dr Johnnie, theBethells and theMaxwellswere all gathered in thesitting room and, as

Porchy comforted hissister, Dr Johnniewent intohelpAlmina.Nobody sleptmuch thatnight. The followingmorning, the new Earl ofCarnarvon found Carter,eyesdull fromexhaustion,reading the obituaries ofhisdearfriendandpatron.All the Egyptiannewspaperswere edged inblackasamarkofrespect.

There was a second waveof cables from all aroundtheworld,exceptthistimethey were of condolence,notcongratulation.Almina was distraught.

Her children worriedabout her but shereassured them: theyshould get on and leaveEgypt, she would makearrangements to bringLord Carnarvon’s body

home. So Evelyn andPorchester set off for PortSaid, where they metCatherine en route fromIndia andmade theirwayback to England. Porchy,who had always dislikedEgypt,couldn’twaittogetaway. Eve had adored theplace; she never wentback.As Almina arranged forher husband’s body to be

embalmed, the pressunleashed lavishspeculation about theCurseofthePharaohs.Thebiggest story in theworldjust kept growing. TheTimes reported moresoberly, ‘Millions who donot ordinarily take muchthought … of antiquitieshavewatchedtheprogressof [Lord Carnarvon’s]great adventurewithdeep

andgrowing interest.’ Thequestionwas,whatwouldhappennext?HowardCarterremained

inCairowithAlminauntilshe departed with LordCarnarvon’s body forEngland on the P&Osteamship Malova, onSaturday 14 April. Carterreturned to Luxor thefollowingday,verylowinspirit.Therearenoentries

in his diary for the nextweek.Hewasanintenselyprivate person with fewclose friends and was lostwithout the one he hadworked alongside forfifteen years, with whomhe had made the greatestarchaeologicaldiscoveryofalltime.Theyshouldhavebeenplanningtheopeningof Tutankhamun’ssarcophagus together. But

Carnarvonwouldnot,afterall, ever lay eyes on theinnermost secrets of thetomb. It was for HowardCartertocomefacetofacewith Tutankhamun’sextraordinary funeralmask, without the manwho had made thatpossiblebyhisside.Almina and Dr Johnniemade the long, slowvoyage back. Lord

Carnarvon had stipulatedin his will that hewishedto be buried in a simplegraveatthetopofBeaconHill,alongsidetheremainsof the Iron Age fort andlooking out over theHighclere estate. Theywould land at Plymouth,tobemetbyLadyEvelyn,and takeLordCarnarvon’sbody on a special train toHighclere. All the fight

had gone out of Almina;this homecoming was anagonising crawl comparedto their hope-fuelled dashjustweeksago.It was a lovely freshmorning on 30 April twodays after their returnwhen the mournersgathered in the familychapel. The tall doors tothevaulted flintandbrickbuilding stood wide open.

Thegreenandcreamtiledfloor and beautifullycarved pews could beglimpsed through theentrance as black-coatedundertakers carefullycarried the coffin out andloaded it into an Armyfield ambulance. A youngsoldier watched them andthen climbed up toaccompany the casket.Two undertakers climbed

up after him and securedthe coffin for the final legofitsjourney.Thefamilyhadaskedtobe left in peace at thisevent, but it didn’t seemlikely,giventheenormousamount of coverage theyhadreceivedeversincethediscovery ofTutankhamun’stomb.The ambulance pulledaway up the hill, past the

dairy yard, thegreenhouses and tenants’cottages. Passing in frontoftheCastle,itwasjoinedby three long black carsbearing Evelyn, Catherine,Lord Carnarvon’s threebeloved sisters: Winifred,MargaretandVera,andhisbrother Mervyn. LordBurghclere was there butAubrey had been stayingat his villa in Portofino

andwastooilltomakethejourney, plagued by moreproblems with his failingsight. Dr Johnnie wasthere, as was MajorRutherford, the agent.Alminahadsetoffaloneina car fifteen minutesearlier. The processionwounditswaydownLimeAvenue, a magnificentparade of pale-leavedtrees, with rolling

parkland stretching awayon both sides, passedunder the arch atWinchester Lodge andstoppedbythegolfcoursethat Lord Carnarvon hadlaid out twenty yearsearlier along the lowerstretchesofBeaconHill.The new Earl ofCarnarvon climbed downfromtheambulance;MajorRutherfordandDrJohnnie

got down from the cars.They were joined by agroup of loyal servantsalreadywaitingatthefootof the hill including MrStreatfield, Mr Fearnside,Mr Blake, Mr Storie andMr Maber. AccompaniedbytherectorsofHighclereand Burghclere, the menbegan the climb to thegrave,whichhadbeendugand consecrated the

previous day. It was asteep scramble betweenancient juniper and thornbushes.Theambulanceandcars

continued to the edge ofthe golf course where theslope was gentlest andthey could just aboutstruggleuptheshoulderofthehill.Thecarsstoodoutagainsttheskylineastheyarrived at the windswept

summit, 900 feet abovesea level, a grey lookoutover the lush woodedlandscape below. Theambulance followedbehind, attached to atractorforthelastfewfeetofitsjourney.Almina stood, all inblack, at the graveside,and greeted the mournersas they arrived. Theypaused to survey the

spectacular view. Thewhole of the late Earl’sadoredHighclerewas laidout before them, from thestudtothefarm,thelakesto the drives and woods.Nestled at the heart of itall was the VictorianCastle, the parklandaround it dotted withfollies built by hisforebears.Itprovidedsucha contrast to the dust and

