ROYAL ROMANCE

Dominion, Volume 29, Issue 100, 22 January 1936, Page 13

ROYAL ROMANCE

Weddings of Princess and Dukes

FIVE GRANDCHILDREN

“It is with the greatest, pleasure that the King and Queen announce the betrothal of their beloved daughter, Princess' Mary, to Viscount Lascelle's, D. 5.0., eldest son of the Earl of Harewood,”

'l’he above announcement issued from Buckingham Palace on November 22, 1921, was hailed with genuine pleasure and general satisfaction throughout the Empire. The people rejoiced that the Princess had not chosen a coilsort of foreign birth, as had been the general custom in pre-war years, and that the only daughter of the Royal-House of Windsor was to marry an English commoner. There was, indeed, ample precedent for such a marriage in the Royal family. Queen Victoria’s daughter, Princess Louise, was manned to the Marquess of Lorne. The eldest daughter of King Edward VII. (then Prince of Wales) mai'rled the Duke of Elfe, and in 1919 Princess Patricia, second daughter of the Duke of Connaught, married Captain the Hon. Alexander Ramsay, R.N.

An Autographed Letter. The marriage of Princess Mary and Viscount Lascelles (now the Earl of Harewood) took place in Westminster Abbey on February 28, 1922. The King issued the following autograph letter on the occasion: “The Queen and I cannot allow a day to pass which has been to us so happy and so memorable without making it known how deeply we have been touched by the warm and affectionate good wishes of my subjects in all parts of the Empire. Our beloved daughter and our son-in-law could not begin their new life under auspices brighter than those which tire afforded by the kindliness and the enthusiasm of my people throughout the Realm. We appreciate their goodwill all the more vividly because we know well that many at this moment are living • within the shadow of tho greatest hardship and anxiety. From the depth of our hearts we thank you all for making yourselves partners in our great joy.” i “(Signed) George, R.I, On February 7, 1923, a son was born . to Princess Mary and many messages of congratulation and goodwill were received on the occasion which was one of great rejoicing in the Royal family. Beplying to the Lord Mayor and Corporation of the City of London, the King said: “The Queen and I thank you for the kind congratulations which you have sent on the birth of our first grandchild. It is gratifying to know that your thoughts are with us on this great occasion in our family life.” • Tho first baby was named George Henry Hubert, and the second, born on August 21, 1924, Gerald David. Marriage of Duke of York.

On January 16, 1923, the Court Circular made the following announcement: “It is with, the greatest pleasure that (lie King and Queen announce tho betrothal of their beloved son, the Duke of York, to the Lady Elizabeth BowesLyon, daughter of the Earl and Countess of Strathmore and Kinghorne, to which union tho King has gladly given his consent.” As in the case of his sister, the news about the Duke of York was received with emotions of heart-felt satisfaction throughout the Empire. The Royal wedding took place in Westminster Abbey on April 27, 1923, tho ceremony being magnificent. The marriage, which was solemnised by the Archbishop of Canterbury, assisted by the Archbishop of York and other Church dignitaries, wn the occasion of great rejoicings.

The birth of a daughter—the Princess Elizabeth Alexandra Mary of York, oh April 21, 1926, was again the occasion of great joy in the Royal households. It was an event of considerable importance, as it affected the position of the little Princess’s uncles, Prince Henry and Prince George in the, succession to the Throne. The Princess Elizabeth, rank-: ing after the Prince of Wales and her own father, the Duke of York, came third in the succession to the Crown. The little Princess Elizabeth was but eight months old when the Duke and Duchess of York started from Portsmouth on January 6, 1927, on their world tour outwards Via the Panama Canal to New Zealand and Australia and homeward via the Suez Canal. Mother and baby were separated for more than six months, but the little Princess Was in the loving care and able hands of her grandmother, Queen Mary, during that period. ' On August 21, 1930, a second daughter, the Princess Margaret Rose, was born at Glamis Castle, a fittingly historic setting for the birth of a royal baby.

Duke of Kent’s Wedding. The Duke of Kent, the fourth son of tlie King and Queen, and Princess Marina, youngest daughter of Prince and Princess Nicholas of Greece, were married by. the Archbishop of Canterbury in Westminster Abbey on the morning of November 29, 1934. The Abbey ceremony, which was marked by stately splendour and impressive simplicity, was followed by the wedding service of the Greek Church, rich in symbolic "rite, in the private chapel of Buckingham Palace. Immense crowds assembled to watch the processions from Buckingham Palace to tlie Abbey and back to the palace, and tlie royal pair were enthusiastically acclaimed. Cheering crowds also lined the route to Paddington Station in the afternoon when tlie Duke and his bride started for Himley, where part of tlie honeymoon was spent. The service in the Abbey was broadcast and was heard with exceptional clarity throughout the Empire, in Europe and in North and South America. The Archbishop of Canterbury said at the Royal wedding service: “Never in history, wo may dare to say, has a marriage been attended by %o vast a company of witnesses. For 'by a' new and marvellous invention of science countless multitudes in every variety of place and home are joining in this service. The whole nation —nay, the whole Empire—are the wedding guests, and more than guests, members of the family.” There was universal pleasure on the morning of October 9, 1935, when it was announced that an infant Prince bad been born to the Royal couple. Marriage of Duke of Gloucester. Like tlie romances of his Royal brothers, the announcement of the engagement of the Duke of Gloucester was received with rejoicing. There was an intimate regard for the Royal pair in New Zealand.

for the Duke had made a tour of the Dominion n few months before, and was taken to the hearts of everyone. The marriage of the Duke to Lady Alice Mon-tagu-Douglas-Scott, daughter of tlie dowager Duchess of Buccleuch and the late Duke of Buccleuch, took place in the private chapel of Buckingham Palace on November G, 103 m the cancellation of the ceremony in Westminster Abbey being due to the death of the bride’s father a short time before. Hundreds of people gathered in front of Buckingham Palace at an early hour to see the bridal pair and the Royal family appear on the balcony after the ceremony. The marriage service was opened by the Bishop of London. The Archbishop of Canterbury administered the marriage oaths. Tlie Duke and Duchess spent the first part of their honeymoon al. Kettering.