THE ROYAL FAMILY.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 20906, 21 December 1929, Page 28

THE ROYAL FAMILY.

KING RETURNS TO LONDON: PRINCE. TO VISIT AFRICA. (From Ont Cobbesposdeitt.) LONDON, November 7. During the short. journey of their Majesties the King and Queen from King’s Cross Station to Buckingham Palace, after returning from Sandringham, the public gave them a. cordial greeting. They arrived in London shortly after noon on a grey but crisp and pleasant November day. Princess Elizabeth travelled with them from Norfolk. This little lady, by the way, always calls her paternal grandfather “Grandpa King” Many thousands'of people lined the route from the station to the palace gates. At the station the King shook: hands with Lord Byng (Commissioner of Police), Lord Faringdon (deputy chairman of the London-and North-Eastern Railway), and' a group of railway officials. The Queen, who wore a long coat of brown brocaded silk and a. toque to match, with a cluster of artificial orange-coloured poppies, also acknowledged the salutations of those, on .the platform. The little Princess, dressed in a pretty coat of light blue, with a > little blue bonnet, kept by the Queen’s side. The King wore a bowled hat and a long dark travelling ulster, but for once was without a buttonhole. Hundreds of students turned out to cheer as: the royal motor car passed University College in Gower street. Some of them were in white overalls, having left their work in the laboratories. Nurses ahd patients (including children wrapped in blankets and held in the arms of doctors) also appeared at the windows of the hospital. Princess Elizabeth, to the great delight of every woman in the crowd, was on the Queen’s knee, smiling and waving her hand as the royal car -glided through the MalL at about five miles an hour..

The informal' character of the King’s return was marked outside Buckingham Palace by the fact that ordinary traffic was not interrupted for , more than a minute by the arrival of their Majesties. Several thousands of persons ftad assentbled in the' Mall, aroundv the Victoria Memorial, and by the Palace rails. The windows of the Palace were alt closed, arid the one solitary sign of activity behind them was the raising of a blind about 10 minutes before the King came home. The main gates leading, into the forecourt remained closed. Almost before the crowd could be marshalled into line the closed royal car drove by at a moderate speed. Glimpses were caught of the King, bareheaded and smiling, and of the Queen, cheers rang out, and hundreds of handkerchiefs were waved. The car swung through the gateway to the left of the main entrance and passed into the Palace grounds. A few seconds later the Royal Standard was broken, from the mast above the palace roof. Queen Mary spent a day this week at the Imperial Institute directing the distribution of articles made by the members of the Queen’s Needlework Guild. The Queen left Buckingham Palace early in the morning, accompanied by Lady Cynthia Colville, and drove to the institute, where she at once removed her hat and coat. Her Majesty put on a large apron, and a cap to protect her beautiful hair, and began ty unpack parcels, which in great heaps almost rilled one of the larger halls. Gifts of all kinds of needlework were allocated to various centres and institutions throughout the country. The Queen was so anxious that work should not be interrupted that she decided not to return to Buckingham Palace for luncheon. Instructions were sent to the Palace for a luncheon hamper to be taken to the institute. Screens were brought to partition off a corner of the hall, and the Queen, with some of her helpers, had a picnic luncheon which lasted less than a quarter of an hour. PRINCE OF WALES. In view of the good progress towards complete recovery made by the King during the last few weeks, the Prince is arranging to resume his tour of Africa which was cut short last year, when his Majesty was so dangerously ill. According to present arrangements, the Prince will set-off in January and will stay in Africa for about six weeks. He will go first to Capetown, where he will stay at Government House with the Earl of Athlone, Governor-General of South Africa, and the Countess of Athlone.

Detailed plans have not yet been drawn up, but the Prinee hopes to visit those parts of the country which were included in the itinerary of his former tour, but which he was compelled to miss owing to his hurried return. His Royal Highness thou had intended to go right through Tanganyika and the North of Rhodesia by motor car before joining the railway for the remainder of the journey down to Capetown. Early rains made the roads through Tanganyika bad, and, besides providing the Royal party with a number of thrills not included in the programme, delayed them so much that less than half the projected journey had been made when the message of recall came.