Evening star., 1951-11-01
By Hermon Schoden

sight, the moment the princes
f1oated out of the clouds and intt
the hearts of WaShingtonians.
This was ascertained yesterday
even before the motorcade. hac
borne Princess Elizabeth and the
Duke Of Edinburgh from National
Airport to Blair House where they
will reside for two days,
Seldom has visiting nobility en-
joyed so warm welcome. In its
Spontaneity and in the bright
smiles and eager expectancy of the
crowds orinm:ng at the airport
and aloog the highways and
streets, there was an exhilaratior
that must have lifted the hearts
Of the royal couple.
Crowd Is Appreciative.
If the crowd fell somewhat un-
der that which greeted Elizabeth'S s
parents. King George and Queen
Elizabeth, it was none the less
appreciatlve. On the June day of
that earlier visit in 1889, the pa
rade route was longer and prepa-
rationS were more elaborate
Yesterdays crowd was predon1-
inately feminine, and there were
thousands who turned bright,
shiny eyes on handsome Philip,
who returned their cheers and ex-
clamatiorS of There he is with
polite, dittGent waves.
There were "ohS and abs" for
both Elizabeth and Philip and
every one seemed happy he had
stood a long time to await their ar
rival-solsle as long as 212 hours.
The crowds we're spectacular In
that they extended almost solidly
from the airport to Blair House.
where their royal highnesses are
guests of President and Mrs.
Truman.
British Flags Wave.
Along tne way, some waved
British flags. There were wide
eyed children and excited Gov
ernment girls And the George
Washington football team halted
practice on Frog Island long
enough to line the road and shout
its greetings,
The arrival at National Airport
was clockwork itself. Those who
planned that did themselves
proud. for everything was in order
when the four-englne C-5 Royal
Canadian Air Force plane set
down before the MATS terminal.
It was a colorful scene, with the
brilliantly uniformed Army Band
fianking terminal buildings along
with snappily attired color guards
men from the Army, Navy, Marines
and Air Force.
Scores of newsmen, newsreel
and still 'cameramen and tele-
vision and radio men were there,
all primed for the big moment
4 pm.
The big plane landed at 3:55,
TAXED to the south end of the
field. Precisely at 4 pm. it
pulled up to the spot marked for
the debarkment.
!. Trumans Wait Near Ramp.
j At the foot of the landing ramp
stood President and Mrs. Truman.
Miss Margaret Truman, and Pro-
tocol Chief John F.. Simmons. The
cabin door swung open, and there
was hush of expectancy.
What seemed like a long, long
time passed. Mr.. Truman. hat
less and dressed in dark suit.
moved about nervouSly. He smiled
and said a word to his wife and
daughter. The group moved near
er the ramp. 1t was only two min
F.. uteS, but it seemed longer.
Then out stepped the Princess.
smiling a bit Wanly. She walked
gracefully down the ramp. holding
the rail with her right hand. Be-
hind her a ways followed her hus-
band.
At the end of the descent the
Princess extended her hand and
President Truman grasped it.
They both broke out in broad
smiles. and then Elizabeth shook
hands with Mrs. Truman and Mar
garet, whom she met last year in
England.
The Duke shook hands all
around, too, and that brought the
ceremonies up to the diplomatic
introductionS, with Mr.. Truman
doing the honors. Ambassadors
and their wives from the Com
monwealth countries filed up to
greet their future queen.
Many CurtSy to Princess.
Many of the ladies curtsied to
the. dainty Princess-an act that
not many Americans had seen be-
fore.
The crowd found Elizabeth ex-
tremely pretty, her broad smile
infectious, her bearing fitting OF
royalty, her figure trim and neat
Her eyes are gentle but unsWerv-
ing. -.-
And her taste in clothing ap-
peared immaculate. She wore q
black butterfly hat of novel de-
sign, with a butterfly clip of dia.
mondS over the right temple
Around her throat were three
strands of pearls and she wore
earrings of one tiny pearl each.
On her neatly tailored red WOO
dress coat she wore second dia-
mond butterfly clip on the left
lapel. balancing the one on hel
hat.
Her footwear was open-toeo
black suede pumps-a departure
from her customary closed-tot
shoes. Her purse and gloves wer'
black.
There was a time when the
Princess stood on the platform
with Mr.. Truman that she lookee
bit abashed. Once she swallowed
hard, as Mr.. Truman was tell.
ing the world how good it was tt
GOO her