Titanic memorial in President’s Park

Did you know that there is a Titanic memorial in President’s Park near the White House?

 The Butt-Millet Memorial Fountain is dedicated to Major Archibald “Archie” Willingham Butt 

and Francis “Frank” Davis Millet, 

who lost their lives in the Titanic disaster. 

Butt was a dedicated member of the White House staff from 1908 to 1912. 

He served as a military aide to Presidents Theodore Roosevelt and William Howard Taft, 

and was good friends with both presidents and their families. 

While working in the White House, he lived in a mansion on G Street with the artist Frank Millet, 

who at one point served on the President’s Commission of Fine Arts.

The president and the first lady commissioned the Butt-Millet Memorial Fountain

 (pictured) soon after their deaths. 

It depicts a soldier on one side and an artist on the other, to represent both Butt and Millet.

 Daniel Chester French and Thomas Hastings designed the fountain, 

funded by close friends of the two victims. 

It stands on the northern edge of the Ellipse along the South side of the White House. 

Building this memorial on public grounds required an act of Congress, 

and President Taft himself led the committee in charge of construction.

The Butt–Millet Memorial Fountain is 12 feet (3.7 m) high. An octagonal grey granite base supports an 8 feet (2.4 m) wide bowl of golden brown Tennessee marble. A grey granite Neoclassical column rises from the center of the bowl. Two figures in low bas-relief are depicted, one on the north and one on the south side of the column. The northern figure of a woman with paint brush and palette, represents the fine arts.^[39] The southern figure of a man in armor and helmet, holding a shield, represents military valor. Four globes in the bowl surround the granite column and emit water, which cascades over the edge of the bowl into a shallow receptacle in the grey granite base. The fountain bowl was designed to be a source of drinking water for horses used by park police patrols.

An inscription around the lip of the bowl reads: “In memory of Francis Davis Millet – 1846–1912 –

and Archibald Willingham Butt – 1865–1912.

This monument has been erected by their friends with the sanction of Congress.

My notes:

I found the story fascinating and wanted to share

it with you. I didn’t know it even existed. I must visit,

on my next trip to Washington DC.

Barbara KisKis

April 22, 2023

King Charles’ Coronation Invitation

The intricate invitation will be issued to 2,000 select guests for the historic service at Westminster Abbey.

On Tuesday, Buckingham Palace released the colorful card which will be issued to 2,000 guests for the epic event at Westminster Abbey on May 6. The intricate invite with a floral border was designed by Andrew Jamieson, a heraldic artist and manuscript illuminator. The hand painted watercolor and gouache illustration will be printed and distributed on recycled card — a likely nod to the King’s lifelong interest in sustainability.

“The Coronation of Their Majesties King Charles III and Queen Camilla,” the letter heralds. “By command of the King the Earl Marshal is directed to invite [name] to be present at the Abbey Church of Westminster on the 6th day of May 2023.”

A close look shows two birds perched on the letter C, which is flanked by Charles and Camilla’s coats of arms. The Queen Consort’s crest has been updated to reflect her installment as a Royal Lady of the Order of the Garter last summer, courtiers said.

The meticulous floral border is meant to reflect a British wildflower meadow with lily of the valley, cornflowers, wild strawberries, dog roses and bluebells, plus a sprig of rosemary for remembrance. The flowers are grouped in bunches of three to reflect that Charles is the third King of his name. Flora meets fauna with the incorporation of a butterfly and a bee, plus small drawings of a lion, unicorn and boar from the royal couple’s coats of arms.

The flowers flow into an illustration of the Green Man — “an ancient figure from British folklore, symbolic of spring and rebirth, to celebrate the new reign,” the palace said.

The invitation to King Charles and Queen Camilla’s coronation is reminiscent of the one issued for Queen Elizabeth‘s crowning ceremony in 1953. At just 4 years old, Charles attended his mother’s coronation, and even received his own bright invite, decorated with trumpeting Grenadier Guards and the lion and unicorn of the royal coat of arms.

THE KING & QUEEN

MY NOTES:

LOVE, LOVE the invitation.

BARBARA KISKIS

April 4, 2023

From an article by People Magazine.