PRINCESS MARY.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXV, Issue 20116, 29 November 1928, Page 8

PRINCESS MARY.

THE KING'S ONLY DAUGHTER r 'A " DIAMOND JUBILEE BABY." QUEEN VICTORIA AND A NAME. KING EDWARD TO THE RESCUE.

BI EVELYN OHAHAM.

(Copyright.) No. I. 11,I 1, The Golden Princess!" " The Princess nobody knows !"< These are two phrases that have been repeatedly used in reference to Princess Mary, Viscountess Lascelles. And they nra both true. Tho Empire does not know the only daughter of King George and Queer Mary. Of all the British Royal Family Princess Mary stands out conspicuously, because very little is known of her by the general public, for her life has been one of genuine delight in her multifarious duties as only daughter of the King of England. During tho early days of her life every Briton liked to th'nk of and hear about his little golden-haired Princess, and a few stories of her childhood that reached the ears ot tho public were just ordinary sunny and sometimes naughty happenings in the life ol a little Princess who was quite an ordinurv little girl—and, like all little girls, at times mischievous, and at others radiating happiness on all those who came in contact with her.

As the years passed and her brothers left the nursery {or the schoolroom and later took np their positions of responsibility aa sons of the King she continued her secluded and rather uneventful way, as just "Mary" to the rest of the Royal Family, the little sister and daughter of whom nothing was asked except an affection which she was only too ready to bestow.

Queen Victoria's Delight. Not until tho fateful August in 1914 Sid Princess Mary really come into her own. Then she became the right hand of her mother, the Queen, and when Her Majesty threw herself into thei organising of various war works "Mary" ceased to be just a royal sister and daughter, and entered with enthusiasm into hospital and nursing work with all the thorough and conscientious energy that is characteristic of every member of tho Royal Family. It is necessary for a time to become strictly biographical and to go back some thirty-one years to a morning in April, 1897, at York Cottage, Sandringham, when the Duke oi York—now King George V.— received the glad news of tne birth of a baby girl. The news was quickly flashed to all members of tho Royal Family, and Queen Victoria swiftly telegraphed her happiness at the event. Tne aged Queen quickly followed her message in person. "My little Diamond Jubilee baby," she cried as she gazed at her little great-granddaughter, and at once suggested that tho child be called "Diamond" in memory of the happy Jubilee which had been recently celebrated. But the Duke and Duchess of York did not consider that, in view of the future position the little Princess would occupy, the name quite subscribed to tradition, and in this they had tha support of King Edward, then Prince of Wales. An Agreeable Compromise. 'i'he newcomer's grandfather, with his usual shrewdness, put forward a more human objection to tho adoption of Che name, and pointed out that no girl would thank her parents for. giving her a name which would so clearly estab'ish her age to anyone that cared to indulge in a little mental arithmetic Queen Victoria then smilingly conceded the point to her son and grandchildren, and delightedly received the counter-suggestion that one of the Princess' .iames should be Victoria.

And so, soma weeks later, when the christening took place at the Sandringham parish church, the child received the names Victoria Alexandra Alice Mary—but by the especial wish of the Duke of York the little Princess became universally known as Mary—after her mother. A3 a baby Princess Mary was by far the most troublesome of all the royal children. It need not bo said that she was a precocious child in the least—but if being "noisy'' as an infant is a sign of excellent healthy then the little Princess was endowed with the most sturdy and ■vigorous of constitutions. It cannot be said that her eldest brother—now Prince of Wales—appreciated the early vocal qualities of his sister Mary, for when exasperated by her rather continued enring he would turn a pained glance toward his nurse and say in quiet, very composed tones: "That baby really gets on my nerves." This at the age of four! Life at York Cottage. York Cottage, Sandringham, was the icene of the early childhood of all the Koyal children. On the marriage of the Duke and Duchess of York it was given to them as their country residence by the Prince of Wales, and was certainly an ideally-situated spot for the little Princes and Princess in their babyhood.

The Duke and Duchess grew passionately fond of the place, although the Duchess at times looked longingly toward the spacious rooms and nails of the larger residence so near—Sandringham House. In a letter to a friend the Duchess said of York Cottage: "It is very nice, but so small for our present needs. I wish I had one large work room where I could have the children sometimes to play." The Royal children did not show any dislike for their home; in fact, when later they moved for periods to Frogmore, near Windsor, they openly declared that they preferred the scene of their earliest days—York Cottage While the house is rather small for a large family,' the gardens are perfectly delightful, and, of course, tfio children had the freo run of the large grounds of Sandringham House, and they used to play there all manner of games under the watchful eye of their nurse or governess —the admirable Mine. Ftncka, who for bo many years was the governess and intimate friend of their mother, from her early girlhood to the time of her marriage. Agility in Climbing Trees.

Within a few months of her first tnddlirig clays, the little Princess Mary became tJio inseparable companion of the Prince of Wales and her other brother. Just at first "David" and "Bertie" raised diminutive eyebrows when "Mary" asked pleadingly that nhe, t.oo, might accompany them on their tree-climbing and birds'-nesting adventures. Soon, however, the Princess' brothers realised that in this sister they had their equal in their own sports. She climbed trees not only as well as they, but with even more agility. "She was the most unselfish of children," is the verdict of one who knew the Princess from the time of her babyhood at York Cottage to the day of her marriage amid all the splendour of a tit ato wedding in Westminster Abbey. Always were her brothers and her parents in her thoughts. Sometimes as the only daughter she would receive small presents of sweets and fruit from her relations or those at Court, but never did she forget to carry part of the sweetBtuffs to "David"—now Prince of Wales —-arid more often' than not more than a half-share. Never, unless under comfiulsion, would the littlo Princess go out or a picnic or any other treat unless ac compnnied hy her brother "David." Once when the young Prince was sufferfag. from some slight complaint, and was •Onflned to his bed, the Princess Mary ~J®toted that she should sit by his side 4W J* u P® r8e de the nurse in attending to , "wanta of her beloved little brother.