deserts of Egypt. The 5thEarlhadchosenamajestic,isolated burial site, awe-inspiring in a verydifferentwaytothatofthebarrensandmountainsandjagged cliffs of theEgyptian PharaohTutankhamun.Eight men from theestateborethecoffinfromthe ambulance and laid iton the wooden bearers

over thegrave.Thecaskethad been made from anoak tree in the park andwas draped in the lateEarl’s purple, ermine-trimmed coronation robe;his coronet lay on top. At11.00 a.m., Rev. MrJephson andRev.MrBestled the simple burialservice that LordCarnarvon had requested.Onceitwasconcluded,the

robe and coronet werehanded to GeorgeFearnside, the late Earl’sfaithful valet. The plaqueonthecoffinwasinscribed‘George Edward StanhopeMolyneux Herbert, 5thEarlofCarnarvon,born26June 1866, died 5 April1923’.As the mourners peeled

away, clutchinghandkerchiefs to their

eyes, they left Alminakneeling by her husband’sgrave.Abi-planehiredbythe Daily Express buzzedoverhead; from within aphotographer snappedshots of the widow thatappeared the followingday. Then, as now, thepress could not resistpursuingeverystory to itslimit.The rumours continued

to swirl around the Earl’sdeath. Itwassaid that thegroundonBeaconHillwasso difficult to dig that thecoffin had to be laidvertically, and then thathis faithful terrier wasburiedalongsidehim.Overtheyears therumoursandthe fascination with the‘Curse of the Pharaohs’grew to support wildtheories. Much was made

of some coincidences thatlinked the Earl toTutankhamun: LordCarnarvon had sufferedfrom a troublesome kneeand CT scans suggest oneof Tutankhamun’s wasfractured.Amosquitobiteprobably contributed tothe death of each man:when Lord Carnarvonnickedthebiteonhisfaceit became infected,

eventually killing him asthe consequent bloodpoisoning overcame him.Experts later discoveredthat Tutankhamun hadprobably contractedmalaria, which istransmittedbymosquitoes.Even the shape of LordCarnarvon’s head provedofinteresttothetheorists.He often joked that henever lost his hats to

anyone because theywould only fit him: hishead was slightly domed.Later on, experts wouldspendmuchtimeassessingthe shape ofTutankhamun’s head,because there seemed tobe a congenital domedshapetohisskull.Theideathathehadbeenstruckonthe head has now beendismissed – the

indentation marks wereprobably due tocarelessness in carryingout the mummificationprocedure rather than anyskulduggery.But for the 5th Earl’s

family, the significance ofhis death was muchmorevisceral,thoughitwasnotexactly simple. Aubreywrote of his brother’sdeath, ‘One never knows

howmuchone cares for apersonuntil it is too late.’The two men had alwaysbeenclose,butnonethelessthis truism hauntedAubrey. Evelynwas bereftwithoutheradoredfather;Almina likewise wasdevastated.Andthentherewas Porchy, who hadperhaps the heaviestburden.Hehadneverbeenclosetohisfatherandnow

hehadtosucceedhim.Ashe walked down the hilland surveyed the estatethat was now his touphold, he contemplatedthe great change thatwascomingtohislife.Almina felt it too, butfor now she concentratedon ensuring that herhusband was given thesend-off appropriate to aman whose discovery of

the Pharaoh’s tomb hadturnedhimintoanationalhero.He had received theintimate funeral hewanted, but now it wastime to mark the passingof a celebrity. Alminaarranged a memorialservice at Highclerechurchforpersonalfriendsand estate employees andtenantry twodays later.Afurtherservicewasheldby

theMayorandCorporationof Newbury at StNicholas’s Church. Thenshe travelled back toLondon and held a largermemorial service, open toall, at St Margaret’s,Westminster, where herson had married the yearbefore and she hadmarried the Earl in 1895.The service was attendedby hundreds of people,

including Elsie, LordCarnarvon’s loyalstepmother, and MrBrograveBeauchamp,whohad become a friend ofLady Evelyn’s and wantedtolendhissupport.On the same day a

further service ofcommemoration was heldat All Saints’ Cathedral inCairo.TheEgyptianpapershad reported every detail

oftheEarl’sillnessandhisfuneral on Beacon Hill.Now there were manyfriendsandcolleagueswhowanted to pay theirrespectstothebig-heartedEnglish gentleman wholoved Egypt and whosediscovery brought thecountry incalculablerecognition and prestige.Abbas Hilmy el-Masri, adistinguished Egyptian

poet, paid a beautifullyworded tribute to LordCarnarvon, saying he hadcontributed to Egypt’sglory in a manner which‘Sahban the greatestArabic orator, could nothaveequalled.’LordCarnarvonwasjustfifty-seven when he died,but the old way of doingthings,intheValleyoftheKings and at Highclere,

died with him. From nowon the Egyptiangovernmentwouldlayfirstclaim to the Pharaoh’slegacy and, back atHighclere, the family wasdealing with the firstsuccession to the title andestate of the twentiethcentury. The modernworld,withitsdismantlingof privilege for some andextension of freedom for

others, had overtakeneveryone.

