INGRID OF SWEDEN

Manawatu Times, Volume 60, Issue 196, 21 August 1935, Page 14

INGRID OF SWEDEN

PRINCESS SETS UP HOUSE

bride, be she princess or commoner,

lias a right to her own taste in choosing the household equipment for her new home. There are certain products of Princess Ingrid’s own land, as well as of that of her royal husband, the Crown Prince of Denmark, which are certain to be included among the things chosen for her linen cupboard and her china shelves.

Sweden is the land of fine linen, and its princess will bring to her home a store of linen and damask such as brides-to-be of ancient days laid by in chests. In northern countries the fashion for bare tables has never taken hold, so Princess Ingrid will have many more line table and luncheon cloths than, for example, a British Princess would require. The luncheon cloths will, for the most part, be coloured, and each will be chosen to take its part in a definite colour scheme to be completed by the porcelain, the flowers, even the dress the Princess will wear at each little intimate luncheon party she gives. Glittering glass will come from Orrefors, the famous Swedish factory, examples of whose wares are becoming more and more fashionable outside Sweden. Tiny threads of black often appear in this glass, while the stems of wine glasses are frequently black since the Swedish colour sense decrees that some such sombre touch is necessary to give relief to the delicate tints of linen and china. Nothing heavy is tolerated, even on the table of a Princess; and in her . own home Princess Ingrid has been accustomed to a simplicity far removed from the gorgeous splendour weighing down the tables in German or Italian castles.

On important occasions the new Crown Princess of Denmark will no doubt use one or other of the priceless dinner services of old Copenhagen china which are heirlooms in her husband’s family. She may even do without flowers, and ornament her table with gay porcelain figures of huntsmen and fine ladies in costumes of long ago. But for everyday use she is likely to choose the simple white ware sprigged with.blue which is the favourite table furnishing of many of her royal father-in-law’s subjects.

And as for silver —Denmark is the only country in the world which has made a real contribution to the domestic history of this precious metal. The most famous silversmiths in Copenhagen are vying with one another to create still more beautiful pieces for the tiny palace its new Crown Princess will inhabit and, since their taste and her’s both lean to simplicity and lack of ornamentation, it is safe to say that their efforts will be appreciated.