Thursday, June 4, 2009

Spectactors injured during Cecilie's procession

June 4, 1905

It was reported today in the American press that more than 500 persons were overcome by the heat or suffered injury in the crowds that had gathered to watch Duchess Cecilie of Mecklenburg-Schwerin's entry into Berlin. At least thirty-six people remain in "serious condition," according to the New York Times.
Tonight, "all the visiting Princes and Princesses" joined members of the German Imperial family and the Mecklenburg-Schwerin's for a formal dinner in honor of the engaged couple. Cecilie has "made a remarkable impression on the guests," according to the report. "She was "animated, cordial and unaffected." The Kaiser escorted the bride-to-be's mother, Grand Duchess Anastasia, to their table, and "by his attention to her set rest the stories of discord between them."
At the end of the dinner, Duchess Cecilie asked for two glasses of champagne, which she handed to the two pages who had carried her train. The evening culminated with a torchlight procession "of students with flags and music" marching down the Unter den Linden. Duchess Cecilie and Crown Prince Wilhelm came out on the balcony to watch the procession. "They stood in a brilliant light, so that the marchers could see them."

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