QUIET BIRTHDAY

Gisborne Herald, Volume LXXI, Issue 21385, 21 April 1944, Page 4

QUIET BIRTHDAY

PRINESS ELIZABETH MIftESS-AEPAEENT

training for throne(ll am) LONDON, April 20. Prihcess Elizabeth - is spending her eighteenth birthday quietly in the country with the King and Queen and Princess Margaret -mse. . 1 here will be a luncheon party at mid-clay, dt which Queen Mary, the Duke and Duchess of Gloucester, the Duchess of Kent and Princess’ Royal and othei close -friends of the Royal Family will be present. There will be no dinner party of dance at. night. By the King and Queen’s wish, no publicity is being • given to the presents that- Princess Elizabeth is re-, eeiving. It is the Royal Family s wish; that her birthday should be a quietfamily affair, public functions being eschewed owing to the war, it IS , likely, of course, that these functions will be held when Princess Elizabeth, is 21, when it is hoped that the war

will long since be over. Last night as a “birthday treat” their Majesties with Princess Elizabeth and Princess Margaret Rose, saw “Something in the Air.” starring Jack Hulbert and Cecily Courtneidge. From midnight Princess Elizabeth is eligible to become .Queen ,of land immediately on the death of her father. Although she comes of age as the Heiress Apparent, she will remain a minor until she is 21. No Separate Household In the event of the King’s absence abroad or a severe illness, she may act as one of live Councillors of State. She will not have a separate establishment or own household, but will continue to live With her parents and sister. Princess Elizabeth recently completed her first public tour, which began at the Welsh .rolling mills, it is believed at the King’s suggestion, for he wishes her to make early acquaintances with English working men and women. It was recently announced that she will not join any of the-women’s services or enter a munitions factory as other girls of 18 must do. It is understood that Princess Elizabeth would have liked to . join the W.R.N.S., but after careful consideration and advice by Mr Churchill and Cabinet, it was felt better that the heiress to the Throne should continue her preparation for the important position which one day will be hers. The, opinion is held that Princess Elizabeth will not marry a foreigner and that, when she is old enough to marry at 21, the King will give assent, but at the moment the problem is not urgent. Up to the present Princess Elizabeth’s bringing up has been on quiet, normal lines, studying at home, but in the coming three years she will increasingly undertake public duties, but the change in her life will be gradual and unhurried.