Coppins: A Country Home for Four Generations of Royals


Coppins was the country home for the Duke and Duchess of Kent and their family. It also welcomed a host of royalty, including kings and queens, and budding lovebirds Prince Philip of Greece and Princess Elizabeth of the United Kingdom.

Coppins, the country house at Iver, Buckinghamshire, had been a royal home that was inseparably associated with Prince George, Duke of Kent and his family. The royal duke was the fifth of the six children of King George V and Queen Mary. In November 1934, shortly after being created Duke of Kent, he married  Princess Marina of Greece and Denmark, a granddaughter of King George I of Greece and a great-granddaughter of Czar Alexander II of Russia. 

Coppins, originally built as the farm hoouse of a large estate, was inherited in 1935 by the Duke of Kent from her unmarried aunt, Princess Victoria. She was the second daughter of King Edward VII and Queen Alexander and her parents’ lifelong companion. The Duke and Duchess of Kent had lunched at Aunt Toria’s house shortly after honeymoon.




Set on a fifteen-acre property, the house was surrounded by meadows, both flat and arable. The history of Coppins dates back to 1374, when the ancient title of Copynsfield, was inscribed in manorial titles. The Coppins that exists today was built in the 1850s by Bond Street bookseller named John Mitchell. He made his fortune by selling theatre tickets on the side and eventually got Queen Victoria’s patronage. Mitchell  entertained court officials. However, his anticipation of being summoned to Court never happened and he died in 1874 without ever achieving his desire to earn a knighthood. Attracted by the elegant estates nearby – Delaford Park, Langley ark and Black Park – Mitchell built his long, low multi-gabled home inspired by the mid-Victorian interest for Swiss cottages.   After Mitchell’s death, Coppins was acquired by Jane Spencer, Baroness Churchill, who was Queen Victoria’s longest serving Lady of the Bedchamber. She doubled the size of Coppins by adding a guest wing and a servant’s quarter. Lady Churchill died on Christmas Eve of 1900; Queen Victoria in January 1901.

Queen Alexandra thought that Coppins would be an ideal country home for her unmarried daughter, Princess Victoria. Interestingly, the princess remained as her parents’ companion until the queen’s death in 1925. In 1926, she moved into Coppins. From her new home, she would make daily telephone calls to his brother, King George V,  at Buckingham Palace.  Usually, a conversation would commence  with a greeting: “Hello, is that you old fool?,” and the telephone operator would reply, “One moment, please, His Majesty is yet on the line.” Ever the Victorian, Princess Victoria  did not alter the interiors of her royal retreat and instead, stuck with the dull Victorian and Edwardian decoration. She did introduce gas in the kitchen and cooking was done by gas, which was, at that time, distinguished for its efficiency and excellence. A notable feature of her dinners was the 675-piece dinner set, every plate and piece of which was stamped in colour with some happy and intimate picture of a member of the Royal Family.

Coppins is an ideal example of an English country house. Long, low, and cream painted, it featured shutters and woodwork in light green, while walls covered with lovely climbing shrubs, roses, japonica, wisteria.


Coppins was renovated in preparation of the Kent’s moving-in. Simplicity was the keynote of the new decorations. The ivy, which had profusely grown and climb on the house’s walls,  has been stripped, a shrubbery has been cleared, leaving room for additions to the wide-sweeping lawns, and a portico at the main entrance and a verandah outside the late Princess Victoria's bedroom, are being removed. Tiny, curving pathways have been cut through the wooded garden, which has been described as “an English paradise,” with its three giant pines and a quiet stream rippling in gentle cascades through rock pools arid under a little wooden bridge.

The Duke and Duchess  took great interest in every detail, and both of them visited their new home several times a week to check on the progress. They unified the fussy exterior, the bay window and porches, the, the tiles and bricks, with coats of pale colour wash. The unused library was converted into a music room. The two sitting rooms were also renovated to become lighter and more aerie.

The front door had a welcoming homely look and on a summer day on, it was made more festive by clusters of pink geraniums along the edge of the little balcony formed by its jutting out from the main building.  Once all the works were done, Coppins was ready for its new master and mistress. Inside the quite small hall, walls, ceiling and woodwork are cream. The patterned rug on the polished wood floor was in tones of dark blue and fawn. The plain stair carpet is in pile in a soft shade of fawn, and, chief and glorious color note in this part of the house, the velvet curtains at the long window on the landing are in a magnificent shade of flame.

Over the fireplace with its fine, carved mantelpiece is a mirror set in a beautifully carved frame, and in the corner by the stairs a bust of King Edward VII . A door on the right of the hall led into the dining-room, where white walls, ceiling, and woodwork await visitors. The carpet was patterned in darkish blue, browns and fawn.

