A big attraction in town is Harrod's. For that reason, a flat near the store is particularly prized. A Jordanian friend who has one there told us his wife "does not go to London, she goes to Harrod's."
The store was founded in London in 1834 and was British-owned until 1985, when it was bought by Mohamed Al-Fayed, an Egyptian. He sold it this year to the Qatari royal family for 1.5 billion pounds.
British friends tell me they won't shop there anymore because it has become "vulgar." Al-Fayed certainly made some tasteless additions to the store: a memorial to his son Dodi and Princess Diana was installed on the lower floor (crypt-like), and not satisfied with that, he erected larger-than-life statues of them near menswear, not far from a wax figure of himself.
Al-Fayed also lost the royal patronage seals that had given the store a certain cache almost since it was founded. People liked the idea of buying their Christmas cakes and table linens in the same place as the Queen. Al-Fayed accused Prince Philip of having Dodi and Diana murdered, which not surprisingly caused the Duke of Edinburgh, the Queen, the late Queen Mother and the Prince of Wales to take their patronage elsewhere. No royals have bought anything at Harrod's since 1997, the year Dodi and Diana died.
My guests always want to go there, which is the only time I do anymore. This is a marked change in behavior from when I was a visitor rather than a resident of London.
When we first brought our daughters here as little girls, Harrod's was a destination, along with the Tower of London and Changing of the Guard at Buckingham Palace. They loved the toy department, of course, and also had a good time looking at the fabulous evening dresses upstairs and the fancifully decorated cakes in the food halls. At that time there were cases of them. Now there are only few.
When we lived in Vienna several years ago, a friend and I came here for a weekend of shopping. It was January and sale time. Compared to staid Vienna, London had everything, including Harrod's. We arrived at the store when it opened and did not leave for eight hours. With 330 departments and over one million square feet of selling space, we had a lot to cover. When we got hungry, we chose from among 28 restaurants.
Fast forward to being a resident of London for ten years and you find me only grudgingly accompanying guests who want to go to there. I admit it is sometimes worth it, though, just to see the astonished looks on their faces when they encounter the Dodi and Diana memorial adjacent to the twin sphinxes with eternal flames.
top photo: luxist.com
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