An exhibition celebrating Holkham’s history from 1612 to 2012 and the Coke family’s association with the Crown over 400 years.

1612400 years ago this year, John Coke’s marriage secured the Holkham Estate.

The ostrich was believed to be capable of digesting anything, even iron. Sir Edward Coke was said to be the only man in England who understood The Digest (of the law) and chose the bird to compliment his motto, Prudens qui patiens etenim durissima coquit – The prudent man is the patient man, for he can digest (endure) even the hardest things.

Sir Edward Coke was Attorney General to Elizabeth I and James I, but imprisoned by him. He

founded the family fortune, but never lived at Holkham.

1558 1603 1694 17141625 1649 1660 1685 1689

John took Parliament’s side in the Civil War. His brother, Robert, took the side of King Charles I.

1714 1727 1760 1820

1820 1830 1837 1901 1910

1910 201219521936

1734In 1734 Thomas Coke began to build Holkham Hall.He did not live to see it completed 30 years later.

1776Thomas William Coke, known as ‘Coke of Norfolk’, inherited Holkham from his uncle and undertook the programme of revolutionary agricultural innovations that made him famous.

1837At the age of 83, ‘Coke of Norfolk’

accepted a peerage from Queen Victoria, only five years before his death.

The 2nd Earl inherited Holkham at the age of 20. He was in charge of the estate for 66 years and

had the terraces and fountain built.

The 3rd Earl did not inherit until he was 61, but

lived to be 93.

The 4th Earl considered handing over Holkham to the National Trust.

The 6th Earl, the 5th Earl’s first cousin, lived most of his life in Africa.

The 5th Earl had three daughters, but no son to inherit Holkham.

Lord Leicester, the 7th and present Earl, inherited the title in 1994.

George I George II George III

Elizabeth I James I Charles I Commonwealth Charles II AnneWilliam & MaryJames II

George V George VI Elizabeth IIEdward VIII

George IV William IV Edward VIIVictoria

The Ostrich & The Crown

1744 Made Earl of Leicester

1842 Inherited title

1941 Inherited title

1949 Inherited title

1976 Inherited title

1909 Inherited title

Made 1st Earl of Leicesterof 2nd creation 61 years after

inheriting Holkham

The Coronation State BanquetThe Ostrich & The Crown

This table made by Johnstone Jupe & Co. circa 1835 has been set in a

formal style as was common during the 3rd Earl’s time. The Victorian dinner service was made for the Coke family by Spode and the gilt chairs are part of a set made by Saunders of Soho in the early part of the 18th century.

The coronation state banquet held at Buckingham Palace on the evening of the 4th June 1953 saw the 5th Earl and Countess sit down to dinner in the ballroom with nearly 300 other guests.

The Countess of Leicester was Lady of the Bedchamber, the second most senior female position in the Queen’s household after the Mistress of the Robes. This instruction booklet shows that she was on duty at Buckingham Palace before the banquet, receiving non-royal guests in the Green Drawing Room.

Dress CodeThe dress code stipulated full or court dress. However, as a cost saving measure, those not able to afford such dress had an option to wear evening dress with medals.

The state banquet menu may have appeared extravagant for the time as meat rationing did not end until 1954.

Banquet Invitation

The 5th Earl sat at table R, whilst the Countess sat

at table E.

Extract from Instruction for Royal Household

State Banquet Room Plan

By Royal CommandThe Ostrich & The Crown

The 5th Earl of Leicester had been an equerry to the Queen’s father, George VI, and had walked in the procession at the King’s coronation in 1937. He was also a pallbearer at the King’s funeral in 1952. During the coronation week his duties were to be in attendance on His Royal Highness Marshal Shah Wali Khan, who was representing the King of Afghanistan.

The coronation of Queen Elizabeth II on the 2nd June 1953 was a unique

family occasion for Holkham, with the 5th Earl and Countess of Leicester and their eldest daughter, Anne, all closely involved in the ceremony.

