SHADOW ROYALTIES

Hokitika Guardian, 13 June 1931, Page 6

SHADOW ROYALTIES

SPECTACULAR WEDDING HELD. BRILLIANCE AT PALERMO. A Crown Prince who in all human probability will never he a king and a royal princess who will never be o queen were married in the Cathedral at Palermo,' in Sicily, on April 8. It was pathetically appropriate that this wedding of shadow royalties should have been celebrated in Sicily, the scene of the legendary adventures ol the “thvoneless monarch,” King Roll erl of Sicily, says the correspondent of the “Daily Express.” Yet il the princi and his bride had been assured ol '<■

throne the wedding could not have been more brilliant, the guests more distinguished, the ceremony more imposing The bridegroom was the young Prince Henri, Comte de Paris, son ol the Due de Guise, Pretender to tlu throne of France, and the bride Princess Isabelle d’Orleans-Braganza, a distant cousin of her husband. Notable Guests Attend.

The guests included European princes and princesses; Sir Ronald Graham, the British Ambassador to Italy, represented King George; and no fewoi than 800 French Royalists arrived in a specially chartered liner. By special permission of the Pope, Cardinal Lavitrano, Cardinal-Archbishop of Palermo, celebrated the wedding. Crowds lined the Via Matteo Bonelh. and the approaches to the cathedral square to watch the brilliant wedding profession walk oevr carpets from tlu magnificent Palace d'Auniale, for centuries the Palermo home of the Orleans family, to the ancient cathedral Cardinal Lavitrano, in full vestments, and accompanied by an assisting clergy, met the head of the procession at the entrance to the cathedral, which was cordoned off b.v troops and Fascist militia in full uniform. Inside the entrance a specially augmented choir, accompanied by jin orchestra, chanted hymns. The interim' of the cathedral had been beautifully decorated with great masses of- flowers. All the women present were in high-necked dresses, while the men were either in full-dress uniform or evening dress. The' witnesses for the bridegroom were the Duke of Pugliie and Prince Don Carlos de Bourbon—who represented the King of Spain—and for the bride. Prince Bierre d’Orlo/ans-Brag-anzn and Prince Adam Czartoriski. Seven Hundred for Lunch.

Following the wedding ceremony luncheon for 700 guests was served in the grounds of tin* Palace d’Auniale. where immense pavilions had been erected .

The first part of the honeymoon was at Palermo, and later the bride and bridegroom left for a yachting cruise along the coast of Northern Africa. Prince Henri is only twenty-two. and like his father, has been obliged by circumstances to live awav from his native land. Ho is tall and slender, with clean blue eyes and brown hair. He has studied at the University of Brussels, and has taken up agriculture

as a profession. Princess Isabelle, who is twenty, and very beautiful, is descended from King Louis Philippe’s son. the Due de Nemours. She is the grand-daughter of the late Princ-ess Isabelle of Braganza Princess Imperial of Brazil. She was educated in a convent in Brazil.