ROYAL GARDEN PARTY

Press, Volume LXXXIX, Issue 27098, 22 July 1953, Page 7

ROYAL GARDEN PARTY

Sir, —There will no doubt be a great demand for tickets for the Royal garden party. I would like to suggest that next-of-kin and parents of servicemen and women who gave their lives for Queen and country be considered when tickets are being distributed. I don’t think top hats or spats would be necessary, and I think Her Majesty and His Royal Highness would like to meet as many as possible of the parents of fallen heroes. —Yours, etc., _ CORVETTE. July 21, 1953.

Sir,—When th# Duke of Windsor many years ago Visited New Zealand he made a brief stay at Ashburton, where I was living at the time. Every citizen who wished had an opportunity of seeing him at close quarters as he drove slowly through the Ashburton Domain. What is wrong with Queen Elizabeth and the Duke of Edinburgh driving slowly through the public gardens, giving all citizens who wish a close view of them, and then proceeding in front of Christ’s College to Hagley Park, where the school children, as suggested,, by Mr S. Irwin, could be assembled and seen at close quarters by the Queen? ,As many citizens as possible should be enabled to see Queen Elizabeth and her husband; for are we not all members of the British Commonwealth of Nations, of which she is the head? That would be impossible at a small garden party. —Yours, etc., DAUGHTER OF PIONEERS. July 21. 1953.

Sir. —The discussion on social classes in New Zealand comes appropriately when invitations to the Royal garden party are being decided. Your correspondents in the main resent the suggestion that we are class conscious. In this land of equality there should be no difficulty over invitations to the garden party. Let applications be invited from all who wish to be present and, if more than 3000 apply, put all the names in a hat and draw the required number. If it is thought that to invite applications is to pander to those who consider themselves socially more entitled to be near the Royal party, names could be chosen by lot from the electoral rolls. By the way. I see the Labour City Council has arranged for the Duke of Edinburgh to address, not the trade unions or the housewives or the school teachers. but the Chamber of Commerce. Is this significant?—Yours, etc., Y.Y. July 20. 1953. [When this letter was referred to the Mayor (Mr R. M. Macfarlane, M.P.) he said that he had no comment to make on the first part of the letter. He said that the Christchurch City Council had nothing to do with the arrangements about the Chamber of Commerce.]