21

Inheritance

Everything changed forAlminawhenherhusbanddied inMay1923.Allherlife she had beensupported by men whohad loved and spoilt her.Firstly through herbeloved father, Alfred deRothschild, and then herhusband,shehadeffortlessaccess to beautiful housesand distinguished people,the finest lifestyle that

Imperial Britain had tooffer. She could throwparties, create hospitals,shower everyone aroundher with presents, and begifted a sense ofcommunity, and herexalted position within it,inreturn.During thewar she had

used her position and herpersonal attributes andgifts at Highclere and in

Bryanston Square in anextraordinarily positiveway.Now shewas on herown, widowed at forty-seven. On some days shefelt exhausted and quiteoverwhelmed by grief andloneliness. For the firsttime in her life, she wasunsure of herself. Andthere was a great deal tothinkaboutandtoresolve.Almina started with a

few crucial details. Whatwasshegoingtobecallednow that she was nolonger the Countess ofCarnarvon? There wasalready a DowagerCountess,theindefatigableElsie, who – though nowin her sixties – wasdefinitely not slowingdown. She livedmostly ather house in London sothat she could be busy

with her work for theVocal TherapyAssociationand numerous othersocieties and charities.With thatoptionclosed toher, Almina announced inThe Times that she wouldlike to be known asAlmina, Countess ofCarnarvon.Then there was the

matter of moving out ofHighclere. Tradition

dictated that when a newincumbent succeeded, theformer holders of the titleand inhabitants of theestate retired gracefullyfrom the scene. Naturallytheoldergenerationswerenotexactlyputouton thestreet and, in any case,AlminahadherownhouseatSeamorePlace,butevenso, she was facing thedefinitive moment of

displacement. HighclerewasnowthenewEarlandCountess of Carnarvon’shome,nothers.Porchy was utterly

devoted to the welfare ofHighclere,buthewasalsojust twenty-four years oldand had never lived therein his adult life. He hadhad no opportunity toobserve how it functionedin detail, and his wife,

who had grown up in averydifferentenvironmentintheStates,wasgoingtohave to learn alongsidehim.In addition to all the

adjustmentsathome,therewas also the internationaldimensiontoconsider.Theman towhomAlminahadbeen devoted had died atthe pinnacle of his effortsand fame. There was an

enormous unfinished taskcurrently stalled in Egyptthat needed her input toresume, and itsrepercussions in terms ofnegotiations with theEgyptian State, variousmuseums and the mediahadbarelybegun.Almina had some

significant problems. The5th Earl had diedwithoutmentioning the Valley of

theKingsconcessioninhiswill. Almina knew shewanted to carry on thework in Tutankhamun’stomb in her husband’smemory.Asfarasshewasconcerned, that meantextendingfinancialhelptoHoward Carter so that hecould press on with theproject. She told Carterthatshewouldcontinuetofund the excavation and

thatheshouldmakeplansfor the forthcomingseason. On 12 July shealso signed an agreementwith Monsieur Lacau ofthe Department ofAntiquities that grantedher the right to spend afurther year clearing thetomb,fromNovember.Therest of the Valley of theKings no longer formedpartoftheconcession.

Howard Carter was inEngland for most of thesummer andmade severalvisits to Highclere, wherehe helped Almina to packthe Earl’s pricelesscollection of antiquitiessafely. It was utterlyunique, with many itemsworth more than £20,000each. Lord Carnarvon hadmade various bequests tothe British Museum and

the Metropolitan Museumof New York, but bothCarter and Almina hopedthat,ifthecollectionwereto be absorbed into amuseum, the bulk of itwould remain a singleunit.Carter was of course

hugely relieved that hisworkwasnot in jeopardy,and very grateful toAlmina, but hemissed his

old friend’s company andcollaboration terribly. Hewas incapable of idlenessand he spent most of histimepreparingabook.TheTomb of Tutankhamun waspublished later that year.Carter dedicated it to his‘beloved friend andcolleague Lord Carnarvon,whodiedinthehourofhistriumph. But for hisuntiring generosity and

constant encouragementour labours would neverhave been crowned withsuccess. His judgement inart has rarely beenequalled. His efforts,whichhavedone somuchto extend our knowledgeofEgyptology,willforeverbe honoured in historyand, by me, his memorywillalwaysbecherished.’Poor Carter was

permanently downcastafter Lord Carnarvon’sdeath. His dedicationnever wavered and heeventually completed histask,butitwasastruggle.He and Almina ended upin a dispute with theDepartment of Antiquitiesthat ran until the end ofthe following year. Itbegan when Carterresumed work in the

November of 1923. Hecouldn’t cope with theconstant interruptions andeventuallyclosedthetombcompletely. The Egyptiangovernment promptlybannedhimfromboththesiteandhislaboratory.Foranationexploringitsnew-found independence, itwas an ideal opportunityto try to bring theexcavation back under an

Egyptianaegis.Exhaustingwrangles with Egyptianofficialdom, legalarguments over rights andobligations and muchpetty squabbling causedCarter to sink further intodepression.Theoutcomeofthelegal

caseintheEgyptiancourtswas disappointing forAlmina and Carter.Mistakesweremade,allof

which would probablyhavebeenavoided if LordCarnarvonwerestillalive.Shedid,however, succeedinpersuadingtheEgyptianadministration to allowCarter to complete theexcavation and recordingof the tomb. For a manwhohadonlyeverwantedto be left alone to do hiswork,thatwasenough.Meanwhile, there was

more paperwork tocontendwithathome.The5thEarlhadleftHighclereentailedtohissonandhisheirs, but almosteverything else, fromhorses to other houses,was left to Almina. Therewas a knotty tax situationthatwasabsorbingalotoftime and looked set toabsorb a great deal ofmoney as well. This was

