ROYAL PARTY

Timaru Herald, Volume CXLIV, Issue 20932, 11 January 1938, Page 8

ROYAL PARTY

TREAT FOR PRI ICESSES Nursery rhymes, ballads, and songs were brought to life in Buckingham Palace on December 14, the King’s Birthday, when the first children’s party to be held there this century was given for Princess Elizabeth, Princess Margaret, and about ninety of their friends. The invitations were sent out in the Queen’s, name, but she was anxious to use the occasion to train her daughters in the art of hostess-ship. The Princesses stood with their mother in the big picture gallery at the head of the grand staircase and shook hands with their guests, many of whom were accompanied by their mothers and nannies.

Later on the King looked in to see if they were all enjoying themselves. He is a most successful children’s host and has a gift for managing and amusing young people. A Command Performance In the stately white drawing-room the bright-eyed, happy throng of children were joined by the King and Queen, Queen Mary, the Duchess of Kent, and other members of the Royal Family to witness the Princesses’ own “Command Performance,” given by the Scottish Children’s Theatre Company. The players, whose ages range from 25 to 33, presented several little plays, ballads and folk songs of different nationalities. “This has been the most thrilling day of our lives,” said Miss Bertha Waddell, the Glasgow actress and musician in charge of the show, afterwards. “Our performance went off without a single hitch. I saw the King laughing heartily at many incidents. Queen Mary time and again turned round to watch the delight on the children’s faces, and I saw the Duchess of Kent smilingly look several times at Prince Edward.” One Russian folk song, “The Redhaired Family,” and a German nursery song, “The White Hen,” enraptured the youthful audience. They were keenly appreciative, too, of a Chinese fairy tale, “The Strange Quest.” Her First Party The little guests included Princess Alexandra, who will be a year old on Christmas Day and was attending her first party, and sturdy little Prince Edward, her brother. The Master of Carnegie and Lady Mary Cambridge, thirteen-year-old Lady Elizabeth Lambart and her sister, Lady Joanna; the Misses Elizabeth and Winifred Hardinge, daughters of the King’s private secretary; the Hon. Ela Beaumont and her brothers. Nicholas and Matthew, who were the Princesses’ neighbours for years in Piccadilly; Lord Plunket’s son, Shaun, and Miss Zoe d’Erlanger were a few of the privileged guests. Another treat for the Princesses recently was a visit to the Royal Mint with Queen Mary, who takes a great delight in answering their many questions and pointing out objects of interest. During their tour of inspection they saw the methods of making the nation’s money, and officials explained the various processes.