BALMORAL CASTLE It is with the greatest pleasure that the King and Queen announce the betrothal of their dearly beloved son, the Prince George, to Princess Marina, daughter of the Prince and Princess Nicolas of Greece, to which union the King has gladly given his consent.
It came as something of a jolt to the Empire last week that the King's youngest son should thus have plunged into the deep Balkans to find himself a bride.
Tall, brunette Princess Marina's swarthy brother-in-law, Prince Paul of Jugoslavia, has a castle near Bled amid the wild beauty of the Slovene Alps. There the courtship ripened as George, 31, and Marina, 27, swam in the icy lake, galloped over mountain trails and strolled in the great park. The couple were dogged constantly by Inspector Harry Evans of Scotland Yard who has dogged Mahatma Gandhi, spends much time dogging Cabinet Ministers. One night Prince George sent a long cablegram to King George at Balmoral Castle amid Scottish scenery even wilder than the Slovene. Next day Prince Paul and his wife Princess Olga, eldest sister of Princess Marina, chaperoned her and Prince George on an excursion out of the Balkans to the Salzburg music festival. A few hours before King George announced the engagement, Prince George appealed to Austrian newshawks: "Please say there is no truth in all these rumors."
When the Court Circular touched off the cannonade of news, London editors leaped to their telephones, called up everyone they dared in Salzburg, did not dare to call Prince George. Readily Princess Marina answered: "I cannot tell you how happy I am. I hope we shall be married very soon!"
Said Their Royal Highnesses' innkeeper: "The Prince was humming a little song to himself when he greeted his fiancee this morning before breakfast. The Princess was radiant. We noticed yesterday that the Princess was wearing an engagement ring. So interested were the people of Salzburg that a rumor at once started that the Princess and Prince are married. That, of course, is ridiculous."
Inspector Evans warned correspondents that "To speak to them would be a violation of a tradition of the Royal Family." Prince George, however, was too happy to stand upon tradition. With Princess Marina on his arm he cried: "The cat's out of the bag! It was all sudden and unexpected. I don't know when the wedding will be but we're both most happy!"
"Even Prince George's visit to Bled was a complete surprise!" chimed in Princess Marina. Then, with a shy glance at Prince George: "So was his proposal at Bohinska Lake. I expect the wedding will be in November."