At Claridge’s and the Ritz, when sirens sounded, guests brought their mattresses and pillows down to the lobby. This made for moments of egalitarian comedy, as journalist Virginia Cowles discovered upon finding herself raid-bound in the Ritz lobby. “They wandered about,” she observed, “in all forms of odd attire: beach pajamas, slacks, siren suits, and some just in ordinary wrappers with their night-dresses trailing on the floor.” While crossing the lobby, Cowles encountered a member of the royal family of Albania: “I tripped over King Zog’s sister, who was sleeping peacefully outside the door
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