VISIT TO LONDON

Wanganui Chronicle, Volume LXXXIII, Issue 19843, 18 May 1927, Page 7

VISIT TO LONDON

PRESIDENT OF FRANCE Warmly Welcomed by King and Prince of Wales A MESSAGE OF FRIENDSHIP [By Telegraph—Per Press Assn.—Copyright.] (By Radio) RUGBY, May 16. When M. Doumergue, the French President, accompanied by M. Briand, French Foreign Minister, arrived at Over to-day ou a State visit, he was met by the Prince of Wales and Earl Haig. Upon leaving tho steamer Invicta ho issued the following message to the British nation:— The President of the French Republic is very happy to visit his Majesty King George V., to bring to the British people sentiments of cordial friendship of the French people, and to mark thus the strength of the bonds which unite the two nations. At Victoria Station, London, the King, who was accompanied by Prince Henry and the Duke of Connaught, awaited tho French President. Mr Stanley Baldwin, Prime Minister, anfi Sir Austen Chamberlain, Foreign Secretary represented the Government. Earl Beatty was among the other notable persons on the platform. Tho King warmly greeted M. Doumergue and introduced him to distinguished personages. Accompanied, by the King, M. Doumergue inspected the guard of honour of the Grenadier Guard, and then the King and the President, the Prince of Wales, and, Prnce Henry entered the Royal carriage. The British and French National Anthems were played during these proceedings. As the King and the President drove to Buckingham Palace, escorted by the Sovereign’s escort of the Royal Horse Guards, they were loudly cheered, by the large crowds. The President later visited the Cenotaph in Whitehall, and the grave of the Unknown Warrior in Westminster Abbey, and laid a magnificent wreath on each. Dinner at the Palace. At the famous Gold Plate Palace banquet, there were 150 guests, including eleven Royalties. The staircase leading, to the banqueting hall was lined with troopers of the Household Cavalry and the hall was lavishly decorated. The King wore his Admiral’s uniform and the Queen was robed in a magnificent gown of opalescent pailette over creamy chiffon. Her gems including the famous Koh-i-noor diamond. The King, toasting the President of France, emphasised that the visit was a manifest sign of the Entente Cordiale so happily established between the two countries.

President Roumergue, replying, said the Entente Cordiale had created between Franco and Britain indissoluble tics, which future generations would maintain as a sacred heritage. The president decorated the Queen with the Legion of Honour.