This cartoon, which was cut from the Daily Express by the 5th Earl, shows two of Osbert Lancaster’s best known characters, Maudie and William Littlehampton, on their way to the coronation and in a bit of a pickle. The caption refers to the Four Hundred Club, one of the favourite haunts of Princess Margaret and her friends, of whom Lady Anne Coke was perhaps one of the closest. The club, housed in the cellar of a building in Leicester Square, was described as “the night time headquarters of society”.

Clearly the doings of London’s high society were as of much popular interest and as well known to all then as they are in today’s ‘celebrity culture’.

This press cutting shows the 5th Earl and Countess in their coronation robes, although for the actual coronation ceremony the Countess wore a dress by Norman Hartnell.

Coronation Robes for PeersIn the last 300 years Peers’ coronation robes have only been used twelve times. They are made of crimson silk velvet, trimmed with white ermine and rows of black sealskin spots. The rows extend around the full width of the cape, with half rows reaching from the right front edge to the centre back. These spots subtly reveal a Peer’s rank: a Duke has four rows; a Marquess has three and a half rows; an Earl has three rows; a Viscount has two and a half rows and a Baron has two rows.

Coronation Robes

Coronation Robes for PeeressesInstead of a loose cape as worn by Peers, a Peeress’s robe is close fitting, open down the front, with short fitted sleeves edged with miniver fur. A small cape is worn across the shoulders whilst the train is edged with finest ermine. In addition to rows of sealskin spots on the cape, the Peeress’s two other symbols of rank are designed into the dress: the width of the ermine edging and length of train.

Summons to the Coronation

The Earl Marshal issued detailed printed orders concerning the dress code for Peers and Peeresses attending the coronation.

Chairs for the attending peers and peeresses were made by B. North & Sons and W. Hand & Sons. Listers Mill in Bradford made over 4,000 yards of blue velvet to cover the 2,000 chairs and 5,700 stools. After the ceremony those who occupied the chairs and stools were given the

opportunity to purchase them.

The 5th Earl, who served with the Scots Guards, is wearing underneath his coronation robes the full dress uniform with medals

as stipulated in the dress code for the coronation.

It would seem that moths are no respecter of rank and attacked the ermine band surrounding the base of the 5th Earl’s coronet.

Coronet Moth! Coronation Chair

The Ostrich & The Crown

A Maid of HonourThe Ostrich & The Crown

The sovereign’s procession of nearly 250 people included the 5th Earl’s

wife Elizabeth, who was Lady of the Bedchamber to the Queen, and her eldest daughter Lady Anne Coke aged 20 years, who was one of the six Maids of Honour. The Countess of Leicester followed the Mistress of the Robes, the Duchess of Devonshire, in the procession behind the Maids of Honour. For many of the next twenty years the Countess was to accompany the Queen on state visits, both at home and abroad.

Numerous rehearsals were needed for those taking part in the procession and the pretty Maids of Honour became a particular focus for the attention of the press in the weeks leading up to the coronation as public and media interest reached a peak.

The letter from the Earl Marshal, the Duke of Norfolk, to Lady Anne Coke informing her of the part she was to play in the coronation and the letter instructing her to arrange with her opposite number as train bearer to adjust the height of their heels, so that there was no more than an inch between their heights.

Lady Anne Coke’s invitation to the coronation.

Press Attention

The headline for this article read, ‘The sparkle of tiaras in coronation London’.

As reported in The Standard The Standard published this picture of the Queen with her Maids of Honour and the Mistress of the Robes, Mary, Duchess of Devonshire.

The Maids of Honour are from left to right: Lady Moyra Hamilton, Lady Rosemary Spencer-Churchill, Lady Anne Coke, Lady Jane Heathcote-Drummond-Willoughby, Lady Jane Vane-Tempest-Stewart and Lady Mary Baillie-Hamilton.

Train Bearer

As reported in the Daily Sketch An alert Daily Sketch photographer caught the moment when Lady Anne Coke accidentally revealed the dress she would be wearing at the coronation as she descended the steps of Westminster Abbey.

