HOBBIES OF KINGS

Gisborne Times, Volume LXXXVI, Issue 13092, 13 February 1937, Page 10

HOBBIES OF KINGS

HUMAN PERSONAGES. BRIDGE, CYCLING, SCIENCE. GUSTAVE AS TENNIS EXPERT

TALL slight figure, wearing a heavy fur coat and carrying an ivory cane 'with a gold knob, walks down Karl Johan, the principal street of Stockholm. This man, who delights in looking in the shop windows and occasionally making small purchases, is King Gustavo V., of Sweden, the most democratic of Europe’s kings. In a recent article the hobbies and tastes of King Boris of Bulgaria were described. Like King Gustav, the ruler of Sweden, and indeed practically all of Europe’s crowned heads, are very “human” personages, with hobbies that endear them to their subjects.

King Gustave proclaimed himself a? a man of simple tastes when he first ascended the throne in 1907, abandoning the coronation ceremony and the State opening of Parliament. One of his first acts was to reserve Wednesdays for granting personal interviews, and this privilege was extended to every subject who had a grievance or matter to bring before the Throne. He is fond of bridge, tennis, hunting, ski-ing, and motoring, while ho has a music library of 50,000 volumes.

Although 78 years of age, King Gustave is still an active participant in games, and for many years visited incognito the Riviera and took part in tennis tournaments, often as a partner of Betty Nuthall. He loves to invite young people to his palace for tennis and to give them his professional advice. On the occasion of his 70th birthday King Gustave was presented by his subjects with 4,700,000 kronen, which he donated to cancer research.

His Scandinavian neighbors, King Christian X. of Denmark and Iceland, and King Haakon VII. of Norway, share his partiality for simplicity. As a youth King Christian served as a private in the Danish Royal Life Guards, and stood on duty in the sentry box outside his grandfather’s palace. The favorite sport of King Christian and also of his Queen, is yachting with ice yachting in the winter. The King, who is 68 years of ago, is also fond of cycling alone, and escaping from ceremonial duties. Last year he received in liis Christianborg palace, Copenhagen, a party o F English schoolboys. “The King was very jolly, he shook hands with us all. asked questions about our school life, but did not give us anything to eat,” the boys told me on their return to St. Pancras, London. King Haakon, who is about two years younger than King Christian, also observes simple rules and frowns upon ceremony and Court pageantry. Clowned in 1905, King Haakon has reigned for a- longer period than any other living monarch. Ardent mountaineer, horseman, golfer, footballer, tennis player, and motorist is Leopold IH., King of the Belgians. His mountaineering ability is outstanding. When at Eton be v.on bis house colors for football. He is also a keen naturalist, on interest that was accentuated by bis tours to the Belgian Congo and the Dutch East Indies. As a youth of 15 he enrolled in the Belgian Army as a private, and among other duties filled sandbags. With bis late Queen, formerly Princess Astrid, niece of King Gnstave, he spent his honeymoon incognito in Paris.

Queen Wilhelmina of Holland is another popular ruler, and together with her daughter, Princess Juliana, donated 10 per cent, of her income to the State Exchequer. Princess Juliana, in spite of her corpulent figure, is a horsewoman, skater, and tennis player. Numismatography is the hobby of Victor Emanuel, the nominal King oF Italy, who has a collection of 100.000 Italian coins and medals. Ex-King Alfonso of Spain is an authority on science and engineering, and is also one of the best shots in Europe. King Achmed Zog of Albania is a Moslem with modern views. King Carol of Rumania has fewer hobbies, but ho is democratic in outlook.

Tho boy King of Yugo-Slavia, 11-vear-old Peter, loves to dabble in physics, wireless and mechanics. In Montreux, Switzerland, another boy King, 13-year-old Ananda Maliidol of Siam, plays trains and strikes his chamberlain when reminded of his lessons.