THE FIRST COURT

Taranaki Central Press, Volume IV, Issue 442, 25 May 1937, Page 3

THE FIRST COURT

DEBUTANTES SPARED Scene Of Splendour The sun was still shining when the gates of Buckingham Palace were opened to admit the first cars foi their Majesties’ first- Court of theii reign, on May 5, s ates the Sun, Sydney. Debutantes this year were spared one of the greatest ordeals suffered by their ancestors. The authorities -arranged a one-wlay traffic system down Pall Mall, past the Horse Guards Parade, and back to the Palace, via Birdcage Walk, and' they kept all car 3 moving. Thus the debutantes had not to sit as formerly, in stationary cars while the crowd stared, and cameras clicked'. The public had only 11 brief glimpse. “How much more pleasant is this to last year,” said' a. previous year’s debutante, who was chaperoning her sister. “All the pani and fluster before the crowds and photographer a is a thing of th e past.” Inside the Palace there whs a scene of splendour, as nearly 200 debutantes of the Coronation Year curtsied in the white.and-gold Throne Room. King George VI wore the full-dress scarlet and gold uniform of a field marshal. Roses and hydrangeas decorated the Throne Room and th e other State rooms, where, after the- presentation, debutantes partook of cold chicken, champagne, and- a variety of delicacies at buffets, where Royal servants in full State liveries, with knee breeches and while silk stockings, waited on -them. In one room a gold fountain played perfumed water, and in others gold plate was displayed.