ROYAL WEDDING

Opotiki News, Volume X, Issue 1053, 9 December 1947, Page 3

ROYAL WEDDING

MARVELLOUS SIGHT CHEERING CROWDS In mi interesting letter to her brother, Mr. H. J . Matthews, Opo--tiki, Mrs. M. G. Robins, of Streatham Hill, London, gives a first-hand eye-witness account of her inipressions of the Royal Procession in connection with the recent wedding of Princess Elizabeth,; to the Duke of Edinburgh (Lieut. Mountbatten). She writes as follows

“I received the most lovely workbox yesterday and I needn’t tell you how pleased I was with it. It is most beautifully made and the grain of the wood very choice. I would like to know,, the names of the woods used. The workmen doing wav damage were here when it arrived and I had to show it to them. They all crowded round and one and all said it was a beautiful piece of work. One of them saw. the old ; shirt and pounced on that and was very pleased to have it as men only, get 24 coupons every 8 months and a suit alone takes 26. Shirts are 6 coupons, socks 2, Shoes 7, so that you see why lie was pleased.“The men say all the repairs here will be finished in three weeks, I can’t believe it; they have been working here so long. I shall quite miss them but it will be lovely to have everything clean once more and carpets down. To look at these houses nobody would guess they had been so badly damaged and it is rather wonderful how they have been put in order. “Carol, Sally- and I went to sec the Royal Wedding. AVc got up there at. 7.45 a.m. ’to find seething crowds, many of the people having been up all night. We got a good place, opposite the Houses of Parliament near the Abbey, which from many experiences of sightseeing I have always found an excellent viewpoint. We had taken a couple of bricks from, the garden to stand on and saw the pageant beautifully.

“People starved for colour and steeped in austerity loved it all and cheered themselves hoarse. It was a marvellous sight to see the mounted cavalry coining' down Whitehall in their gleaming appointments ; the lovely proud, black horses with their white bcarskinsf 'the clash of “Present Arms” ; the National Anthem by the band as every member of a Royal Family came into view; the crash and clang of the Abbey Bells —was something that only a Britisher can understand and be thrilled by, though it is said that it even made Bob Hope for once, speechless.

“The Princess really looked lovely and radiantly happy—nobody could dispute that—and the bridesmaids a perfect bevy of beauty. “The red-coated Beefeaters had a big cheer as they passed in two coachcg and Churchill also had a wonderful welcome. So did old Queen Mary, unbending and dignified, a brave and proud old woman. “The whole certainly gave everybody here a break and we wouldn’t have missed it for worlds.”