PRINCESS ENA.

Marlborough Express, Volume XXXIX, Issue 61, 13 March 1906, Page 1

PRINCESS ENA.

THE NEW QUEEN OF SPAIN,

AN INTERESTING CHARACTER

SKETCH

: In view of the marriage of the Prin- [ cess En a to the youthful King of I Spain, the following character sketch, from the pen of an English writer, is particularly interesting:— 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 the arrival of the late Queen Victoria from Osborne, on her way to Windsor. The Alberta was due at eleven; and presently, through^ lines oi 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 ensign, came racing up the harbor, arid swung round in to 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. OUT OF A STORY BOOK. Her Majesty walked to the train with her little gracious bows to the waiting officials, among whom, for some reason, a Spanish officer ■ appeared suddenly. I think he had come over on the Alberta, but in any case lie 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: " It is an English child just such as ; I read about in book's. 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; charming little English child out of a. story book. Who is,it?" " Princess Ena of Battenburg," was the Jow-voiced answer. Princess Victoria Eugenic Julia Ena of Battenburg, since s-ne was * born in ..the October —the lucky " opal month" —of 1887, has ;had r the same; remark made about her by men and women of a good many nationalities. At Nice, during Queen Victoria's last few visit's there, Princess Henry of Battenburg 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 ;inrtoduced to your Queen's little grandchildren," said a French lady at Cimiez to the writer in the spring of 1896. "I talked to them as long as I could v with all possible Court etiquette' and politeness; but soon I began to wonder whether they, were the two children who robbed my orange trees last week!" : VERY HUMAN CHILDREN:

. Princess ,Eha lias, had two very "devoted friends all her life; one, her elder brother,, Prince Alexander, the singer of comic songs who was with hpr when Spanish admiration "was first offered to her, and was her companion at lessons for ten years, and is with her now at Biarritz; the other, her godmother, the Empress Eugenic. The brother and sister were greatly attached to their grandmother, albeit kept a little in awe by her strict, oldfashioned and most wholesome nursery regime ; and Queen Victoria loved them both. The two children were among the last relatives on whom the dying Queen's eyes rested, and brie of her Majesty's last acts was to order a piece of furniture for Prince Alexander' room at school. But though more than half a century separates them, the Empress Eugenic and Ena have been friends, confidantes, sympathisers throughout the younger one's life; the young Princess has' stores of knick-knacks, valuable jewels, books, and gifts of all kinds from her friend; and will probably, it is. believed, inherit a large part of her fortune. " :■'

The young Pr-jncess's conversion to Roman Catholicism was more than half effected 1 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, Roman creeds and practices; all the real faith of the Roman Catholic Church came to her long ago, because it was the faith of the ex-Em-press of the French. ./;... Princess Ena, who by the way, was born at Balmoral, and was ther first royal child born m Scotland for 300. 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 tq'heVftjnusenii^nt, that the publio at various functions in me Isle of Wight had almost as warm & 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 daugj\t§i" might have opened' as many bazaars and presided at .as many meetings as herself.' The "Queen of the'lsle of Wight," as Princess Henry is occasionally called, knew better, however, $han to allow anything of the sort, and the yqung Princess led a very quiet Jife,,' with plenty of music and alittle yaohting and a few children'sparties (of which no announcement might evei1 appear in the papers) till she cam© out last year. Her musical studies have been as successful as those of her mother, "for whose talent Mme. Blanche Marchesi. has much admiration; and she is aiairly good linguist, talking three languages besides English. ;. v '■ ■; •■ *. •:■ PERUT OF THE PRINCESS. Life changed curiously little for tho young Princess when she came outlast season. Princess Henry politely but resolutely declined, to have, lier parties talked about by the public', au<i very/little was known ; to. .the outride 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 Saxe-Coburg kept her cousin company throughout the season at Kensingv-n Palace, and the two young people one dark, the other fair, both enjoying themselves immensely wherever they wei^, were always popular guests. .Admir-ation of very much the same kind as in her youth, admiration for a healthy, active, happy English ch.«ld followed Princess Ena at all the purties given to her; and she laughed with everybody at everything, declining altogether to \>\\ formal. A young man came ujp ta her during her first ball n.t Kensington Falace asking somewhat stiffly and formally for the honor of a dance. I

'' Oil, are" you $rut> you., dou t mindr" was, th« ifokin^ reply. More tb.an once during the visit of tho -KiHg, oi Spain to London it became obvious that the two younjj people were thinking a good deal' of one another. A lady in the royal party at the gala perfonntuie©. at the Opera claims to haw been the first at least to nrqola'jin the fact; and then everybody in the secret watched developments with such interest and sympathy as spectators will show, the world, over, in such matters. The Spanish Ambassador took Princess Henry dawn to tea at a large afternoon party, and there was a'little'buzz, pf talk; it became known that Princess Henry was being pressed to visit Algeciras in the winter, and everyone was delighted. Finally, rumov* and tales grew and multiplied without contradiction.

And now a.\} th» world knows that, the sojLeittii grandeur of Spanish soc\tvfcy, with its sixteenth century great ladies and medueval etiquette, is to beinvaded by the laughter an.efc freedom and liberalism of' this'young English Princess. A month after her, marriage she, wiU be the wonder and dew lig-Kt anct terror- of every woman in (Spain. '