THE SIX BRIDES

Waipa Post, Volume 45, Issue 3267, 13 December 1932, Page 2

THE SIX BRIDES

OF THE PRINCE OF WALES AN UNACCEPTED GIFT It is an inflexible rule of the British Royal Family that its members should not accept presents from strangers. And one of the most difficult of the" problems that face King George and Queen Mary and their sons is how to refuse gifts—some very valuable—offered to them in ignorance of this rule, without hurting the friends of the donors. The recent birthdays of the King had to be assuaged to the best of and Queen which occurred within eight days of each other, saw the usual flood of gifts to Buckingham Palace from loyal subjects—whose disappointment at getting them back the ability of the Royal secretariat. When the Duke of York became en-"" gaged to Lady Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon scores of very valuable gifts were sent to the Duke by strangers. Each one was returned from the office of the King's private secretary, a pol-itely-worded note informing the sender that it was contrary to eti-. quette to accept a wedding gift from any one who was not a personal friend.

As the most-travelled member of the Royal Family, the Prince of Wales has had more embarrassing gifts than probably any other man in the world, and has developed a technique of his own for dealing with them. But even his tact must have been taxed to the utmost by the problems which confronted him with half a dozen dusky maidens sent him by an African chief. This was in the heart of the jungle during the Prince's last hunting trip, and the bevy of damsels arrived at his camp without any warning. An interpreter explained that they were sent by the chief, to be the Prince's brides.

The Prince replied that in his country a man could have only one wife, and added that the girls were all so beautiful he could not'choose among them. Sending a gift to the chief and something to each of the girls as an extra proof of his appreciation of the honour done him, the Prince was able to dispose of the awkward "present" without causing trouble.

Another problem is what to do with some of the presents the Royal Family are obliged to accept. The lion and lioness presented to the King by the Emperor of Abyssinia, for instance, had to be sent to the London Zoo for safekeeping. And it must have puzzled Queen Victoria to know what to do with the silver frying pan she received every Christmas from a King of Siam. It became known recently that King George could not get certain broadcasting stations on the wireless receiver he was then using, and I at once a flood of radio sets and of fers of others began pouring in.