Princess Going ‘Back To Work9

Press, Volume CVI, Issue 31231, 1 December 1966, Page 2

Princess Going ‘Back To Work 9

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SIMON KAVANAUGH)

In the New Year Princess Alexandra will be back in the public eye with a heavy programme of engagements after her temporary retirement to nurse her daughter, bom in July.

The programme includes an extensive tour of Canada. There, and in the rest of her engagements. Commonwealth people will be glad to meet and read about the girl who turns Royal events into warm and personal occasions.

Princess Alexandra is the princess who has somehow remained completely unaffected by the stiff formality of the court circle. She was fortunate in that her mother, the former Duchess of Kent and now Princess Marina, gave her and her two brothers an upbringing that broke away from many of the old court traditions.

Coming away from a hospital visit she has been heard to remark: "They would much rather have had Elizabeth Taylor or some TV star. But film stars only come when they’ve got a new film to publicise. And the TV people all charge fees. Ah well, 1 may not be as pretty as Mick Jagger, but at least I'm free " On her tour of Australia in 1959 her informality at times shook even the Australians, not the most formal of people. Having by chance come to chat to six young men at a reception, she said: “Why not come to the ball tomorrow night?”

So the Queensland Royal Ball, locally regarded as the event of the decade on the social calendar, had six extra guests, even though weeks had been spent on the difficult task of allocating tickets. Sat On Hat On another occasion, when the Princess sat fair and square on the top hat belonging to Sir Henry Abel Smith, the Governor of Queensland, her response was to wave it joyfully to the crowd.

It is difficult to think of anyone else, royal or other wise, doing that. Princess Alexandra never seems at a loss in any situation. whether it be sitting on the floor in Tokyo to drink green tea and eat raw fish with chopsticks, or walking barefoot through a Buddhist temple. She has a tremendous sense of fun. But she can laugh without losing dignity. The reason is that her dignity is deep and real and does not denend on shallow trappings. Her nature has a warmth which can take the chill off any gathering. The secret, if it can be so called, of her personality, is that she likes people. And she cares about them.

On a hospital tour she invariably abandons the set schedule so that she can talk to everyone who wants to meet her. When she learned that a designer at one of her favourite dress shops was having a baby she Immediately sent a bunch of flowers. Hates Pomposity She hates anything pompous. has been known to have a speech rewritten because It had been prepared in dull, long-winded fashion. But she takes her royal duties seriously.

At the same time, tn spite of her position, she does not take herself too seriously. She will try things, and risk failure. She did not complete her course In child welfare at Great Ormond Street Hospital for Sick Children because seemingly nursing did not have the appeal she expected. She never got on well with her sewing, admits she can’t

cook, and in spite of special tuition and a spell in France, she never really got on with French.

She reached a useful standard at tennis, knocks out a lively tune on the piano, dances a waltz with grace and a bunny-hop with zest. Cups For Riding She has won cups at showjumping, enjoys sailing and has had a go at ski-ing both on snow and on water. She has taken tumbles in her stride and hasn’t minded people seeing her take a spill. But she does not always enjoy being in the public eye. Once, when she had arrived at a store for an intended shopping expedition, she had her big royal car drive straight off again. Word had got around that was she expected and a crowd had gathered. Princess Alexandra said that she did not want to be stared at when shopping. Since then she has given up the royal car for shopping and taken to using a small car or to going out on foot. She has a natural dress sense but buys many of her clothes off the peg. In a shoe shop she turns down offers to

go to a private room and is quite happy to stay in the main salon. Dress Sense On Christmas Day morning, 1936, 41 guns boomed out to announce the birth of the new princess. But little was heard of her publicly until 15 years later when she went to a debs.’ dance. The fashion writers suddenly discovered her as the' world’s best-dressed schoolgirl. She did not buy the title, but owed it mainly to the dress sense that her mother had passed on to her. In marriage, Princess Alexandra has shared a break with tradition. She married a commoner, Angus Ogilvy, who did not subsequently take a title.

The Ogilvy’s now have two children, three-year-old James, and three-month-old Marina Victoria Alexandra. Her happy marriage has increased the affection which the public holds for her- She is now one of the most popular women in Britain. Everybody likes her—even press photographers. This is really something. When you have to spend your time waiting around, often in the cold and damp, to take somebody’s picture, it is not hard to develop a prejudice about them. Especially when there is the added factor of the nervous tension of trying to get a good shot. Princess Alexandra has always shown typical thoughtfulness to photographers and often asks them if they have got all the pictures they want or whether they would like to take more. Once, after being snapped by a press photographer, she took his camera and snapped him. Princess Alexandra is royal in only the fullest meaning of the word. Indeed, it is significant that in spite of having such a truly regal name, she alone of the royal family has a popular nickname. To everyone she is affectionately known as Alex.