TILE ROYAL WEDDING

Hokitika Guardian, 1 March 1922, Page 3

TILE ROYAL WEDDING

NEW ZEALANDERS INVITED

AUSTRALIAN AND N.2. CABLE ASSOCIATION

LONDON, Feb. 27. The New Zealanders invited to Westminster Abbev in connection with the' marring*} of •Pfifie&s Mary are:—Hon Arthur Myers and his wife; Colonel Studholme and his wife; Doctor Irving and his wife; Sir John Solmond; Mesdames McEwan, Kolleston, Montgomery, Bernard, Myers, Riddiford, and Misses Allen and Burt. LONDON, Feb. 27 The King and Queen to-day gave the final pre-wedding party. The guests included the tenant farmers on the King’s estate and the Laseelles family estates* ** The weather forecast is for occasional brief interludes of sunshine, and some showers. " There is a great pilgrimage from the provinces. All the West End hotels are full. . , There is rain, and a drizzle -is tall ing. A crowd is assembling in great numbers in the vicinity of the Abbey.

SUNSHINE FOR WEDDING. (Received This Day at 8 a.m.) LONDON, Feb. 28. There is brigtit sunshine and great crowds to witness the royal wedding.

THE WEDDING DAY.

HUGE CROWDS GATHER

(Received This Day at 9.5 a.m.) LONDON, Feb. 28,

The proverbial fickleness of the English climate showed in the right direction. The sut! shells brilliantly throughout the ceremonial. During the small hours of the morning the outlook was cheerless and frequent rainsqualls drenched London. A cold westerly was blowing, but at seven the rainclouds vanished magically, leaving a blue sky and sunlight. About ten some ominous clouds gathered, but dispersed under a strong wind. Frorii the PillacC, tie Mall" presented a wonderful vista. Hundreds of thousands of people were packed in the vicinity of the Palace, anxious to catch the first glimpse of the bride, but only a small pottion obtained a satisfactory view.

ARCHBISHOP’S ADDRESS

LONDON, Feb. 28

In an address, the .Archbishop said it was probable no daughter of a reigning King had ever been married in the Abbey and certainly no marriage had taken place with quite such associations. He referred io the work done during the war by the Princess, in the leadership of disciplined English girlhood, and by the bridegroom in the field. Addressing the Princess he Sl id ; —“To you my child, the war days: of your girlhood brought an occasion of glad service,” and to I e bridegroom “Your work, my brother, did much more than stand the test.” Now, he added, they would together set themselves to secure the strength, orderliness and sunshine of a great English home. BEFORE THE CEREMONY.

(Received This Day at 8.30 a.m.) LONDON, Fb. 28. The Abbey with all its wealth of historic ceremonials, was probably rievei set for one more beautiful in its simplicity, and wherein the public interest was so generally centred, than the wedding of the King's only daughter. It is centuries since a King’s daughter was married in the Abbey. There were delegates from every unit of the Britis.. Commonwealth of Nations, and unlike previous great ceremonials, there- wa s a notable absence of foreign royalties, though foreign nations paid their respects through the diplomatic corps. Remarkable enthusiasm had been evinced throughout the country since the Princess was affianced, mainly accounted for by the fact that she wa s greatly beloved and was to remain at home among her own folk, instead of gracing some foreign Court. Well before the appointed hour, invitees to the Abbey began to arrive, peers, commoners, labourites, social reformers and various religious bodies took up their allotted positions. New Zealand was represented by Sir James and Lady Alien, who occupied prominent positions. 'Every part of the grey old Abbey was filled with guests in resplendent costumes, forming an animated scene. Outside the Abbey the scene was no less thrilling. Thousands of spectators found accommodation in huge stands. The space behind the troops in Whitehall was densely packed with sightseers. As the procession swung through Admiralty Arch into Whitehall, volleys of cheering greeted the Princess, and a great ovation was accorded her as her carriage entered Parliament Square. The latter was finely decorated in a colour scheme of blue, white and silver, with masts bearing banners and medallions and monograms of Princess Mary and Lord Lascelles. Such wounded men as are still in hospitals in Lohdon were provided with special accommodation to view the procession.

There were two processions from the palace, separated by a short interval. The Queen with a, captain’s escort of the First Life Guards formed the first, which left the Palace at 11.3. The King with the Princess formed the second procession and left the palace at 11.16, accompanied by a field officers’ escort. The route was lined with ba/ttalions of Grenadier. Coldstream, Scots and Welsh Guards, and representative detachments of London territorial division. At one point in the joyous procession there was an oasis of silence, at Britain’s monument to her Glorious Dead. Its base piled round with wreaths and immortelles brought to mind that joy atid sorrow were fellow travellers on

life’s journey. While those in the Abbey were awaiting the coming of the bride, Sydney Nicholson the Abbey organist played a selection of music chosen to represent early English music and later British compositions. The Abbey choir was strengthened by the choir of the Chapel Royal. Cheering outside the Abbey announced the arrival of he royalies, and conversation in the Abbey died away to silence, ns the Princess on her father’s Mip jotwmM the nWfjr, fwompfiiitefl

by bridesmaids. The Princess had Lady Rachel Cavendish, Lady Mary Thynnes, Lady Victoria Canbridge, Lady Doris Gordon Lennox, Lady Elizabeth Boweleyon, Lady Diana Bridgeman and Lady Mary Cambridge. Each bridesmaid carried bouquets of sweetpeas, caught with silver ribbon streamers. Lord Laseelles with Victor MacKenzie, awaited the Princess’ arrival at the altar where the Archbishop of Canterbury and York, Dean of Westminster, Bishops of London arid Oxford and other clergy were in magnificent vestments formed an effective setting to

diaphansus draperies of the bridal party. The Dean of Westminster received the King and bride at west door. The Dean and his canons with the choir then preceded the bridal procession up the) nave, singing “Lead Us Heavenly Father, Lead Us,” which was selected as the opening hymn by the bride herself.

