“NOT ROBOTS”

Hokitika Guardian, 23 September 1933, Page 6

“NOT ROBOTS”

THE ROYAL FAMILY’S BURDEN LARGE NUMBER OF FUNCTIONS The Earl of llerewcod, who acted as deputy for the Princess Royal, opened at Hatherham, Yorkshire, on August 5, -the new Heningthoipe .Valley Read, which has been constructed jointly b.v the Rotherhani and West Hiding Councils at a costs of £90,000. It provides an alternative route from.'sheflield to Doncaster. -

Lord Herewood said , the Princess •Royal had lately been extremely indispose!, she had attended so.many functions throughout the summer that her doctors forbade her to do any more until tlie end of. September-or October. The public, lie thought, asked ,a great deal of members of ,the Hoyal. Family } and particularly of the King’s sons and daughter. “I do not think,” he continued, “that the public realise bow few ,members of. the , Royal Family there are to attend the very large number of functions to which they are invited.

has four sons, one daughter and one daughter-in-law, and when the Queen is unable to fulfil a function herself one of. these, two ladies has to attend. I do hope the public will .realise that it is beyound the strength of-any human being, let alone a lady, to do all that is asked of the Ring’s daughter and- daughter-in-law.”

Intimation has been received that the Princess Hoyal has cancelled her proposed visit to Goole, Yorkshire, on September 7. She had arranged today the foundation-stone of a- new church in old Goole and to open a new bowling green at the Earl Haig Memorial British Legion Club. : Princess Alice, Countess of Athlone, when acting- as deputy fur the Princess Royal at a stone-laying ceremony at a London hospital recently made a laughing protest against the pubic habit of expecting extraorinary physical endurance from members of the Royal Family. “We really are not robots,” she said.

Prior to her' indisposition the Princess Royu-Lhnd , -be’eri , ,attbndiiig''a'S many ns four or live public or semi-public functions a- day, and during the last heat wave had three most strenuous day's in Edinburgh, when, the Royal Scots, of which she. is Colonol-in-Qhief, celebrated their 300tli anniversary.

The Prince of Wales, the hardest worked member of the Poyal Family, finds that trains and motor-cars are not 'always equal to getting him to bis many engagements in time, so lies' travels very frequently by air. When opening the municipal airport at Norwich - recently he said he looked upon flying “as his main means' of transport nowadays.” Half a dozen engageriientn in one day for the - Prince, involving many speeches and hundreds' of miles of travelling, is no uncommin occurrence.