the scenario thatCarnarvon had beenquietlydreading foryears,ever since Lloyd George’ssuper tax became law in1910 and his annual taxbill started to climb fromsomethingnegligibleto,by1919, more than 60 percent of his income. Thenationnaturallyneededtorebuilditselfafterthewar,pay for pensions for the

war wounded and thewidows, and build thethousandsofhomes‘fitforheroes’calledforbyLloydGeorge, but it was a verysudden change in theamountofmoney that theold class of landownershadtofind.Lord Carnarvon was

permanently worriedabout the overdraft atLloyd’s and how to plan

for the future. The Earl,like so many of thearistocracy, was muchricher in assets than cash,and spent money on alifestyle more as a matterof custom than on thebasis of carefullycalculated net income. Hehad written to Rutherfordonly months before hedied to ask him to ensureallexpensesweretrimmed

as much as possible, butthatprovedtobetoolittletoo late: now Porchy, hisheir, and Almina, hiswidow,werefacingaverysubstantial death-dutiesbill.The issue of deathduties, payable when alarge estate passed fromonegenerationtoanother,was the other taxnightmare that haunted

the landed classes,especiallyafter1920whenthey were massivelyincreased. Cash had to beraised fast to pay the taxowed on these enormousassets, and often thatmeant that the house hadto be sold, or at leastemptied of contents. Thesituation with Highclerewas alleviated, as always,by the Rothschild money.

Alminawasstoical–asfaras she was concerned, itwas simply a question ofdeciding which paintingsto part with, but the billwascertaintobehugeandthe whole processcomplicated. Itmeant thatnone of the bequests toGeorge Fearnside, AlbertStreatfield and otherlongstanding friends andstaff could be carried out

until the matter wasresolved.Inthemeantime,Almina wanted to staybusy. It had always beenher tactic when underpressure, and now sheswirledouttodinnerfromSeamore Place, visitedPorchy and Catherine atHighclere, was lookedafter by friends and wentto Paris to shop. She alsobegan to spendmore time

with Lieutenant ColonelIanDennistoun,whomshehad met through his ex-wife,whowas a friend ofhers.Almina met Dorothy

Dennistoun when theirmutual friend, General SirJohnCowans,wasdyingin1921; the womenimmediately became veryclose and Dorothy cameconstantlytoHighclere.Sir

John was the brilliantquartermaster who hadplayedacrucialroleintheGreat War, but hisreputation wasovershadowed byrevelations that he hadhad a number of affairs.One of them was withDorothy, who had beenseparated from herhusband for some time.After the Dennistouns

divorced, Ian was oftenalone. He used awheelchair, as he hadbrokenhishipverybadly,andhehadterriblemoneyworries too, but he waskind,charmingandagoodfriend to Almina after herhusband’s death. Alminahadnever inher lifebeenalone, and now she foundherself drawn to Ian. Shelooked after him and they

began to spend more andmoretimetogether.Therewas a great pieceof good news for theCarnarvon family in themidst of all theirdifficulties: Eve wasgetting married. She andMr Beauchamp had beenmeeting for severalSeasons now, and Eve’sfondness and respect forhim had been growing

steadily. He was a lot offun and they loved todance together. When herfather died, Eve wascompletely bereft.Brograve offered her hissupport and that summerhe became a constantvisitortoHighclere.He had spent the

previous year attemptingto follow in his father’sfootsteps as an MP, with

no success. He was theNational Liberals’candidate in Lowestoftafter his father resignedthe seat, but lost heavily.That general election wasadrubbingforthedividedLiberalParty,butBrogravefought hard, despite thefactthathisheartlaymorewith a career in business.He decided not to followhis own inclinations,

though, chiefly to pleasehis mother, LadyBeauchamp. Brograve wasalways very protective ofboth his parents after hisolder brother Edward waskilledinFrancein1914.He was by nature

cheerful and relaxed, andgot on very well withAlmina as well as Porchyand Catherine. He playedgolfbadly,bridgewelland

enjoyed racing onlybecause Eve loved it somuch. Aside from all hispersonal qualities, sheappreciated the fact thather father had liked him.They shared a passion forcars and had been knownto go out for a spintogether in LordCarnarvon’s Bugatti.Brograve had beenwonderful at cheeringEve

and making her laughagain. If ever she wasdownsheused toaskhimto sing ‘God Save theKing’. He was completelyunmusical and it was soflat that everyone wouldfall about laughing. IntruthhewastheonlymanEve had ever seriouslycontemplated marrying,and the wedding was setfor October, much to

everyone’sdelight.The other joyousannouncement thatsummer was thatCatherine, theCountessofCarnarvon, was pregnantwith her first child. Thebaby was due just afterChristmas. Highclerewould be a home tochildren again, and therewas a sense of renewal intheair,despitethefamily’s

sadness.The relief at the goodnews was short lived.Aubrey had been feelingvery low in spirit due tohis worsening health formost of the spring andhadn’t been able to facebattlingbackfromItalyforhis brother’s memorialserviceearlier in theyear.But by summer he wasfeelingabitbetterandhe

and Mary returned toEngland and went to stayatHighclereinJuly.Itwastobehislastvisit.HewentontoPixtonandconsultedvarious doctors. He hadalwaysbeen slimbutnowhe was looking gaunt; hewas nearly totally blindand was running out ofenergy to battle hislifelong health problemsand cope with the loss of

hissight.One of the doctors,clearlya totalquack,gavehimanextraordinarypieceof advice: that having allhis teeth removed wouldrestore his sight. PoorAubrey must have beendesperatebecausehewentahead and had it done. Itturned out that he had aduodenal ulcer and thepoison spread throughout

his weakened body,developing intosepticaemia, as hadhappened to his brother.Elsie rushed to her son’sbedsideand sheandMaryworked in shifts to bringhistemperaturedown,butin an age before thediscovery of penicillin,eventheirnursingcouldn’tsave him. His fine mindbecameincreasinglylostin

deliriumandhediedon26September.Aubrey was just forty-

threeyearsold;heleftfouryoung children. Hisobituaries paid tribute tohisirrepressiblespirit,andto the amount of life hehadmanaged topack intosucha short span.Hewasa great linguist andtraveller, he fought andnegotiated in the Great

