THE FUTURE QUEEN OF SPAIN.

Evening Star, Issue 12765, 19 March 1906, Page 1

THE FUTURE QUEEN OF SPAIN.

[By Oxv Who Knows Her.] | It was a spring morning in the year 1900. when the present writer stood in the Clarence Victualling Yard at Portsmouth, among a small' group of persons waiting for tie arrival.'of the late Queen Victoria from Osborne on her way to Windsor. The Alberta -was due at eleven ; and presently, through lines of harbor-ships which broke their great flags as she entered, the little white-decked yacht, with the sun shining over- her royal standard and white en> sign, came racing up the harbor, and swung round into the Victualling Yard as the seventh stroke of eleven clanged out from the dockyard clock. It was so that Queen Victoria loved to have things done, and her officers never failed her. The Queen walked to the train with her little gracious bows to the waiting officials, among-whom, for some sudden reason, a Spanish gentleman appeared with unexplained suddenness. He had come over on the Alberta, but in any case he had'very lately been presented to Queen Victoria, and belied the traditions of his race in being very ' considerably " flurried " thereby. Cooling down a little, he nodded towards'a child who was jumping into the train, and said that he had been watching her: "Itis an English child just such as I read about in books. She has gold hair, blue eyes, rose and ivory cheeks; she runs and dances, but does not walk; she has been laughing continually at that boy with her now, who has been singing comic songs to her under his breath. A very, pretty, very charming little English child out of a story book. Who is it?" " Princess Ena of Battenberg," was the lowvoiced answer. Princes Victoria Eugenie Julia Ena of Battenberg, since she was born in the October—the lucky "opal month"—of 1887, has had the same remark made about her by men .and women of a good many nationalities. At Nice, during Queen Victoria's last few visits there, Princess Henry of Battenberg took a separate villa for her children, since Princess Ena and one of her brothers were romps of the most riotous description; and here their free out-of-door life was a matter of amazement and amusement to some of the French visitors and residents. "I have just.been introduced to your Queen's little grandchildren," said a French lady at Cimiez to th_> writer in the spring of 1896. " I talked to them, as long as I could with all possible Court etiquette and politeness; hut soon I began to wonder whetherthey were the two children who robbed my orange trees last week i." Princess Ena has had two very devoted friends' all her life. The one is her elder brother Alexander—the ginger of comic songs on the occasion referred to; th«. other, the Ex-Empress of the Frenr-h. But' though "more than half a century separates them, the Empress Engenie and Princess Ena have been ' friends, confidantes, sympathisers throughout tho younger one's life. The yountj Princess has stores of knickknacks, valuable jewels, books, and gifts of all kinds from her friend; and will pro bablv, it is believed., inherit a large part of her fortune. The young Princess's

—Conversion to Roman Catholicism—was more than half effected years ago, because this kindly godmother was longing for it. The hours spent lately by Princess Ena at the Carmelite . Church, in Church street, Kensington, have been devoted to very little more than formal study of Boman creeds and practices; all the real faith of the Roman Catholic Church came to her long agc\, because-it was the faith of the ex-Empress of the French. Princess Ena, who, by the way, was born at Balmoral, and was the first royal cliild born, in Scotland for 500 years, was eight years old when her father died, and since the death of Queen Victoria she has shared her mother's life entirely. Princess Henry very soon discovered, somewhat to her amuse*ment, that the public at various functions in the Isle of Wight had almost as warm a welcome for "the children" as for herself; Princess Ena was invited to be president of the Isle of Wight Juvenile Needlework Guild; and if Princess Henry had allowed it, her daughter might have opened as many bazaars audi presided at as manv meetings as herself. The " Queen of the Isle of Wight,"' as Princess Henry is occasionally called, knew better, however, than to allow anything of the sort, and the young Princess led a veiy quiet life, with plenty of music and a little yachting and a few children's parties (of which no announcement might ever appear in the papers) till she came out last- year. Her musical studies have been as successful as those of her mother, for whose talent Mine. Blanche Marchesi has much admiration; and she is a fairly good Imguist, talking three, languages besides English. —Debut of the Princess.— Life changed curiously little for the young Princess when she" came out iast reason- Princess Henry politely but resolutely declined to have her parties talked about by the public, and very/ little was known to the outside world even about the large ball at Kensington Palace, at which Princess Ena made her debut, except that the King was there. Princess Beatrice of SaxeCoburg kept her cousin company throughout the season at Kensington Palace, and the two young people, one dark, the other fair, both enjoying themselves immensely wherever they'went, were always j.-opilar guests. More than once during the visit of the King of Spain to' London it became obvious that the two young people were thinking a good'deal of. one another. ."A la'dy in the royal party at the gala perf ormanceai the opera claims to have been the first at least to proclaim the fact; and then* everybody in the secret watched developments with such interest and nyoipat:>y as spectators will show, the >vorld■'crer. fax such matters.. . The Spanish Ambassador took Princess Henry down to tea at a largo afternoon party,, and there was a little 1-uzz of talk;': it became, known thao .Printess Henry was being pressed to visit Aigeciras in the winter; and everyone was deijrLted. Finally, rumors and tales grew arid liu-Hi-plied without contradiction. And now all the world knows that the solemn gv*-i;oenr of Spanish society, with its sixteenth century great ladies and msdiseval etiquette, is to be invaded' by the laughter and freedom arid liberalism of this young English Princess. A month after her marriage : shc will be the wonder and delight and terror of-everv woman in'■■Soain,—'Daily"Mail.*