OUR NEW QUEEN.

Manawatu Standard, Volume XLI, Issue 9221, 25 May 1910, Page 2

OUR NEW QUEEN.

AN M.A.P. ESTIMATE. i An article entitled "Tho Real Princess" in "M.A.P.," gives an interesting 1 insight into the character of our new ( Queen when weighed by the experience as Princess of Wales: —

A DEVOTED MOTHER. Some littlo time ago this Royal lady was requested to lend her patronage and presence to a certain charity entertainment. Sho consented, making the stipu-

lation that the performance, commencing at 3, should be well over by 4.30. F°. r this she had two good reasons. One is that her taste for music is not so strongly developed as that of many members of tho Royal house, the other and more important, that, except whon circumstances render it absolutely impossible, she makes it a rule to have attornoon tea with her children. It is the one hour in tho day which the littlo Princes and Princess can count upon as their very own with thoir mother, and they guard it with pardonable jealousy.

A VICTIM OF SHYNESS. The Princess of Wales, like the Prince, often confesses that Nature equipped her indifferently well for her role in life. Tho coldness and stiffness of her public manner, tho comparative infrequency of her smiles, so often attributed to hauteur, aro in reality tho result of exceeding shyness. As a girl she wa3 nervous to a painful degree, but since her marriage placed her in a position of such extreme responsibility she has unceasingly combated tho inclination to I shrink from public life. When one remembers that the Princess Royal has allowed the same kind of shyness to keep her in almost complete retirement, the magnitudo of tho effort made by the Princess of Wales is more completely realised. She takes the Queen as her model in most things, even to the colours she wears, tho style of her hats, and her method of hairdrcssing, knowing that the Queen has always been tho ideal woman of the populaco. HOUSEWIFELY ARTS.

Given the power to follow licr owi inclinations, the Princess of Wales woult have been wife, mother, and housemake: first, and the purely social would havt played little part in her scheme o. things. Sho is the staunchcst friend ii the world, kindly, and generous to £ Fault, and her household and servant! md children adoro her. H° r . idea: ibout charity are strongly individual md, although 6ho will never consent t< )pen bazaars or sales of work, she sub scribes lavishly to many, often furnish ng a stall with garments she has made Needlework is her favourite rest-cure she is skilled in tho use of the sewing machine, and thinks so highly of knitting ind crocheting as occupations and pas :imes that her sons, as well as hei laughter, have been trainedto turn ou mittens, stockings, and the simpler kind; jf lace. Sho understands the art o booking, theoretically at all events, anc s fond of looking to the ways of hei lousehold. Every room prepared foi visitors, for instance, is porsonally m ;pected to see that flowers, an abundanc< >f reading matter and writing materials jood fires (in winter), and the othci 'ssentials to comfort and enjoyment art xt hand. METHODS WITH HER CHILDREN Tho Princess likes pretty materials out is not an extravagant dresser, ant many a middle-class woman has a large) milliner's bill. Her children, too, art jlothed and fed with a simplicity tha yvould be bitterly resented in the averagi middle-class home. No sweets are al [owed before the age of ten, and verj tew afterwards; and the little ones art never per mitted to ask for things a .able; they must take what is proffered These circumstances have doubtles; something to do with their perfect health Absolute obedience is exacted; but 11 ill legitimate ways the children are en ;;ouragcd to have a good time, and the; are taken about freely in order, tha shyness may be a trouble unknown tc :hem. Those who know, say that inn :ess Marv of Wales bids fair to be th< most accomplished Princess in Europe md her education is being reared on <. foundation of solid common-sense. TASTES AND TALENTS. With all her fondness for housewifely pursuits, and her performance of thousand public duties, tho Princess <■/ Wales finds time to cultivate her con ;iderable mental powers, bhe is a tre nendous reader, her tasto lying in t ( lirection of the historical, and the li Drarv of Windsor Castle is one of he j o vs. A genuins appreciation o£ pic ures was fostered during her years 11 Italy, and she rarely misses an exhibi ;ion of any importance at the London galleries. She is something of an auhority on china and old glass, her minions on plays are highly regarded members of the Royal Family, and iho can sing really well-