The Express.
London, England, 1866-07-06 00:00:00

[STAMPED, ld. ADDMONAL.]

THE MARRIAGE

THE PRINCESS HELENA.

Unlike St. George's Chapel, the Gothic architec-
ture, richly ornamented walls, and magnificent
stained glass windows of which imparted so much
grandeur to the marriage of the Prince and
Princess of Wales, the private chapel, in which
the ceremony of yesterday took place, situated
almost in the centre of the Queen's apartments,
has but few claims to architectural beauty, and is
of but very limited dimensions. Of the accom-
modation which it affords the most had been made.
The seats or benches which usually occupy the
centre of the chapel had been removed, and gal-
lleries had been erected for the rception of in-
vited guests. A rich Wilton carpet was spread
over the aisle leading up to the altar, and on either
aide of this were ranged several rows of gilt and
cushioned chairs for the accommodation of those
who took part in the ceremonial, or were
more immediately connected with the Court. The',
temporary_ galleries were hung with crimson cloth,
and in the front was displayed a monogram com-
posed of the initials of their royal highnesses, flanked
by circular wreaths, all composed of fresh and very
beautiful cut flowers. Upon the altar there was no
plate except a pair of alms dishes, a pair of cups, a
pair of flagons, and a pair of candlesticks, all of
gold. The chapel is lighted almost entirely from
a lantern in the roof, and as the light fell softly
upon the rich colour@ of the furniture, the bright
hues of the flowers and the polished surface of
the gold plate, the affect, although neither very
I grand, nor exceedingly striking, was far from
being either mean or unimpressive.

Their Majesties the King and Queen of the Bel-
gians, the Princess of W ales, the Duke of Edin-
burgh, the Duchess of Cambridge, the Princess
Louise, and other members of the royal family, were
conducted by the Lord Chamberlain and Vice-
Chamberlain to their seats, while the members of
their several suites and others who formed part of
the procession took the places allotted to them.
The Queen of the Belgians, whose seat ;tam placed
immediately on the left of the altar, wore a dress
of very delicate lilac silk. The King was in
uniform. The Princess of Wales wore blue
silk, and the Princess Louise white tulle
over white silk, with a pointed tunic of blue satin,
trimmed with point lace, and blue and frosted
silver ornaments. Her royal highness's coiffure'
consisted of a wreath of blush roses and silver, with
a tulle veil. The little Princess Beatrice wore a
short blue satin frock, trimmed with point lace,
and blue and frosted silver ornaments, and had her
fair hair combed straight down over her shoulders.
The Duke of Edinburgh was in naval uniform,
and the Princes Arthur and Leopold in the High-
land dress. The Duke of Cambridge was to have
been a member of the royal procession, but unfor-
tunately his royal highness was prevented by an
attack of gout from being present at the ceremony.
As soon as they had arranged the illustrious per-
sons composing the procession in their several
j allotted situations, the Lord Chamberlain and Vice-
Chamberlain left the chapel, and speedily returned,
conducting the "procession of the bridegroom,"
which had been formed in the Red Room, the
band meanwhile playing Mendelasohn's March from
A Mahe.

The bridegroom and Prince Edward of Saxe
Weimar both wore the uniform of general officers
in the British army, and both wore the riband
of the Bath. As soon as his royal highness
reached the altar ho knelt down and prayed for a
short time. When he rose from his knees he took

his place on the left-hand of the altar, and stood
awaiting the arrival of the bride. it was nearly
ten minutes before her royal highness entered the
chapel, and during this time Prince Christian was
necessarily exposed to the scrutiny of all the spec-
tators. At first he bore their glances firmly and
boldly, but as the tune went on he exhibited a
little natural nervousness and timidity. Soon,
however, were heard the strains of the band play-
ing Handel's March from Scipio, and the bride's
procession which had been formed in the Queen's
private apartments, entered the chapel.
As the procession advanced towards the altar the
Prince of Wales was on the right of the bride, and
the Queen upon her left. Her royal highness, who
wore a rich white satin dress covered with Honiton
point lace, a wreath of orange blossom and myrtle,
and a splendid veil of Honiton lace, looked a
little paler than usual, but her glance was tran-
quil and assured, and she exhibited no other signs
of emotion. Her bridesmaids were dressed in
white glac4, under a long tunic of silver tulle
looped up on one side with a chatelaine of
pink roses, forget-me-nuts, and white heather.
Their wreaths were composed of pink roses, forget-
me-note, and heather, and they each wore a long
tulle veil. Her Majesty, who appeared to be in
excellent health and spirits, wore a dress of moire
antique, embroidered with silver, with a long crepe
veil falling from under a crown of diamonds, with
necklace and diamond ornaments. The sombre-
ness of her Majesty's costume was still further re-
lieved by the presence of bows of white satin
ribbon upon the sleeves and some other parts of
her dress, and by the blue riband of the Carter,
which she wore across her chest. The Prince of
Wales was in the uniform of a colonel of Hussars,
and wore the collar of the Garter.

