ROYAL VISIT TO SWEDEN

Press, Volume XCIII, Issue 27986, 5 June 1956, Page 11

ROYAL VISIT TO SWEDEN

Varied Programme In Stockholm

(N.Z. Press Association—Copyright) (Rec. 9.20 p.m.) LONDON, June 4. The Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh will sail this evening aboard the royal yacht Britannia for their three-day state visit to Stockholm. After a quiet week-end with their children, Prince Charles and Princess Anne, at Windsor Castle, the Royal couple travelled overnight to the Tees-side district of Northern England ready to embark there for Sweden. This will be the Queen’s first trip to the Swedish capital, but it will be almost as much a family occasion as a State visit.

Queen Louise is an aunt of the Duke of Edinburgh and a sister of Admiral Earl Mountbatten, the Duke’s uncle, who is in the Royal entourage. King Gustaf, a frequent private visitor to Britain, paid a formal State visit to London two years ago. When the yacht Britannia . enters Swedish waters early next Friday, an escort of Swedish jet fighters, zooming overhead, will usher in for the Royal visitors a three-day programme packed with splendour and ceremony. Prince Bertil, the son of King Gustaf and Queen Louise, will be at the harbour to welcome the Royal couple. Then the Queen and the Duke will drive in State to the Royal Palace where a 12-room suite has been prepared for them.

Highlights of the visit include a State banquet the same night and a gala performance at the Royal Opera House on Saturday. The last day of the official visit, Sunday, will coincide with the Duke of Edinburgh’s 35th birthday. Last of the official programme of the visit is the opening of the Olympic equestrian events which will run until June 17.

On Sunday evening the Queen has arranged for a banquet in honour of her hosts aboard the Britannia.

At the end of the official visit, the Queen and the Duke will stay on for a few days in the Swedish capital, living aboard their yacht. They will be joined by Princess Margaret and other members of the British Royal Family for the remainder of their stay. The Queen and the Duke will return to Britain on June 17.

A Stockholm message says that 4000 Swedish troops will line Queen Elizabeth’s route when she begins her State visit with the Duke of Edinburgh.

So long as she is in sight, military bands will play “God Save the Queen,” in one of the capital’s biggest parks.

The music will be played by an orchestra of 170 men from six different Army corps. Drums made in London will be played by the Royal Swedish Life Guards’ Band during the State visit. They were specially ordered for the occasion to replace the band’s old drums, and were paid for by a collection among past and present Life Guards officers.