ROYAL WEBBING.

Taranaki Daily News, 2 March 1922, Page 5

ROYAL WEBBING.

PRINCESS MARY WEDS. A BRILLIANT CEREMONY. m REAT LONDON CROWDS. A CITY OF CHEERS. The marriage of Princess Mary, only daughter of the King and Queen, to Viscount Lascelles, eldest son of the Earl of Harewood, was celebrated at . Westminster Abbey on Tuesday morning. A wonderful scene of enthusiasm —demonstrating the nation’s pleasure at a British union, and the popularity of the Princess and her soldier husband—made the day a memorable one Mi London. By Telegraph.—Pres» Assn. —Lopyrlgtt. London, Feb. 28. ♦Vestminster Abbey, with all its wealth of historic ceremonials, was probably never the setting for one more beautiful in its simplicity, and wherein public interest was so generally centred, than the wedding of the King’s only daughter. It is centuries since a King’s daughter was married in the Abbey. There were delegates from every unit of the British Commonwealth of Nations, and. unlike previous great ceremonials, there was a notable absence of foreign Royalties, though foreign nations paid their respects through the diplomatic corps. The remarkable enthusiasm evinced throughout the country since the Princess was affianced was mainly accounted for by the fact that she was greatly beloved and was to remain at home among her own folk, instead of gracing some foreign Court. Well before the appointed hour those invited to the Abbey began to arrive, peers, commoners, laborites, social reformers and the heads of various religious bodies took up their allotted positions. New Zealand was represented by Sir James and Lady Allen, who occupied prominent positions. Every part of the grey old Abbey was filled with guests in resplendent costumes, forming gn animated scene. PROCESSION TO WESTMINSTER. Outside the Abbey the scene was no less thrilling. Thousands of spectators found accommodation in huge stands and the space behind the troops in Whitehall was densely packed with sightseers. As the procession swung through the Admiralty Arch into Whitehall volleys of cheering greeted the Princess and a great ovation was accorded her as the carriage entered Parliament Square. The latter was finely deeorated in a color scheme of blue, white and silver, with masts bearing banners and medallions with the monograms of Mary and Lascelles. Such wounded men as are still in the hospitals in London were provided with special accommodation to view the procession. There were two processions from the Palace, separated by a .short interval. The Queen, with a "captains’ escort of the Ist Life Guards formed the first, which left the palace at 11.3. The King, with the Princess, in the second procession, left the Palace at 11.16. accompanied by a field-officer’s escort. The route was lined with battalions of the Grenadier, Coldstream, Scots and Welsh Guards, and representative detachments of the London Territorials Division. At one point in the joyous procession there was an oasis of silence. Britain’s monument to the glorious dead, its base piled round with wreaths of immortels brought to mind that joy and sorrow were to follow the travellers on life’s journey. While those in the Abbey awaited the coming of the bride Dr. Sydney Nicholson, the Abbey organist, played a selection of music chosen to represent early English music and later British compositions. The Abbey choir was strengthened by the choir of the Chapel Royal. SCENE IN THE ABBEY.

Cheering outside the Abbey announced the arrivals of Royalties. Conversation in the Abbey died away to silence as the Princess, on her father s arm. approached the altar, accompanied by the bridesmaids, Princess Maud, Lady Rachel Cavendish, Lady Maxy Thynne, Lady Victoria Cambridge, Lady Doris Gordon-Lennox, Lady Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon, Lady Diana Bridgeman, and Lady Mary Cambridge. Each bridesmaid carried a bouquet of sweet peas caught with silver ribbon streamers. Viscount Lascelles, with Sir Victor Mackenzie, awaited the Princess’ arrival at the altar, where the Archbishops of Canterbury and York, the Dean of ■Westminster, the Bishops of London and Oxford and other clergy in magnificent vestments formed an effective setting to the diphanons draperies of the bridal party. The Dean of Westminster received the King and 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 bnde herself. The Archbishop of Canterbury conducted the marriage service, at the conclusion of which the hymn:, • Praise My Soul the King of Heaven was sung to Goss’ music. The archbishop delivered an address after the blessing had been pronounced and. as the bride and bridesmaids 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 Dr. Nicholson, was sung. Then, as the bridal party left the chapel, all the Royalties, with the Earl and Countess of Harewood, joined the procession in the nave forming a brilliant pageant. The organ played the ‘Bridal March” and the march from Gounod’s “Romeo and Juliet,’ followed by Mendlessohn’s “Wedding March. SUN SHINES ON BRIDE. As the party quitted the Abbey great cheering rose and when the bridal carriage drove away the couple bowed acknowledgement, perhaps only one thing was wanting to complete the Princess’ happiness, and that was the fact that her elder brother, to whom she is devotedly attached, was unable to participate in the ceremony. On the return journey a longer route was taken both for the benefit of the spectators and to enable their Majesties and other Royalties to return to the Palace by a shorter route in time to receive the married couple. c The poverbial fickleness of the Engpllmsta showed in the tight ditto*