War, was a maverick MP,championedsmallnations,especially Albania, wrotepoetry and gathereddevoted friends from allover the world, thanks tohis remarkable charm.Hiswife, mother, youngerbrother Mervyn and half-sisters,Winifred,Margaretand Vera, buried him atBrushford Church onExmoor. The memorial

service in Piccadillyoverflowedwithfriends.His mother, Elsie, hadnow buried both herhusband and her oldestchild, but she carried on,brave and stoical,throughoutthe1920s.Shehad lived her life withdignity and purpose andencouraged everyonearoundher todo likewise.Afterherbelovedsondied,

she established hospitals,schools and anti-malariaclinics in Albania, as wellas a village for refugeescalled Herbert, after herson.There had been two

deaths in one year andnow everyone wanted tofocus on Eve’s wedding.Mary, Aubrey’s widow,and Almina combinedtheir forces to organise it.

Mary’s help wasinvaluable, as Alminawasalso in the process ofbuying a new house. Sheand Ian were planning tomarry and move toScotland.On 8 October 1923,Lady Evelyn Herbertmarried Mr BrograveBeauchamp in StMargaret’s, Westminster.She was followed down

the aisle by ten littlebridesmaids and givenaway by her brother, theEarlofCarnarvon.Thereisa beautiful photo of thecouple leaving thechurch,which almost overflowswith happy energy.Brograve, almost a foottaller than Eve, smilesstraight at the camera,supremelypleasedwithhisgood fortune in marrying

thewomanheloves.Eveiswearing a highlyembellished drop-waisteddress and a fashionablefull-lengthlaceveilthrownback over her hair, and islaughing,bendingtospeaktoawell-wisher.Shelooksuncannily like a youngerAlmina.Theendof1923broughta small announcement inTheTimes: themarriageof

Almina, Lady CarnarvonandLieutenantColonelIanDennistoun had takenplaceataregisterofficeinLondon.EveandBrogravewere the only peoplepresent. Almina and hernew husband spentChristmas alone at thehousetheyhadjustboughtinScotland,whileEveandBrograve travelled toHighclere to spend the

holiday with Catherineand Porchy. Dr Johnniewas there, too. There wasan atmosphere of excitedanticipation about thebaby’sbirth,buttherewasto be a departure as wellas a new arrival. It wasStreatfield’s last Christmasservingthefamily.Hehaddecided to retire andGeorgeFearnsidewouldbesteppinguptohisplaceas

house steward. Streatfieldhad nearly forty years ofservice and, as he hadalways known he might,he had outlasted Almina,whose arrival he hadwitnessed back in 1895.Countesses come andCountesses go, but a goodhouse steward stays forlife.ThenewLordCarnarvonhadasmallerstaff thanat

any time in the house’shistory. Major Rutherfordhadbeensucceededbyoneof his sons, but he hadinsisted on the cuts inexpenditure that the 5thEarl had requested justbefore his death. Theywere relatively straitenedtimes. But even so, anddespite the shudders thatwent through the socialsystem in thewake of the

war, Highclere was still amutually dependentcommunity of peoplewholivedandworkedtogether,mostly in harmony. Somecommentators hadpredicted after the warthatitwastheendforthegreat English countryhouse.Infact, thatprovednot to be so. Despite theeconomic and politicalupheavals of the Twenties

and Thirties, Highclerecontinuedtobethesettingfor glamorous houseparties. Standards weremaintained, and indeed,EvelynWaughused tosaythat something was ‘veryHighclere’ to mean‘superbly carriedout’.Thenovelistwasanoccasionalguest: he firstmarried the5th Earl’s niece, Evelyn,Winifred’s daughter, and

secondly Laura, againCarnarvon’s niece, butAubreyHerbert’sdaughter.By 1939 the 6th Earlemployed less people atHighclere than his fatherbut the Castle stillfunctioned in much thesame way (twenty-threeinside servants as well asall the estate workers). Itwas the Second WorldWar, not the First, that

altered British societyirrevocably. But for now,Highclere continuedmuchasiteverhad.Almina became a

grandmother on 17January 1924. Catherinegave birth to a healthybabyboy, thenextheir tothe title and the estate,who was named HenryGeorgeReginaldMolyneuxHerbert.Laidinthecradle

that Almina had used forboth his father and hisaunt, the new LordPorchesterbeganhislifeatHighclere adored by hisparentsandall thefamily.Eve and Brograve weredown nearly everyweekend and Eve andCatherine became veryclose. New friends beganto fill the drawing roomsand stay in the bedrooms.

