BIRTHDAY CEREMONY

Manawatu Standard, Volume XLIX, Issue 157, 4 June 1929, Page 7

BIRTHDAY CEREMONY

CELEBRATIONS AT HOME.

TROOPING OF THE COLOURS.

HIS MAJESTY’S CONDITION SATISFACTORY.

(United Press Association. —By Electric Telegraph .—Copy right.) (British Official Wireless.) Received June 4, 11.5 a.m. RUGBY, June 3. To-day the King celebrated his sixty-fourth birthday. Bells were rung in Windsor and a salute of eleven guns was fired in front of the castle.

At the naval ports, battleships, battle cruisers and cruisers in full commission were dressed.

Salutes were fired at noon by all the saluting ships. In London the annual birthday ceremony of the trooping of the colours took place on the Horse Guards parade. As usual, this brilliant ceremonial was watched by a huge crowd. In the absence of the King, liis uncle, the Duko of Connaught, took the salute. The Duke was accompanied by the Prince of Wales, the Duke of York and Viscount Lascelles, the King’s son-in-law. Military attaches of the foreign Powers took part in the pageant, and the officers and men on parade numbered fully 2000—consisting of two troops of Life Guards, one guard of the first battalion of the Grenadier Guards, one guard from each of three battalions of the Coldstream Guards, two guards of the first battalion of the Scots Guards, two guards of the second battalion of the Scots Guards, and the massed guards’ bands. The elaborate ceremonial was performed with the superb precision which invariably characterises it, and which makes it London’s greatest military spectacle.

QUIET DAY AT WINDSOR. MESSAGE TO LORD MAYOR.

(Australian Press Association). Received June 3, 9.35 a.m. LONDON, June 3,

The King celebrated his 64th birthday at Windsor to-day. It was a quiet ceremonial.

His Majesty received congratulations from all parts of the Empire. Replying to tho message from the Lord Mayor, the King said:—

“Gratefully remembering the affection and sympathy evinced by the citizens of London during my recent long illness, their greeting is more than ever welcome on this birthday." VISITORS TO SICK ROOM. PRINCE OF WALES AND PRINCESS MARY. (British Official Wireless.) Received June 4, 12.5 p.m. RUGBY, June 3. Tho condition of the King was reported to-day to be quite satisfactory. In his message to the Lord Mayor of London, His Majesty stated: “Please express to tho people of London my grateful appreciation for their repeated assurances of loyalty and devotion to me and to my family.” Tho Prince of Wales and Princess Mary visited the King in tho sickroom during tho day. FEELINGS OF RELIEF. (Australian Press Association —United Service.) LONDON, June 3. Official. —The King had a quiet day on Sunday. There is no change in his condition. TEMPORARY SETBACK. (British Official Wireless.) RUGBY, June 2. The improvement in the King’s health, which was announced yestei dav, lias been received with widespreau feelings of relief, and the fact that daily bulletins will mo longer be issued is taken as a sign that the present ill-

ness is merely a temporary setback. Authoritative reports emanating from Windsor Castle yesterday were no less reassuring. It is understood that there is no question of even a minor operation to secure the draining of the abscess.