A ROYAL ROMANCE.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XLVIII, Issue 14567, 2 January 1911, Page 8

A ROYAL ROMANCE.

PRINCE VICTOR NAPOLEON'S

MARRIAGE.

PRESENTS WORTH £80,000.

After many years of waiting the royal love romance in which the principal figures were Prince Victor Napoleon of France and Princess Clementine of Belgium came to a liappy ending, when the pair were married at Moncalieri Castle, near Turin, the residence of Princess Clotilde, the bridegroom's mother.

Great preparations had been made for the wedding, but the magnificence of the spectacle was unfortunately marred by alternate storms of rain and snow. Nevertheless, a lit Igo crowd gathered in front of the castle to watch the arrival of the royal and princely guests who had been invited to the ceremony. Queen Ma-rgharita and the Princess of the Italian Royal House arrived successively in motor cars shortly after 10 o'clock. The bride, accompanied by the Countess of Flanders, reached the castle by motor car at 10 minutes to 11.

The civil marriage was celebrated at 11 o'clock at the castle in the yellow draw-ing-room, which is 'furnished in the Louis XV. and XVI. style. The Mayor of Moncalieri, Cavalicre Ardingo Trotti, acted for the Mayor of Brussels, both the Prince and Princess having formally declared in Brussels that they intended to be married at Moncalieri. The Princess wore a -cream-colour-.'l dress, and the Prince was in eiviian dress, with decorations. In accordance with a decision of the municipality, the golden pen, set with diamonds, with which the Mayor, the bride and bridegroom, and the witnesses signed the civil act was presented to the royal couple. ■■ After the civil ceremony had taken place the religious marriage was celebrated in the artistically decorated chapel in the castle dedicated to St.—Anne. ' On this occasion the chapel had been draped in red damask, and the altar had been completely rebuilt.

THE POPE'S BLESSING. The bride, who appeared radiant with joy, wore an elegant gown of ivory silk, with'.' a yellowish tinge, the Prince being clad in black, with his breast ablaze with decorations.

The Vatican having vetoed the attendance of the Cardinal of Turin because of the feud with the House of Savoy, his place was taken by Mgr. Maeera, Bishop of Biella. '

The witnesses for the bridegroom were his brother, Prince Louis Napoleon, and the Duke of Aosta, who also represented the King of Italy. For the bride the witnesses were the Prince de Ligne, representing the King of the Belgians, and Duke Philippe of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha, Princees Clementine's brother-in-law.

After the nuptial mass the bridal couple received the sacrament, and on the conclusion of the religious service a salute of 21 guns was fired and all the bells in the town were rung. A reception followed in the principal drawing-room of the palace., . Hundreds of congratulatory telegrams were received at the palace during the morning. Among the senders were the King of Italy and Queen Elena, Queen Maria Pia of Portugal, and the Duchess of Aosta.

A letter from the Pope, with his blessing, was given to Prince and Princess Victor Napoleon by Mgr. Masera. The wedding presents, which are valued at £80:000, were displayed in rooms adjoining the apartment in which tho breakfast was served. - Among the'presents was a splendid diadem, inset with pearls and brilliants, from the Empress Eugenie. Enthusiastic airmen, representing four nationalities, were prevented by the inclement weather from carrying out _ their desire of showering-down floral tributes of congratulation over the castle chapel during the marriage ceremony. t The bride gave £400 for the poor of Moncalieri. and Princess Clotilde provided a dinner for the children of all the local schools.

The attachment between the royal pair dates back many years, and their marriage [was for long rendered impossible by the stubborn opposition of the bride's father, the late King Leopold, who went so far as to imprison his daughter in the palace of Laeken.

Indeed, in 1905, so hopeless did the position seem that Prince Victor announced that, his marriage project had been abandoned: But the royal pair remained faithful to one another, and the death of Kins; Leopold early this year removed the chief obstacle to the match.

WHAT THE BRIDE FORFEITS. In marrying Prince Victor Princess Clementine lias sacrificed almost all the prerogatives she enjoyed as a Royal Princess of Belgium. This was decided by King Albert before ho gave his consent to the marriage, and for obvious grounds, the most important being His' Majesty's legitimate fears that his, cousin's marriage with the French Pretender would be misinterpreted in France. Henceforth the new Princess Napoleon will be entitled to no salute of the troops, and will lose the title of "Princess da Belgique." In a word, she will live in Brussels .as a private person, and will only come in unofficial contact with the members of the Royal family. The bride will also have to leave her palace— Palace of Bellevue —which belongs to the Stateand finally will have to give up her villa in St. Raphael, on the Riviera, as Prince Napoleon is not allowed to enter French territory. • The new. home of the princess will be in the Avenue Louise, the Champs-Ely-sees of Brussels. It is a magnificent, sion, which' has been recently enlarged, and which contains a real museum of Napoleonic souvenirs. Here may be seen the grey coat the Emperor wore at Waterloo, the Panama".hat.' he wore at St. Helena, tho sword he carried on the day of his coronation, 5 and many other articles of great value.