RETURN OF THE COURT

Evening Post, Volume CXXV, Issue 48, 26 February 1938, Page 18

RETURN OF THE COURT

ROYAL HOLIDAY OVER

RECEPTION AT STATION

(From "The Post's" Representative.) LONDON, February 5.

With the return of the King and Queen from Sandringham after their six weeks' stay in the country, London has become once more the gathering place for members of the Royal Family. Queen Mary and the two Princesses travelled with their Majesties, and there was a charming scene on the railway platform at King's Cross, when, after the King and Queen had been greeted by the chairman of the railway company, Princess Margaret suddenly dropped her sister's hand, marched up to the delighted official, and firmly shook his hand.

j The little Princess generally keeps a pace behind her elder sister, with her small gloved hand held ready to follow Elizabeth's more experienced example, but on this occasion she evidently felt the time had come for her to take the initiative! According to present arrangements, the Court will.be at Buckingham Palace without interruption until Easter, except that the King and Queen intend to resume their habit of "weekending" at Royal Lodge, and that the King hopes to spend a further week at Sandringham next month duck shooting. The Duke and Duchess of Gloucester are more or less settled in again at York House, though they, too, intend to spend a day or two, when their engagements permit, at their favourite retreat, Warwick Lodge, for the hunting. The Duke and Ducliess of Kent will be back at their house in Belgrave Square shortly. They have spent an extended holiday on the Continent, enjoying the skiing. OFF THE BEATEN TRACK. , While others of the Royal Family reassemble in London after the Christ-' mas vacation, two of the Royal couples are busy with plans to go abroad. The .Princess Royal and Lord Harewood will be away for four or five weeks, the greater part of which they hope to spend in the Mediterranean. The primary object of their holiday is to visit Cyprus, where Lord Harewood is taking part in a number of Masonic ceremonies, but there is a strong likelihood that they will visit King George of Greece, who is a great friend of theirs, and also have ,a short.stay in Venice. They will travel by sea on the outward journey but hope to return overland.

The Princess has had comparatively little opportunity to satisfy her taste for travel. She and Lord Harewood have, however, visited Italy before. Last year she explored Vienna during the visit that she and Lord Harewood paid to the Duke of Windsor in February and four years ago they went to Morocco and Palestine.

The Earl of. Athlone and Princess Alice are the other Royal travellers, having left this week on an adventurous visit to the Inner Desert of Arabia. The Princess is to be the third white woman to visit Saudi, Arabia, and its capital, Riad, a "forbidden city." She regards it as a great compliment that she,-as well as Lord Athlone, received an invitation from King Ibn Saud to see his country. The first white woman to go there was Mrs. St. John Philby, wife of the explorer. The Royal guests—the first members of the Royal Family who have set foot there —will be accommodated in palaces specially reserved for distinguished visitors. RENEWING THE WARDROBE. The Queen has lost no time" on her return from Sandringham in dealing with the all-important question of her London season wardrobe. She has been examining designs for day and evening clothes and she is already making decisions. Equally busy with the same engrossing topic is her Majesty's niece, Miss Anne Bowes-Lyon, who is to be an April bride. She and her mother are to visit Paris next week to view the new collections and buy part of the trousseau, but Miss Bowes-Lyon will follow the Royal example by having her wedding gown made in London.

Fresh excitement in Paris dressmaking circles has been roused, however, by the dramatic engagement of 'the Countess Apponyi to King Zog of Albania. A clever woman designer has been Court dressmaker to the Albanian ROyal Family for a number of years and from time to.time she sends a staff to Tirana to fit the King's six sisters.

An order for 40 evening dresses has just been completed -by this house, beautiful trained models in lace, tulle, and lame. Many more beautiful gowns will be' chosen now for the wedding festivities. During the recent Jubilee celebrations there was a ball for which this designer made a white evening dress for each of the young princesses. . The design was the same in every case, but the materials were all different. Guests were charmed by this novel idea.