Instead of the old waltzesand polkas, jazz and theCharleston wafted outthroughtheopenwindowsonasummer’sevening.ThenewLordPorchesterwas christened in April1924.Hewas takendownto Highclere Church in asmart pony phaeton thathis late grandfather hadused to drive around thepark. Local people from

Highclere Newtown andeven Newbury hadcongregated to cheer onthe christening party andfill the church.Thebonnybabywouldgrowupmuchloved and come to adorehisgrandmotherAlminaasshegrewolder.A year later Eve gavebirth to a daughter,Patricia Evelyn, a cousinnearlythesameageforthe

second child of Lord andLady Carnarvon, who wasnamedPenelope.Almina delighted in herexpanding brood ofgrandchildren, and thegaiety that once againfilled her belovedHighclere. When shevisited shewasproudandnostalgicinequalmeasure,but her life lay elsewherenow. Her husband was

often unwell and Alminadevoted herself to nursinghim. It was the remindershe needed that nursingwas her great purpose inlife.Therehadbeensomany

things to divert herattention since the end ofthe Great War: her latehusband’s worseninghealth, then his discoveryof Tutankhamun’s tomb,

which catapulted thefamily into the limelight;and, of course, hisdramatic, devastatingdeath. Almina and IanDennistoun were to spendmuch of the next yearcaught up in a long anddamaging court casebrought by Ian’s ex-wifeDorothy,butAlminaneverstoppedthinkingabouthervisionforanotherhospital.

It took until 1927, butwhenitwasfinallyopenedshenameditAlfredHouse,in honour of her belovedfather, the man who hadmade her wholeextraordinarylifepossible.

Epilogue:Almina’sLegacy

One hundred years afterthe nineteen-year-old girlarrived at Highclere withtrunksandtravellingcasespiled high with dresses,silks, hats, muffs, anddainty shoes, HighclereCastle is still home to theCarnarvons. Built in aglorious flight of fancy bythe 3rd Earl, HighclereCastle represented anoutstandingly confident

tributetothetimes.Almina attended the

funerals of both QueenVictoria and her son,EdwardVII,aswellastwoCoronations. She was agenerous host, frequentlyentertaining her familyand friends, amongstwhom were politicians,adventurers, generals,surgeons, Egyptologists,racehorsetrainers,bankers

andaviators.She had no qualmsabout spending prodigiousamounts of money to getthings done. Most of uscome up against thefrustrationofhaving ideasand aims with insufficientresourcestofulfilthem.Byvirtue of her doting andincrediblygenerousfather,a lack of fundswas neveranobstaclesoshe‘thought

big’ in life and,whilstherfirst husband was alive,certainlysucceeded.During the First World

War, Almina devoted anextraordinary amount ofenergy to helping others,with no thought for thecost in terms of time ormoney, just astraightforward focus ondoing in every momentwhat was required for

eachperson.Shehelpedtosave countless lives, andneitherthemenshenursednor their families everforgot it. Today the onlytraces of the hospital atHighclere are the stories.Visitors still arrive hopingtosharetheirmemoriesorfindoutalittlemoreabouttheirrelatives.Almina’s support and

nursing of her husband

saved his life on severaloccasions, and their longand happy marriage gavehim the opportunity tocontinue working out inEgypt to pursue hispassion and obsession.CarnarvonandCarterwerea unique team, bothmavericks but bothfocusedandpersistent.Thetomb of Tutankhamun isstill the only Ancient

Egyptian royal burial siteever found intact, a holygrail revealing untoldtreasure. Its discoveryculminated, like so manygood stories, in tragedyatthe moment of triumph,butthehistoryoftheboy-kinghas fascinatedpeoplefrom schoolchildren toeminentacademicsaroundtheworldeversince.Even today,

Egyptologists are gratefulto Almina for herunstinting support ofHoward Carter after the5th Earl died. Shecontinued to maintainhim, his team and thelaboratory until he hadfinished the detailedexcavation and recordingof every single object. Inrecognitionofhersupport,the Egyptian government

repaid Almina £36,000 in1936, which reimbursedher expenses for thatperiod. It also transferredsome of the investmentand the ownership of thediscovery into Egyptianhands.TheRothschildinfluence

is still visible atHighclerein the green silk damaskwall hangings in theDrawing Room, which is

also where Almina’sbeautiful piano sits.Stanhope bedroom hasretained its red silk wallcoverings, part of theredecoration in honour ofthe Prince ofWales’s visitin1895.Almina’sloveofcomfort

based on the latest inpractical technologyensuredthatHighclerewasone of the first houses to

enjoyafullyplumbedhot-and cold-water system.The same structure is stillused today, even if pipeshave been replaced. Shealso ensured that theinstallation of electricityand electric light wasundertaken early. Thatmeantvastlyfewercandlesand oil lamps were used,cutting the riskof fire – ahazard which claimed

other large houses similartoHighclere.Almina obviously loveda good party and was asenergeticinorganisingthebigweekendsatHighclereas any Edwardian hostess.Herpassionforthebestinrich French cooking stillpermeates the food eatenhere. Highclere’s chefoffers some of her dishes,suchascrabaugratinwith

a generous amount ofbutter and cream, herb-crusted roast lamb andvery rich cold chocolatepots.The enormous marriage

settlement bestowed onAlmina by Alfred deRothschild was a turningpoint in the Carnarvonfamily’s fortunes, as debtswere cleared and theestate put on a much

sounder footing. Althoughmany of her husband’spropertiesweresoldtopaydeath duties or debts,Almina’scashandchattelsfrom her father, and thesharp deal she eventuallydid with the MetropolitanMuseum for LordCarnarvon’s collection ofEgyptian antiquities, maywell have savedHighclerefor future generations of

herfamily.Perhaps it was in the

field of medicine thatAlmina left the greatestlegacy. She realised thatpost-operative and traumacare were as much a partof the healing process asthe best surgicaltechniques and the latestequipment. Almina’sunderstandingoftheword‘care’ was sincere. She

realised that the nursingand physical environmentat her Highclere hospitalwas going tomake all thedifference to the lives ofthe patients arriving fromthehorrorsoftheWesternFront. Almina treatedthem as if they werecountry-house guests;nothing but the best foodwas served,with pastimesand recreation in the

