Seven Thousand Roses

Dominion, Volume 31, Issue 278, 20 August 1938, Page 6 (Supplement)

Seven Thousand Roses

Lovely Floral Decorations at Royal Banquet in Paris

(“Dominion” Special Service: By Airmail.)

London, July 23. ■‘p'RANOE put her whole soul into the welcome it gave to the King and Queen, and no detail of the arrangements made for (heir Majesties’ pleasure and comfort during their four days’ stay in Paris was too small to receive the closest attention. Madame Charliat has a tremendous knowledge of flowers and a flair for arranging them, so she was put in charge of all the floral decorations of the Palais de I'Elysee. One of her most important tasks was the decoration of the great horseshoe table in the Salle des Fetes, where 300 guests were to be seated at a welcoming banquet to the King and Queen. She had to fashion garlands of deep red roses to cover crown-shaped baskets which were placed at intervals down the great table. There were 7000 blooms. Between the crowns, which had deep red roses climbing up the sides and clusters of pink ones at the top, was a massed carpet of red roses. Trails of these adorned the table between exquisite little eighteenth century Sevres dancers. It was decided that the banqueting table should display only what wes characteristic of France. Madame Oharliat held that it would be foolish to use massive silver ornaments when the King and Queen had gold plate at their home in Buckingham Palace. > A sensible decision this, for nothing could have been more beautiful than the Sevres plates of deep blue with gold stars, on which the dinner was served. For dessert, there were more plates of Sevres, decorated wit!) every known type of bird in lovely colourings. The table covering was a fine white damask cloth, one of several used for State banquets. Each is forty-five yards long and there is only one mill in France equipped to weave a cloth of such quality and such size.