CHEERING THRONGS

Press, Volume LXIII, Issue 18894, 8 January 1927, Page 15

CHEERING THRONGS

Royal Tour Begins.

JIK " BV " r '' BLK ASSOCIATION.)

LONDOX. January 6. Jspilt a dxizzlc there was a dense fJ|f 4 it Brnton street to see the Duke aid DaeleM of York depart from Yiciorfa SUUou, where the approaches jai pjeked by checriiig throngs. " whole .of the Royal Family as- . 'id Wed on tbo platform. enclosure was fringed with a . jafglliig ma«s of humanity, who l, prt t »ousing ovation and some ' 'lws wle« the King and Queen emtatt4itho Duchess and bade farewell .ijtfeDuke. '|«lk cboer3 were renewed when the it tamed out. The Prince of fife} Prince Henry, and Princo George them to Portsmouth. Tika Renown sailed, receiving a djMAu« Boyal Salute from thjc bcFleet. ' ffiim a great and popular farewell, object of the voyage and Duchess is the opeuthe first Federal Parliament at ,/Jdtrn, but in the courso.of the ■ they ti ill visit Jamaica, •Zealand, Mauritius, Port Jft'Mlltot and Gibraltar. ' ' Programme of Voyage. l, *|tojwg ramu >e.of the voyage, as ; fie Admiralty, h' as follows ' 1 'jfciw'Forts® outh, January Gth. ' 'ix.' i&f'Ptilnias (Canary Islands), Janu- .* jA". uy.-lOth-llth. i 'tSairfou (Jamaiea), January 20thW. ■ • ■ , Canal, January 26th. • W' ' - J • (Marquesas Island), Fcbruary StJi-Dth. <*s* < is v * . » 'February 17th-19th. ;(N.Z.), February 22nd-

' of 'lslands), February y-Y'r ■' '•■ •f ['jbeilwd,'Feljrnary 26th-March 3rd. ®i\TF«peton, March otli-Oth; MIW- -' March Sth-aOth. feSlWelinKh, March 12th-lGth.

thereafter pro||i)ißotonm and Lake Taupo towfcanp for rainbow trout. ; tho South' Island, ||!itiP|.en}bark at Patterson InUpvrart lslafld, at the extreme Zealand, on March iil ih the.Renown for SydKfrship is duo to arrive on ffi?|||Stralian' squadron about from March 20th to April 'be speh't. On 'April 14th ship will go to Mel-. |jpnj,will be in Victoria from WmM for Adelaide overland. PH^wiU.bß^ available for func^ toe for Fre'mantie, ;

renown leaves for n.z.

. picturesque Naval Ceremony.

The Duke and Duchess of York, who are to participate at the opening of the Federal Parliament at Canberra, and tfjio will also visit New Zealand, being due at Auckland on February 22nd, left London for Portsmouth on Thursday, anid scenes of remarkable enthusiasm. At Portsmouth the Royal tourists boarded H.M.S. Renown in the presence of l record crowd, who witnessed a wonderful naval ceremony, the big battle-csuiser putting to sea on her world's cruise of 29,000 miles to the accompaniment of salutes and cheers fr«n the assembled Fleet.

