The Press THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 20, 1947. The Royal Wedding

Press, Volume LXXXIII, Issue 25346, 20 November 1947, Page 6

The Press THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 20, 1947. The Royal Wedding

The good wishes of the people of the British Commonwealth will go out to-day to the young couple who are being married in Westminster Abbey. To the people of Britain the event is much more than a public occasion to be celebrated as gaily as the austerity of the times will allow; for Princess Elizabeth is held in such warm affection and her happiness is so close to the hearts of all the people that to most the ceremony will have an almost personal interest. That this devotion is shared by peoples in the Dominions and Colonies who have known her only from afar is eloquent testimony to a personality sincere, charming, and gracious, yet full of the gaiety of youth. That her marriage should be one not of statecraft nor of dynastic convenience but of affection, springing from the impulses of two young hearts, is obviously cause for rejoicing. Yet great as the inclination may be to regard it as a private and personal matter, it is nevertheless of first-rate importance to the State. It is the marriage not merely of a Royal Princess but of one *vho is destined to be Queen. Princess Elizabeth and Lieutenant Philip Mountbatten have before them the very difficult problems of combining both' the happy relationships of marriage and the relationships of Sovereign and Consort. Everything in their lives promises that they will solve these problems as successfully as did their predecessors, Queen Victoria and Prince Albert. Philip, technically a commoner but of Royal blood, English by upbringing and training, and with an excellent war record in the Royal Navy, will not start out with Albert’s handicap of unpopularity, a handicap which Albert overcame triumphantly in later years by his modesty and devotion to public service. Philip will have similar responsibilities and similar opportunities, and everything indicates that he is well fitted for thepi.

The affection and respect between the Royal Family and the people, which is one of the firm bases of the British Monarchy, is exemplified in Princess Elizabeth. At the age of 21 she has identified herself with the people as completely as they have taken her to their hearts. During the war she shared the trials of the Londoners, registered for national service on her sixteenth birthday, and two years later, in 1944, entered the Auxiliary Territorial Service, becoming a transport driver. Increasing public appearances, some of them not in company with her parents, were a reminder that the Heiress Presumptive was growing up. It was not until the visit of the Royal Family to South Africa last year, however, that the people of the Commonwealth became conscious of her as a personality. Her broadcast to the Empire from Cape Town on her twentyfirst birthday was a moving and inspiring address, in which she dedicated herself to the service of her future subjects and appealed to all, especially to the youth of the British Commonwealth, to join with her in service to “our great Imperial Family” of nations. The South African tour was Princess Elizabeth’s first journey outside the British Isles. It is to be expected that in the early future she and her husband will make many similar visits to the Dominions and Colonies over which she will some day be Sovereign. In no land of the British Commonwealth is a visit from the Princess and her husband more eagerly awaited than in New Zealand.