The Shadow of Great Britain

”Minister of Palace Affairs Decree: Appointment of Sir Arthur Hastings as Non-Resident Attendant”

Issuing Authority: United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland Palace Minister’s Office

Date: July 1, 1837

Document Number: LC/VICT/37/172

By command of Her Majesty the Queen, it is hereby appointed:

Sir Arthur Hastings, Member and Secretary-General of the Police Commissioner Committee,

as Her Majesty the Queen’s Non-Resident Attendant (Groom-in-Waiting, Extra),

allowing him to participate in royal audiences, state ceremonies, court protocols, state banquets, and other affairs designated by Her Majesty the Queen, without affecting his primary duties.

This position is not included in the daily roster of the Palace Minister’s Office, and attendance is as needed by Her Majesty’s decree, serving at Her Majesty’s side for ceremonial duties or to introduce guests. The position is unpaid, but Her Majesty the Queen has ordered a royal stipend to be granted as a token of honor.

”Court Pass”

Bearer: Sir Arthur Hastings

Permitted to access the following areas without further application:

Buckingham Palace North Corridor, East Waiting Hall

St. James’s Palace Long Gallery and Audience Hall

Windsor Castle State Tower and Council Chamber

Her Majesty’s accompanying locations, including outer court, reception hall, and church area.

Effective immediately from the date of issuance, any violation will be adjudicated according to royal custom.

Signature:

Francis Nathaniel Cunningham, Second Marquis of Cunningham

Minister of Palace Affairs of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland

By command of Her Majesty the Queen

——Clive Emsley, ”Policing and the King’s Power: From Scotland Yard to Buckingham Palace (1829–1887)”

Among the legendary stories passed down through the streets of London, villains often become protagonists and heroes. However, whenever this happens, the police or their predecessors, those sheriffs and night watchmen, inevitably become clown-like comical characters.

In this regard, even the founder of English literature, Shakespeare, was not an exception. His depiction of the ”Dogberry” officer and his foolish, clumsy subordinates in ”Much Ado About Nothing” stems from the old tradition of this city often making fun of the police.

In the beginning, the police were commonly referred to by Londoners as ”sentries,” as early London police were indeed responsible for keeping watch near the city walls of London. Documents from the 14th century even explicitly stated that these sentries were responsible for: all-day guarding inside and outside the city gates and below the walls, and rigorously inspecting anyone riding a tall horse or carrying weapons entering the city.

However, later on, to meet public safety needs, local residents voluntarily organized watch teams. Besides night watch and sentry duties, they were often also tasked with capturing criminals, apprehending nighttime wanderers and other troublemakers, and delivering them to the Magistrates’ Court.

But such tasks were too arduous, so eventually wealthier residents would usually hire others to do the work when it was their turn for the parish duty of night watch and sentry. However, since the pay was low, you shouldn’t have high expectations for the quality of these watchmen hired for temporary work.

According to the elders, the old-time watchmen were selected from the dregs of society. They held a club in their right hand, a lantern in their left, wore strange wide-brimmed hats, and heavy coats marked with their profession. At night, they patrolled the streets, calling out the hour when ringing the bell.

Of course, the elders’ accounts are not entirely accurate, as there were indeed responsible watchmen among them.

A responsible watchman would patrol the streets, poking at shop and house doors with a stick to ensure they were all locked. If a house wasn’t locked, he would warn the owner. Sometimes, he would also take money to wake up citizens who needed to travel early.

However, a significant number of watchmen were just as described by the elders, arriving late for duty, and even when on duty, they would first find an open place to chat, or fall asleep if exhausted from daytime labor or drunkenness.

And since the pay for watchmen was too low, courageous young men typically looked down on this job.

Compared to taking on night watch duty, these young lads would obviously prefer to create trouble for these ”old guys” after drinking.

If they found a watchman dozing off, they would flip him over with his stick, then punch and kick him like teasing a turtle lying on its back until other watchmen came to rescue him and they dispersed.

Though this has already become a scene of the past, the young ones’ inclination to attack the police during dark, windy nights hasn’t changed much.

Although Scotland Yard police, like their predecessors the watchmen, were also unpopular, their distinctive tailcoat uniforms and notorious ”Blue Lobster” nickname did deter troublemakers who liked to stir up trouble.

However, compared to the night watchman profession, Scotland Yard was actually quite an un-British organization.

With tightly organized, strictly disciplined, and extremely centralized control from top to bottom, whether viewed from the inside or the outside, the existence of Scotland Yard highly contradicted the long-standing populist and liberal spirit of Britain.

At the establishment of Scotland Yard, even The Times sharply criticized it, arguing that Scotland Yard was a machine invented by autocratic rule.