RETURN OF THE COURT

Otago Daily Times, Issue 23437, 28 February 1938, Page 13

RETURN OF THE COURT

ROYAL HOLIDAY OVER PRINCESS MARGARET’S HANDSHAKE (From Our Own Correspondent) LONDON, Feb. 5. With the return of the King and Queen from Sandringham after their six weeks’ stay in the country London has become once more the gathering place for members of the Royal Family. Queen Mary and the two Princesses travelled with their Majesties, and there was a charming scene on the railway platform at King’s Cross, when, after the King and Queen had been greeted by the chairman of the railway company, Princess Margaret suddenly dropped her sister's hand, marched up to the delighted official, and firmly shook his hand. The little Princess generally keeps a pace behind her elder sister, with her small gloved hand held ready to follow Elizabeth’s more experienced example, but on this occasion she evidently felt the time had come for her to take the initiative. According to present arrangements, the Court will be at Buckingham Palace without interruption until Easter, except that the King and Queen intend to resume their habit of “ week-ending ” at Royal Lodge and that the King hopes to spend a further week at Sandringham next month duck shooting. The Duke and Duchess of Gloucester are more or less settled in again at York House, though they, too, intend to spend a day or two, when their engagements permit, at their favourite retreat, Warwick Lodge, for the hunting. The Duke and Duchess of Kent will be back at their house in Belgrave square shortly. They have spent an extended holiday on the Continent enjoying the ski-ing. OFF THE BEATEN TRACK

While others of the Royal Family reassemble in London after the Christmas vacation, two of the Royal couples are busy with plans to go abroad. The Princess Royal and Lord Harewood will be away for four or five weeks, the greater part of which they hope to spend in the Mediterranean. The primary object of their holiday is to visit Cyprus, where Lord Harewood is taking part in a number of Masonic ceremonies, but there is a strong likelihood that they will visit King George of Greece, who is a great friend of theirs, and also have a short stay in Venice. They will travel by sea on the outward journey, but hope to return overland. The Princess Royal has had comparatively little opportunity to satisfy her taste for travel. She and Lord Harewood have, however, visited Italy before, part of their honeymoon having been spent near Florence. Last year she explored Vienna during the visit that she and Lord Harewood paid to the Duke of Windsor in February, and four years ago they went to Morocco and Palestine. The Earl of Athlone and Princess Alice are the other royal travellers, having left this week on an adventurous visit to the Inner Desert of Arabia. The Princess is to be the third white woman to visit Saudi Arabia and its capital, Riad, a “forbidden city.” She regards it as a great compliment that she, as well as Lord Athlone, received an invitation from King Ibn Saud to see his country. The first white woman to go there was Mrs St. John Philby. wife of the explorer. The royal guests—the first members of the Roval Family who have set foot there —will be accommodated in palaces specially reserved for distinguished visitors. Sixteen schoolgirls met in their Girl Guide uniforms at Buckingham Palace this week at the first gathering of the year of the recently-formed Kingfisher patrol, to which Princess Elizabeth and her friends belong. Just before they disbanded for Christmas they were busy collecting toys and

clothes for stockings for children in the depressed areas. This spring they are to devote part of their time to earning badges. Princess Margaret belongs to the Leprechaun Six Patrol, and she and her friends have a Brown Owl and Tawny Owl as their officers.

FATE OF 145 PICCADILLY The commissioners of Crown lands are said to be prepared to consider offers for the lease of 145 Piccadilly, the London home of the King and Queen for some years before their accession. or, alternatively, a scheme to convert the property into flats might be considered. Its “ grace and favour ” status, meaning that the tenancy is the personal gift of the King, is therefore no longer to be retained. i# The house is not a large one according to London standards, having nine reception rooms and twenty bedrooms. It is 150 years old, though its handsome stone front is comparatively modern. The Marquess of Northampton lived there at one time. Considerably later it was occupied by Mr Hamer Bass and Sir William Bass, and then by Baron Albert de Rothschild. The King and Queen, as Duke and Duchess of York, entered into residence there on their return from their Empire tour in 1927. Another royal residence in the news is the Chateau la Maye, near Versailles. which the Duke and Duchess of Windsor have leased for four months from Mme. Dupuy, the American-born owner of the Paris morning paper. Excelsior. An indication of their desire to have a real home after months of hotel life is the fact that the Duke has given directions for some of his own plate, linen, furniture, and antiques to be sent to the chateau from Windsor Castle, together with some of the Duchess’s belongings. After the abdication, when Fort Belvedere was left deserted, the whole contents of that royal “bolt-hole.” as the Duke used to call it, were removed to Windsor Castle for. storage. Much of that property belonged to the State, of course, and will remain at the castle. The Duke has been in communication with Windsor several times by telephone, and has given a detailed list of the goods he wishes sent out for his new home.

Fort Belvedere, meanwhile, is given over to echoes and memories, so stripped of its former luxury and elegance that it no longer requires a caretaker, though gardeners still come in each week to mow the lawns. The tennis court, once King Edward’s pride, is now a forest of two inch high nails, which have been pushed up out of the ground through lack of care. RENEWING THE WARDROBE The Queen has lost no time on her return from Sandringham in dealing with the all-important question of her London season wardrobe. She has been examining designs for day and evening clothes, and is already making decisions. Equally busy with the same engrossing topic is her Majesty’s niece, Miss Anne Bowes-Lyon, who is to be an April bride. She and her mother are to visit Paris next week to view the new collections and buy part of the trousseau, but Miss Bowes-Lyon will follow the royal example by having her wedding gown made in London. Fresh excitement in Paris dressmaking circles has been roused, however, by the dramatic engagement of the Countess Apponyi to King Zog of Albania. A clever woman designer has been court dressmaker to the Albanian Royal Family for a number of years, and from time to time she sends a staff to Tirana to fit the King’s six sisters.

An order for 40 evening dresses has just been completed by this house, beautiful trained models in lace, tulle, and lame. Many more beautiful gowns will be chosen now for the wedding festivities. During the recent Jubilee celebrations there was a ball for which this designer made a white evening dress for each of the young princesses. The design was the same in every case, but the materials were all different. Guests were charmed by this, novel idea.