Autograph Letter Signed ('Grace E. Hadow') from Grace Eleanor Hadow, describing to 'Freda', 'the youngest member of the Freeland Institute', the presentation to Princess Mary of a doll made by her, during a visit by the Queen to Barnett House, Oxford

5pp., 12mo. In good condition, on lightly-aged paper. The letter begins: 'Dear Freda | I think you may like to hear about your doll & the Princess Mary. The doll had a beautifully written card tied to it, saying it was the work of the youngest member of the Freeland Institute. Then it was put on a table with the basket of flowers for the Queen. The Queen & the Princess came up to the Library at Barnett House, which was all decorated with flowers, & a little girl, dressed in white, came & handed the Queen the basket - which was made by the North Leigh Institute - & the Princess your doll.' The doll was well received, and Hadow will look for 'a nice picture of Princess Mary in any of the papers' to send. The Princess 'was dressed in dark blue, with a brown fur, & a big black hat, & looked so pretty. The little girl who gave her the doll is 12 years old, & very fair, with golden hair & blue eyes, & she made a nice little curtsey as she handed it.' She invites Freda to imagine the scene: 'The big room lined with books, & a lot of gentlemen in beautiful red & blue hoods hanging over their black gowns [...] standing round, & ladies in very smart dresses, & then the Queen herself in a very bright blue hat & a long fur coat, & the Princess standing under a big picture, & smiling as she received the doll.' The Times of 7 May 1921 reported that the queen was to visit Oxford the following Friday, 'to receive her honorary degree in the Sheldonian Theatre', and that at the same time she intended to visit 'Barnett House in the Broad. | Barnett House was founded in 1914, and is a centre for the study of economics and sociology. As the name denotes, it is a memorial to the late Canon Barnett, much of whose work was to bring the best and most highly trained minds to consider the social questions which affect the lives of the majority of the English people.' According to Hadow's entry in the Oxford DNB, 'she was persuaded by W. G. S. Adams in 1920 to become secretary at Barnett House in Oxford, founded a few years earlier in memory of Canon Barnett of Toynbee Hall'.