Royal Betrothal- Engaged Couple At Palace Garden Party

Greymouth Evening Star, 11 July 1947, Page 8

Royal BetrothalEngaged Couple At Palace Garden Party

(Recd. 1 p.m.) * LONDON, July 10. The King led Princess Elizabeth, and Lieutenant Philip Mountbatten, through 5000 guests at the Royal garden party at Buckingham Palace to--' day-. Princess Margaret walked with the Queen. | Princess Elizabeth wore a two-, piece coffee beige costume and a straw bat edged with lace. The King. and Lieutenant Mountbatten wore naval, uniform. Rain fell as the first I guests arrived, but ceased as the Royal' party came put on the damp lawn. . The Princess and Lieutenant Mountbatten left Buckingham Palace shortly before the garden party i began to visit Queen Mary at Marl- j borough House. Big crowds waitingoutside the palace again gave themj a hearty cheer. i Crowds Outside Palace

Chanting, “We want the Princess,” a large crowd gathered outside Buckingham Palace gates this evening. The crowd grew until all available space was filled. They chanted: “We want the King,” “We want the Queen,” and then returned to “We want Princess Elizabeth.” At one stage Lieutenant Mountbatton appeared at the balcony window of Princess Elizabeth’s apartments and the crowd cheered as they glimpsed the Princess with him for a brief moment. Both then disappeared, but soon after they appeared on the balcony. The crowd cheered wild-

ly and rushed. forward, to , gain a closer view,thlddking; the traffic hetweeh Constitution Hill and the Mall. . s .

The princess. looked very happy, She was dressed in a. white evening gown, which she had worn for a family dinner party;.The .King, the, Queen and Princess Margaret joined the couple soon afterwards. All waved for some minutes,. The crowd, when the Royal party returned inside the palace, evidently satisfied with the results of the long wait through the damp evening evening began to disperse. Foreign Reception In Athens today the Greek Prime Minister, Mr Maximos, said the betrothal had given “exceptional joy” to the Greek people. '' The Russian press has not mentioned the betrothal. The New York evening newspapers make no editorial comment on the engagement, but Hearst's .Journal American, which is frequently hostile to Britain, devoted a full page to pictures illustrating Princess Elizabeth’s life.

A later message from London states that an hour after the crowd outside the Palace had dispersed, another crowd had collected and began calling for Princess Elizabeth and Lieutenant Mountbatten who had not reappeared by 11 pan. The,, crowd stayed as darkness came and continued chanting at intervals, “We want Princess Elizabeth.”