The coronation procession with the Countess of Leicester (circled top right) and Lady Anne Coke (circled centre) in Westminster Abbey.

Lady Anne Coke

This dress is part of a collection of dresses designed by Norman Hartnell for the coronation and it is of historic importance to the story of the coronation. Made of ivory coloured silk satin, the dress is full length and sleeveless with a contrasting bronze coloured trim to the neckline and armholes. It is embellished with beads, pearls and gold and bronze sequins. The decoration on the front and the back of the dress continues across the bodice and down to the skirt over the hips. At the centre back, the beading extends down on a false train to the hem, as can be seen from the way the dress is displayed.

The Norman Hartnell Dress

The Ostrich & The Crown

Coronation Jewellery

The tiaras worn by the Maids of Honour were made of gold and silver in the form of sprigs of flowers, reflecting the decoration on their dresses.

To commemorate the occasion, each Maid of Honour was presented with a brooch in the form of the initials ER, made by the crown jewellers, Garrard & Co. London and presented in a monogrammed case.

Cecil Beaton took a series of photographs of the Queen with her Maids of Honour. Lady Anne is second from the left in this photograph.

Following a precedent set by Queen Victoria, the Queen chose maids of honour rather than pages to bear her train throughout the ceremony. They were paired according

to height so that the smallest would be at

the front and closest to the Queen in

the procession.

Photographs at the Palace

The most prestigious and sought after designer of the 1950s, Norman Hartnell designed the coronation dress for the Queen as well as those of all the other important ladies in the ceremony. In 1960 he designed the dresses for the wedding of Princess Margaret. Norman Hartnell held the Royal Warrant as Dressmaker to both the Queen and Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth, The Queen Mother.

Entertaining RoyaltyThe Ostrich & The Crown

The scene in the Saloon during the ball held at Holkham in January 1865.

The ball was described in the Illustrated Times.

This photograph shows King Edward VII and the 2nd Earl in 1908. In his old age the Earl had become stone deaf and infirm and his bed was wheeled into the Saloon each day. Less regular visitors were disconcerted to find him lying there, a bearded figure often wearing a sombrero hat and dark glasses, accompanied by his terrier, Fan. The royal couple continued to visit him and on one occasion, Queen Alexandra said to the Countess at his side, “He looks so pink and white I should like to kiss him’” The Countess wrote this on his slate whereupon he shouted, “For God’s sake tell her not to!”

Princess Alexandra at Holkham Close links between Holkham and Sandringham were forged after 1863, when Queen Victoria’s eldest son married Princess Alexandra of Denmark. The Queen presented them with the Sandringham estate, and they became regular visitors at Holkham, enjoying the shooting, an annual ball in the New Year and, in their youth, ‘romps’ and parlour games after dinner.

A Royal Friendship

Amateur Gilders As this letter shows, Royal visitors to Holkham in 1909 enjoyed an encounter with Romeo, Lingi and Leone, a team of Italian gilders and carvers at work renovating furniture in the hall. The 3rd Earl of Leicester, who had recently inherited Holkham, entertained King Edward VII and Queen Alexandra to lunch in November 1909. Viscount Coke, later the 4th Earl of Leicester, described the occasion in a letter to his wife, “The Queen was really too funny, she spent nearly three quarters of an hour gilding a chair with Romeo and rubbing the brush on his whiskers and then on her hair to make the gold stick, the King could not get her away and at last left her there”.

A Splendid CelebrationIn the 19th century a long friendship was forged between the 2nd Earl and the Prince of Wales, later King Edward VII. The Earl, twenty years older than the Prince, was a down-to-earth character. When the Prince once said to the Earl at breakfast, “I wish you would order me a flask of brandy,” the Earl responded, “Sir, you are welcome to anything in my house except brandy at nine in the morning.” The 2nd Earl

in his sombrero.

Throughout the centuries the varied attractions of Holkham charmed royal

guests who found themselves entertained in the house with dancing and library visits, and outside with shooting, cricket and bathing at Holkham beach.

