THE EIGHTH LADY

Evening Post, Volume CXXIII, Issue 47, 25 February 1937, Page 19

THE EIGHTH LADY

PRINCESS ALEXANDRA

AGED TWO MONTHS

"To all of us who have come to adult years still remembering something of the glamour which our young imaginations cast about storybook princesses, the tidings of the birth of a daughter to the Duke and Duchess of Kent had a very glad sound," states a writer in the "Daily Mail." ' "It is good to think that the world was full of the music of Christmas bells and children's hearts full of a special happiness when this Royal child was born; in less sophisticated times, no doubt, such as happening in such joyous circumstances would have been deemed an augury of more than ordinary blessedness. j

"More than a century has gone by since a daughter was born to another Duchess of Kent—and that baby Princess grew up to be the great Queen Victoria. She, too, first saw the light in London —in a white and silver room at Kensington Palace. Simplicity governed the little Princess Victoria's early life as it will that of the new Princess —with, however, a very much stricter application of the laws of hygiene. We cannot imagine the Royal infant at No. 3 Belgrave Square being put to crawl, this time' next year, on an old yellow carpet—as the first Empress of India was.

"The modern Duchess of Kent is a firm believer in all the first principals of mothercraft and baby welfare; consequently the nurseries in her London home are models of perfection. The windows are large, and are open day and night; the scheme of decoration, mainly blue and white, creates an atmosphere of cheerful freshness. The walls, enamelled a matt cream shade, can be washed from top to bottom, and even the rugs are washable. The floor, covered with blue and white checked cork, is both warm to the feet and easy to clean. There are no corners in which dust may gather, for the angles of the rooms are rounded. PRINCE'S PLAYMATE. "It has been written of that other Duchess of Kent that she 'proved herself in all ways a most exemplary and devoted mother.' She watched over the all-knowing future Queen of England so closely and with such jealous care that she could not be persuaded to part with her child during the night hours; she insisted upon having the little Princess to sleep in her cot beside her own bed. Other days, other ways. Britain's latest Princess will share her small brother's night nursery, and a nurse will sleep in an adjoining room. "Prince Edward, who is now nearly 18 months old, has two nurses to look after him—and adore him, for he is a very bonny boy and one of the sweet-est-tempered little persons in the world. He has yet to realise that Santa Claus brought him a sister. It was very natural that every woman should exclaim on hearing the news: 'How nice for little Prince Edward: he-will have a playmate now.' "If other mothers are pleased, imagine the delight of the Duchess. Those who know her well say she has been vouchsafed her heart's desire. Indeed, they declare she was determined that the baby should be a girl! THE CHRISTENING. . "At the christening ceremony, when the Archbishop of Canterbury took the month Told babe in his arms, beside the golden 'Lily Font' which has been used at the christening of every child of the Royal-Family since Queen Victoria first became a mother, and christened her Alexander Helen Elizabeth Olga Chrislabel, a tangible link with the other daughter of a Duchess of. Kern was forged. At the ceremony .the little Princess Alexandra wore the robe of deep cream silk and Brussels lace that was made for Queen Vie- ' toria's own christening,' and worn, too, , by eaoh of, her children, grand-children, and great-grand-children, down to ■ Prince Edward at his christening in the ' private chapel of Buckingham Palace ' on November 20 last year. j "Although the methods of bringing ' up royal, and most other children have | changed so drastically in the last 100 ! years, the routine of the new Princess's life will be similar in many respects to ! that of Princess Victoria of mighty J destiny. . s "For example, she too will take the ' 'air' in Kensington Gardens, eat simple ! food—when her teeth arrive!—and be ' educated at home by governesses. If c the Princess 'takes after' her mother ; languages will come easily to her; and J that she will be definitely, artistic in j temperament and talents seems cer- | tain; the Duchess of Kent has decided x gifts as an artist, and the Duke is * musical. But the Princess must needs * learn far more than falls to the know- '■ ledge of ordinary girls—for she is * sixth in the order of succession to the j. Throne. ' , "Until she reaches her 'Keens, however, her studies will not differ greatly in essentials from those of a girl at any ° of the well-known schools; the import- f ance of history, geography, and lan- s guages will be stressed. . Later, inevitably, must come something of that 'sterner learning,' touching the relations of the Constitution to the Crown, * with which every royal child is armed. =

"The order of Succession is now Princess Elizabeth, Princess Margaret Rose, Duke of Gloucester, Duke of Kent, Prince Edward, Princess Alexandra, Princess Royal, Viscount Lascelles. the Hon. Gerald Lascelles. The order of precedence is as follows:—The Queen, Elizabeth, is now the First Lady in the Land. After her, in order, are: —Queen Mary, Princess Elizabeth, Princess Margaret Rose, the Princess Royal, the Duchess of Gloucester, the Duchess of Kent, and the new Princess Alexandra."