| Secondary Performers | Duchess of Marlborough,
Cora Countess of Strafford,
Countess Granald,
Countess of Newborough,
Viscountess Acheson,
Lord Hardwicke (William Penn),
Lord Allington (Columbus),
Lady Maud Warrender,
Lady Randolph Churchill,
Lady Bateman,
Lady Speyer,
Lady Lister-Kaye,
Lady Granard,
Lady Craven,
Lasy Ashburton,
Lady Decles,
Lady Greville,
Lady Lowther,
Lady Hadfield,
Mrs John Astor,
Mrs Lewis Harcourt,
Mrs Ridgeley Carter,
Mrs Victoria Woodhull Martin,
Mrs Griffiths (wife of the Consul General),
Mrs Glasgow,
Mrs Henry Coventry,
Mrs Harold Baring,
Mrs Duke,
Mrs Oliver Brett,
Mrs Ralph Page,
Miss Crocker |
| Set List | 22:00 Opening
00:00 Procession Part One: Processions illustrating the Making of America
00:30 Procession Part Two: Britannia, followed by representatives of all British countries, colonies and states. |
| Royal Presence | HRH Prince Arthur of Connaught,
HRH Princess Arthur of Connaught,
HRH Prince Alexander of Teck,
HRH Princess Alexander of Teck,
HRH Princess Victoria of Schleswig-Holstein,
HRH Prince Louis of Battenberg,
HRH Princess Louise of Battenberg,
HRH The Duke of Teck,
HRH The Duchess of Teck |
| Performance Notes | "Under the auspices of the British Committee for the celebration of the 100th anniversary of peace among English-speaking peoples [a committee headed by the Duchess of Teck, Mrs Walter Page, wife of the American ambassador, and Prince Arthur of Connaught], a Peace Centenary costume ball was given last night at the Albert Hall. The spectacle was brilliant and imposing.
At each of these great costume balls the Albert Hall takes on some new disguise; and of all those that have been invented perhaps last night's scheme of decoration was the most happy. Red, white, and blue had been properly chosen for the colour-scheme; and red, white, and blue, when artistically managed, can be made to present a harmonious and agreeable appearance. Gold escutcheons and coats of arms and gold baskets of flowers gave its highest notes to the scheme; and in front of the organ stood a replica of the Santa Maria, the ship from which Christopher Columbus first saw America.
Columbus And His Ship
The ship was to play a prominent part in the processions, which gave the entertainment its title to be something other than a merely festive occasion. The ball was, in aim, a great social celebration of the peace which enables amusement to be prosecuted in safety and at ease; and the processions were there to proclaim the historical and universal import old the celebration. Dancing had begun, to the sound of trumpets, at 10 o'clock. At midnight the lights were lowered, and Columbus (Lord Alington), with two of his captains, was seen standing on the poop of the Santa Maria, looking down upon the processional coming and going of those who had had their part in the history of the mighty Continent which he discovered
"
(The Times, 11 June 1914)
"The inevtiable suffragette [WSPU] made her appearance at the Albert Hall ball held tonight in celebration of the centenary of the preservation of Anglo-American peace, just at the crucial moment when Britannia, represented by Lady Maud Warrender, and Columbia, represented by Mrs John Astor, were about to clasp hands
...As Columbia appeared on the rostrum, a woman in evening dress took up her stand beside Lady Warrender and began to harangue the assembly.
The band was playing, and what she said was undistinguishable. Very quickly attendants mounted the rostrum and half a dozen of them seized the suffragette and carried her bodily our of the hall amid the boos of the people present. One report says she was maltreated by the people outside, but there is no confirmation of this.
The ball itself was voted one of the biggest spectacular pageants seens at Albert Hall within recent years. The committee comprised no fewer than seven Duchesses, eight Marchionesses, thirty-two Countesses, fifteen Viscountesses, and seventy-two other titled personages, including the Duke of Teck and Princess Arthur of Connaught. Every gown worn was in some way emblematic of the British Empire or of the New World.
At midnight, on the model of the hull of the great Spanish galleon Santa Maria, Columbus, represented by Lord Allington, took up his position, and before him the passed a splendid pageant of succeeding history in files of costumed men and women, from the barbaric tribes of America's primitive aborigines to the scintillating gold-clad groups of those who represented the States today.
Sir Walter Raleigh and the Virginian settlers followed the aborigines. Then the Pilgrim Fathers. Next passed the Dutch settlers, William Penn and the Quakers, and the the French settlers. The part of William Penn was tekn by Lord Hardwicke, who was a fine realistic figure. The next group were signatories of the Treaty of Ghent.
Overlooking the stirring and bewildering scene and crowding the Royal box, were Prince and Princess Arthur of Connaught, Prince and Princess Alexander of Teck, Princess Victoria of Schleswig-Holstein, Prince Louis of Battenberg, and his daughter, Princess Louise of Battenberg, and the Duke and Duchess of Teck."
(The New York Times, June 11 1914)
"A VIOLENT INTERLUDE.
Unfortunately a Suffragette interruption occurred at the most dramatic moment of the spectacle...
...Mrs John Astor, with a marvellous pointed gold crown and a blazing torch, as Columbia, had made a circuit of the hall with striking and much applauded effect, followed by the Duchess of Marlborough and Cora Countess of Strafford, as the first couple of the procession of the United States. She was but two or three paces from the daid, when a wild-eyed little woman in a white skirt and loose red jacket rushed forward, and passing between Mrs Astor and the steps, rushed up them, pushing against Lady Maud Warrender as she did so.
The intruder began a voluble harangue, though nothing of what she said was audible in the boxes. One of the gentlemen who had assisted in 'marshalling' the processions at once dashed up to remove her. She clutched the crimson cords on the gilt supports surrounding the dais and continued to shout. Three of the stalwart representatives of the Yeoman of the Guard who had escorted the processions at once came to the assistance of the first gentleman, bt for a few seconds the interrupter defied all efforts to remove her, and was eventually pulled down under the cord and ignominously hustled out, amid every manifestation of disapproval of her ill-timed demonstration.
As the Yeomen took her through the doorway it was seen that some ladies who had been carrying palm branches and other accessories struck vigorously at her."
(The Daily Telegraph, 11 June 1914) |
| Related Archival Material | Programme (RAHE/1/1914/37A),
Illustrations (The Sphere, The Graphic) (RAHE/9/1914/3-5) |