The Washington herald., 1913-10-06


1; is quite in keeping with the unosten-
tatiOus nature of the bride that the
marriage of the Duchess OF Fife and
Prince Arthur OF COnnauGht should be
what is called a quiet affair, and II the
public expects any regal display it will
be disappointed. The King and Queen
will be present. and so will all the
members Of the British royal family.
but the other guests will be restricted
to the official circle and the personal
friends Of the bride and bridegroom. A
considerable sum of money Will be eX
pended on the Duchess rousseau. which
will be all British-made, but the cost
OF the marriage will not approach any
thing like the sum that has been spent
on other royal weddings.
The marriage Of Queen Victoria. which
took place on February ~. 1870, IN the
Chapel Royal at Windsor, and the cele-
bratiOn connected with It, was estimated
TO have cost ElOOOOO but everything was
done on 4 scale OF gorgeous magnifi-
CenCe that never has been eXcelled IN
England. The Honiton lace on the
youthful Queens dress alone cost el,0OO,
and the bill for the wedding cakes
counted for another $1,000. The prinCi
pal cake weighed nearly 800 pounds and
was Il inches thick and l. feet in cir
conference. There were hundred
smaller cakes. which were cut up and
distributed among members OF other
ruling countries. on the night of the
wedding all the theaters were free to
the public. and hundreds of dinners
were given to the poor in many cities
of the kingdom These feasts were paid
nf hA
but the public celebrations alone cost
thousands Of pounds.
Another costly wedding was that of
Queen Nictoria's eldest daughter. the
Princess Royal, Victoria, TO the then
Crown Prince. later Emperor Frederick
of Germany. father Of the present Kai-
ser. When the Princess left London on
her way to Berlin she took with her
twenty trunks of royal presents and a
rousseau that required some ffty-odd
vans for its transportation.
When the late King Edward and Queen
Alexandra were married, in March. 1853,
there also was very lavish display. The
Corporation Of London alone spent &55,0O0
on the reception OF the bride, Princess
Alexandra of Denmark, and ON a mar
rage gift. The bridal dress was COM
posed of priceless lace, and as the Danish
Princess stood at the altar, her gown and
jewels represented a value of at least
$4,000. The wedding cake was very
elaborate. and like that OF Queen Vic
tOria. il weighed 800 pounds and stood
five feet high, in three tiers. As for the
wedding presents. they were almost num-
berless. They came from the highest and
the humblest in the land, some of them
costing only a few shillings and others |
hundreds of pounds. The most magni- |
icent of all was a diamond and pearl |
necklace worth $1,000.
One of the most popular royal weddings |
of recent times was that of George V, |
the present King of England, but at the |
time the Duke Of York to Princess May |
OF Teck in July, 1895. The trousseau is |
said TO have cost 10000. but the outlay |
incurred in the public in celebration of |
this event was not so large as when the |
Kings father as Prince of Wales, was |
welded. The wedding cake stood six feet |
nine inches in height, and weighed almost |
800 pounds. 1t was baked in the royal |
kitchen at Windsor and three experts |
were engaged in the work for five weeks. |
o: continental royal marriages, that OF /
the Kaiser perhaps was the most costly /
that has been celebrated in the present !
wedding ever seen in Ger |
many. The ceremony itself was very
elaborate, and everything was done ia |
royal Style. Altogether no less a sum /
than 100000 marks was spent on the |
wedding and the celebration in honor OF /
the event.
The marriage of Queen Wilhelmina of |
Holland to Duke Henry of Mecklenburg |
also was a brilliant function. in
celebration of which the people of Hol-
land spent large sums. But perhaps the
most costly royal Seeding on record IN
our time was that of the Gar of Russia |
Taken in conjunction with his coronation
as Emperor and the refurnishinS of the
winter, palace at St Petersburg. the
amount spent reached the fabulous sum
If 100000 roubles Nothing could have
exceeded in splendor the gorgeousness the
If the young brides wedding gown. and
lew. if any, royal trousseaux have ever
numbered 1000 articles, as did that OF the
Empress OF Russia.
Apart from royal weddings the most
expensive that has taken place in Eng L
and was the Duke OF Orleans marriage.