QUEEN MOTHER PASSES.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXIII, Issue 19217, 5 January 1926, Page 11

QUEEN MOTHER PASSES.

HAPPY IN HER LAST YEARS: LIFE AT SANDRINGHAM. KING'S VISITS CHERISHED. LOVE OF HORSES AND DOGS. [mOM OUR OWN CORRESPONDENT. ] LONDON, Nov. 26. The late Queen Alexandra's simplo life at Sandringham is described by a special correspondent of the Daily Mail. " I never realised what the beauty of old age could mean," says this writer, " until I saw Queen ALxandra in the lato antnmn of her days. A vision of exquisite fragility, her face still ihat perfect oval that captivated London in tho long ago, her figure slender and willowy. She sat erect in her low chair in her favourite sitting room at Sandringham, gazing out of the window across the marshes —a view she loved. " She wore a simple black gown of no fashion, of no date. Tho soft, elusive folds clung to the graceful, almost youthful, lines of her figure. But it was her smile of greeting that I shall always remember—that wonderful smile which ravished all in tho days when she came a girl-bride, and remained with her in its undying beauty to the end. " She took a keen and intimate interest in the life around her to the last. Raffia work, a modern fashion vogue, but a craft' also, which has a special value and attraction when failing eyesight cuts off so many other interests, has been one of her later relaxations of the long, quiet days .it Sandringham. Tho gay colourful strands of the raffia naturally appealed to one of Queen Alexandra's artistic temperament. " There wero gala days at tho hall, as, for instance, when tho King and Queen camo to take tea with her, which they always did when they were at Sandringham. Of lato they did not stay to dinner —that would have tired Queen Alexandra —but the King would drop in at the Hall on his way home from shooting, and Queen Mary would come over from York Cottage. Eagerly looked for, greatly enjoyed visits these. A loving mother receiving her adoring boy.

Daily Drives and Picnics. " In some wonderful way Queen Alexandra, despite the increasnig infirmities that come with years, managed to keep in touch with everything. Not long ago there came to her an appeal for help from a soldier's wife. Many such letters come, and officially it was, perhaps, received a little coldly. Unknown to anyone around her, Queen Alexandra slipped two pound notes into the envelope and sent it to the supplicant. It was only when the grateful reply of the recipient came—a reply that puzzled those of the household—that the kind-hearted Queen divulged her secret act of charity. ' There were other pleasures in life's evening—daily drives, for instance. When three o'clock came and the Queen did not appear, then Sandringham knew that she was indisposed. These daily drives were triumphal pilgrimages. The car glided very slowly p3st the church, past the Feathers, for there was a smile for every one the Queen Mother passed, for every curtseying child. In fact, there was scarcely a dog she did not recognise. "Picnic lunches were one of the pleasures of this last summer —the light, mid-day meal would be served in the car, pulled up at some favourite beauty spot—and Qu*,en Alexandra always looked forward with especial gleo to driving into King's Lynn. Her passion for wild flowers made the lanes and woods and hedgerows a source of infinite enjoyment to her. This particular part of Norfolk is gloriously rich in wild bloom. The Parish Church. " Another deep and lasting joy remained to Queen Alexandra. Whenever she was well enough she was to be found in her pew in the parish church, and nothing gave her deeper satisfaction than ' its fitting embellishment with memorials of the ?KsSOciation of her family with worship there. " The church, as it were, kept the past with all its dear memories alive. The seat next to that where each Sunday found her was the one always occupied by the Duke of Clarence. Placed where she would see it was the tablet she caused to be erected : 'This place was occupied for 28 years by my darling Eddy, next to his ever sorrowing and loving mother-dear. January 14, 1892.' " Nearby is another tablet denoting the seat 'occupied by my beloved husband from the year of our marriage, 1863, till 1910, when the Lord took him to Himself.—Alexandra.' " The beautiful altar and reredos of eiiver are in memory of King Edward. Country Life Attractive. A country life always had a great attraction for Queen Alexandra, who in her vounger days was a fearless rider to bounds. Her love of horses remained with her to the last, and no dumb creatures were ever better cared for than Queen Alexandra's horses. The stables at Sandringham were models, and during her stay in her Norfolk home visits to her ponies were among her greatest pleasures. She was an expert driver, and took but little to motoring. Her dogs were another of her hobbies. They had perfect kennels, she often fed them herself and she knew thern all by name. There was no keener competitor than Queen Alexandra at dog shows, and her canine pots frequently carried off valuable prizes, not because they were the Queen's dogs, but because they were dogs which could hold their own with o triers of the samo class. She bad also a great fondness for flowers; many that she cultivated with her own hands sht' f.ent to the London hospitals. Her favourite flower was the pink malmaison. Photography of late years absorbed much of her interest, and she rarely travelled without her camera. She produced some excellent pictures, which are much prized among the Royal Family.