SCENES IN STREETS.

Star (Christchurch), Volume LXVI, Issue 20476, 30 November 1934, Page 12

SCENES IN STREETS.

Enormous Crowds Wait All Night in Rain.

A dampish, unseasonably mild and murky day greeted a flood of humanity sweeping through the streets of London on the Royal wedding morning. From dawn trainload after trainload of weary-eyed travellers poured from the railway termini. Indeed, by 8 a.m. it seemed impossible for anybody but privileged persons to get anywhere near the Palace and the Abbey, which had been the points of attraction throughout the night. Fortunately there was sufficient breeze to dispel the fog. Great crowds in front of the Palace overran the whole of the Victoria Monument, sat on the kerbstones and stood on the monument itself, watching the lights appearing one by one at the Palace windows. Princess Marina rose shortly after 7 a.m. and breakfasted in her room. An hour later she peeped through the curtains at the surging crowds outside the Palace gates, stretching solidly down the Mall. Immediately after breakfast Monsieur Graude, Princess Marina’s hairdresser, who had come especially from Paris, attended to her coiffure, which, for the wedding, was a modification of the now famous “ Marina coiffure.” The Duke of Kent, who was staying at St James’ Palace with the Prince of Wales, rose a little later than the Princess, and breakfasted alone before being joined by the Prince of Wales and the Duke of York. The guests in the Abbey began to take their places at 8 a.m. Nurses were busy selling programmes in the Westminster Hospital’s stand opposite the Abbey, on which guests included the wives of ten unemployed from the depressed areas which the Duke of Kent had visited. Guests Inconvenienced. Many of the guests arrived at the Abbey on foot owing to traffic dislocation, and they had a difficult task in forcing a way through the crowd at the west door, which the police later cleared, allowing only guests to approach. Impassive sentries marched up and down outside Buckingham Palace as though this was quite an ordinary day of the year. Inside the Palace gates a privileged few—Palace servants and others —were allowed to take camp stools to get the best view of the procession. The crowd outside the Abbey indulged in good-natured raillery at some of the guests arriving in evening dress. This was a striking departure from precedent, which his Majesty sanctioned for those not possessing Court dress. The Australian Press Association understands that it was represented to his Majesty that a number of visitors were unable to bear the burden of the heavy cost of Court uniforms. Piccadilly Barricaded. Mounted police, assisted by the whole of the City of London Constabulary, who were themselves relieved by special police, had their hands full from the early hours keeping the crowds back. Piccadilly looked like a town under siege. Barricades were everywhere. Shopkeepers, taking no chances of having their windows pushed in bv the frenzied crowds, mostly had their winI dows boarded up and their goods removed from the windows. I While tremendous congestion had j been anticipated, it was astonishing to i find the rapidity with which the crowd ; swelled into every open space, j “Marina hats” were seen everywhere, maidens and matrons wearing j them at a saucy angle. A brisk trade was done in small 1 periscopes and mirrors to reflect the

I scenes, which it was quite obvious that a great percentage of the crowd would not be able actually to witness. Cheers for Everyone. The crowds outside the Abbey did not lack entertainment. Practically everyone arriving received a cheer. One of the guests, wearing a particularly striking uniform, drove himself in a small two-seater. Another cinematographed the spectators as his car passed by. As the hour of the wedding approached, detachments of Guards, headed by bands, enlivened the scene. Headed by the Lord Mayor in his robes, a cavalcade of city dignitaries arrived in coaches. “ Beef-eaters ” from the Tower arrived at the Abbey by motor-coach, to the crowd’s amusement. Four of Scotland Yard’s Special Branch detectives made a formal search of the Abbey overnight with electric torches. When they left the great doors of the Abbey were locked and were not opened until the guests arrived. Unusual Bedroom. Crowds of women and children, wrapped in rugs, whose all-night vigil had not been shaken by a drizzle or when they were spattered with mud from passing vehicles, broke and ran earl/ in the morning when streetcleaners turned on their hos?s. A few mi lutes later they returned to their now soaked positions. One family group of six turned the steps of the Home Office into a bedroom, sleeping on piled rugs in the shelter of the doorway. Theatre queue entertainers turned out in full force to keep the waking crowds amused and reaped a rich harvest before they were moved on by the police. Many people slept in their motor-cars in the Mall until the area was closed to vehicles in the early morning. Many excursionists slept in cinemas, which were open all night. There had been ‘one continuous ; stream of cars outside the Abbey, but it magically ceased at 10.15, when all but the Royal guests had been seated. Members of the Royal suites then appeared along Whitehall. The crowds expectantly awaited the principals in this greatest show since the war. Previously, occasional guests, such as Mr Ramsay MacDonald, Mr Stanley Baldwin and Mr Lloyd George, in Court dress, had been recognised and applauded: but the crowd, though unaware of the identities of most of the arrivals, cheered therrt impartially. Palace Gates Opened. At ten o’clock, the Guards fixed bayonets and took up positions at the gates of Buckingham Palace. which were now thrown open. A red carpet was spread just before the arrival of the bridesmaids, whose cars flew the Royal Standard. Princess Elizabeth was greeted with special warmth. In a ooat of ermine over her bridesmaid’s dress, Princess Elizabeth made a pretty picture, holding the hand of her young sister. Princess Margaret Rose. The pressure of the crowd broke the cordons in Victoria Street. A number of people fell into the roadway, but they picked themselves up and resumed their places. Princess Looks Out. The King and Queen and the Royal procession left the Palace at 10.36 a.m., the King wearing naval uniform. Just before the procession left, Princess Marina, in her bridal gown, appeared at an upper window, looking down on the crowd and blushing. She left the Palace with her father at 10.46. She wore an ermine cloak over her wedding dress and a diamond tiara in her hair. She leaned forward in the State landau, clasping her father’s hand and smiling happily at the crowd. Her father wore a dark blue uniform and was bareheaded. Long lines of British Legion banners at the Cenotaph dipped as the King’s procession approached. The carriages passed the cenotaph at a walking pace. Street lamps were alight but this was not really necessary as the haze was slight and consequently the spectacle was deprived of none of its majesty.