The Washington herald., 1922-11-12
Lord and Lady Mountbot-
ten Center of Social Stage
By Evelyn C. Hunt.


occupying society's attention be-
tween the acts, as II were. Lord
Louis. you know, Is a cousin of
King George of England and Queen
Victoria of Spain and his wife Is
the richest heiress In Great Britain
naturally we were all terribly
Interested Then they are both at
tractive, too, and quite human and
natural and likable. which made US
all that much more interested.
Particularly interested are those
who did not meet them before
when they came to town for about
twenty-four hours especially to at
tend the Navy League banquet.
They arrived with their host. Col
Robert NJ. Thompson. the first OF
the week, coming from Florida by
train, leaving Col Thompson's
houseboat, the Everglades. which
they used for exploring Florida
They found Mrs. Thompson already
Installed at the Thomas Nelson
Page house in r street and opposite
,the Perry Belmont house, where
Lord Mountbatten stayed when he
came here with the Prince Of Wales
Mrs. Thompson had been down at
White sulphur Springs, but came
back five or six days ahead of the
coloners arrival. Mrs Thompson
was at the White Sulphur Springs
while the colonel was taking his
distinguished guests on a tour OF
the country. Just why the
Mountbattens should have been his
guests 1 don't know exactly. but
some one said the colonel was
close friend of Lady Mountbatten's
father or perhaps her grandfather
Ernest CasselI, who left her her
huge fortune. Then Lord Mount
batten Is a naval officer and Col
Thompson loves them all, you know
y VERY minute the Mountbattens
L were in town they were feted.
some parties quite formal; others less
so. Wednesday Col and Mrs. Thomp-
son gave them a large dinner party
I and that afternoon the Lawrence
Townsends entertained them at a
Ztea. The Thompson dinner guests
were all rather old and I think
would have rather bored those
young people. but the next day the
Thompsons gave luncheon when
the guests were all young, mostly
navy people, too. Mrs. Emory Land,
whose husband was until recently
our naval attache at London. was at
the luncheon. Capt Land was out
of town. Thursday, Mrs Carroll
Frazer entetaIned them at dinner.
She is a great Navy Lacquer and
close friend and right-hand man OF
Col. Thompson, you know. Friday
night the British Ambassador and
Lady Geddes gave a dinner party
for their country people and Satur-
day they went to Annapolis to be the
guests of the superintendent of the
Naval Academy and Mrs. Henry
Wilson. They had both luncheon
and dinner there. attended the foot
fbau game in the afternoon and the
hop at the academy at night.
Wasn't it too bad Sir Eric Geddes
didn't get here on time for the
Geddes dinner Friday night. He
landed in New York Friday but
didn't quite make 1t here. Friday
afternoon the Mountbattens lunch
eoned quietly at the Thompsons
after being received by the Presi-
dent instead of going with Gen. H
h. Bethel to the races at Pimlico
as they had planned to do.
Today Mr.. and Mrs. Edward Beale
Mclean will give one of their
famous Sunday luncheons or "break-
fasts," whichever you choose to call
them, at Friendship for the
Mountbattens and later they will
dine with the young Cornelius
VanderbiIts at their apartment at
1e15 Sixteenth street. When the
Mountbattens go to New YORK
they will be guests OF Gen. and Mrs
Cornelius Vanderbilt there There
we're several other parties sandwiched
in; those were about the most i'm
portant ones, however.
The Lawrence Townsends used
to be in our Diplomatic Corps and
though not rich people with only
small house. they entertain for many
of our visiting "ltons' and know
pretty nearly everybody worth know
ing here and in Europe. The Town
sends were friends of Lord Mount
batten's father, the late Marquis Of
Milford Haven, more generally known
as Prince Louis of Battenberg. who
was first sea lord at the outbreak of
the war and to whom Great Britain
owed a debt Of gratitude for hav-
ing her navy properly prepared and
grouped when the war burst upon
them; he had foresight.
You recall. Of course, that the Bat
tenbergs changed their name and
titles; rather dropped the German
Pne when German names and every
hing were extremely unpopular. It
was as Prince Louis of Battenberg
hat the distinguished British sailor