ROYAL ROMANCE.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XLVII, Issue 14507, 22 October 1910, Page 2 (Supplement)

ROYAL ROMANCE.

DUKE OF ABRUZZI AND MISS

ELKINS.

ITALIAN NOBLE AND AMERICAN

HEIRESS.

After overcoming obstacles that would have thwarted a. less determined man,-the Duke of t.he Abruzzi has finally fixed the happy day of bis marriage with Miss Katherino Elk ins, the daughter of a multi-millionaire senator of Virginia. The Duke of the Abruzzi, of course, is a cousin of the King of Italy and the chief opposition to the match came from the Queen Mother of Italy and the Duchess of Aosta, wife of the Duke's eldest brother. For long the Duchess appealed invincible. She is actually said to ha,ve declared her intention of leaving Italy on the ground of ill-health to avoid having to attend her brother-in-law's marriage. A few weeks ago, however, her Royal Royal Highness (who was born a Bourbon Princess) relented before the earnest pleadings of her husband and the Duke of the Abruzzi. Subsequently a meeting took placo between the two brothers at Venice, and the provisional date of the marriage was then settled. The Duke will go to stay with the Elkins family in a week's time, to settle the final arrangements regarding the presentation of his bride to the King and Queen of Italy, and the formal announcement of the engagement. The date of the meeting between the Italian Sovereigns and the Duke of the Abruzzi and Miss Klkins is kept a secret in order to avoid the attentions of the newspapers, but, according to the Daily Mail, it may take place during the forthcoming Italian manoeuvres in a small town near Racconigi. Miss Elkins will then receive at the hands of the King the title of Countess of Teramo, that name being taken from a town in the Abruzzi region. It is stated that the necessary steps for Miss Elkin"s entry into the Catholic Church, an indispensable condition to the marriage, are j ;in - taken by Mgr. Boccaria, the royal chaplain, and Mgr. Bisseti, a member of the Pope's entourage. Miss Klkins's dowry is reported to amount to £1,000,000. The story of the meeting of the Duke of the Abruzzi and Miss Elkins is an exceedingly romantic one. It was at Washington, after a cmise with an Italian squadron, that the Duke met HIS CHARMING AMERICAN' BRIDK, Under the name " Mr. Sarto " he again went to America in the spring of 1908. He met Mrs. Klkins and her daughter in Florida and stayed a fortnight with them before going to Washington. At Washington he was ostensibly the guest of the Italian Ambassador, but in reality he is known to have passed all his time at Mr. Klkins's house. Gossip had long before associated his name with Miss Klkins's, and by the time he left America the New York newspapers .were predicting a honeymoon in the Arctic Circle for the Prince and his Republican bride. The Duke sailed for Europe at the end of March, and at Queenstown he admitted that he was betrothed to Miss Klkins. During the next month the Italian newspapers which had before scoffed at the project became favourable to Miss Klkins. It was known that the Italian Court jeweller had received orders for elaborate gifts. Before the end of the month it was announced that the wedding was decided upon. In June and July came rumours of difficulties. In September it appeared that the opposition of certain royal ladies was overcome, and it was said that the wedding would "most certainly take place." On October 21, Miss Klkins ordered her wedding gown. On November 2 tho "final opposition" was declared to be removed. On November 17 the betrothal was announced to have been broken. The next month the Duke prepared for his tour in the Himalayas. The Duke of the Abruzzi (Prince Luigi of Savoy), the first royal prince to choose an American bride, is '37. His father was from 1870 to 1875 King of Spain. Ho is one of the handsomest Princes in Europe, a,nd is a naval officer and an intrepid explorer. His feats of mountaineering and exploration in Alaska (1897), the Arctic (1899-1900), the Mountains of the Moon in East Africa (1906), and the Himalayas (1909) have won the recognition of many learned societies. The Duke is extremely wealthy.