No 5 Belgrave Square, London. 11 June 1936. 9.05pm. Guests are about to arrive for a lavish dinner in London’s most fashionable quarter, Belgravia. Cabinet minister Leslie Hore-Belisha and Barbie Wallace, the glamorous daughter of society architect Sir Edwin Lutyens, appear first, quickly followed by Prince George, Duke of Kent, and his beautiful wife, Princess Marina of Greece and Denmark. Next to come are Harold Balfour, MP for Thanet; Wallis Simpson, without her cuckolded husband, Ernest; and shortly after, her paramour, King Edward VIII, who, exactly six months later, will give up the throne in order to marry her.
Our flamboyant host – and the man recording this extravaganza in his raffish, snobbish, indiscreet and utterly compelling diaries – is the flashy American-born bisexual and social climber supreme, Sir Henry ‘Chips’ Channon MP, a man who described himself as being ‘riveted by lust, bibelots, furniture and glamour, society and jewels’. At his side is his brewing-heiress wife, Lady Honor Guinness, daughter of the staggeringly rich Earl of Iveagh. The couple have had a quick brandy and soda to steady their nerves, Chips writes – though, he adds later, he frequently laces guests’ drinks with benzedrine, ‘which I find always makes a party go’. They discuss the hugely wealthy American socialite Laura Corrigan and her rage at being asked to arrive only after dinner. They chuckle about her heavy make-up, flamboyant wigs and lack of intellect before heading downstairs to greet their guests.
Introductions follow in one of the salons, with the king doing the ‘circle charmingly’, calling everybody by their Christian name. He kisses his sister-in-law Marina of Greece, who curtsies. Dinner is announced, and a procession starts to form, leading to the most opulent dining room in London. The guests take their places around a 25ft mirrored dining table, which echoes the room’s mirrored panelling. A huge crystal chandelier fitted with candles hangs overhead.
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October 11, 2021 at 08:07PM
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Chips ahoy! In praise of Chips Channon's acerbic musings, by Sasha Swire - Tatler
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