THE ROYAL WEDDING.

Press, Volume XLIX, Issue 14831, 24 November 1913, Page 3

THE ROYAL WEDDING.

INCIDENTS OF THE CEREMONY

A .FAMILY UNFETTERED. (FXUm OUH OWN COEfiESrONDKNT.) LONDON, October 17. Though the number of guests at Prince Arthur's wedding was not large, there seems to have been somebody on the spot to take note of each little personal touch and let the public have the benefit of it. The Duke of Connaught was one of the earliest arrivals at St. James's Palace, and ho stood chatting gaily with some friends, recalling incidents of his own wedding. Prince Arthur himeelf brought the Duchess of Connaught some time later, still evidently suffering from the effects of her recent illness. He took her to her room,' and soon, smoking the inevitable cigarette, joined his father. There was no sign of weariness about him, and it was remarked that the Prince of Wales, who came soon, afterwards with his equerry, might well have been the bridegroomelect, so serious was he. The Prince, in fact, is habitually serious, almost to the extent of looking sad. A FORGETFUL PRINCE. Next arrived Queen Alexandra, looking far too young to be the grandmother of the bride. As she acknowledged the courtesies of the ladies, the Duke of Connaught immediately left his companions, and stepped to her side, where ho remained until the procession was formed to pass into the Chapel. Suddenly a fanfare of trumpets announced the arrival of the King and Queen, and soon the Duko of Connaught and his nephew were discussing the incidents of the progress. The King laughingly declared that he knew nothing of the suffragette incident until he saw some policemen bustling a woman off through the crowd. (This was the case of a woman who rushed forward through the cordon of troops and police to present a petition to the King. She was prevented from doing so, but was almost trampled down by the escort.) . Then the King took Prince Arthur aside and talked with him earnestly for some moments, winding up with a warm handshake. Then the Lord Chamberlain gave the signal for the bridegroom's procession to be formed. Prince Arthur for a moment looked grave. The Duke of Connaught and the Prince of Wales took their places as supporters of the bridegroom, and the procession had commenced to move when the Prince of Wales suddenly discovered that ho was still smoking his cigarette. A roar of laughter rang through the gallery. The King, meanwhile, had hurried off to another room, where the bride was waiting,'and, giving""her his arm, led her into the Chapel. She was evidently nervous. Just as she entered the Chapel she let her bouquet slip to the ground, where it rested on a portion of her train. Princess Mary smilingly stooped and restored it to her, while the King gave her a reassuring pat on the arm. All the way up the nave the Duchess -did-Jiot raise her eyes, except when near the altar, to make obeisance to the three Queens (Queen Mary, Queen Alexandra, and the Queen of Norway). When she reached the haut pas she looked up, and the Prince greeted her with a smile. SCENE IN THE CHAPEL. The assembly in the Chapel was a striking one, although limited to 130 persons (one of whom was Lady Islington). The Lord Chancellor was there early, with his little key in the great purse. Mr Asquith wore the iiniform of Trinity House, Lord Rosebery that of the Scottish Archers, and there was the quaint . old-world figure of Mr Henry Chaplin, eyeing the gathering through his glasses. Queen Mary wore the coronet given her on* her marriage by the women of JKngland. ' Of the bridesmaids, Princess Maud of Fife alone had her hair up. At the vital moment of the service, "the Queen, Queen Alexandra, the Dtichess of Connaught, and the Princess Royal were all in tears. In fact, the only one who seemed light-hearted was the little Princess May of Teck, who smilefl broadly. After the benediction the bride and bridegroom stood before the altar and bowed ceremoniously from side to side. .As usual, space was provided for many of tlie.retainers of the parties, conspicuous among them the patriarchal figure of Colin Campbell, for forty years piper to the Duke of Fife. He wore a sprig of holly in honour of Clan Duff, and told how he had been present at the marriage of the. Princess Royal herself in Buckingham Palace.' The Duke of Connaught afterwards told the Archbishop of Canterbury that when his Grace suddenly held out the book he was at a loss for the moment to know what was wanted..-' He forgot that he had custody of the ring. The passages which are often now left out of the wedding service were not omitted on this occasion. In .his. vocative to the bride the Archbishop referred to "this Chanel in which you, my child, were baptised." SIGNING THE BOOK. After the ceremony the register was signed in the old Queen Anne Chamber at the Palace,' where majority of the presents were on view, and where there was a largo section of the wedding cake to be cut up for the benefit of those who had not received invitations to lunch at the Princess Royal's residence.

In the Royal apartments the bride and bridegroom held an informal reception of those who had been taking official part in the wedding. Then Prince Arthur drew his sword—of course he was wearing the uniform of the Scots Greys—and asked his wife to cut the cake .with it. "And don't make the pieces too small, please," laughed the King, who had obviously enjoyed the "*■ whole of the ceremony. Then mysteriously bottles of champagne and glasses appeared, and on the call of the King tho health of the couple was toasted so vigorously as to be audible in Buckingham Palace.

•The escort was waiting impatiently below, and Princess Arthur, having hurriedly selected a few of the wedding presents which she wished to take with her, the Prince stuffed them into the "pocket of his tunic and they were ushered into their -carriage. Out of consideration for the public the couple drove to Portman square in an open, carriage. All along the route they were cheered vociferously, and the Prince was constantly saluting and acknowledging greetings.

The luncheon at Portman square was attended chiefly by the Royal Family and personal friends of the bride. The Princess Royal insisted that Prince Arthur should eit at the head of the

table, with his bride oo his right and herself on the left. RICE AND CQNFETTI. - The final send-off from the house in Portman square was a traditional family affair. All were now in frock suits with white flowers in-their buttonholes, and they crowded out on to the steps and pavement bare-headed and throw rice and confetti 'in the approved manner. Even Queens Mary and Alexandra joined in, and incidentally pelted the King. Furthermore, a white shoe was surreptitiously tied to the back of the motor which whirled them off to the railway station. They went to Rest Harrow, home at Sandwich of Mr Waldorf Astor, who was Prince Arthur's fagmaster at Eton. And they did not forget in their happiness to send a telegram to the widows and children of the Welsh miners lost in the Senghenydd * disaster. They gave orders, too, that the wedding presents should be on view at St. James s Palace, at a charge to the public of one shilling per head, the revenue to go to the pit relief fund. A chronicler of the honeymoon lt-sclt reports having seen both the Prince and Princess basking in the sun, the latter smoking a cigarette given to her by her husband. :