ROYAL GARDEN PARTY

Hokitika Guardian, 18 September 1930, Page 7

ROYAL GARDEN PARTY

\ KING, • PRINCES AND PEOPLE. EIVETHOUSAND' GUESTS. ■ LONDON, July 25. In was ; only Royal luck that'saved ihe, garden-party at Buckingham Palace this-'year. For,-a week—a midsummer .week;—we have shivered over fires and dfodged,showers. A notice in L/«'^he : morning papers warned guests that / if it rainfed.../there would be no party. How we patched the sky.! , Before the gates were opened at 3.15 a queue'had formed on foot and in ears. 'The-usual London crowd had eonie to watch the favoured, ticket in hand, pass the scarlet uniforms at the great Palace door. Footmen in black, tall,, dignified; silent were in the. hall. A ' great'/Staircase rose in a series of flights to,the left, carpeted in crimson. A/crimson carpet was spread across the terrace, and down the steps to the soft green lawn;- The guests, five thousand , of’ them, icanie sweeping in like a tidfi,through the Palace entrance, through

■v the; garden-gate at Hyde Park corner, 1 and at Palace Road. ■wj A keen/wind blew, and the gi : e'y sky heavy Vith rain. Chiffon and lace and organdie, destined for this day, were- covered with coats of fur, of silk, of'tsqpd; even raincoats. • There were gowps, many,, freak frocks,jhut/qn'the whole the usual love. Jiness 'was, cloaked; and drab. One-young.girl had a dress of priceless 1 ohjl /-dace, made flounce - upon flounce,'with an ill-fitting'black velvet Eton jacket;;and over;'this a , fischu. of Venetian'-point lace, * The wnolewas too. / terrible :fqr words—something re-, deemed' from ftlio attic. ' A lovely'young 'girl -wore a; gown,.of pale pirik/petal,'and over-her shoulders, .was a fringed shawl of pink silk - the same ' with '.this! she wore a pink pjokethfinriet. 'Da'me.iM-ja'dge'' Kendall, •. • the fine -old 'court by . herself. . She wore ap-old-fashioned-gown of ,lavendersilk, with; a lace, fischu.' and:' -ermine wrap, anda"tiny bonnet of lavender. ■ flowers!* ;; : ' V - But cl.otiies'-dori’t matter really,-there else/to think about. » ''• V*= •' ' ‘ THEIR--MAJESTIES APPEAR. . : . ■■ : v v ; . On theVfiick of four, the. King and Queeni'cagfe from the east door,. and all the Royal family, foreign Royalties ond speqmlly/.distinguished nien, Pat-. ricians,yjif)|(ered in the offing to escort • them la'.tep.:;! • , . , .'.CarS;:-fhairing the Royal coat of arms, caineiln; one by one, .through the great' iron-gateway, and stopped beside the big bak> tree. The Duke of York,the Gloucester, Prince and JPrinwss'?Arthur of Connaught. Prin- ** cess Patridfi—tall, regal, handsome, in' «, wide hat and black coat, accompanied fjy her husband, Commander Ramsay r/the,; King’s sisters, Princess

Mary in black with an ermine stole, King Fcisal of Iraq, in a frock coat and ,a quaint blue Glengarry cap A coal-black gentleman, his face as

black and shiney as his top hilt, and tail coat, had heightened the effect by wearing white spats and white kid gloves. I expected him to produce a banjo any moment. He, however, joined the crowd on the other side of the path—not beside .the oak. At one minute to the. hour the great iron gate .opened once more, a big car swept in, but before it had stopped the door opened, and the Prince of Wales and his younger brother, Prince George (they are great pals) jumped out. An Admiral, all gold braid, ran out to meet them. The two Princes hurried across the path to the east door, each looking at his wrist watch. All the/ top hats came" off with a sweeping bow: The King and Queen had come, Queen Mary’s Madonna blue dress—still ankle length—was hidden beneath a gorgeous c-oat of metal brocade in wifieh tiny pink and blue flowers were mixed with gold. A deep collar and cuffs of white fox gave it a cosy appearance, and the only, jewels yon saw were massed a-h'iut her throat and included a magnificent emerald. This was the coat-the Queen wore for the re-opening of/St. Paul’s Cathedral. It is the first time I have seen the Queen wear .the same clothes at two State functions. Her parasol, of course, was blue.

The King, looking extremely well and bronzed was buttoned tip Into his overcoat, with a carnation in the but-ton-hole., To inost people his bright tan gloves with wide black stitching came as a surprise. The other men were the orthodox grey. After, the Royal greetings under the oak tree, the curtseying and kissing Of hands, the King and Queen headed the informal procession to the centre lawn, followed by the other members of Royalty, where they scattered, the King going -one way, the Queen another, and the Princess making individual tours, all to meet later at the Durbar Pavilion for tea. 'The Diplomatic Corps had a tent adjoining, and tea, delicious cakes, and sandwiches and raspberries arid cream awaited the other gueSts: at a long-tended buffet. : FOUR PRINCES TOGETHER. •• ItAvas'the first time I had seen the four/Princes together, four slim, wellgroomed young men, dressed alike, all 'attractive, and a' little nervy of manner . and fidgetty of gesture. The Prince of Wales, is the shortest. His face is; still boyish at a distance, but his thirty-six years of strenuous life have .hegrm to chisel lines. The Duke of York looked well and bronzed.

‘ I saw the Duke of Gloucester, the only one of the . quartet to wear a moustache, talking to Prince Tokogawa and his daughter, the bride of the Heir of the Throne of Imperial Japan. The newly-married Japanese royalty have been staying at the Palace, a return visit after the Duke of Gloucester’s trip to Japan last year. The Princess wore trailing white lace under a Parisian coat.'

Prince George, the tallest, is dark and the best looking. He shares with

the Prince of Wales a keen love of sport and gaiety., The party was crowded with bishops, hundreds of them from the Lambeth Conference, in their gaiters, and with a crucifix in their belts. One had a recent bride with him, apparently in her bridal satin. AMONG THE GUESTS. I saw Sir Harry Lauder in a brown kilt, and G. K. Chesterton, his long fair hair escaping from his top hat, his vast bulk shaking like a jelly over some good joke. John McCormack, the Irish tenor, was there, Mr and Mrs Stanley .Baldwin, has dress of rust red. Mr J. H. Thomas, the new Minister for the Dominions, was making the King laugh. Later I saw him talking with the Prince of Wales. Owen Nares, the actor, was t'lere, and Humbort- A Wolfe, the poet, the editor of “Punch,” and crowds of Japanese and Chinese in faultless Western dress. One little Chinese lady wore native costume,. and when a shower fell, she put up her gay little Chinese umbrella. I also saw Cardinal Bourne, a short figure in sombre clerical garb; a blind V.C.: two Socialists in old felt hats, looking as uncomfortable as they felt rebellious; Mr Ramsay MacDonald and his two daughters; General Dawes, the American Ambassador: Sir Granville R.yrie, Australian High Commissioner; Sir Thomas Wilfol'd, New Zealand High Commissioner.

The Indians were the most spectacular guests, as usual. The little Indian ladies with their red east mark between the brows, and their embroidered silk saris; the men in turbans of various types denoring their State, One little old Indian wore a tunic and trousers of embroidered fine white muslin, and must have been frozen. Another had green plush heavily embossed with gold.