London's Farfiwell. ; The ceremony at Portsmouth .was almost equalled in Lohdon, where human emotions had a sweeping triumph ever the bare formality with which it was designed that the departure from Victoria ■ Station should be invested. There was no Guard of Honour, nor the pomp and pageantry 1 usually associated with such an historic event, but the crowd w,as determined to give a background to such an impressive occasion, and grew so rapidly that the vast concourse spread from Buckingham Palace to Victoria station. of. the Duchess's intimate friends performed their leave-taking at Bruton street yesterday, but a few Who come this morning quickly realised how keenly the Duchess felt leaving her baby behind. She was every spare minute in and out of the nursery fondling Princess Elizabeth till the summons came at 10.35 that her car was waiting. The Duchess lingered for a .last .hug of the infant, and then laid'her down with a kiss and whispered, "God bless my baby." Only one close'elderly friend witnessed the touching parting. Thereafter the Duke and Duchess sped in a limousine to -Victoria station, the Duchess throwing a last kiss to the Princess in the nurse's arms at the drawing-room window. ■ ; • A Happy Omen. En route there were'incessant bursts of' shrill greetings from women and girls, while the May fair society leaders stood on balconies and landings, waving farewell. Among these were Sir William and Lady Weigall, intimate friends of tho Duke and 'Duchess, Specially cordial as the car entered the station was a starling which alighted on the roof, the onlookers acclaiming the incident as the happiest omen. The Duke wore his naval uniform, and tho Duchess a, costume of dove grev with hat to match, and she, had a big posy of violets in her coat. Except for a crimson carpet and a few ferns and chrysanthemums, there was no attempt at decoration. Indccc., the wholo ceremony was purposely shorn of any touch of. pageantry. In the enclosure were Mr Baldwin Lord Mayor and Mayoress, Sir Joseph and Lady Cook, Sir James Parr, Lari Beattv Earl Clarendon, tho Hon. Orms bv Gore the Hon. W. C. Bridgeman, Sir II begville, and tliev were soon ji Jj by E«1 a»a W Dnkc and Du.l.ess of a semi-circle of frie ' us ' . f , h . lish The Duchess present..j «*>tfu I Z fiKU re. Her a to. I - uttering a \\arnifnre be le, faml »,?» holding a tu > cheeks as if to fonn.l K. '™!' *° ,'S' s ; ek of to". chase away a A ; t g u' , s ],ed across her Then furtively it d un(iercyea. The -companj . sav. a , q) _ Stood. Then came a Majesties presaive parting • Duke had and Earl Strathmo e g a few minutes ton Parr ,-and Joseph Cook f ie was looking told each how eag . f r«» -Id soon be convalescent.

THE PRINCE'S KISS. ~s t , O CABt-E iAI'STRALt*N A- _ Received January 7th, &.*>■ P-" . I ON'DOX, January <. ~ st reproduced photograph oi "T of the Duke and Duehcffl the departing rji , cs kI3S . Renown.

)j a prolonged and mighty roar swept ) round the cruiser, and echoed and reechoed irom stem to stern. It was then taken up by the civilians, and ! everywhere it could be heard, far and , near, growing in volume, until it was deafening. Standing at rigid attention on the crimson-eoloured gangway were (Japtain Sullivan and the officers of H.M.S. Renown in full dress. Two naval bands on the jetty struck up "Tho Girl I Left Behind Me," while everywhere in the harbour meno -war, fully-dressed, constituted a niagnifiqent pageant, of which only hngland is capable. Midst this spectaclo the Royal couple held a brief conversation with distinguished military and naval officers. Duke's Standard Hoisted. Tiie Duke walked towards the gangway, .closely followed by the Duchess, the Prince of Wales, and other Royalties. The instant the Duke stopped on deck, his Standard was hoisted, bugles rang out, the Guard of Honour presented arms, and the Royal Saluto was given. While twenty-one guns thundered out from the assembled warships, with hand t6 cap the Duke stood in acknowledgment. At the close he extended his hand to Captain Sullivan, as did the Duches3, after which Captain Sullivan presented the officers of the ship. Thereupon Captain Sullivan conducted the Duke and Duchess to the Royal apartments, accompanied by the Prince of Wales and Prince George and Prince Henry, and there the final leave-taking was observed. Precisely at 1.30 H.M.S. Renown flew the signal used on such ■ occasions, "May we part company?" The Com-mander-in-Chief signalling "Yes, 1 ' whereupon H.M.S. Renown gracefully moved off, to renewed salutes and cheers from each warship. As she passed, the Duke and Duchess stood outside their apartment, waving farewell. Ahead steamed the destroyers Vancouver and Vortigern. Outside the tiestroyers Warwick and Velox joined the party until sundown, when they signalled "Good-bye, ' and God Speed,, aftd returned to their base.