On the windows hung curtains in roughly woven fabric with a design of dark brown leaves on a white ground. A beautiful Chippendale dining- table and chairs with seats covered in white velvet carry on the scheme.  At the end of a passage on the right of the hall is the Duchess' own sitting-room, which was a very charming room.  In this lovely drawing-room with its windows filled with the pleasant quiet of green lawns and the brilliant colours of massed flowers, walls, ceiling and woodwork are white. The carpet was of light fawn pile and the curtains are in glazed chintz with a background of white   and a design of flowers in pink, mauve, blue and green.

The Duke and Duchess of Kent also had the curtains and the plain pleated pelmets edged with little frills in plain pink glazed chintz, which give a particularly dainty feeling to the room as a whole.  In front of the fireplace, the couple chose a settee covered in the same flowered chintz as that used for the curtains, quilted and piped in rose-pink. Two other armchairs were in pale pink glazed chintz, quilted and piped in blue. The rug carries on the scheme, being in white with a design in rose- pink. In this room, as in all the other rooms in the house, are to be seen exquisite pieces of furniture representing the very best products of British craftsmanship through the ages.

Meanwhile, the Duke's study, a lovely room with big windows, walls in a clear duck-egg blue and a white ceiling. The carpet is in light fawn pile and for the curtains glazed chintz in a duck-egg blue that exactly matches the walls has been chosen. Broad stripes of delicate embroidery in sunshine-yellow on the lazed chintz give a most unusual and very attractive effect. The two armchairs are covered in yellow glazed chintz, quilted and piped in duck-egg blue, and the very comfortable settee before the big fireplace is in chocolate-brown quilted and piped in yellow.

In this room again beautiful carving in mantelpiece and mirror frame, lovely antiques in furniture and china give further proof of the excellence of taste which characterises the house throughout It is its simplicity and quiet charm that make Coppins one of the loveliest backgrounds of British home life.

Queen Mary frequented her youngest son’s country home. She would arrive entering the private entrance that lay on a cul-de-sac, which saw little local traffic. The Queen would also share his son’s interest for decorating and antiques and would often join him in selecting new furniture for the house. More importantly, she would dot on her two Kent grandchildren  - Prince Edward and Princess Alexandra – who enjoyed carefree childhood years at Coppins. When the duke and duchess were away, Prince Edward would play ballgames with the butler or the chauffeur. Pulling his own little wheelbarrow, Edward would also follow the gardener along the herbaceous borders. Among Princes Alexandra’s earlier memories was the sweet bustle of her parents’ homecoming. The young princess’ nursery was also crowded with dolls of every national costume imaginable – Polish, Greek, Yugoslav, Austrian, and so.

The Duke and Duke of Kent had spent the next two or three happy years at Coppins. Here they retreated away from the busy royal life in London, where days were dedicated enjoying the outdoors or welcoming royal guests and relatives. The new royal couple delighted in this setup, more so now that by 1938, they already had two young children that added life to their home. When the duke and his family were in residence, Coppins would always be filled with people and music. Here he would welcome his Mountbatten cousins – Louis and Edwin, Queen Ena of Spain and the young school boy Prince Philip of Greece.

In October 1938, the Duke of Kent was appointed Governor-General of Australia, to succeed Lord Gothrie in November 1939. The couple had a year to prepare for their move Down Under. They even prospected of selling Coppins. However, as World War II broke in Europe, the Duke’s appointment was postponed and the Duke took active service, first as rear admiral of the Royal Navy, and then, as staff officer of the RAF Training Command, rising to the rank of Commodore in July 1941. The Duchess of Kent, meanwhile, trained as a nurse for three months under the pseudonym "Sister Kay," and worked as a civil nurse reserve. Their children, Prince Edward and Princess Alexandra, were sent to live with their grandmother Queen Mary at Sandringham and later at Badminton. In July 1942, the duchess of Kent gave birth to her child, Prince Michael. Eight weeks after, tragedy struck the family. On August 25, 1942, an RAF Sunderland flying boat hit the top of a Scottish hill, killing all on board, including  the Duke of Kent. He was supposed to make a tour of inspection in Iceland. On that day, Countess Agnes de Stoeckl, who was then living at one of the smaller cottages within the Coppins  estate, remembered that it was a day of perfect sunshine, “the ducks quacked, the turkeys laughed, the cocks crowed… the whole of Coppins seems a mass of flowers.” That evening, the duchess answered a phone call informing her of her husband’s demise.

