YOUNG PRINCESS

New Zealand Herald, Volume 81, Issue 24876, 24 April 1944, Page 6

YOUNG PRINCESS

STORIES OF ELIZABETH LIFE IN ROYAL PALACE KNOWLEDGE OF AFFAIRS (Special Correspondent) LONDON, April 22 Many anecdotes about Princess Elizabeth are being recounted now that she has reached her 18th birthday. She is greatly attached to her parents and to her sister, Margaret Rose. She is reported to have said recently: "Although we may have our own opinions, it is completely true that, what mother thinks today, I will find out to-morrow is so right that I have to think so, too." "Lilybet" is stated to be the Queen's pet name for the Princess. Last autumn the Queen said: "Both the evening dresses that Elizabeth possesses were made out of old dresses of mine." Father's Companionship The Princess adores her father, who is tremendously proud of her. There are no barriers between them. She has access to the King at all times except when he is with Mr. Churchill or some other important visitor. The King "takes nearly all his exercise with Princess Elizabeth, and latterly has discussed the war and home affairs very thoroughly with her. It is said that of all politicians the one she knows best is Mr. Churchill, a-nd that his particular vein of slightly grim humour appeals to her, as do his courtly manners. Not long ago the Queen found the pair with heads bent over a large map spread out on the table with the rather podgy finger of Mr. Churchill indicating to Elizabeth the range of the Soviet attack. Lately, the Duchess of Kent and the Princess have been drawn very close to each other, and the former's exceptional knowledge of Continental affairs and European Royalties is eagerly drawn on by Princess Elizabeth. Normal Growing-up One writer, commenting on the insistence by the King and Queen that the Princess must grow up as a "normal child," states that whenever she went to a children's party other boisterous guests were encouraged to show her no particular favour. "The son of a friend of mine," he adds, "was one day found bumping her head on the nursery floor and, while evading Royal kicks, pulling out tufts of curly hair.'' Princess Elizabeth for several years has kept a voluminous diary which nobody is permitted to see. She has been taught by the Queen to know the value of monev, being allowed £6O a year. When she was 17 her Post Office Savings Bank balance was just over £34. She is a good dancer, and is a radio fan with a liking for "Itma." Her favourite colour is hyacinth blue, and her favourite expletive "My goodness." There are many comparisons in her upbringing with Queen Victoria and Timor Elizabeth. Visit to Regiment Before a private luncheon party yesterday, which was the main celebration of her birthday, Princess Elizabeth attended the guard changing ceremony by her own regiment, the Grenadier Guards. With the King and Queen, the Duke of Gloucester, the Princess Royal and Princess Margaret, Princess Elizabeth arrived on the parade ground wearing her famous peaked hat. She had a diamond brooch of the Grenadier's badge pinned on the lapel of her light blue coat. Colonel John Prescott, commanding the regiment, presented the Princess with a birthday gift from the Grenadiers in the form of a miniature of the King's Colour of the Ist Battalion. In each corner of the_ Colour, winch measures 19in. by 21in., is the Princess' monogram, surmounted bv her coronet carried out in gold thread on a crimson silk background, with a crown embroidered and coloured in gold thread. SPIRIT OF ENGLAND

ST. GEORGE'S DAY FESTIVAL The annual parade and service in honour of St. George's Day was hold yesterday morning, when there was a large and representative congregation at Ist. Mary's Cathedral. Accompanied by the North Auckland Artillery Band and the Auckland Grammar School Band, units of the Y.A.D. and transport sections of the Tied Cross, St. John Ambulance, Women's Army Auxiliary Corps, the Women's Wai; Service Auxiliary, Boy Scouts and Girl Guides assembled at Newmarket and marched to the cathedral. In the congregation were members of the Consular Corps, allied services, the Jioyal Society of St. George and other pa trio ti c organ isa ti on s. Preaching at the service Archbishop Averill said there was something very appropriate in commemorating the great national day during the festival of Easter. England was a mystery to her enemies, just as Christ was to His enemies. That day, they were paying homage to England, the mother of the Empire, when they had first paid homage to the risen Christ, the source and inspiration of her real greatness; her real spirit and character. They had only to think for a moment what England meant to the whole world in 1940 when she stood alone. A soldier and member of the Flou.se of Commons had testified that they were then saved, in face of overwhelming odds, by the mercy of God Lot them riot be afraid to acknowledge it. The spirit of England often lay dormant until some great principle was at slake and then it emerged and united the whole nation into one body determined at all costs to translate the vision into reality. FIGHT AGAINST TYRANNY HUSH OF EXPECTATION (P.A.) WELLINGTON, Sunday "St. George typifies the age-long battle against the dragon of tyranny, which has been the distinguishing mark of English history, and in these war years, when Britain and the countries of the British Commonweal!h are engaged in the greatest war against tyranny of all time, it is peculiarly fitting thai we should celebrate this day," said Sir Harry Batterbee, British High Commissioner, in an address at a St. George's• Day service in St. Paul's Cathedral. "Above all, it is right that we should celebrate it this year when the armies of England are about to go forth on a great crusade to rescue the countries of Europe from the dragon of oppression, torture and cruelty. "We stand to-day on the threshold of tremendous events which will settle the pattern of our civilisation for generations to come. Even across the thousands of miles of ocean we can feel the hush of expectation before the curtain goes up on the great and terrible drama. To-day the people of England have been called to prayer'and all Englishmen and Englishwomen are praying for the victory of our armies." EX-SOLDIERS' REUNION (0.C.) WHANG A RET, Sunday There was a record attendance of exservicemen, including many from the present war, at the annual reunion of the Whangarei Returned Services Association last night. Official guests of the evening were the members of a furlough draft home from the Middle East. A welcome to these men was extended by the association's president, Mr. Ti. A. Rogers. It was announced that the Poppv Day collection in Whangarei on Friday amounted to £250, a record.