Castle State Rooms andparkforthosethatwerefitenough.Shewasasticklerfor hygiene: perfectcleanliness in terms ofnurses’uniformsandeveryhousehold surface weretheorderof theday,withattention paid to thesmallest detail. Alminaknew that nurses had todealwithpsychological aswell as physical suffering

and her approach was tooffer kindness, comfortand an orderedenvironment. She used allthe wonders of Highcleretosucceedinthisgoal,andthe many letters frompatients and their familiesare a tribute to herdeterminationtogetthingsright.She championed the

viewthatpoorlytrainedor

loosely managed nursesmight take their eyes offthe ‘care’ball, resulting inpoor hygiene and patientmorale and a consequentincrease in the mortalityrate. Her patients werealwaysatthecentreofherthoughts and actions. Agreat believer in newsurgical techniques,Almina enjoyed thecompany of some of the

leadingpractitionersofhertime but, even so, shebelieved that their workshould never takeprecedence over goodnursing practice. Severebacterial infections mayhave been a majorproblem in the trenches,but they would not betoleratedatHighclere.Almina felt a real dutyto help and care for the

wounded and sick of thewar. Her generous spiritand Christian view of theworld inspired her tospread her wealth andshareitsbenefits.Small instature, she glowed withcharisma as a powerhouseofenergyandwillpower.She lived a long life, as

did her son. ConsequentlytheCastlewas not subjectto further roundsof death

duties; it survived intactinto the age of a differentway of thinking about theold country houses. Thewelcome and well-timedestablishment of EnglishHeritage was a criticaldevelopment in thepreservation of many ofthe UK’s historic housesandtheircontents.HighclereCastle, likeits

alterego,DowntonAbbey,

remains an ensemble castofcharacterstoday,justasit was in Almina’s time. Ihavefeltsomuchaffectionfor the ‘real’ characterssuch as Aubrey, and hismother Elsie, as Iresearched their stories.Meeting relatives of thestaff from those times hasalso thrown invaluableshards of light on to life‘downstairs’.

Today, the Castle andestate still house familieswho have worked andlivedhere for generations.They pass down stories ofpredecessors.Retirementispossible but notmandatory. The newgenerationlearnsfromtheold. ‘Newcomers’ haveworked here for fifteen ortwenty years and ‘properCastlepeople’maystayfor

up to fifty years. Somepeople think they arecomingtoworkforashorttime and find it hard toleave.The challenge for

Highclereistoensurethatthe Castle and its estatebusinesses remain strongenough to preserve theirrich heritage. It is thesame need to balancebusiness and conservation

that confronted Almina.Wehope that, if shewerehere today, she wouldrecognisethingsandfeelasenseofpridethatmuchofwhat she loved had beenpreserved and that thespirit of her work wascontinuing through hergreat-grandson and hisfamily.

Acknowledgements

Imustsaythanksandloveto my patient husbandGeordie, for his help withresearch and editing.Thanks as well forrepeated encouragementfrom my sisters; Sarah inparticular has consistently

clarified my thoughts andlanguage. I cannot thankPatricia Leatham enoughforherhilariousstories.Hodder & Stoughtonhave been enthusiasticpartners in this enterpriseand also assigned HelenCoyle to support me as amorethanableeditorwhoretainedasenseofhumourduringthemidnighthours.Thank you to Kevin

Morgan and Mike Blairfrom ITV who introducedmetoHodder&Stoughtonand thereby helped meundertake the book inrecord time. Part of theresearch for this wholeproject was also for theITV Country-wiseprogramme who havesought to visually shareHighclere and its EstatewithITVviewers–thereal

DowntonAbbey.The staff at Highclerehave been wonderful,supportingme in somanydifferent ways. DavidRymill, our archivist, hasbeen unfailingly detailedand knowledgeable,Candice Bauval hasorganised me and aidedmy research and DuncanMacdougall has beeninvaluable and helped me

findimagesandfiles.Pauland Rob the chefs madesure I ate, and thehousehold staff such asDiana Moyse and LuisCoelho have quietlyworked around me tryingto tidy and giving meendlesscupsof tea.Thankyoutosomanyotherswhohave forgiven me forforgettingtodothingsandto John Gundill who has

encouraged my progresswhilst he interrupted me,which was always mostwelcome.Outside the Castle, the

staff at the Bodleianarchiveswereveryhelpfuland expedited myresearch; thank you to DrVerena Lepper (StaatlicheMuseen zu Berlin) whointroducedmefirstlytoDrMalek, Keeper of the

Archive, (OrientalInstitute, Oxford) whoallowed me to peruseHoward Carter’s diariesand secondly to theMetropolitan Museum ofNewYorkwhoallowedmeto spend time readingthrough their archives.PeterStarlingattheRoyalArmy Medical CorpMuseum was very helpfulsuggesting books to read

and aiding the researchinto First World Warrecords.I am also grateful that

Julian Fellowes wasinspired to write a seriesDownton Abbey basedaround Highclere Castlewhich Carnival Filmsproduced and PeterFincham (ITV ChiefExecutive) took the bolddecision to back. It has

been an extraordinaryjourney. So many peoplehave come to loveHighclere and beenthralledbyitstelevisionalterego.

