Royal Visit in 1952

Press, Volume LXXXVI, Issue 26039, 16 February 1950, Page 4

Royal Visit in 1952

New Zealanders have been delighted to learn that the King and Queen will probably visit New Zealand in 1952. There is even greater cause for satisfaction in the news that the King has made such a good recovery from th£ illness that caused the cancellation of the Royal visit last year that he is able to resume his public activities and is planning the long-awaited tour of Australia and New Zealand. While New Zealand will have to wait another two years for the privilege and pleasure of a Royal visit, it is recognised that Their Majesties must remain in Britain next year for the Festival of Britain, which will mark the centenary of the Great Exhibition of 1851, which was planned and organised by the King’s great-grandfather, the Prince Consort. The Festival of Britain is a huge project, designed to present to the world a picture of British achievement, past, present, and to come. Their Majesties will have a full programme of engagements during the six months of the celebrations. The period of waiting in New Zealand, however, will only serve to increase the warmth and enthusiasm with which Their Majesties will be welcomed to the Dominion. Though Mr Holland’s announcement made no mention of Princess Margaret, it is to be hoped that she will accompany her parents, as she would have done last year. If she is able to come, she will be welcomed with equal

warmth, not only as a member of the Royal Family, but also because of the place she has gained in the affections of the people of the Commonwealth. Their Majesties’ high sense of public duty has been an assurance that at the first opportunity they would make good their promise to visit New Zealand. From the first years of their reign they have expressed their desire to visit all the countries of the Commonwealth and to meet all its peoples. The war interrupted their plans after they had visited Canada, but they were able to take up the threads again with a visit to South Africa in 1947. Their next visit is a happy prospect, which will be eagerly awaited by all New Zealanders; and New Zealand will make it a great and joyful occasion. At the same time it is desirable that the Government should consider whether the itinerary planned in 1949 could not be revised to make it less exacting. “ The Times ” has suggested that the tour should be planned to spare the King as much as possible. The Government should bear the suggestion in mind when it begins preparations for the Royal visit.