A ROYAL WEDDING

Hokitika Guardian, 10 May 1929, Page 7

A ROYAL WEDDING

SCENES IN OSLO. BEFORE THE CEREMONY. OSLO (Norway), March 20. •Few royal weddings of these modern clays have had such a charming prelude as the tactful compliment paid this afternoon by Princess Martha of Sweden, the bride of the Crown Prince of Norway, to the country of her adoption, when she called on the people of Oslo. It was her first public act after arriving from Stockholm this' morning with her parents and the Swedish bridesmaids for flic wedding, which will take place at noon on Thursday. She drove .in an open motor-car through the highways and byways of tlxis plain and hospitable capital, accompanied by her husband-to-be, so that she might see and greet her future subjects in every walk of life, ft was a very kindly and thoughtful tribute to the inhabitants of Oslo. Pi •ineess Martha realised that thousands of them would be unable to gain access to the narrow High-street through which she will pass on Thursday morning when she goes to St. Saviour’s Cathedral to be married. So, after a hurried family luncheon at the old-fashoned palace on the hill, she set out with Prince Olav on this extended excursion among the people. They looked a very happy couple—she in a light costume, a little shy, but warmly responsive to the'welcome of her new friends, he obviously proud and protective, in a . lounge suit and hard felt hat, as though to emphasise the fact that this was an occasion entirely devoid of royal ceremony. WELCOME BY POOR. What better forecast of the future could any bridegroom desire? There were cheers and smiles all the way. brilliant mmshine from a cloudless sky, and -festive deccjrajtion covering the streets from which all the snow had vanished. Their leisurely journey took them through narrow, humble thoroughfares where the poor live, as well as through the business quarter—all alive with cheers. They parsed in the slums, of the very existence of which—if the Socialists are to be believed— royalty is supposed to l>e ignorant. Everywhere they fou,nd the same .friendly faces and heard the same simple expressions of good wishes for their happiness. The. tour, which was scheduled to occupy two‘hours, took nearly three, on account of the delays caused by the enthusiastic crowds. Everywhere flowers and little national flags were thrown into the car. When it arrived at the palace, shortly before five, it was smothered in flowers.

KING DRIVES CAR. The tour was all the more impressive 'because of the simplicity and atmosphere of intimacy and because of the .stately .progress of the Princess on her arrival earlier in the day in a state landau drawn by four fine horses. That was in itself a striking picture and ceremonial greeting. Yet even the royal procession sweeping up the long, straight Karl Johan-street, with its escort of green dragoons and flashing sabres, was but a monetary intervention of Court etiquette in a scene otherwise homely and informal. There was no jarring note. True to their promise, the Socialist Municipality of Oslo took no part in today’s reception, and were absent from the railway station,- but not conspicuously so. King Haakon struck the note of informality when Tie went first to the station a little after 10 o’clock, bv driving the royal motor-car himself. This visit was for the purpose of meeting his son, who had accompanied the bride and her party in thr Swedish royal train from Stockholm to Charlottenberg, on the Norwegian frontier, where he alighted and came on to Oslo by the ordinary morning express. With him were several members of the Swedish Royal Family. Half an hour later the King and his son tnoturnod to the station to meet Prince Waldemar of Denmark, prince George of Greece, and two little sons of the former. After ar interval of another half hour 'they were 'back a third time, the King having exchanged his general’s plain kepi for 'a ceremonial hat with red

plunTCVi wnd being .accompanied by Queen Maud. A festive electric engine, festooned with evergreen, tied with the Swedish colonics of gold and blue, drew the royal saloon alongside them exactly at 11.20.

The bride came to them amid flowers. Her saloon was filled with lovely olleriivjs from the people of Charlottenberg and of the intervening town >l : ongsvinKcr. More flowers awaited her on the platform as she appeared, flushed and smiling, at the steps of the saloon the moment it came to rest. A GREEN LUES'S. Sh': was wearing a green travelling d.r*i"s. a. toque, three-quarter coat, and white fur. She shook hands .with the King and kissed the Queen affectionately. After her came her parents. Prince Charles of Sweden, a tall, commanding figure, in full uniform, her mother. Princess Ingeborg, then her sister. Marge retha, and the latter’s husband Prince Axel of Denmark, and Prin'css Ingrid, daughter of the Crown Prince. No bride could have wished for r more splendid processional path to her now home. . The main thoroughfare of Oslo, Karl Johan-street, is a straight avenue, two-thirds ol a mile long, linking the .station and the pal-* ace. It dips abruptly towards tlu centre, then rises again to the broad facade of the palace thrown across its farther end. This latter portion had 'been transformed into a magnificent colonnade of massive pillars of ice, surmounted with gold bowls, in which gas flare burn at night. Eight of the larges! pillnrs are lit by flares r-lneed inside, and the effect after nightfall is extremely beautiful. After the arrival at the unlace the bride and bridegroom appeared on tlir balcony which faces the main street It was crowded with people for mow than half a mile and they were wildly cheered.