JUBILEE LEVEE.

Star (Christchurch), Volume LXVI, Issue 20609, 9 May 1935, Page 1

JUBILEE LEVEE.

Brilliant Scene at Palace. THEIR MAJESTIES ATTEND Prince Shakes Hands With 1200 Guests. United Press Assn.—By Electric Telegraph—Copyright. (Received May 9. 10.15 am.) LONDON, May S. A crowd of 10,000 waited for several hours outside Buckingham Palace and a further 6000 lined the Mall as the King, bare-headed and wearing an admiral’s full-dress uniform, the Queen and the Duke of Gloucester in a car drove at a walking pace to St James’s Palace for the Jubilee levee. They were enthusiastically cheered and their Majesties smilingly waved their acknowledgments. Upon reaching St James’s Palace their Majesties were conducted to the white and gold throne room, where the

other members of the Royal Family were grouped round the throne. Diplomats representing the whole world, in addition to the Dominion Premiers and ether representatives, were assembled at the reception. The Prince of Wales shook hands with each of his 1200 guests. The Duke and Duchess of Kent were the first of the Royal guests to arrive and were followed by the Duke and Duchess of York, with the Duke of Gloucester. All were loudly cheered by crowds in the Mall and St James’s Street. The State rooms presented a brilliant spectacle, decorated with masses of spring flowers. The Guards Band played selections. There were strange scenes early this morning when women in tiaras and wonderful gowns had a long wait in the roadway for cars, which were held up by sightseers. All was quiet at Australia’s Address. Mr Lyons, in presenting his Majesty with Parliamentary addresses, said: “ Australians’ loyalty to the Throne and your person has'not been lessened by the distance separating us. I assure your Majesty that as far as Australia is concerned there never have been greater devotion and respect to the head of the Empire. Your life has been an inspiration to all vour subjects. The dignity, courage, wisdom and selfsacrifice shown during your twenty-five years reign have been an example worthy to be followed by every Briton. I humbly and sincerely tender to your Majesty this message of loyalty from °ne of your most distant Dominions. It is a message of love as much as loyalty. It is a message of pride that we are able to share in the glorv of your reign.” Mr Forbes’s Tribute. Mr Forbes, speaking on behalf of New Zealand, said: ‘‘You have led your people through unprecedented difficulties. The unity of the Empire and •the prominent position it holds are mainly due to your leadership and inspiration. New Zealanders preserve indelible memories of the noble courage and self-sacrifice of your Majesties and the other members of the Royal Family in the dark days of the war. Your unfailing sympathy to all sections of your sorely tried people later has been a comfort during the depression. New Zealanders desire to be worthy in every respect of the race from which they sprang. I pray that you and the Queen may long be spared to guide the destinies of the Empire.” His Majesty’s Reply. The King, replying to the Dominion representatives, said: “ I am gladdened when my friends from overseas say when visiting England that they are coming Home. The Queen and I'meet you in that spirit and greet the Prime Ministers of our Dominions now as equal partners in the Empire and thank them for the addresses from their Parliaments.” The most striking phrase in the King's address to the diplomats was: “ I have heard it rumoured among your colleagues that my capital is a greatly coveted post.” The members of the Dominion delegation were deeply touched by the intensity of the feeling in his Majesty’s speech in reply to the addresses. Mr Lyons was the only Empire statesman who did not read his speech. He relied entirely on his memory, which was a severe test at such a ceremonial gathering, and he delivered his oration without a hitch. At least 20.000 assembled outside the Palace during the levee. They cheered wildly and waved hats and handkerchiefs as their Majesties departed.

THANKS TO NATIONS.

His Majesty Reviews Ties of Empire. MANY CLIMES—ONE SPIRIT. British Official Wireless. (Issued by the Imperial Affairs Branch of the Prime Minister’s Department, New Zealand.) (Received May 9, 11.30 a.m.) RUGBY, May 8. The King’s thanks to the nations of the world were expressed at the levee which his Majesty held at St James’s Palace. Congratulations on behalf of the Diplomatic Corps were presented by the Doyen Senator Regis de Oliviera, Brazilian Ambassador, by the Empire Prime Ministers, by India through Mr Ramsay MacDonald, and on behalf of the Colonial Empire by Sir Philip Cunliffe-Lister. The King, in reply to the Diplomatic Corps, said that he and the Queen were deeply touched by the warmth and sincerity of their good wishes, and “ I pray God that the unity of purpose which has brought you here to-day may be a symbol of enduring peace in the world at large.” The King prefaced his reply to the Empire with a welcome to their representatives. “We welcome one and all to our home,” he said. Proceeding, he said: “ Eventful your visit cannot fail to be. I trust it will be happy also, and when the time comes for your return I would ask you to take back each to his own people a message of affection to every member of this great family of which I am so proud and thankful to be the head, and a message of deep gratitude for the loyal, kind words which you have spoken on their behalf. Before I succeeded my father, the Queen and I had the privilege of studying at first hand the Dominions overseas and India. We were fellow travellers then, as now, comparing notes and sharing our impressions. We treasure these memories and keep them alive. Moreover, what we forget our four sons are now able to recall.

“ Many years before our happy partnership began, I had as midshipman sailed the Seven Seas. I realised early that the Empire has many climes, but one spirit. I regard this'as a unique gathering, where we can tell one another of our successes and also of our failures and mistakes, but there will be no sharp criticism nor vain regrets, for we are in sympathy one with another and conscious that we have acted according to our rights for the good name an d prosperity of the family. “ We are sometimes told that we are lacking in logic and that our political institutions are loose and undefined, but I look back on the trying and testing time through which w'e have passed and -wonder whether a less flexible system would have withstood the strains to which we have been subjected. With commonsense and goodwill as our shield and buckler we have kept, in spite of all difficulties, our heritage of liberty alike for the individual and for our many constituent races. The numberless and invisible ties of sentiment and tradition which bind us together are indeed delicate, but many strands make a cable strong to bind in times of adversity. It is my prayer no less than my firm belief that this bond of spirit may prove also a bond of peace. Some of you are, with a few happy exceptions, about my own age. I prav for the continuance of God’s blessing on your labours, and with His help I will work on with you in the years that remain for that object which ever has been next to my heart—the welfare of the Mother Country, of the Dominions overseas, and of India, and their happiness and good repute.”