“WE ARE NOT AMUSED!“
ROYAL HOUSEHOLD UNIFORMS OF THE HON. ALEXANDER GRANTHAM YORKE GROOM IN WAITING TO QUEEN VICTORIA WHO INSTIGATED THE FAMOUS RETORT FROM THE QUEEN “WE ARE NOT AMUSED” HEAD TO AUCTION
8th October 2024
Royal household uniforms of the Groom-in-Waiting to Queen Victoria (1884-1901), who was the instigator of one of the most famous phrases in history: “We are not amused” are to be offered for auction in October. The Hon. Alexander Grantham Yorke (1847-1911), affectionately known as ‘Alick’, was also the Extra Groom in Waiting to King Edward VII (1901-1911). He entered Royal service as Equerry (an officer of the British royal household who assists members of the royal family), to Prince Leopold, the Duke of Albany (1853-1884), the eighth child and youngest son of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert (1819-1861). ‘Alick’ would become Groom-in-Waiting to the Queen and to King Edward VII until his death in 1911.
The story behind the famous phrase “We are not amused” is that Alexander Yorke was attending one of the Queen’s dinner parties at Windsor Castle and at one point turned to his German neighbour and told him a slightly risqué story. The German burst into raucous laughter and clutched his sides in unrestrained appreciation. The Queen then asked to hear the story and after Yorke had reluctantly repeated it, she delivered her historic riposte: “We are not amused.”
The uniforms include his blue full dress coat with vibrant red facings and gold embroidery, as well as a blue undress coat with red facings and gold embroidery. A black Edwardian evening dress tailcoat features the royal ER VII buttons. Three cocked hats with varying loops and buttons, a braided sword knot, a pair of white breeches and a uniform trunk completes the group. It carries an estimate of £500-£800 (lot 388).
A second set of his uniforms comprise a scarlet tunic with blue facings and gold embroidery, blue trousers with gold lace and a blue frock coat with mourning bands (see top image). It also features a great coat, a cocked hat with gold embroidered loop, a crimson and gold dress sash, a dress waist belt and sling, a pair of brass spurs and two uniform trunks (one labelled for Manning & Co, London). The group lot carries an estimate of £400-£600 (lot 390).
The uniforms come directly from the descendants of the Yorke family, who resided at historic Gatewick house in Sussex, the contents of which will be offered in a sale titled Collecting Arcadia: The Collections from Gatewick and Trethill House at Dreweatts on October 16, 2024.
The historic manor house was purchased in 1953 by David Yorke (1919-1997) (a descendant of Alexander Grantham Yorke), following his marriage to Anne Mackail (1922-1984), the daughter of the celebrated writer Denis Mackail (1892-1971) and great-granddaughter of the renowned Pre-Raphaelite artist, Sir Edward Burne-Jones (1833-1898). David Yorke was a lawyer (a Justice of the Peace for Sussex), but in his spare time he was a passionate amateur architect (a skill that led him to become senior architectural adviser for the National Trust) and he set about transforming Gatewick from a modest home to a fine Georgian country house – all to his own designs.
As well as the uniforms, the family collection will encompass over 400 lots ranging from works by the Scottish artist Allan Ramsay (1713-1784), who was a painter to King George III and Michelangelo Maestri (d. 1812), (whose most admired works are based on motifs from antique frescos discovered in Pompeii and Herculaneum), to fine furniture, objects of vertu and jewellery collected by and descended from numerous members of the Yorke and Burne-Jones families.
All are illustrative of a combination of discerning architectural ambition, family lineage and enthusiastic 1950s antiquarian collecting, which created a thoroughly modern country house in the 18th century spirit. The sale is an exploration into one family’s collecting story, from entrance hall to the attics, each piece a part of the puzzle in the Yorke family’s quest for their arcadia.