Royal GuestsThe Ostrich & The Crown

The Green State Bedroom is the most opulent bedroom in the hall.

Kings, queens and nobility of all ranks have slept here over the centuries. When Queen Mary visited Holkham, the painting of the god Jupiter caressing his wife Juno, by Gavin Hamilton (1730-1797), was considered too lewd and was banished to the attics. A plaque of Julius Caesar, which originally had pride of place on the mantelpiece beneath the painting, is now over the fireplace in the Statue Gallery.

Day BedThe Duchess of Kent was so concerned for the safety of the young princess that she was not allowed to walk downstairs unaccompanied. At night the Duchess would often sleep in the same room as the princess and this day bed may well have been used on their visit.

The Diary of a PrincessIn September 1835, Princess Victoria, aged 16 years, visited Holkham for two days whilst touring East Anglia. The tour, organised by her controlling mother the Duchess of Kent, was part of a PR campaign to show off Victoria to her future subjects. Victoria noted in her diary how the royal party arrived at Holkham late, at around 8pm. They were welcomed by their host, Thomas William Coke,

later 1st Earl of Leicester of the 2nd creation and she remarked upon the age gap of some 49 years between her 81 year old host and his second

wife, Anne Keppel.

The Florentine Prayer BookPrincess Victoria was particularly taken by one of Holkham’s most exquisite and rarely seen treasures, a tiny illuminated prayer book made in Florence in 1469 as a wedding present from Lorenzo de’ Medici to his bride, Clarice Orsini. Illuminated on every page with a series of exquisite miniatures by the artist Francesco del Chierico, this Book of Hours enchanted the young princess. As she had expressed an interest in the manuscript, convention dictated that the item should be presented to her as a gift. However Coke of Norfolk chose not to, remarking afterwards “I was not going to give it to a child like that who could not appreciate its value”.

This page from the Medici Hours depicts the Nativity in the initial, and other scenes from Christ’s childhood in the border, with the coats of arms of the Medici and Orsini families (lower margin).

On this page of the Medici Hours, the Florentine artist Francesco di Antonio del Chierico depicts Christ and his disciples in the garden of Gethsemane

(initial) and the Last Supper (upper border).

High Ranking BedThe Earl’s coronets mounted around the canopy of the bed reminded guests of the rank of their host and were placed there by Lady Margaret Tufton, the widow of the 1st Earl of Leicester.

ThomasAnne

Continuing LinksThe Ostrich & The Crown

Sir Edward Coke was regarded as one of the most brilliant lawyers of the 16th century. He rose to

prominence during the reigns of Queen Elizabeth I and King James I, serving as Attorney General to both monarchs and later as Lord Chief Justice to James I. Sir Edward shrewdly invested in property and land, part of which was to become the Holkham Estate as it is known today. The Coke family’s links to our monarchy continue.

HM the Queen and Lord Leicester with a lead planter presented to the Queen by the members of the Historic Houses Association to commemorate her golden jubilee in 2002. Lord Leicester was president of the HHA from 1998 to 2003.

Sir Edward Coke

Lord Leicester CBE

Viscount Coke

At the age of 14, Viscount Coke acted as a Page of Honour at the Ceremony of the Garter at Windsor Castle in 1980.

Sir Edward Coke

The present Earl’s elder son, Viscount Coke, followed a family tradition of service when, like his forebears, he served in the family regiment the Scots Guards. Viscount Coke also served as Equerry to the Duke of Kent from 1991 to 1993, a similar role to that performed by the 5th Earl who was Equerry to the Duke of York from 1934 to 1937.

The 7th Earl and Countess of Leicester outside Buckingham Palace with Lord Leicester’s younger son, the Hon. Rupert and daughter, Lady Laura, after his investiture. Lord Leicester was made a Companion of the British Empire for his services to heritage.The warrant appointing Sir Edward Coke as Attorney General to

Queen Elizabeth I.