When the bride reached the upper end of the
chapel she knelt for a few moments before the
! altar rails, and upon rising took her place beside
the bridegroom in front of the altar. Her Majesty
was handed by the Lord Chamberlain to the seat
nearest the altar on the right-hand side, and the
p Prince of \Vales took his place immediately behind
her. At this time the little chapel was quite filled,
and the scene which it presented was exceedingly
' gay and pretty. Before the altar was the fair
young bride standing by the aide of the gallant
Prince to whom she was about to pledge her troth.
Starting from this point there streamed
down the centre of the chapel what looked like a
pathway of light, formed by the white dresses of
the bridesmaids, while on all sides the bright robes
of the ladies mixed with the rich uniforms of
the noblemen and gentlemen of the court, and pro-
duced a never ending, and apparently almost
infinite variety of contrasts and harmonies of
colour. Above and below there was the same pro-
fusion of embroidery upon the uniforms of
the gentlemen, the same agreeable confusion
in the tints and hues of the silks and satins
which determined the prevailing colour of the
dresses of the ladies. The delicate mauves and
lavenders and pinks of the latter mingled with the
sterner scarlet and blue and green of the gentle-
men's uniforms, and both appeared to gain by the
mixture. Plumes waved and veils floated from
graceful heads and over fair shoulders, and the
tempered rays of the summer sunshine fell upon
bright gems and costly ornaments, which borrowed
half their beauty from the charms which they were
supposed to enhance. Long, however, before the
eve had had time to mark all the features of this
almost fairy scene the mind was recalled to more
solemn thoughts by the voice of the Archbishop of
Canterbury, who had commenced to read the mar-
riage service.
At this time the positions occupied by the mem-
bers of the royal family and the most illustrious
visitors were as follows :—On the right of the
altar, the Queen and the Prince of Wales, the
Princess of Wales, the Duke of Edinburgh, the
Prince of Leiningen, and the Maharajah Dhuleep
Singh ; on the left, Prince Edward of Saxe-
Wennar, the King and Queen of the Belgians,

Princess Louise, Prince Leopold, Princess Beatrice,
Prince Arthur, the Duchess of Cambridge, and the
Princess of Leiningen.
The whole of the service was performed by the
Archbishop of Canterbury, and never probably
have the various prayers, admonitions, and exhor-
tations of which it consists been read more dis-
tinctly or more impressively than they were by his
grace. The responses of both the bride and bride-
mom were made in a firm and audible voice.
The bridegroom spoke with a decidedly foreign
accent, and in the long declaration which accom-
panies the plighting of the troth appeared to have
some little difficulty in completely following
the archbishop, and in enunciating all the words
which he was called upon to pronounce ; but
there was no doubt about the " I will " with which
he answered the question whether he would have
the Princessto be his wedded wife. The assent of
the bride was almost equally decidedly proncemced ;
and if in the longer passage which precedes the
troth-plight her voice sometimes wavered, it never
ceased to be audible, and, though low and gentle,
was generally clear and diatinct.
During the service the choir of St. George's
Chapel under the direction of Dr. Elvey (organist
of St. George's Chapel), and the choir of the private
chapel, under the direction of Mr. W. G. Cusins,
(organist of the, private chapel), chanted the
psalm, " God be merciful unto us ;" and imme-
diately before the blessing they sang the chorale,
"How welcome was the call," to music specially
composed by Mr. Cusins.
After the blessing was pronounced, her royal
highness rose from her knees and immediately em-
braced her mother. She also kissed the Prince of
Wales, to whose congratulations she replied with a
gentle smile and a few half-whispered words. She
then took the arm of her husband, and the united
procession of the bride and bridegroom left the
chapel.
. _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

AG the procession left the chapel the band played
a march by Spohr, and a salute was fired in the
Long Walk.
All the royal personages who had been present at
the ceremony proceeded to the White Drawing-
room, where they were joined by the dignitaries of
the church, and where the marriage was attested in
due form. Afterwards the members of the royal
family retired to the ball-room, where they took
lunch in private. Luncheon was served for the
visitors at a buffet in the Waterloo Gallery.
Their Royal Highnesses Princess Helena and
Prince Christian left the Castle soon after four
o'clock in an open carriage, and drove to the rail-
way station en route for Osborne, where they intend
to spend a week or ten days before visiting the
Continent. Large crowds had assembled both at
the Castle gates and at the railway station to wit-
ness their departure, and their royal highnesses
were loudly and enthusiastically cheered, the gen-
tlemen waving their hats and the ladies their hand-
kerchiefs and parasols most zealously.

THE ARRIVAL AT SOUTHAMPTON.

(TROY OUR CORRHISPORDINT.)
SOUTHAMPTON, THURSDAY.

As moon as the royal couple alighted from the
train this afternoon the Mayor and Corporation
advanced, and the Town Clerk, Mr. Deacon, read
the corporation address. Prince Christian in reply
thanked the corporation for their kind wishes, and the
Princess bowed her acknowledgments. They then passed
under the triumphal arch, and stepped on board the mil
yacht amidst the firing of guns, ringing of bells, and
tumultuous cheering from the multitude, the Prince and
Princess bowing their acknowledgments. As the yacht
steamed slowly out of the docks boats followed laden with
people cheering, and as they passed each monster
steamer a forest of white handkerchiefs were set waving.
The music of Mendelasohn's "Wedding March" from
the various bands in the docks floated over the water, and
must have been heard 11 the nuptial pair far down the
itinen river. All the monster mail packets were gaily
dressed out in flags. The weather cleared up during the
embarkation, and everything went off merrily. The royal
party would reach Osborne soon after seven. Hoe Majesty
will meet the royal couple on Saturday.

WINDSOR.—TFIVIADAY NMHT. —This evening the
town was brilliantly, illuminated, and the corporation
dined together at the town hall, in honour of the royal
marriage.