ROYAL ENGAGEMENT.

Auckland Star, Volume LIV, Issue 73, 26 March 1923, Page 11

ROYAL ENGAGEMENT.

PRINCE MARRIES COMMONER

DUKE OF YORK'S FIANCEE

Satisfaction is naturally keen, writes our London correspondent on "January' 24, at the Prince's good sense in falling, in love with a girl of British birth, and, Scottish pride in a "lang pedigree" isj soothed by the fact that in stern Caledonia he was able to find a bride who J was herself a descendant of kings, even! if only in those far away days when the Thane of Glamis made a" legendary figure in our history, and gave Shakespeare a Bubject for one of his best tragedies. It is a point worth noting' that in all the cases—except that ot Princess Mary—where our reigning Boyal family have married commoners, they have gone to Scotland. Princess i Louise, King George's aunt, married I Lord LOme, and Princess Louise, his, sister, married the Duke of Fife, who' as a Macduff figured as one. too. of Shakespeare's historical characters. The; bride's ancestors on the female side l showed themselves to be highly indivi- j dual personages, as instance an ances- | tress, a Lady Glamis, of the sixteenth j century, who was burned to death as a ! witch on the Castle Hill at Edinburgh.; Another was slain in the first Jacobite j rebellion.

ANCESTRAL HOME. Strange stories have played about the! ancient castle even into modern times. Everyone has heard of the mysterious chamber in Glamis Castle, and some have professed to know the awful secret.! Thackeray took the history of a Lady Strathmore as his original for the unhappy lady in "Barry LynrKm." Round Glamis Castle, the lifelong home of Lady Elizabeth, legend has always been busy, and its noble dimensions are the fitting centre piece for! such stories. When James the VII. I (of Scotland) was there in 1615 he declared he had seen no castle on the Continent to be compared with jt. It waß a residence of several of the early Scottish Kings, notably Alexander III", and the portraits in the castle include; those of "Bonnie Dundee." Charles 11. and James 11. It is interesting to recall that the visit of the Duke of York was the first paid to Glami3 Castle by the son of a reigning King since Prince James, the old Pretender, ; went there on the eve of Sheriffmuir. | The legend of its mysterious room,' known to only three persons, the Earl of Strathmore, to his heir, and to the ; steward of the household, has ever had i a fascination, and in the days when the I Mysteries of Udolpho were fashionable j literature Sir Walter Scott himself, spent a night at Glamis Castle to inves- j tigate its ghostly surroundings, a visit which he described in "Demonology aerd Witchcraft." LACK OF CEREMONY. But what of the young couple themselves? There is nothing of the ceremonial about either, in Bpite of their background of great family and Royal birth. Lady Elizabeth, with her sisters, has taken a prominent position in London society. At the time of the Princess' wedding Lady Elizabeth was regarded as one of the most prominent | of the Royal bridesmaids who wasi thought likely to make her mark on English society in a short time. Her friends have always known her as a vivacious girl, of much charm and character, and rumour was soon busy! with her name as a. likely bride for one of the young Princes. As for the Duke, he may be summed I up as a sportsman and a Democrat, the j latter attested by the energy with which! he has thrown himself into everything! connected with the promotion of "industrial welfare."' to the betterment ofj working conditions in factories andi workshops. A month or two ago he went to Beckton Gasworks to demonstrate his interest in the system of co-| partnership in vogue there, and would j not leave the premises before he had talked with many of the boys. The evening of the same day he spent at! the Working Men's College in Crowndale Road, N.W. One branch of Social welfare work with which the Duke has been specially identified has been the effort made on his own initiative to bring boys ofj different classes into closer association, i His Royal Highness, in the summer of' 1921, thought of the happy idea of forming a holiday camp, to consist of | 400 boys from Eton. Harrow, and other I public schools, together with a number' of lads representative of working class organisations. The camp was situated at Littlestone Aerodrome, New Romnev, and His Royal Highness himself spent two days with the lads, and thoroughly enjoyed his experiences. The experiment was repeated with equal success last summer. It is this boyish exuber- j ance of the young Duke which has endeared him to boys of all classes. SPORTSMAN PRINCE. Since the days of Frederick, Prince' of Wales, who died in 1751, no member! of the Royal Family has been co keen! on cricket as the Duke of York. He is | a natural batsman, and distinguished himself as a bowler at an early age.

In the private ground of the slopes below Windsor Castle lie dismissedKing Edward, the present King, and the Prince of Wales with three successive balls. i The ball with which Prince Albert' performed this notable "hat trick" was suitably mounted, and now figures in the messroom at the Royal Naval Col-! lege, Dartmouth. I lie is not a good speaker; indeed, he has had great difficulty in training himself to speak in public, but lie has now almost overcome his obstacles, and speaks with much good sense. ' But, like young people, they are interested in'some of tiie baubles of engagement. When on the day oi the announcemnt Lady Elizabeth was asked what her engagement ring wns like, she had to confess she had not got it! The ring was in existence, although it was not ready for wearing. It had been sent to BiK.kinp.iam Palace fur the approval of the Duke and bis fiancee, but it was found that alterations were necessary. The Duke of York eventually presented tin- ring ,-it the house of the Karl of Strathmore. in Brtiton Street, where be was lunching with bis fiancee and her parents. The ring is a lovely piece of jewellery. The centre jewel is a sapphire of rare blue. The (iankina; diamonds are smaller. The very light setting is of platinum, it is worn the setting is almost entirely obscured by jewels. COST OF WEDDING.

The cost of the Duke of York's wedding will not be defrayed out of the public fund«. The only Royal wedding* for which thp Treasury is called upon j to pay are those of the Sovereign, the I Heir Apparent, and the Princess Royal. I Tn all other cases the expense is borne I jointly by the parents of the bride and bridegroom. Even in connection with the three exceptions made, the full cost has not always been charged to the Stnte. The Bowcs-Lvon family is not a wealthy one. even as great families go in these days. Lord Strathmore has four sons and three daughters, and a great deal of the Bowcs wealth passed to another bran.-b of the family. The Duke's income comes from the King. There has been much speculation as to the rank and order of precedence which will he conferred on Lady Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon by her marriage, and it is now understood that she will be made a Royal Highness on this occasion. Before the proclamation on July 17, 1917, the Sovereign's sons, daughters, grandsons and granddaughters (being i

issue of sons l, brothers, siFters, and uncles and aunts on the father's side were all styled "Royal Highness," as ; also were the children of the eldest son iof any Prince of Wales, while grandchildren, being issues of (laughters were usually pranted by Royal Warrant the I title of '"Highness." ! But certain restrictions were made at I that date, the effect of which was to make the titles of Prince and Princess to be confined to children of any Sovereign, and to the children of the sons of any Sovereign.