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Frances PerkinsFrances Perkins
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service, and the chairs were set up in the ballroom, in the East Room, as it's called, for a company of the usual size that was usually invited to that pre-Inauguration service The only people who hadn't been present at others, ones that I can remember, were the Princess Martha and her two or three children. She was here as a guest of the country and had become great friends with the President, and the President was sort of personally responsible for them, was the theory.

Q:

Princess Martha of Norway?

Perkins:

Princess Martha of Norway, yes. She was present with her children, two little girls, and the little boy too was there. They were the only strangers. It was the usual company - the Cabinet officers, and a number of friends who had been in and out of Cabinet circles and supporters of Roosevelt, and so forth.

He sat in the very front row, very front seat, as he would naturally, and I forget whether Mrs. Roosevelt or Steve Early was sitting beside him, but Steve Early was close at hand if he wasn't beside him.

They brought over part of the choir from St. John's Church which was something we'd never had at other services. I mean, we'd never had any choir. Whatever singing was done, we did - the company did. It was more informal. But apparently the Bishop and the Rector thought it was





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