Why is a raven like a writing desk?

IF you stand on Horse Guards Parade and look up, you might see a figure surveying St James’s Park from his window, one of the British Army’s heirlooms next to him—the Duke of Wellington’s desk.

- Eleanor Doughty

Today, that figure would be Maj-Gen Christopher Ghika, General Officer Commanding the Household Division and London District (GOC). Gen Ghika moved in on November 2019, bringing with him a lamp in the shape of a bugle, once his late father’s, which sits on the piece of furniture in question.

The desk was made for Prince Frederick, Duke of York, by George Hepplewhite at the end of the 18th century, but is best known for having belonged to the Duke of Wellington during his tenure as Commander-in-Chief of the army from 1842 to 1852. Generals have used the office in which it sits since the modern Horse Guards building was constructed in the 1750s, including current Gold Stick Lt-Gen Sir Edward Smyth- Osbourne of the Life Guards. The desk, which is in immaculate condition, reflects Wellington’s influence. ‘He was getting quite deaf when he became commander-in-chief, so there are knee holes in three corners of the desk to allow his staff to get close to him,’ explains Gen Ghika. ‘It’s a great privilege to work at the desk of somebody so eminent.’

Gen Ghika knew the Wellington desk long before he became its guardian. His father, Brig Prince John Ghika, also worked at Horse Guards, finally as Chief of Staff, London District. This job comes with another notable desk—the Bad Godesberg desk. In 1938, when Neville Chamberlain visited Adolf Hitler in Munich, the pair sat around it to talk. ‘After the Second World War, the Guards were in Germany and found the desk—and, in 1945, finders were keepers.’