The Damocles Sword [antikvár]

LONDON, JULY 1939The gates of the palace were opened at 3:15 in the afternoon, a few moments after Big Ben had chimed the quarter, and within twenty minutes the parking area of the forecourt was full, and traffic began flowing into Wellington Barracks. Along the Mall the police were watching for the windscreen stickers and directing the guests into parking lanes. The sunshine was hot and the air sultry and, in their summer dresses and wide floppy hats, the women were more fortunate than the men in their dark formal suits. By a quarter to four the pavements were crowded along the Mall, Birdcage Walk and . Buckingham Gate. Ten thousand people had received iQvitations, and more than eight thousand were expected to attend.Shortly before four o'clock a retriever was caught in the traflfic jam and run over, and its squealing pierced the nerves of the people nearby until a poUceman put the animal out of its misery. One woman fainted and had to be given first aid. The crowds moved on toward the palace, now hurrying.The band of the Coldstream Guards struck up the National Anthem as the royal family appeared from the Garden Entrance promptly at four o'clock, and within a few minutes the king moved off, escorted by the Lord 7