tion. The sun shone brilliantly throughout the ceremonial. During the small hours of the morning the outlook was cheerless and frequent rain squalls drenched London and a cold westerly was blowing. At 7 o’clock the rainclouds vanished magically, leaving blue sky and sunlight. About 10 o’clock some ominous clouds gathered, but dispersed under the strong wind. From the Palace the Mall presented a wonderful vista. Hundreds of thousands of people were packed in the vicinity of the Palace, anxious to catch the first glimpse of the bride, but only a small portion obtained a satisfactory view. WOMEN USE PERISCOPES. The fortunate onea were those who in the early morning hours took possession of the base of the Victoria Memorial. Less fortunate were those packed on both sides of the Mall. Stalwart Guardsmen, whose uniforms and black bearskins added splendor to the occasion, stood in such close formation along the route that onlookers had little chance of seeing the processions. It was remarkable how many women had, with the forethought and knowledge gained from the war, improvised periscopes on parasols to enable them to see over those in front. Such ruses, however, were not very satisfying. Those who defied the police regulations and came provided with camp stools fared better, while the best of all were the small boys who climbed trees along the route until they resembled a human rookery. Londoners, however, notwithstanding all the disadvantages of over-crowding, gave the Princess a fitting welcome. , Enthusiastic as was the reception of the Queen, with whom was the Duke of York and Princes Henry and George, that which awaited the bride will live in her memory. Her appearance was the signal for a rear which ran through the dense throng from the Palace to the Admialty Arch with amazing rapidity. The Princess acknowledged this joyous and deafening feu-de-joie of cheers smilingly all the way. At the moment of jthe bride’s arrival at the Abbey the crowd was so dense that the police had the greatest difficulty in maintaining the cordon. Dozens of women and children fainted and were carried to the island refuges, where medical aid was stationed. At the conclusion of the ceremony spectators from the Abbey and Whitehall began to converge on the Palace, while the throng was so great at Hyde Park corner that the ambulances were busy. Over twenty persons were treated for fainting or exhaustion. All the clubs in Piccadilly were gaily decorated and the windows filled with cheering people. As the married pair drove down Constitution Hill they received tremendous acclamations from the vast crowd. From the balcony of the Palace Lord Lascelles and the Princess bowed to the crowd. Princess Mary beckoned to her father, mother, and Queen Alexandra, who joined her amid tumultuous cheering. tribute FROM MARSHAL FOCH. Parts newspapers have devoted articles to the Royal wedding. Marshal Foeh issues, through the Matin, a manifesto saying that all France will participate in new homage to the illustrious house of which Edward the Peacemaker was France’s most faithful friend, King George the unshakeable ally, and the Prince of Wales, the conqueror in Picardy, her sincere affection.

Marshal Foch recalls with deep emotion “the time when we stood shoulder to shoulder, heart to heart. We shall do well at this moment when Britain celebrates the marriage of her King’s daughter to recall that Britain and France sealed with blood the union of their sons, which they will never transform into a scrap of paper.” In his address the Archbishop said it was probable that no daughter of a reigning King had ever been married in the Abbey and certainly no marriage had taken place with quite such associations. He referred to the work done during tne war by the Princess in the leadership of disciplined English girlhood, and by the bridegroom in the field. Addressing the Princess he said, ‘To you, my child, the war days of your girlhood brought the occasion of glad service,” and to the bridegroom, “Your work, my brother, did much more than stand the test.” Now, he added, they would together set themselves to secure the strength, orderliness and sunshine of a great English home. The King and Queen sent e message of thanks in reply to the Empire’s affectionate good wishes for the marriage. IMPERIAL SIGNIFICANCE. Probably there were few in that unparalleled concourse, vast even among London’s unexampled crowds, who examined the Imperial significance of the wedding, yet beyond doubt in all that mass of jammed humanity the single trend of thought was “Our English Princess is marrying an Englishman.” There is an Empire-wide moral in that unstudied expres s n of human thankfulness. It spells Britain’s Empire for the British, not for foreign alliances through Royal marriages and, on the possibly subconscious realisation of this fact lay the chief factor of the extraordinary and unbounded popular demonstrations. Women largely predominated in the Crowds, which accounted for fne remarkable color of the scene. Large numbers fainted as the result of crushing and kep’t the ambulances busy. Lord Lascelles spoke his vows in a firm voice, which was clearly audible across the Abbey. Princess Mary’s voice was also audible and unshaken, but the words were indistinguishable as her back was to the audience. THE DEAD REMEMBERED. DEPARTURE FOR HONEYMOON. ANOTHER GREAT OVATION. Received Feb. 1, 5.5 p.m. London, Feb. 28. Viscount Lascelles wore the uniform of the Grenadier Guards, with the ribbon and star of his order. As the Princess on the return journey passed the cenotaph the carriage was stopped and she handed a Grenadier Guardsman a beautiful floral tribute, which she had specially reserved for the fallen. The soldier saluted and placed the flowers at the foot of the memorial. The whole scene was unexpected, and many of those who witnessed it were . moved to tears. Princess Mary and Viscount Lascelles left the Palace at four o’clock in an open state landau, drawn by four white horses, with an outrider in scarlet livery, and attended by an escort of the First Life Guards. On the way to Paddington Station, whence they left for Shifnal, where the first portion of the honeymoon will be spent, the route was densely crowded, and the young people received one long ovaM*. '