A MAID IN MAYFAIR

Taranaki Daily News, 7 November 1935, Page 14

A MAID IN MAYFAIR

LONDON TOWN GOSSIP PLANS MADE BY THE COURT. GATHERING AT SANDRINGHAM. — — (By Air Mail—Special to Daily News). London, Sept 19. There is likely to be a much larger gathering at Sandringham this year than usual. Their Majesties will spend a few weeks there in October, and already preparations are being made for their stay. The extra guests expected have made it necessary to open rooms which have been closed for several years, and these are being redecorated and refurnished for the occasion. Before the King and Queen go to Sandringham they will spend a few days at London, when there will be an official banquet to celebrate the engagement of the Duke of Gloucester. This will take place in the state diningroom at .Buckingham Palace, and leading diplomats, Government officials, and members of the Royal family will attend. The Duke of Gloucester and Lady Alice Scott will afterwards go down to Sandringham as guests of the King and Queen. Marriage Date. Thursday, November 28, has, I hear, been provisionally fixed as the date of the wedding of the Duke of Gloucester and Lady Alice Scott. It has not been finally decided whether the ceremony shall take place at London or at Edinburgh, but the Court is understood to favour the former and it is probable, therefore, that the wedding will follow, more or less closely, the lines of the recent wedding of the Duke of Kent and Princess Marina. Lady Alice Scott has not yet decided on the number of her bridesmaids, but it is fairly certain that Princess Juliana of Holland will be of the number. Princess Juliana came a good deal in contact with Lady Alice during her holiday in Scotland and the bride-to-be has artistic tastes very much in common with those of Queen Wilhelmina. Though he has not yet had an opportunity to discuss the matter with him, it is expected that the Duke of Gloucester will ask his brother, the Prince of Wales, to act as best man.

The Duke to Hunt. There is keen interest at Melton Mowbray in regard to the marriage of the Duke of Gloucester and Lady Alice Scott, for the report is current that they will make Melton their hunting headquarters. The Duke already has his hunting establishment there, and gradually is replenishing his string of hunters for the forthcoming season. It will be recalled that last year, as he was absent in Australia for the season, he disposed of nearly all his hunters in the autumn. That he intends to hunt this year has been manifested by his negotiation of a lease of his old stables at Melton. Lady Alice is an excellent horsewoman and a keen rider to hounds, and the expectation is that she will be seen frequently at Melton during the season.

Royal Dance Partners. Husbands and wives who dance well together are rare nowadays, but dancing is one of the accomplishments in which both the Duke of Gloucester and Lady Alice Scott excel. In recent winters they have many times taken the floor together. Not only does Lady Alice enjoy modern ballroom dancing, but she is an expert in the reels of her native country. Both she and the Duke have promised to attend several charity dances in the autu.nn, notably . the Famous Beauties Ball which is being sponsored by Lady Haddington and Mrs. Robin d’Erlanger. Lady Alice' Scott has now returned to Scotland and amongst her luggage were numerous hatboxes and dress cases containing the fruits of her week’s shopping expedition in London.

Royal Holiday Makers. Amongst the guests expected within the next week or two at Balmoral is Princess Helena Victoria who is one of the most independent members of the Royal family and who is never happier than when playing golf and walking in the country with one or other of her large circle of friends. This summer she has been in and out of London more than usual but intends to spend the rest of the month in Scotland. Every one is sorry that Princess Juliana has left Scotland. She was a popular guest at many hpuse parties' and made many new friends during her visit there. Now she has gone to spend a few days with Princess Alice of Athlone, one of Queen Wilhelmina’s closest friends in England. Patches.

The Duke of Kent, when he returns to London next month, has promised to open several exhibitions, amongst them being one of antiques at Grosvenor House. The exhibits to be shown have been collected from all over the country, and of particular interest are the patch boxes of eighteenth century origin. These are in brilliant enamels, jewelled metals and rare woods. The most fascinating are the Battersea enamels re-

presenting dogs and birds, each no larger than a shilling. Evei-y detail of the designs is faithfully reproduced. Patches are promising a revival with the eighteenth century period dresses which are to be worn next season. They have a roguish charm on a pretty face. Lady Alexander, always a striking figure in any assembly, occasionally wears two which, contrasted with her snow-white hair, are decidedly effective. The Queen’s Friend.

Lady Bertha Dawkins, who has just resigned her official appointment as Woman of the Bedchamber, is a very old friend of her Majesty, and the fact that the Queen has appointed Lady Bertha as “extra” Woman of the Bedchamber,

is an indication that she uoes not intend to lose contact with her. In the Victorian era an authority laid down that the primary qualification of a Woman of the Bedchamber should be to translate faithfully the wishes of her royal mistress. Lady Bertha Dawkins has been eminently successful in the discharge of this duty, especially in those philanthropic pursuits in which the Queen, in her private capacity, loves to indulge. Lady Bertha is responsible for the conversion of the Barn House, at Whitstable, into a “Queen’s” Holiday hostel for girls in shop and domestic service. She discovered the Barn House, and regarded it as suitable for the purpose the Queen had in. mind. The Queen motored down, inspected the place, secured it, and for many years now it has’ been the holiday home by the sea for scores of girls. Morris Revival.

Recently Miss Jane Morris, daughter of, William Morris, the artist and poet, presented many interesting examples of her father’s work to the Franklin Museum. It is interesting to note that there is a definite revival of the mode of decorative art introduced by Morris to Victorian London. The charming hand-blocked wall papers which he inspired are specially suited to high rooms and are an ideal background for both modem and period furniture. Lady Juliet Duff is one who has chosen a Morris paper in a delicate pink with a design of clouds and another in dead white with a pattern of small gold stars. It is a decided change from the rather uninteresting vogue for “off-white” rooms which, although cool and pleasant in summer, are apt to be rather depressing on dull, winter days. Another revival is the chandelier, and antique shops are being ransacked for the old lustre lamps that werp once the pride of every self-respecting housewife.

“Peg” Premiere. The gala premiere of “Peg of Old Drury” at the Leicester Square Theatre was a very gay affair. As the show did not start until nine o’clock, all Society with a capital S who still remain in town managed to arrive in time to rub shoulders, in their elaborate even-

ing toilettes, with film and theairical folk “resting” and numerous broadcasting stars. Boxes gaily decked with flowers, a packed and. enthusiastic audience, and a good film all helped to make a pleasant enough evening ‘in the usually rather dreary off season. The film, with Sir Cedric Hardwicke and Anna Neagle leading, as they did in “Nell Gwyn” is well spaced, well produced, and more or less correctly dressed. There are no awkward pauses, and from beginning to end it goes with a swing. Maire O’Neill, an Abbey Theatre favourite, has a small part of which, with her delightful Irish brogue and humour, she makes the most. The scene shot at the Cheshire- Cheese, Fleet Street, amused the journalists who were present. “Her Mother Came Too.” It was during the war years that the ' old stage favourite, Elsie Janis, started the fashion of being chaperoned by-her mother. Chaperones were a rarity in those days, but Mrs. Janis accompanied her daughter on all her tours, and inspired the popular song, “And her mother came, too.” Mr. Nils Asther, who has just arrived to act in a costume play of the French Revolution period in a London studio, has brought his mother with him, and Miss Mary Brian is also here under the parental wing. The exotic Ramon Novarro, who had to invoke the aid of the police to escape admirers on his arrival the other day,. never goes anywhere without his pretty sister. Film autograph hunters are busy this week, for there are no fewer than ten Hollywood stars of magnitude staying in and around London. Expectant little knots of enthusiasts wait outside their hotels with fountain pens and notebooks in great prominence.