Photograph of the Duchess of Kent with her sisters

 Photograph of the Duchess of Kent with her sisters

The photograph we present comes from the Potocki collection and can be seen in the Ordynat's Office, on the ground floor of our museum.

It depicts three women in evening dress. Looking at the surroundings, we have the impression that the photo was taken at a ball, during a break between one dance and another. In the background, we can see the curtains of the columns, and the photographed women seem to have sat on a low bench for a moment. The photograph was provided with handwritten captions from the left: Marina, Elisabeth 1937, Olga. On the Passe partout on the left side there is an inscription BerhamPark. The resemblance of these three ladies is astonishing. Are they sisters? Yes! They are Marina, Duchess of Kent, and her older sisters: Elizabeth and Olga.

In July 1937, George, the Duke of Kent and his wife Marina arrived in Poland. After visiting Cracow and Katowice, they spent five days in Łańcut. At the station, the royal couple were greeted by Count Alfred Potocki, and the castle orchestra played "God Save the King". From here, in a carriage drawn à la Daumont, the distinguished guests set off on their way to the Castle, where, after a festive dinner, a ball was held. Earlier, Alfred III had shown Prince George his stable. The next day in the morning there was a meeting attended by, among others: Józef Beck with his wife, Józef Potocki, Johannes and Marizza Lichtenstein, Karol Radziwiłł and Alfred III's younger brother, Jerzy. After breakfast, the royal couple visited the horse stable in Albigowa and the hunting lodge in Julin. The popular, illustrated weekly "Światowid" described this visit in the following way: "After a short stay in Katowice and Cracow, the Duke and the Dutchess of Kent went by train to Łańcut to visit the Ordynat Alfred Count Potocki. Getting out of the parlour car, the guests were greeted by the host in the reception room, then they went by carriage and cars to the castle. The Duke and the Dutchess of Kent travelled in a carriage, drawn by four horses and driven by two coachmen, the other guests in cars. At the invitation of the Ordynat, apart from the Duke and the Dutchess of Kent, there were also: Beck with his wife, Count Jerzy Potocki, Ambassador of the Republic of Poland in Washington, the governor of Lviv Province Dr. Biłyk, Miss and Mr Koziełł-Poklawski, Count Józef Potocki, Count Adam Potocki, Count Roman Potocki of Korzec with his wife, Prince Eugenjusz Lubomirski with his wife from Chodorów, Prince Czartoryski of Pełkinia, Count Benedykt Tyszkiewicz, Prince Lichtenstein, Colonel Morawski, Mr Aweling and others. In the evening, a dinner was held in honour of the Duke and the Dutchess of Kent. The dining room was awash in flowers. On the second day of their stay in Łańcut, the distinguished English guests went for a walk through the streets of the town in the morning. After breakfast, the Duke and the Dutchess of Kent, accompanied by the host and other guests, set off by car to the forest in Dąbrówki. They also visited the famous horse stable of the Counts Potocki in Albigowa and the castle gardens. On this occasion, with the consent of Princess Marina, one of the flowers was named, namely a variety of gloxinia, grown in the gardens of Łańcut, after the Duchess of England. The duke and the Dutchess of Kent stayed in Łańcut until Friday, and then they left for Yugoslavia."

This photo is one of the mementos of the visit.

Anna Szczęsny