ROYAL WEDDING.

Manawatu Herald, Volume XLIV, Issue 2399, 2 March 1922, Page 3

ROYAL WEDDING.

MARRIAGE OF PRINCESS MARY. London, Feb. 28. The marriage of Princess Mary to Viscount Lascelles on Tuesday, in Westminster Abbey, was a brilliant and historic pageant, yet beautiful in its simplicity. London was thronged with sightseers, and there were scenes of remarkable enthusiasm. The groupings round the altar formed a picture unrivalled in ■splendour. The Archbishops of Canterbury and York, Dean of Westminster, the Bishops of London and Oxford, and other clergy, in magnificent vestments, formed an effective setting to the diaphanous draperies of flie bridal party. The Dean of Westminster (Right Rev. H. E. Ryle) received the King and the bride at the 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. After Psalm sixty-seven had been chanted, the Archbishop of Canterbury (Most Rev. Randall Thomas Davidson) conducted the marriage service, at the conclusion of which the hymn “Praise My Soul, King of Heaven,” was sung to Gosse’s music. ARCHBISHOP OF CANTER- - BURY’S ADDRESS.

The Archbishop of Canterbury, in his address to the bridal couple, said:

“It is a stirring'thing for any man or woman, whoever they may be. fo find themselves for a brief space the very, focus or centre of the interest and the prayers of literally millions of people” throughout

the world. You so stand this morning. Around us just now, in every land,' and not least in our own, confused anxities are throbbing, and urgent needs depress men’s minds. But we have met for once in ' quietness - and confidence.

This sanctuary is holy ground. It for long centuries has been dedicated to the consecrating of new responsibilities. Your vows are very sacred things, attested by us all, and radiant with hope. Yet great as the occasion is, what we are gathered for is a simple, I might almost say a homely thing; and an act. familiar in story, and in every household in the land. It is to un:tc man and maiden in wedlock unbreakable while life lasts. It is to wish them both God speed upon life’s pathway; to remind them of mutual society, help and comfort that one ought to have of the other, both in prosperity and adversity. And because it is so familiar and so simple, the'opportunities it offers are plain and large. It seems probable that no daughter of a reigning King ever until to-day married in Westminster Abbey; cert airily no marriage ever took place here under conditions quite like yours. War time partly created them. Each of you . in the grim war years found new opportunities an,d used them. “When the fibre of British manhood was being sternly tested day by day in shell-swept trench and on bare hillside, yours, my brother, did much more than stand the test. Such testing, such equipment, can make good its outcome in quieter after years. No call of that King, no necessity on that scale, please God, will come again in your life time, but to those worthy of it, peace brings privileges in central places. Our central homes can bestow on English life an inestimable boon. If the fierce light which beats upon such home reveals there what is honourable and nave, what is lovely and of good report, the gain is far reaching, and it spreads. There lies opportunity for both of you. You are going to use it. “To you, my child, the war days of your girlhood brought occasion of giad service. Experience, however simple, in hospital ward, can give abiding stimulus .to one who cares. In that effort, as also in the ' leadership of disciplined English : girlhood, you gained thought and knowledge which will now contribute ( to securing the strength, orderliness and sunshine of a great English . home. “Together you will set yourselves thereto. The happiness of home I, life, even when blessed like yours - with high traditions, is not a matter of course ; it has its roots in mutual love, which are not tender.only but thoughtful in resources; a love unselfish in devotion, but brave and unreserved in its honesty of mutual counsel. “So may you together go from strength to strength. The power so to do must come from on high. We are here this morning as Christians, our fealty .pledged to the living. The Lord is the centre of inspiration: the master in the home is Jesus Christ our Lord. It is in His name that with gladness of heart and buoyancy of hope we to r day on behalf of the whole Empire and people, bid you God speed.” After the blessing had been pronounced,'and as the bride and bridegroom 1 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 Mr Sydney Nicholson, was snng. ; BRILLIANT PAGEANT. Then, as the bridal party left the chapel, aU Royalties, with the Earl and Countess of Harewood, joined in procession in the nave, forming a brilliant pageant. As it wended its way. down the nave, the organ played the Bridal March from Gounod’s “Rameo and Juliet,” followed by - Mendelssohn’s Wedding March as

the party quitted the Abbey. Great cheering rose when the bridal carriage drove away, the couple bowing acknowledgments. THE ONE THING WANTING. Perhaps only one thing was wanting to complete the Princess’ happiness, and that was the fact that her elder brother, the Prince of Wales, to whom she is devotedly attached, was unable to participate in the ceremony. The return journey to the Palace followed the same route as from the Palace, except that the Princess’ carriage turned out of the Mall at Marlborough House in St. James’ Street, thenee by Piccadilly and down Constitption Hill. This gave a longer route for the spectators, and also enabled Their and other Royalties to return to the Palace by a shorter, route in time to receive the married couple.