"ALIEN'S" LETTER FROM ENGLAND.

Otago Witness, Issue 2808, 8 January 1908, Page 75

"ALIEN'S" LETTER FROM ENGLAND.

(Specially Written for the Witness Ladies' Page.)

A FRENCH ROYAL MARRIAGE.

The royjd marriage that took place at jWood N^aton, in the very heart of jpicturesqijer rural England, was a scene of splendour, and a romantic transference of a French- royal Court to the simplicity of Englisjt /country life. Wood Norton ie the home-'-of the Duke- of .Orleans, "the exiled King" of France, and the bride, the iPrincess r l»uise of France, ifi the Duke's .-caster, . an«Uher home has been with her brother stgVWood Norton. 'It there hadmever be^efi^any Revolution." the Duke of Orleans ■%ould now be King of France. ,3Jut ' although he lives at Wood 1 Norton as any ;other countrjrXgentleman in his country itiansion, the exiled) heir to the s 'French throne on important occasions iholds Court there, and on the occasion of Kis sister's marriage the pomp and dignity arid brilliance of the ceremony ■were but on a smaller scale than that, which it would bave been had Princees Marie been married in (France iteelf. Prince Charles of Bourbon, the bridegroom, -was a widower, and brother-in-law of tHe. King of Spain, for King Alfonso's sister was his first wife, and the royal wedding .was attended by kings and queens, princes and princesses, and the chapel in which it was celebrated and the banqueting hall, built for the enter- . tainment of the guests, were a temporary replica ofL^a chapel in a palace, and a Louis "Seize banqueting hall of wood and 6tucco, and historic pictures reproduced by copyists. At the banquet the night before the ■wedding some magnificent dresses were •worn, and the jewels were wonderful. Princess Louise of France wore the •beautiful diadem of diamonds and rubies •presented by the bridegroom, with the collar and bracelet to match, also given her by Prince Charles. The Duchess d' Orleans wore a pale pink stamped velvet gown embroidered . with silver and the famous Orleans jewellery. The" Queen of Portugal wore a., gown of softest blue velvet, and- a diadem of diamonds and sapphires, and -& dog-collar of. diamonds, from which "was suspended the diamonds from- the crown of "Portugal. On the morning of the wedding the little ► Worcestershire _ town had more royalties- gathered there than ever has ■been in England except on the occasion ot our -own royal functdbns. Wood Norton, -in£the Avon Valley, is within two miles of "the town, and hitherto very little ■has been > known by the town of the owner except'T-that he bore himself very proudly and was- very— reserved. Princess Louise, his sister, was better, known, since from -infancy she has spent tlje best part of her time there" and has grown up there into a beautiful, tall, and stately young lady. Among _-the relatives of the ' bride and ■bridegroom present at the wedding were King Edward's sister, Princees Henry of Battenberg ; her daughter, the Queen of Spain; the King of Spain, the Queen oC Portugal, the Grand Duke Vladimir, and ' the Grand Duchess of" the Imperial ■house of Russia, and .a long list of the noblest iamilies of . France, Spain, and I Austria. • ,

, _ The temporary chapel had been built a* - great cost of wood realistically painted i outside to represent great age. The'inte- - rior was hung with velvet, and the fleur- * die-lys of the French monarchy appeared in what -looked 1 like stain-glass windows, while banners of regiments devoted to " the monarchy " hung, on each side of the stretched' gauzes that " represented a painted ceiling, and garlands of white xpsee festooned the walls ; the floor. - carpeted in royal blue, was covered with \ gilt chairs and upholstered in blue. The lighting was in. the form of crowns of - electrio light hanging from the ceiling, and the fleur-de-lys and entwined initials of the Bourbon names were everywhere. An eye-witness says: "It might have . been some chapef <in Versailles hi the days ■ before 1789 that stood there in the heart of England." Outside the early winter sunshine shone on the browning woods and on the pro , cession of noblemen and. ladies, diplo- • mats and soldiers, in their brilliant oini- , forms, orders, and jewels as they passed * from the house to the chapel. When all the guests were assembled the bridle and bridegroom were - in a - royal procession. of, -their relatives, to the strains ' of music,' through fcheir'assembled Court. "A picturesque description in the Daily HaiLsays: —

