RUMANIAN ROYALTY

Otago Daily Times, Issue 23685, 17 December 1938, Page 11

RUMANIAN ROYALTY

STATE VISIT TO LONDON FOG GREETED ARRIVAL BRILLIANT SCENES FOLLOWED (Prom Our Own Correspondent) (By Air Mail) LONDON, Nov. 17. A thick blanket of traditional English winter fog shrouded London when King Carol of Rumania and his 17-year-old son, Crown Prince Michael, reached Victoria station on a three-day State visit to England. King George was kept waiting 40 minutes to greet his royal visitor, for the train from Dover was delayed by the swirling mists. The channel crossing had been made in the destroyer H.M.S. Sikh, and the first to greet King Carol was the Duke of Kent. The two Kings shook hands warmly before they drove through the murky streets, lined with cheering crowds,, to Buckingham Palace. King George was wearing a fieldmarshals uniform with a white cocked hat and long grey greatcoat. King Carol was resplendent in a dark blue and gold uniform of an admiral of the Rumanian navy, over which he had a flowing white silk cloak of the Order of St. Michael the Brave, the highest rank of Rumanian chivalry. Crown Prince Michael wore a light blue-grey uniform of the Chasseurs Alpins. in which he serves as a lieutenant. STATE BANQUET If the royal visitors found London's appearance dull for their arrival, the State functions which followed were brilliant. On the night Df their arrival they were the guests of honour at a State banquet at Buckingham Palace. On the following day they drove in State to the Guildhall, where they were entertained by the Lord Mayor. Sir Frank

Bowater, and the Corporation of the City of London. In the evening King Carol gave a banquet at the Rumanian Legation in honour of the King and Queen; a reception followed at Buckingham Palace. On the third day, the royal visitors paid a visit to the Royal Air Force at Odiham and the army at Aldershot. At night, with King George, they were entertained at dinner at the Foreign Office by the Foreign Secretary, Lord Halifax. Throughout their stay, King Carol and Prince Michael occupied three rooms each in the Belgian suite at Buckingham Palace. On arrival at the Palace, they were welcomed in the Bow Room bv the Queen, Princess Elizabeth and Princess Margaret. Princess Elizabeth talked to Prince Michael in good French, and the Prince replied in equally good English. The Queen, a thoughtful hostess, discovered tiiat King Carol likes iced orange juice early in the morning, and she ordered that the Page of the Presence should see to this detail every day. ORDER OF THE GARTER CONFERRED ■ There were 160 guests at the State banquet in honour of the royal visitors on the night of their arrival. King Carol sat at the head of a horseshoe table, with the King on his left and the Qpeen on his right. Prince Michael sat between the Queen and the Princess Royal. Queen Mary and other members of the Royal' Family, Mr and Mrs Chamberlain, and many other members of the Cabinet and 15 ambassadors were amang the guests. The banqueting hall was decorated with sheaves of autumn flowers, and on the table, gracefully arranged amid the famous gold plate, were yellow roses, delicate mimosa and yellow and copper chrysanthemums. King George wore the uniform of Admiral of the Fleet, while the Queen introduced the new crinoline fashion to the Palace. She wore a Pompadour dress with a crinoline skirt. v covered with bands of silver Valenciennes lace mounted on tulle. King Carol wore the blue ribbon of the Order of the Garter, conferred on him by the King only an hour or "so before. Prince Michael wore the darker blue ribbon of the Royal Victorian Order given him at the same time. Both- were in full dress uniform. DRIVE TO THE CITY Thousands watched the cavalcade of Life Gftards, scarlet liveried outriders and postillions who accompanied tlje procession of fine carriages wljien King Carol and his son drove to the Guildhall. There they were received by the Duke of Gloucester and the Lord Mayor and Lady Mayoress. Bells pealed and the Rumanian national anthem was played while a guard of honour of the Honourable Artillery Company was inspected. There was a brilliant assembly of guests, including Cabinet Ministers, diplomats, and City of London dignitaries. An address of welcome was read while King Carol sat on a throne on the Lord Mayor's right. The Crown Primce sat on a chair on the left. At the luncheon in the ancient Guildhall, two carvers presided over barons of beef. Seated next to the Crqwn Prince was the Prime Minister (Mr Neville Chamberlain), who talked to him genially and continuously. Prince Michael knitted his bnows in concentrating upon a partly unfamiliar language, ate left-handed aijid drank lemonade.

"DEEP EMOTION" There were three toasts. King Carol said: "I cannot conceal the deep emotion that moves me on being given such a warm reception by you and also by the population of the proud and might capital of the British Empire. The fact that in my veins flows the same blood as that of your King, I am convinced, has also contributed to this splendid welcome. Was not my mother a daughter of the Duke of Edinburgh, and am I not the great-grandson of the great Queen Victoria? This is, therefore, the first and one of the strongest ties that bind me to his nation? " LAST NIGHT'S BANQUET At the banquet at the Rumanian Legation, King Carol, although he was on Rumanian territory and therefore the host, did not sit at the head of the horseshoe-shaped table. King George was placed on his right and Queen Elizabeth on his left, the two Kings each occuying seats on either side of the exact geometrical centre. Of various explanations put forward for this the most generally accepted was that King Carol did not wish his royal guest, who, as Emperor of India, holds Imperial rank, to have a place in any way inferior to his own. For this occasion the Queen was wearing a crinoline gown of silvergrey satin embroidered with pearls. It had a close-fitting corsage and low-set gathered sleeves, bordered by bands of pale mauve satin. As jewellery the Queen wore her diamond coronet with the Koh-i-noor, with earrings, necklace, and bracelet, also of diamonds. Before entering the dining room she took off her short ermine cape with white fox collar. Historic jewels were worn by Princess Alice, Countess of Athlone —the Teck sapphires. They belonged to Queen Mary's mother, the Duchess of Teck, and came to Princess Alice through her marriage with Queen Mary's brother, Lord Athlone. "FLOWER OF FRIENDSHIP"

At the banquet a symbolical " flower of friendship " was launched by King Carol. King Carol's 57 guests were believed to be the first people to have seen it in a draw-ing-room in England. It is a pale pink aromatically scented chrysanthemum, with a drooping, featherlike flower. It was arranged in tall vases among the dusky pink furnishings in the white and gold first-floor drawing-room. In some groups early mimosa and rose-hued gladioli were placed with it. The flowers were grown* specially for the banquet by the royal florist, Mr Edward Goodyear. The species, although new to England, is well-known in the East as the " 7 V ayen."

The reception at Buckingham Palace which followed was not included in the list of official functions on this occasion as King Carol is still in half-mourning for his mother Queen Marie. The King and Queen, King Carol and Prince Michael were ushered in together, and the royal party moved slowly through the lines of guest: gathered ii the picture gallery and the Bow Salon. The other members of the Royal Family who formed the Royal Circle were Queen Mary, the Duke and Duchess of Gloucester, the Duke and Duchess of Kent, Princess Royal, and the "arl of Hare-'ood. Mr W. J. Jordan, High Commissioner for New Zealand, and Mrs Jordan were also present.

INTEREST IN PRINCE MICHAEL Prince Michael aroused as much interest during the visit as his father. For all his serious appearance, he is still very much a boy, and celebrated his seventeenth birthday only recently. He w:. disappointed to find that his time in London was to be wholly occupied by official duties, for he wished to see some shops and make some purKing Carol may have entertained the same wish, but his " shopping" was done for him by his Great Chamberlain, who bought Christmas presents, mostly silver, for the King to take home with him. King Carol also brought presents with him to England. One was a doll, dressed in Rumanian peasant costume, for Princess Elizabeth.