The Duke of Kent’s passing meant the end of Civil List payments. Whatever money the duke left was set in trust for his children.  Aside from the few priceless jewels she inherited from her mother, Princess Nicholas of Greece, the Duchess of Kent had very little money. With a disposable income of less than £1,000 a year, the amount was hardly enough to pay for the upkeep of her country home in Buckinghamshire. Princess Marina faced financial problems for the years that followed. It also meant that the household at Coppins was trimmed down to the bare minimum. 

 Despite the financial hardships the Duchess of Kent had managed to keep up appearances while keeping economy. As World War II draw to an end, she continued to welcome a horde of royal and aristocratic guests to Coppins, including King George II of Greece, the King and Queen of Yugoslavia, Prince Philip of Greece, and a young Princess Elizabeth. By this time, rumours began to circulate, further fanned by the likes of diarist, Sir Henry Chips Channon, that romance between the two royals budded at Coppins.

In 1954, the Duchess of Kent, who had no official London residence (she would stay at Queen Mary’s dower residence, Marlborough House), was granted a grace-and-favour apartment at Kensington Palace. With an ever-increasing need for the duchess to take on more responsibility as a member of the Royal Family, she had to stay more often in London, but it would be Coppins where she would always feel happiest. The duchess now had two residences to maintain, albeit economically and to do this, her permanent staff of eleven had to crisscross between London and Buckinghamshire.   Princess Marina certainly looked for ways to economize while keeping up appearances. She paid low wages to her staff, borrowed dresses from designers, wearing them for one evening and returning them the next day. When faced with dire straits once more, which was the case in 1947, more possessions were sold off, including English furniture, objects of art and porcelain which totalled £92,300.

In 1961, Prince Edward, Duke of Kent, (who took ownership of Coppins once he attained his majority) married Katharine Worseley, a Yorkshire baronet’s daughter. With Princess Marina now residing at Kensington Palace, the new couple settled in Coppins. The strict economies implemented by Princess Marina had its sad effect on the country home – it was on the verge of dilapidation and much work were needed to modernize the place.  From the outset, the new mistress of Coppins was determined to make changes-but she did this quite tactfully.


On first sight she was frankly taken aback by the primitive conditions in the kitchen and in the servants' quarters. The stone-flagged floors, ancient stoves, and dilapidated gas heaters were out of another era.   Katharine immediately modernised the staff's quarters and installed television for them. At the same time she and her husband decided to make do with fewer attendants. While no one was fired, some who retired just were not replaced. When the head gardener resigned in 1967, his assistant took over, without a replacement, reducing the total garden staff from its original five to one.

Under the Duchess' direction, flowerbeds were replaced by lawns-although, in the interest of food economy, she had the kitchen garden expanded. The main six visitors' bedrooms, were redecorated all with sheepskin rugs, papered in blue for male guests, pink for women. The bathrooms serving these rooms were installed with wall electric fire. Six other bedrooms were reserved for family use.   The Duke and Duchess of Kent shares Marina's old bedroom, rather than live up to the Convention back then of royal husbands and wives sleeping in separate rooms. The duke used his father's former ' bedchamber as a dressing-room. The couple did, however, have separate bathrooms.

 A large oil painting of Marina hangs over the Duke's writing-desk in the drawing-room, and his late father still looks down on the opposite wall above the grand piano.vA collection of not-very popular bird paintings, also a favourite of the late Duke, hangs untouched in the main hall. The Duchess of Kent, expanded the table in her dining-room, but ever the superstitious, she had designed to seat only twelve guests. When an unexpected 13th once showed up at a shooting lunch he had to eat standing in the pantry.

 

At Coppins, the Duke and Duchess held weekly dinner parties mix a variety of guests: One close friend is Countess Basia Pokleski-Koziell, wife of a Polish aristocrat, who may arrive driving herself in a clattering delivery van. The Countess, who was down on her luck, then earned $40 a week delivering dresses for a Mayfair shop. The royal couple also had a good family relationship with his sister, Princess Alexandra, and her husband, Angus Ogilvy, and the couples used to dine together fairly frequently. Two of the duke and duchess of Kent’s three surviving children were born at Coppins: George, Earl of St. Andrews, was born here in September 1962, followed by Helen in April 1964.

In 1968, Princess Marina suddenly died of brain tumour.  Alas, with no sizable fortune of their own, maintaining Coppins had become increasingly financially straining. In January 1972, the Duke and Duchess of Kent moved into York House, which would remain their London residence for more than two decades.  Two months after, it was revealed that they would no longer be returning to Coppins. Finally, in May 1972, Coppins was sold for about £400,000 to Commander Eli Gottlieb.  Queen Elizabeth II had allowed the couple to use Anmer Hall on the Sandringham estate as their weekend retreat. Since then, Coppins has changed ownership several times.  

 

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