too&me
12-17-2008, 02:20 PM
King George V had a pet Roseate Cockatoo to which he was extremely devoted, although I believe Queen Mary regarded the bird less favourably than did her husband.
On bidding farewell to a friend who had lunched at Sandringham, the King would often have the cockatoo sitting on his arm or shoulder, but what Queen Mary objected to so strongly was entirely a domestic matter.
It appears that the King liked to have his cockatoo with him when he was dressing for dinner, and while doing so would put it on a towel-rail in his dressing-room where it had a lovely time biting the towels-biting things up being an affectionate gesture on the part of many of the cockatoos, which in an aviary will often whittle away at a perch with much raising and lowering of the crest while one is talking to them.
However, whether chewing up the royal towels was a gesture of affection for its owner on the Roseate's part or was simply done from sheer naughtiness I don't know, but I do know that it annoyed Queen Mary extremely, and I can't say I blame her! :haha: Some things never change!
On bidding farewell to a friend who had lunched at Sandringham, the King would often have the cockatoo sitting on his arm or shoulder, but what Queen Mary objected to so strongly was entirely a domestic matter.
It appears that the King liked to have his cockatoo with him when he was dressing for dinner, and while doing so would put it on a towel-rail in his dressing-room where it had a lovely time biting the towels-biting things up being an affectionate gesture on the part of many of the cockatoos, which in an aviary will often whittle away at a perch with much raising and lowering of the crest while one is talking to them.
However, whether chewing up the royal towels was a gesture of affection for its owner on the Roseate's part or was simply done from sheer naughtiness I don't know, but I do know that it annoyed Queen Mary extremely, and I can't say I blame her! :haha: Some things never change!