The chief and imst conspicuous of all the . pomps and circumstances of rcyal state was . the bearing of the Duke of Orleans. He ■wore no robes or insignia of state. He was _dressed in plain cosfume, evening coat, knee breecfies. and silk stockings, with a Spanish, an Austrian, and a .family order. But he ■walked "to the altar with his sister on his *rm"at the head of the illustrious procession 1 with all the air and majesty of a monarch. ■"J?or on this day and on this occasion ho •^ras aot in his house amid the Worcester- • shire orchards. He was far away in time and space, in the midst of' the glories and the power and splendours of the "monarchy of .France, in- an .historic chape 1 — of .Versailles maybe, and the Rerolution had , Sever happened, or had been annulled, and .-the Bonapartes had never -emerged or had "been forgotten, and the loyal ccurtiers were 'assembled to "render reverent -homage to their ■gracio.us lawful Sovereign his m;st Christian -Majesty Philippe of France". •> It -was as King pf France that, the Due • d'Orleans received the -homage of hia guests 'of -the faithful French aristocracy. It had 'been a3 King of France that he had we Icorned the 'arrival of the King of Spain "wuh & cousinly kiss on either cheek. It vras as King of France that he had' ordered the preparation for the" duca? celebration' of h's sister's 'marriage of a -^chapel and a"banquet"ing pavilion suitable to the dignity of a princess of the blood- royal. _ For this occasion he' bore himself as a King. The chapel was soon filled with glowing The altar was marble, its cloths of rich - white damask and .gold ; .. it was flecked with lilies in ancient vases of gold,

and lighted by many candles in golden holders. Behind were set tall palms and still more lilies, showing to advantage the ornate reredos. Hidden in an alcove were the musicians, specially oome from Paris. They gave the r " Alceste " march until the bridal procession was heralded, and then broke into Wagner's " Pilgrims' " March,"-' while the gorgeous bridal procession filed in from th© house. First came the Duke of Orleans with the bride, a fairy princess indeed — tall, as are "all the Bourbons, elegant, and good to -look at. She- smiled, to .those who bowed -and curtsied, but her face was serious. ~ , JEer gown was the ideal of an artist, soft, and to the men very simple. But in reality it was most elaborate and rich in embroidery and lace. The petticoat was of silk brocade with chiffon frills edged with old Valenciennes lace left bj her grandmother. The o-jer-dress was of soft silk charmeuse, embroidered with large sprays of orchids in floss silk. These flowers formed a stole in front, and carried over the shoulders massed and widened into a Court train a wealth of orchid embroidery. From her throat to the hem of her petticoat hung orange blossoms. Her bright brown hair was crowned with blossom, and the beautiful veil of point d'Angleterre was thrown off her -Jace, so that one could see the clear complexion and large blue eyes. Following her was the bridegroom, Prince Charles, his mother, the Comtesse de Caserta, on his arm. A little taller than the Princess, he was without doubt the handsomest man in the procession. He bore himself bravely, a dashing figure of a Spanish general in his uniform of blue with white astrachan-edged dolman laced with gold. of those who followed were strange to English eyes, though familiar enough m name. The Duke of Caserta had given his arm to the Queen of Spain, no longer the young girl who left us two years ago, but blossomed into a handsome woman of queenly mien. She wore a pale-blue «ilk gown heavily embroidered, and on her golden hair was an enormous blue hat entwined with one long ostrich feather, shading from blue to hydrangea pink. Her jewels were wonderful pearls, earrings, and necklace. The King of Spain, more serious than he used to be, conducted' the Countess of Paris, the bride's mother. This aged, erect lady, of indomitable will, wore a severe dress of grey brocade." without a frill or relief of any kind ; on her smooth white hair was a widow's bonnet of grey crepe tied under her chin, and with long straight veil of crepe down her .back. Then was noticed the Queen of Portugal in an exquisite gown of " soft pigeon-blue velvet ."which draped itself in many folds on her tall, handsome figure. She was with her brother, the Duke of Montpensier, heir to the glories of Orleans, a tall, dark young man with Bourbon features. Tallest of the four Orlean sisters is the Duchess of Aosta; she was elegant and willowy in a gown of peartgrey brocade. The third sister is the Duchess of Guise. She had! once more chosen a pink gown, so best suited to her dark beauty, and -was gorgeous with the jewels she wore, rubies, and diamonds. The Bishop of Birmingham performed the ceremony, assisted by Father d'Armaillacq, a Jesui&t priest. Then, seated on. throne-like chairs, the bridal pair listened with the distinguished company to the priest's address. The nuptial Muss was celebrated, and th« bride and bridegroom lelt the chapel, followed by the royalties in slightly different order, the Queen of Spaii. toeing with the Duke of Orleans. Outside an army of'photographer's was waiting from all Europe. The bride and bridegroom went to a small drawing room, and ' there the ceremony of baise-main was gone through. The Duke of Orleans presented the distinguished guests as they passed through, some kissing hands, . others making deep curtsies or salutations. For over an- hour the brilliant assemblage surged in and out of the little house, the gelden winter sun finding every jewel worn, lighting the many colours of the gowns, exquisite creations from Paris or Vienna, and | glinting on the .swords and gold lace, of the ' men. i Just before 9 o'clock the way was led • to the salle dcs fetes, to the fairy wedding banquet of the- Princess. The little silver bells hanging from the arches of orchids and lilies tinkled as the guests took their places for the feast of dainties prepared by M. L'Avocat and four other of the leadirg j chefs In England. The Duke of Orleans j proposed thb toast, and the King of Spain responded. The bride then retired, and the guests, led by the Queen of Spain, left by special train for London. The service d'honneur, the suites in attendance, and members of the Diplomatic! Corps breakfasted in the Duke's museum. lln the evening a cinenrctiograph of tho procession, taken by Vandyck, was shown to the^Duke, those guests still remaining, and the tenants. Feminine interest always attaches to the trousseau of a bride, and that of the Princess Louise is a charming one. It' is , the Spanish custom for tha bridegroom to i present his bride with some of her clothes. j \\ hen the Princess makes her first State i appearance at the Spanish Court she will be very beautifully dressed. One of her evening gowns i 6 maize satin lumiere and soft chiffon velours. The dress she wore the night before the wedding at the dinner Ide contract was of rose pink crepe. Ihe hats are huge. One is biack, lined with striped black and white and trimmed with , white feathers. This is to be worn with a crimson costume embroidered with black and white and a magnificent <set of silver fox furs. The Kaiser's State visit concluded at \.mdsor Castle with a luncheon party of eight Sovereigns, five of whom, were Queens — the King and Queen of England, trie German Emperor and Empress, the King and Queen of Spain, Queen Maud of Norway, and Queen Amelia of Portugal. Not since the funeral of .Queen Victoria have so many crowned heads been together in England "and within the walls of the -old castle. At another table sat the Prince and Princees of Wales, the Princess Royal and Duke of Fife, Princess Victoria, the Duke and Duchess of Connaught, .Princess Patrica of Connaught, Prince Arthur of Loiinaught, Infanta Isabella of Spain, the Grand Duke ano Duchess Vladimir, Princess Henry of, Battenberg, Prince and l'rincess John George of Saxony, the Ducness of Aosta, the Duchess of Albany, Prince and Princess Christian, and Prince and Princees Albany "of Teck.

