WEDDING AT WINDSOR CASTLE

Evening Post, Volume CXXVII, Issue 40, 17 February 1939, Page 14

WEDDING AT WINDSOR CASTLE

(By Air Mail, from "The Post

LONDON, January 26

Yesterday many of the 1300 guests expected in St. George's Chapel, Windsor Castle, for the wedding of Lord Wigram's only daughter, the Hon. Anne Wigram, to Mr. John Leslie Harvey, were kept away by the snow. At one time it even appeared possible that the ceremony would be postponed. A conference was held, in which Castle officials took part, before it was decided to carry on.

Snow was lying in drifts to a depth of over two feet, and Lord Wigram sent an SOS to the local labour exchange for all available men. Fifty of Windsor's unemployed worked for hours to clear the paths in the Castle grounds. The Castle snow plough, which has not been used since Queen Victoria's reign, was brought into service. Scores of cars became stuck on Thames Street hill and on the hill leading into the castle itself, when the guests were arriving. Traffic was held up for more than a mile in both directions. Hundreds of the guests had to leave their cars in the street and walk through the snow. Many had their shoes and dresses ruined. A number of motor-coaches and cars, sent to the station to meet guests, were also stranded.

TUDOR GOWNS: HISTORIC VEIL,

Miss Wigram was the first bride to be married in Windsor Castle for more than 25 years. The Archbishop of Canterbury performed the ceremony, assisted by the Dean of Windsor (Dr. A. V. Baillie).

Lord Wigram, who is Deputy Constable and Lieutenant-Governor of the Castle, gave his daughter away.

The bridegroom is the elder son of the late Colonel John Harvey and Mrs. Harvey, of Ringstead, Bury, Norfolk.

The bride was accorded a Royal privilege. She and her father entered the Chapel by the west door, normally used only by Royalty on State occasions. Their home is in the Norman

Tower.

The bride wore a medieval gown of gold and parchment lame and two veils. One of the veils is a heirloom which has been in the family since the days of the Battle of Waterloo when an ancestor, Major Hay, of Dunn's Castle, brought it from Brussels for his bride. The ten bridesmaids wore medieval gowns of parchment velvet and veils from coronets on their heads. The whole retinue walked the

GUESTS TRUDGE THROUGH SNOW.

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complete length of the church from the west door to the altar.

FIVE-FOOT WEDDING CAKE,

After the ceremony the bride and bridegroom received their guests in the State apartments specially lent by the King and Queen. The wedding cake was five feet high, nearly as tall as the bride, and weighed more than 901b. It was made in three tiers and decorated with the new crest of the young couple and with white camellias.

In the vast St. George's Hall, where hang the shields of every Knight of the Garter created since the foundation of the Order in 1344; the wedding breakfast was laid on a table 80ft long. In the Waterloo Chamber adjoining, plainclothed detectives were on duty guarding the great array of- wedding presents, including gifts from the King and Queen, Queen Mary, the Duke and Duchess of Gloucester, the Duke and Duchess of Kent, and the Princess Royal and Lord Harewood.

This was the first time that the State rooms of the Castle had been used for any save a Royal Family function — a mark of special esteem from the King to Lord Wigram, who for many years was his father's Private Secretary and close friend. "

THEIR MAJESTIES' PRESENTS

A diamond brooch was received from the King and Queen; Queen Mary sent her goddaughter a dressing case and amethyst and diamond brooch; an antique mahogany table was chosen by the Duke and Duchess of Gloucester; a dessert service by the Duke of Kent; and an inlaid table by the Princess Royal and the Earl of Harewood. In the photograph the bride and bridegroom are seen before the wedding inspecting some of their presents.

The bridegroom's present to the bride was a sapphire and diamond ring, sapphire and diamond clip, diamond bracelet, and a Queen Anne writing bureau. The bride gave the bridegroom a gold watch chain, gold pencil, and antique Sheraton mirror. Lord and Lady Wigram's present to their daughter was a string of pearls, pearl and diamond earrings, and a sapphire and diamond bow brooch. Their present to the bridegroom was a Sheraton writing bureau and antique clock. Mrs. Harvey gave her son an ivory-fitted dressing case and portrait of his father, and Miss Wigram pearls, a silver fox cape, and writing case.