Foreigners often described London this way: foggy, damp, bitterly cold in winter. Yet that still could not change the fact that it was the "final destination" of exiles from many countries.
After the outbreak of the French Revolution, many French aristocrats came to Soho. Unlike in the twentieth century, Soho at that time was chaotic and disorderly, full of Greeks, people from Italy, social dregs, and stray cats running everywhere. Tomatoes and animal entrails were casually thrown into the streets.
Some drowned their sorrows in taverns, while others plotted and wrote in coffeehouses, hoping to continue their cause with their "compatriots" far away in their homeland. Yet London brought them more disappointment than hope.
This was not an ideal place for refugees seeking safety and comfort, but a city like Leviathan, lurking within thick smog.
There was a hotel in Mayfair that had been operating since the mid-eighteenth century. As a top-tier luxury hotel, during both World War I and World War II, aristocrats—including kings—simply lived there as if it were home, and the queen herself was also very fond of it.
Whenever there was a major celebration and Buckingham Palace could not accommodate everyone, some dignitaries and celebrities would be arranged to stay at that hotel. Thus, it had earned the nickname "Buckingham Palace Annex."
In truth, it was not difficult to find hotels of equal luxury in London. However, according to a certain "former Buckingham Palace employee," the reason the queen liked that hotel so much lay in its "service." Passing the Dead Fly Test was merely the first step toward entering Buckingham Palace. If one had to compare them, Buckingham Palace employees had to carefully consider how to remind the queen to dine without interrupting her work.
The hotel staff, meanwhile, treated most guests with the familiarity