Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1908-05-04
PICTURESQUE CEREMONY
Prince William of Sweden WEEDS
Russian Grand Duchess.
MARIE PAvL0vNA A BRIDE
Two Religious Ceremonies-Old Gus
tom of Robing the Bride-Of
for the Honeymoon.

ST. PETERSBURG. May 4.-Prince
Wilhelm of Sweden. second son of King
Gustave the popular sailor prince who
visited America i'm 1907. was married yes
terday afternoon to Grand Duchess Marie
Pavlovna a cousin of the Emperor of
Russia and daughter of Grand Duke Paul
Alexandrovtch The ceremony took place
at Tsarskoe-Sclo. and was accompanied
by all the pomp and brilliant display
of color characteristic of the most stately
pomp court in Europe.
In the evening a great state banquet
was served. at which toasts were drunk
to the good understanding between Swe-
den and Russia recently reached in the
Baltic agreement. to which yesterday
wedding-the first. in modern times be-
tween the ruling houses of two countries
puts the seal.
The beginning of the nuptial ceremonies
was announced by the firing of five guns
simultaneously at o'clock in the
morning by the battery at Tsarskoe-Seio
and by the fortress of st. Peter and st.
Paul in ST. Petersburg. This was put
the beginning of the noisy acclamation;
for the thunder of salutes was heard
almost uninterruptedly throughout the
afternoon and the evening.
Robing the Bride.
The wedding guests who took part IN
the ceremony assembled at 2:30 O'Clock IN
the afternoon at the great palace at
Tsarskoe-SelO. Only Premier Stolypn'
the members of the cabinet the presi-
| dent of the duma and the president OF the
| council of state the principal ambassa-
doris to Russia and their wives ana rev
of the highest dignitaries of the empire
| found place in the small blue and goid
| chapel of the palace. where the ortho-
dOx ceremony was performed. Inc otner
guests were stationed according 10 their
rank in the various salons and halls
| through which the bridal procession
passed.
The robing of the bride was performed
in accordance with court custom IN Ine
private apartments of the empress she
was dressed by the empress ana inc
dowager empress. assisted by their maihs
of honor and their ladies In waiting. Inc
bride wore on her head a jeweled dladenl,
and from her shoulders hung a long
trained mantle of strawberry velvet. ilned
with ermine In the procession the traln
of this garment was borne by nve cour.
chamberlains. AS soon as the bride hao
been completely arrayed IIince nntm,'
was notified by the master of ceremonies.
and conducted to the inner apartment,
where the Grand Duchess Marie was
waiting.
The Bridal Procession.
The salute of twenty-one guns and a
blare of trumpets announced the start of
the procession. At its head came the
dowager empress on the arm OF King
Gustav: the Emperor of Russia escorting
Queen Olga of Greece; the empress escort
ed by the Grand Duke of Hesse. Crown
Prince Ferdinand and Crown Princess
Marie of Roumania. attended by the
court ushers and marshals ana other
functiOnaries.
Then arm in arm, came the bridal
pair. Behind the young couple marched
Prince Nicholas and Prince Andrew OF
Greece and their wives. Prince Cnrlsto-
pher of Greece and Prince Carl of Swe-
den and his wife. The guests from for
eign courts were followed by more than
a score of Russian grand dukes and
grand duchesses. including the three Old
est daughters of Emperor Nicholas.
Grand Duchess Olga, Grand Duchess
Tatiana and Grand Duchess Marie. the
oldest being thirteen years old. This was
the first time the emperor's daughters
have appeared in state. The little crown
prince, who is too young to be present.
and the Grand Duke Nicholas Nicholaie-
witch. president of the commission or
national defense, who has been summoned
to the Caucasus because of the war cloud
on the Turkish frontier, were the only
members of the imperial family conspicu-
Gus by their absence. The grand
ducheSSeS like all the invited ladies, wore
the picturesque Russian court costumes of
high >pearl-encircled caps and low-cut
dresses, with ancient Russian embroider-
les.
Picturesque Ceremonies.
The imperial guests were received. at the
chapel doors by the metropolitan of the
court and number of priests. After the
emperor had been blessed and sprinkled
Al he
pair to the dais before the great golden
gates of the high altar. The wedding rings
were brought from the altar on golden
salvers and placed upon the fingers of the
briue and the bridegroom by the emperor S
confessor The metropolitan then COM
pleted the rites of the Russian marriage
service two of the brides nearest rela-
tives holding crowns over the heads OF the
bridal pair during the ceremony. While
the TIE Deum was being chanted an i'm
perial salute of 1O1 guns was fired. The
procession then returned to one of the
antesalOns. where the Lutheran marriage
ceremony was performed by the Swedish
Bishop of Lund. This brought the after
noon program to an end.
After the dinner the members of the i'm
perial family and their royal guests par
ticipated in a poonaise. This stately
progress around the great reception hall
had something in the nature of the
|"Hohenzollern torch dance After this
function the guests were driven in state
to the Alexander palace, the private resi-
dence o" the emperor. the bridal pair
riding with their sponsors in a gala
equipage The emperor, the empress and
the dowager empress were surrounded by
torchbearers and escorted by company
of the emperor's COssaek guard, in bril-
liant blue and scarlet uniforms.
At late hour in the evening the bridal
pair took special train for St. Peters,
burg. where the honeymoon will be passed
at the palace of the late Archduke Sergius.
During the day there were services in
all the churches of the empire. and i'm St.
Petersburg church bells pealed through