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Tuesday, May 6, 1975
GRAND FINALE TO ROYAL VISIT
Nathan Road tonight was turned into a stage for the grand finale
to the Royal Visit.
The gnarled survivors of its once extensive avenue of trees
served as wings for the entrances and exits of as colourful a troupe of
performers as ever entertained a monarch.
And it quickly became clear to many of the thousands gathered
there to watch the grand procession, staged by various sectors of the
community, that what they and the Queen were witnessing tonight might
well have been the kind of pageantry witnessed by a Chinese emperor hundreds
of years ago.
For the entire emphasis of the procession was on tradition that
had stood the test of centuries.
It was equally obvious to the spectators that the Queen and the
Duke of Edinburgh, flanked by the Governor and Lady MacLehose under a
Chinese pavilion with gold roof and vermilion pillars, were enjoying this
spectacle as much as they were.
The Queen's arrival evoked cheers of admiration from the crowd,
who had braved a persistent drizzle to gather some two hours beforehand.
She was regally attired in a sleeveless green dress embroidered with pink
roses, and for the first time during her brief visit to Hong Kong she was
wearing a diamond tiara the Queen Mary Tiara.
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The traditional
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