TranscriptofLetters

this page – Letter fromCharles Clout to LadyAlmina, written on thenight of his wedding in1918,fromtheLakeHouseon the Highclere Estatewhere he and Mary

Weekes, Almina’ssecretary,honeymooned).

TheLakeHouse

July2nd

MyDearLadyCarnarvon

My Dear Fairy Godmother Ishould like to call you, as itis as such that I shouldalways think of you, I amtrying in this little note to

expresssomeofmythankstoyou for all you have done,andaredoing, forMaryandme. I cannot attempt toconvey to you all I feel in aletter,butIwillalwaystrytolivelifetothegreattrustyouhave placed in me and willdomybest to repayyou,byevery means in my power,for the great help that youhavegivenmeinmystartinlife.

MayI thankyouagainforthe splendid presents youhave given me. I amdelightedwith the links andstuds which are charming,andwith the plate, I think Ishall neverwant todineoutwithsuchbeautifulthingstouseathome,andalsoforthecare and trouble you havegiveninarrangingthedetailsof the wedding for me andfor your very kind loan of

thishouse.

Youwill see from the fewthings I have mentioned forwhich Iam indebted toyou,how impossible it would befor me to attempt to thankyou for everything in thisnote, but I hope you willbelieve me when I repeatthat my life shall be anattempt to prove worthy ofyourhelpandtrust.

With very best wishes andlovefromYoursSincerelyCharlesWClout.

this page – Letter fromMary Weekes to LadyAlmina, written the dayafter her wedding toCharlesClout

July3rd

LakeHouse

Wednesday

(note to top left side – “youmust forgive this odd paperbutthewhitenotepaperhasnotarrived”)

MydearestLittleLady

Thank you so much foryoursweetletterwhichIwasso pleased to get thismorning.

How can I even try to

thank you for all you havedone for me. I just long totell you what I feel aboutyour wonderful love andaffection,butalas!Nowordsof mine could adequatelyexpress what I really feel.HadIbeenEveyoucouldnothave done more. What awonderfulmemoryIhave tocarryintothefutureandif Icanonlybehalfasgoodandkind as you are I shall be

pleased.IhopeIshallalwaysbe a credit to the kindestlittle lady I know, who hasindeedbeenamother tomefor the last 7 years and Iknowwill goonbeing so inthefuture.

I think Charles wrote youlast evening after tea. I wasrather tired so had a bathandwentandlaydown.

It is glorious down hereand there is nothing one

could want for. The food,care and attention are allperfect.

IamgoingtowritetoLordCarnarvon, he was so sweettomeonTuesdayandmadeonelongtoknowhimbetter.WhatawonderfulfatherandmotherEveandPorchyhavegot and itmademewonderon Tuesday if they realizedit.

Wellmydarlinglittle lady

athousandthanksforallyouhaveandaredoingforme.

Withlovefromusboth

YoursaffectionatelyMary(C)

PictureAcknowledgements

Most of the photographs:© Highclere CastleArchive.

Additionalsources:©Alamy:1.7,4.3.Bykindpermission of the Clout

Family: 3.10. © Corbis:4.5.©CountryLifePictureLibrary: 2.8. With specialthanks to Country LifeMagazine who kindlydonatedthesephotographsto the Highclere CastleArchive: 2.12, 4.15, 4.18.©GettyImages:1.15,4.6,4.8.©MaryEvansPictureLibrary: 1.2, 1.10, 4.10,4.11, 4.16. © NationalPortrait Gallery, London:

1.9, 1.16. ©TopFoto.co.uk: 1.11, 4.2,4.2, 4.3, 4.17, 4.19. ©V&A Images: 1.1/photoLaFayette.

Everyreasonableefforthasbeen made to contact thecopyright holders ofmaterialreproducedinthisbook. But if there are anyerrors or omissions,Hodder & Stoughton will

be pleased to insert theappropriateacknowledgement in anysubsequentprintingofthispublication.

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Thisisnotanexclusivelistbut the following mayinterestthosewhowishtopursue areas of historicalinterestfurther:

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edition, Libri: Oxford,2001

Carter,HowardandMace,Arthur,TheDiscoveryoftheTomb of Tutankhamen,Revised edition, Dover:Egypt,1985

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Ettie: The Intimate Life andDauntlessSpiritofLady

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Rothschilds: The FinancialRulers of Nations, GordonPress:Surrey,1975

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Roberts, Sydney C.,Adventures with Authors,Cambridge UniversityPress:Cambridge,1966

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Taylor, A. J. P., TheStruggle for Mastery inEurope:1848–1918,OxfordUniversity Press: Oxford,

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Weintraub, Stanley,Edward the Caresser: ThePlayboyPrincewhoBecameEdward VII, Simon &Schuster:London,2001

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GriffithsInstituteWinchesterArchivesRothschildArchivesTheTimesArchivesHighclereCastleArchives

Every effort has beenmade to acknowledge thecopyright holders ofextractsused in thisbook,but full acknowledgementwill gladly bemade in allfutureeditions.