The Archbishop of Canterbury conducted the marriage service, at the conclusion of which the hymn “Praise my Soul, King of Heaven,” was sung to Gosse’s music.

The Archbishop delivered an address after the blessing was pronounced, and as the bride and bridgroom proceeded to Edward the Confessor’s Chapel to sign the register, the anthem “Beloved Let Us Love One Another,” specially composed for the occasion by Nicholson, was sung. Then as the bridal party left the chapel all the Royalties, with the Earl and Countess of Harewood, joined the procession in the nave, forming a brilliant pageant. The organ played the Bridal March from Gounod’s “ Romeo and Juliet,” followed by Mendelssohn’s wedding March ns the party quitted the Abbey. Great cheering rose when the bridal carriage drove away, the couple bowing their acknowledgments. Perhaps only one thing was wanting to complete tne Princess’s happiness, and tliAt was the fact that her elder brother, to whom she is devotedly attached, was unablo to participate in the ceremony.

On the return journey, a longer route was taken, both for the benefit of spectators and to enable their Majesties and other Royalties to return to the Palace by a shorter route in time to receive the married couple.

FURTHER PARTIOULARS

'l.’eoeived This Dav at 9.40 a.m.)

LONDON, Feb. 28

Fortunate one were those who, in the early morning hours, took possession of the base of the Victoria memorial. Less fortunate were those packed on both sides of the Mall. Stalwart Guardsmen, whose uniforms and black bearskins addeci splendour to the occasion, stood, in such close formation along the route that the onlookers had little chance of seeing the procession. It was remarkable how manv

women had, with the forethought ami knowledge gained from the war, improvised periscopes on parasols to enable them to sec over those in front. Such ruses, however, were not very satisfying. Those who defied the police regulations and came provided with camp-tools, fared better, while best of all were the small hoys who climbed trees along the route until they resembled a human rookery.

Londoners, however, notwithstanding all the disadvantages of over-crowding, gave the Princess a fitting welcome. Entnusiastic as was the reception of the Queen, with whom was the Duke of Yon.., Princes Henry and George, that which waited the bride will live in her ’ memory. Her appearance was tile signal for a roa r which ran through the dense throng from the Palace to Admiralty Arch, with amazing rapidity. The Princess acknowledged this joyous deafening feu de joie of cheers, smilingly, all the way. The moment of the bride’s arrival at the Abbey the crowd was so dense that the police had the greatest difficulty in maintaining the cordon. Dozen of women and children fainted, and were carried to island refuges, where medical aid was stationed.

At the conclusion of the ceremony, the spectators from the Abbey and Whitehall began to converge on the Palace, while the throng was so great at Hyde Park corner, that ambulances were busy, over twenty persons being treated for fainting or exhaustion.

All the Clubs in Piccadilly were gaily decorated. The windows were filled with cheering people. As the married pair drove down Constitution Hill, they received a tremendous acclamation from the vast crowd. From the balcony of the Palace Lord Lascelles and the Princess bowed to the crowd. Princess Mary beckoned to her father, mother and Queen Alexandra, who joined her amid tumultuous cheering. UM’IKH HEH VICE TELEGRAMS Ke-eived This Day at 12.25 p.m.) LONDON, Feb. 28. Probably there wore few in that unparalleled concourse, vast even among London’s unexampled crowds, who examined tile imperial significance of the wedding, yet beyond doubt in ail that mass of jammed humanity the single trend of thought waj>—-‘‘Our English Princess is marrying an Englishman.” Tliat was the keynote of the whole day’s rejoicing, and was prompted by Princess Mary’s own words whfen acknowledging a gift— “I am remaining in my own native land.”

There is an Empire wide moral in that | unstudied expression of human thankfulness. It spells Britain’s Empire for 1 British not for foreign alliances, through Royal marriages and in a possibly subconscious realisation of this fact, lay the chief factor of the extraordinary unbounded popular demonstration. Women largely predominated in the crowds which accounted for a remarkable colour scene. Large numbers fainted as a result of crushing and kept the ambulances busy. Lord Lascelles spoke his vows in a firm voice, which were clearly audible across the Abbey. Princess Mary’s voice was also audbile and unshaken, but the words were indistinguishable as her back was to the audience.

CELEBRATED IN SYDNEY. SYDNEY, March 1. Shipping find many buildings in the city are be flagged in honour of Princess Mary’s marriage, Some of the churches rang wedding peafs. The Governor-Genera) sent Australia’9 copgratulptions, filso the Pie* ntler’s, 'JTie J£ipg replied • ■“ HeNty thiwb's,”

FOOH’S TRIBUTE. (Received This Dav at 9.40 a.m.) PARIS, Feb. 28. The newspapers devote articles to the Royal wedding. Marshal Focli issues through “The Matin,” a manifesto saying all France will participate in the new homage to the illustrous House, whereof Edward the Peace-maker, was France’s most faithful friend, George an unshakeable ally and the Prince of Wales conquered in Picardy, her sincere affection. Foch recalls with deep emotion the time we stood shoulder to shoulder, heart to heart. We shall do well at this moment, when Britain celebrates the marriage of the King’s daughter, to recall that Britain and ' France scaled' with blood their son’s 1 union, which they will never transform

into a scrap of paper

KING AND QUEEN’S THANKS. 'Received This Dav at 10.15 a.m.) LONDON, Feb. 28.

The King and Queen sent a message of thanks in reply to the Empire’s affectionate good wishes for the marriage