THE LAW OF CUSTOM

Evening Post, Volume CXII, Issue 82, 3 October 1931, Page 22

THE LAW OF CUSTOM

The forthcoming marriage of Lady May Cambridge, the .Queen 'a niece, will naturally be hedged about by many formalities that private individuals escape, writes the Hon. Mrs. Francis Lascelles, aunt of the Earl of Harewood. It was King George 111. who forced on an unwilling Parliament the Royal Marriage Act, which provided that no descendant of George 11., save only those of Princesses married abroad, should wed before attaining the age of 25 without the King's consent. After that, marriage without the King's approval might be legal so long as Parliament raised no objection. The limitation regulating the marriages of members of ; the Royal Family to persona of Boyal blood is a comparatively modern innovation, for the Stuarts, Tudors, and Plantagenets married whom they would. We sco, therefore, that in Boyal marriages, as in everything else, there are fashions, and a tendency to return to former ways. The brides of Royal Princes are not free, as are other women, to make their own plans for the grqat ceremony. Even the list of bridesmaids must be submitted to the King for approval. The clergy who shall officiate are a matter which is also outside the bride's province; and such important items as the designs of the wedding gown and the bridesmaids' frocks are ruled by Court etiquette. . : Even small considerations such as the length of train, the way the veil is arranged, what shall be carried, and so forth, have all their own tradition, which must be respected. It may appear absurd to have rules and etiquettes for such trivial matters, yet there may be more reason in it than there would seem. There is a custom, for example, that the bridal veil shall in no case covor the. face of a Royal bride. That is a very ancient rule 4a^'nS back to old lawless days when intrigue might attempt to substitute another woman for the chosen Queen. Royalty is by no means free to accept every wedding present'that is offered. Indeed, the greatest tact has to be exercised over the whole of tha|,

WHEN ROYALTY WEDS

1 very delicate question.' Of ten it' is I necessary to return an offered present, | for it savours of '' trade,'' and naturally Royalty cannot allo>v itself to be forced into the position, of an advertising agency. .•■'■.. ! Signing the register, too, is no light matter, at a Royal wedding. When Princess Mary was married ' she ' not only had to sign the ordinary register of the Abbey but also the official register in which all Royal baptisms, marriages, and burials are entered from very early times. This bulky, moroccobound volume is in the custody of the Clerk of the Closets, and is kept at the Chapel Royal,- St; James's .Palace. • . There are many witnesses to a Royal wedding certificate, often twenty or more,'so that the signatures, can hardly be completed at the time, of tho cere^ mony, and, when once the bride and bridegroom and the principal witnesses have signed, the registers are probably sent to1 Buckingham Palace for additional signatures. This course of pro; cedure was followed in. the case of Princess Patricia's wedding. The Royal marriage licence prepared for Princess Mary cost £50, and was a. most'imposing affair, being engrossed in the ancient way. It was.written , in very black ink on the finest of vellum, with occasional red ink underiin- ■ ing's to r add life to" tho; appearance of the document. It is said that no fewer than twenty quillpens were used to obtain the various thicknesses of writing required. , . I ■ The rather.expensive custom that the bridegroom at a Royal wedding should not only present his bride but all his principal guests with a gold ring is now happily dead. It was still the fashion when George IV. married, and ho spent £4000 in this way, which little bill was later paid by His. Majesty's Government. • Most British Royal honeymoons are spent in England, the general rule being that the newly-married ipair shall borrow some quiet country home from \ a friend or relative, and stay there for a time. Princess Mary, however, broke away from this custom, and after a brief!.stay., in. England; eho... and, her \ husband wcut to Paris and Italy; ''■■■'.