ROYAL WEDDING

Southland Times, Issue 22733, 8 November 1935, Page 7

ROYAL WEDDING

CLOUDLESS SKIES CEREMONY AT PALACE DRIVE TO STATION IN OPEN CARRIAGE CHEERING CROWDS LINE ROUTE (United Press Assn. —Telegraph Copyright.) London, November 6. The Duke of Gloucester’s wedding day was favoured with what Londoners have come to call “Royal weather. The brilliant sunshine and unclouded skies recalled Jubilee Day rather than the foggy November morning whentne Duke and Duchess of Kent were married, intensifying the regret at the cancellation of the pageantry and the Abbey ceremony. Crowds, however, gathered near Lady Alice’s home in Grosvenor Place from which she left in a glass coach drawn by four bay horses. Hundreds gathered in front of the Palace at an early hour to see the bridal pair and the Royal Family appear on the balcony after the ceremony. Trains all night long brought sightseers from the provinces, including a little group from the Buccleuch Estate, some, of whom had known Lady Alice since childhood. , , , , The Duke of Gloucester had breakfast with their Majesties and from the windows of the Palace saw the crowds lined ten deep. The first guests arrived about eleven and they foond the Royal Chapel decorated with hundreds of white flowers and two gold vases bearing sheaves of longiflorum lilies, white heather, orange blossom, roses and narcissi. Sheaves of flowers six feet high adorned the pillars, the colours of the disbanded Third Battalion of the Scots Guards being conspicuous. Royal Party in Chapel. Their Majesties the King and Queen, Queen Maud of Norway, King George of Greece, the Duke and Duchess of Kent, the Duchess of York and the Princess Royal sat on the right of the altar and behind them the Duke or Connaught, the Princesses Louisa and Beatrice, the Crown Prince of Sweden, the Earl of Harewood and his two sons. The Dowager Duchess of Buccleuch sat at the rear of the chapel with other relatives and members of the Cabinet. Crowds cheered the members oi the Royal Family when they were driving through the Palace* gates. Among the first arrivals were the little Princesses in white fur capes over their bridesmaids’ dresses. They leaned forward excitedly and waved to the cheering crowds. When the sunlight was reflected on the glass coach the enthusiasm was tremendous and the vast crowds, mainly women, lining the entire route front Grosvenor Place to .Constitution Hill waved flags and handkerchiefs. A Self-possessed Bride. Lady Alice was calm and self-pos-sessed. She continually smiled and waved her white gloves. Her gown looked dead white in the strong light, and she held a bridal bouquet of white roses and lilies of the valley. She entered the Palace supported by her tall, fair-haired brother, the new Duke of Buccleuch, in his scarlet and gold uniform of the Grenadier Guards. They entered the drawing-room where the eight bridesmaids were drawn up in two ranks. The bridal procession then entered the Chapel. The Prince of Wales and the Duke of York stood behind the Duke of Gloucester, who looked a magnificent figure in his blue and gold tunic, scarlet breeches and black topped boots. The Prince of Wales wore the uniform of a Colonel of the Welsh Guards and the Duke of York the uniform of a Colonel of the Scots Guards. The service followed the order previously announced. Lady Alice showed not the slightest trace of nervousness and she spoke the responses in a firm voice. At the conclusion of the ceremony the Duke bowed to his parents as he led out his bride, who. with the bridesmaids curtsied in unison. Bride and Bridegroom Cheered. The Royal party after signing the register proceeded to the balcony. Tremendous cheers greeted the Duke of Gloucester and his bride and they were renewed when the King, bareheaded with the blue ribbon of the garter across his scarlet tunic, and the Queen in blue and gold followed. The Duchess of Gloucester waved repeatedly before leaving the balcony. The wedding breakfast was very simple, being served at twelve round tables. The Duke and Duchess of Gloucester and Princess Elizabeth sat with their Majesties, and the King proposed the health of the bride and bridegroom in very few words. The sky was clouded and there was a slight drizzle after lunch. Nevertheless the Duke and Duchess of Gloucester adhered to their arrangement to drive to the station in an open landau. The Prince of Wales headed the Royal Family and the bridesmaids in showering rose leaves and confetti on the pair.

Route Lined with People.

The King' farewelled them at the main entrance to the Palace, while the Queen waved goodbye from the balcony as the carriage, lost to view midst the cheering crowds, proceeded up the Mall, along the Strand and then to St. Pancras station. Every inch of the route was lined with people, _ while thousands watched from the windows of offices and shops along the route and shouted good luck. The Duke and Duchess of Gloucester had to run the gauntlet of photographers on entering the Silver Jubilee express, which was lavishly decorated with flowers and they waved their last farewell from the windows as they departed for Kettering. As the Duke of Gloucester s carriage crossed the Palace yard the guests pelted it with rose petals and the King and Queen came out on the balcony to watch its progress down the Mall. Their Majesties were warmly greeted by the assembled crowds to which they waved acknowledgment. The bridal train was cheered at each station as it passed, and the Duke and Duchess had an enthusiastic reception at Kettering.

THE BRIDAL BOUQUET

DISCOVERY IN THE ABBEY.

PLACED ON UNKNOWN WARRIOR’S TOMB.

(United Press Assn.—Telegraph Copyright.) (Rec. 7.35 p.m.) London, November 6. In the twilight at Westminster Abbey, when the last visitor had gone and the doors had been locked, Canon Donaldson chanced to see lovely flowers on the tomb of the Unknown Warrior and found that they were the Duchess of Gloucester’s bridal bouquet. Meanwhile, the Duke and Duchess of Gloucester were speeding to Kettering on the honeymoon express. Simple and homely was their welcome to Kettering, where the Duke and Duchess drove in a specially lighted motor-car

through the floodlit town cheered by four thousand school children. Old Buccleuch retainers opened the gates towards Broughton House, where the staff, farm tenants and children, who brought gifts from the village school, had gathered in the great hall. NEW ZEALAND’S MESSAGE REPLY FROM THE KING. (Per United Press Association.) Wellington, November 7. On the occasion of the marriage of the Duke of Gloucester the GovernorGeneral sent the following message to his Majesty the King: “I beg to assure your Majesty of the homage add unabated loyalty of the people of New Zealand and to express on their behalf the most sincere congratulations and good wishes for the future happiness of their Royal Highnesses the Duke and Duchess of Gloucester on the occasion of their marriage.”—(Signed) Galway. His Excellency to-day received the following reply from his Majesty: “I warmly thank you for the kind message of congratulation which you have addressed to me on behalf of the people of New Zealand and for the expression of good wishes for the future happiness of my son and his bride which are much appreciated.’”—(Signed) George R.L