PRINCE GEORGE ENGAGED

Press, Volume LXX, Issue 21256, 30 August 1934, Page 9

PRINCE GEORGE ENGAGED

♦ PRINCESS MARINA OF GREECE i ANNOUNCEMENT FROM j ! BALMORAL CULMINATION OK HOLIDAY ROMANCE j 1 1 vI":.'ULL» * •> 30 CI Ai 1 'J S M V TELSQ&APU.—COPmiGH L./ * l (Received August 29, 5.5 p.m. t < LONDON, August 28. 1 An official announcement from ' Balmoral Castle states: "With the greatest pleasure the : King and Queen announce the , betrothal of their dearly-loved , son George to Princess Marina, ( daughter of Prince 'and Princess Nicolas of Greece, to which union the King has gladly given his consent." The engagement was the culmination of a holiday romance. Prince . George and Princess Marina are the guests of Prince Paul of Jugoslavia. They have known each other for five years, and first met in London, which Princess Marina was visiting privately. After that they met whenever Princess Marina was in England. Prince George left England for Jugoslavia on August 15. Princess Marina, who is a tail i and charming brunette, will cele-! brate her 28th birthday on Decern- i ber 30. She is the youngest of; Prince Nicolas's three daughters. I i Prince George will remain for a j week in Jugoslavia, where he hasjust returned from Salzburg. Aus-j tria. | The "Daily Mail" says that last j evening Prince George attended a I performance of "Don G iovanni," at J Salzburg, accompanied by Princess Marina and her sister, Princess Olga, and the latter's husband, Prince Paul of Jugoslavia. During the interval Prince George was seen affectionately j guiding Princess Marina by the ] arm as they went out to smoke a i cigarette. They were smilingly | watched by members of the Ausj trian nobility. | The Prince and Princess have! ! many tastes in common, principally | a love of music. Prince George j frequently played the piano to her at St. James's Palace. A friend of the Princess describes her as a typical modern girl, fond of outdoor sports. Princess Marina is a fluent linguist, and speaks English perfectly. j Her father is a younger brother of the late King Constantino of Greece, and an uncle of former King George. Her mother was the Grand Duchess Helen of Russia. Prince Nicolas is a well-known writer and pointer, and has exhibited paintings in London. He j created a literary sensation when ; m his "Political Memoirs" in 1928 j he defended the former King Con-' i rtantine against the charge of pan-1 i Germanism. | | Rumours of the engagement were: j rile on the Continent during the iweek-end, because of the presence of the couple at the musical festival at Salzburg. Directly questioned. Prince George asked a newspaper man to deny the rumours. "Please say there is no truth in all these rumours," he said. Prince George's grant on the civil list is £IO.OOO, and he will receive a further £ 15,000 a year when he is married. He reached Jugoslavia on his present visit in an aeroplane lent by the Prince of Wales, flying via Le Bourget and Munich over the Alps and the lakes of Carinthia. Prince George Edward Alexander Edmund, the lourth surviving son of King jcorge and Queen Mary, was born (n December 20, 1902. He entered ihe navy in September, 1916. and after passing out of Dartmouth as a midshipman in January, 1921, was appointed to H.M.S. Iron Duke, Hagship of the Mediterranean Fleet, in which he spent two years. He was then transferred to the Queen Elizabeth, the flagship of Sir C. Madden. In May, 1923, he became acting sub-lieutenant, and next February was confirmed in his rank. He had four months' service in the flotilla-leader Mackay and much preferred life in a destroyer to the more humdrum routine in the big ships. Having completed his courses with a view to qualifying later for the rank of lieutenant, he was appointed in January, 1925, to the cruiser Hawkins, flagship on the China station, where he served during the serious trouble in the Yanstse Valley. At Hong Kong he to put out a big hotel fire. In February, 1926, he passed his examination for lieutenant., but was given only a second in seamanship and thirds in navigation, gunnery, and torpedo work. On his returning from the China station in December, 1926, he was posted to H.M.S. President, the Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve ship in the Thames, for four months' study of French, after which he qualified as an interpreter. In October, 1927, he joined H.M.S. Nelson, flagship of the Atlantic fleet, his duties including those of interpreter. He was transferred in 1928 to H.M.S. Dauntless on the American and West Indian station, but was on leave when she grounded, in July he was posted to H.M.S. Durban on the same station. It was announced in March, 1929, that since life afloat did not suit his health, which is not very robust, he was leaving the navy. The Prince was attached'to the Foreign Office in order that he might gain knowledge of the work and administration of a government department. His name, however, still remained on the active list of the navy. He was the first member of his family to be attached to th'e civil service. Prince George occupied a desk in the Western Department, which deals with the countries of Western Europe. In July, 1929, he had to give up his work for a time owing to a digestive disorder which . made it advisable for him to diet , strictly, and to be as much in the ; country as possible. It was his weak digestion which was chiefly respon- ? sible for his leaving the navy, as he : was very subject to sea-sickness. In 1930 he took aviation lessons. Next year, with the Prince of Wales, he : made a very extensive and successful ; tour of South America, largely by air - An unfounded rumour that he was E engaged to Princess Ingrid of Sweden was based on his visit to Stockholm ijjn whan iOoe gvm .biff!