ROYAL WEDDING

Dominion, Volume 28, Issue 90, 10 January 1935, Page 6

ROYAL WEDDING

New Zealander’s Account

Miss Erica Baillie, who is studying horticulture in England, sends the following interesting account of seeing the Royal wedding:— “I found a spot for myself on the edge of the crowd in the Mall, ami remained there till 12. The dense crowd, with more people arriving a-l the time, was very jolly. Some of those near me had been there since 4 a.m., and some had waited all night, brom 9 o clock, and even before, a constant stream of cars, nearly all containing guests bound for. the Abbey, filed past. The women were beautifully dressed, but the men, who were very often in uniform, were on the whole far more gorgeous than the women. ~, ... ' “I saw the Lascelles children with their mother and father —two little figures sitting up very straight, in dark suits and white starched collars. Then there was a long wait, and at last the moment had arrived. First came the Life Guards—the most lovely sight—then the glass coach, with the King, the Queen, and Prince Valder of Denmark, also the Kings and Queens of Norway and Denmark. Then the bride’s mother, with Prince Paul of Yugoslavia, and a few others; more soldiers, and then more Life Guards, this time with scarlet plumes instead of white: then three Princes. They did look so very nice! “A few more minutes passed, then came more guards, escorting the bride and her father. She was on the farther side of the carriage, looking out and acknowledging the cheers. Then came more horsemen, and the procession had passed on. The whole tiling seemed almost fairylike, and quite unreal. The beautiful carriages and the most ornate livery of the men in attendance : the horses with such very elaborate harness; the dozens of Horse Guards, in gleaming metal; and, above all, the thought that there, so close to us. were real live kings and queens. “And so they passed. There was a general move then, and I found myself in a far better position than I had before.” People began to get out refreshments of all kinds. The girls behind me, who had caught the 6 o’clock train from somewhere, had sandwiches and wished for tea. A woman at one side produced a bottle of brandy, and on my other side a party had oranges. Somewhere in the background, fruit, sweets and souvenir programmes were being sold by most persuasive gentlemen. A man appeared selling little mirrors to hold up like a. periscope and so view the scene from another angle. I bought one—most people did.The service was broadcast from somewhere just at the back of me, but the people would not keep quiet. They had come to see, not to listen. At 11.45 the bride and bridegroom appeared with all the ceremony of guards, etc., again. They were lovely. Prince George was on my side and I fell for him completely. Theneveryone moved, so I found my way to Piccadilly, had a good meal, then went back again down the Mall to Buckingham Palace.- Just as I came in sight of tlie Palace the party came out on to the balcony; the bride arid groom, the King and Queen, Princess Elizabeth and Princess Margaret Rose, and all the others. The Duchess of Kent bowed and smiled, as they all did. At length the coach appeared again and then disappeared through the central arch under the palace. Then out they came, the coach'this time open, and the bridesmaids ran down to the main gates after them. . After that I went along the route just to see the decorations. The city was packed with people all doing exactly the same thing.”