A House Fit for a Queen

Queen Mary's Doll House is arguably the mostnormal one when played.
magnificent display of beauty, detail, and creativitySir Lutyens had talented furniture makers of the
of any dollhouse in history. King George V of theday make small replicas of the furniture found in
United Kingdom presented this house to QueenWindsor Castle. He had all cupboards stocked with
Mary in 1924 as a gift from the people of Englandcanned goods that bore logos of popular brands
to reveal to future generations how royalty livedfound in the real Queen's kitchen. He had linens,
during the early twentieth century.curtains, clothes, nursery toys, and rugs created
Princess Marie Louise was the first to broach theto scale. The basement wine cellar contained
idea of creating such a masterpiece with Sir Edwinminiature bottles of wine with real labels filled with
Lutyens, one of England's top architects of thea thimble's worth of the actual advertised wine.
time. Taken by the notion, Lutyens immediatelyThe lavatory even had its own roll of toilet paper.
set forth on designing a house that would be fitOver one hundred and seventy writers, from
for a queen, no expenses spared. He wanted toPoet Laureate Robert Bridges to Rudyard Kipling,
create a fully furnished miniature home that waswere commissioned to write miniature books for
accurate to items found in Windsor Castle, downthe Library. Well-known artists supplied
to the finest detail.watercolours and art for the Queen Mary's Doll
Built at 1:12 scale and standing nearly three and aHouse.
half feet high, the forty room doll house began toAs the project ballooned, Sir Lutyens chaired a
take shape. Lutyens employed artists and artisansDolls' House Committee to oversee all these
to work on the interior. To provide an idea of theartists, writers, and companies eager to lend
detail and care given to these rooms, they built athere services to his vision.
front foyer complete with a swirling staircase toNo detail was forgotten. There was Royal Doulton
the second floor, a library with walnut bookcases,and Wedgewood China, a Singer sewing machine
a servant's pantry equipped with all modernin the linen room, utensils, ornaments, napkins,
conveniences of the day, and a Queen's bedroomstamp albums, and a little snail crawling on a leaf in
with a four-poster bed, the night sky painted onthe garden.
the ceiling.By the end of the project, nearly fifteen hundred
These little touches alone would be enough topeople were involved in the creation of the
make the Queen Mary's Doll House one of thedollhouse. Queen Mary took great joy when she
most impressive miniatures ever created. Sirsaw her gift, and ruled this house shared with
Lutyens had plans that were more ambitious.everyone so that people might see and
He insisted it necessary that everything within theappreciate the ingenuity of the English people.
house be fully functional. He hired electricians toIt made its first appearance in 1924 at the British
make every light and chandelier work, plumbersEmpire Exhibition, attracting two million visitors
to make every toilet flush and tap run, andbefore it was relocated to Windsor Castle. There
crafters to have the two elevators stop at everythe dollhouse remains today for anyone to see
floor. He even went so far as to have aand enjoy.
one-twelfth scale gramophone built to work as a