After luncheon the 24 royalties were photographed together on the terrace, with the addition of little Prince Olaf, with his mother, the Queen of Norway. The picture should make one of historic interest, for it is unlikely that the same group will meet all together at Windsor again. In the centre Queen Alexandra is seated, with the German Empress on her right and the Queen of Portugal on her left, the Queens of Norway and Portugal at the two extremes.

At the termination of his visit to Windsor the Kaiser, after seeing the Empress off for her visit to the Queen of Holland^ s^arfcecl for Hampshire, wheT6 he is' staying at Highcliff Castle, which" is near both Bournemouth and Christchurch. His object is a "rest cure" of two weeks, and his, stay is private and incognito. His "rest cure" begins very early in the morning at work with his secretaries; and working for some hours; after which he drives in his motor car through the beautiful surrounding country, with which; and the climate he has "expressed -himself delighted. He has explored the beauties of the New Forest, the old, old town of Wimborne, and passed through Christchurch, with its priory on the Avon; and yesterday by chance I was in the famous • livergeen Valley" of Bournemouth, where the gardens are in the chine between the bay and the hills, when the Kaiser drove past in his car, accompanied by Count Metternich, other cars following with his 6uite. They >vere going at a swift pace, and there was not much to be seen of the Emperor, who was huddled up in the furs of his coat. After a tour along the new cliff drive, a sheltered drive under the cliSs by the sea, the Emperor's car made for Highcliff Castle, where at present, one of his suite says, is "the real German capital," for in the heart of Hampshire just now the State affairs of Germany are I being conducted. Crossing the Stour bridge on his way home, the Kaiser was called upon to pay the usual toll. His Majesty sees no visitors ; apart from his State demands, he rests. Highcliff Castle is one of the beautiful historic old homes of England, and used to belong to the Marchioness of Waterford, but is now the Steuart-Wortlevs', who have lent it to the Kaiser for his stay. The Bournemouth season is the winter season, and the Emperor's visit for his health's sake has drawn public attention to the fact ihat the winter climate of- Hampshire is as good as can be got in England. The pine forests are a . great resort for invalids, who flock from the London fogs tr> the clear and milder air of its sheltered bays and chines.