THE HOBBIES OF ROYAL PERSONAGES

New Zealand Mail, Issue 1507, 17 January 1901, Page 13

THE HOBBIES OF ROYAL PERSONAGES

To have a hobby is a save- way to escape being dull, and those who are really interested in anythin";, however insignificant it may be, are certain to escape many hours of the boredom which, is the portion or most people. For a prince or princess to have a hobby is almost a necessity and there are lew of the members of the European reigning houses who nave not some favourite pursuit which can be spoken of . under this term. A lively interest keeps ’people healthy and cheerful, does no one any harm, and serves to while away many a weary hour. The eldest daughter of our Queen, the Empress Frederick, has so many and varied interests that it is difficult to speak of any special fancy of hers, but perhaps the greatest pleasure that her Majesty has is in collecting antiquities, old porcelain, ancient furniture, rare old engravings, tapestry, brocades; intact, a;] beautiful ancient works of art 'give the Empress the greatest pleasure, and her jov i- enhanced when she has herself discovered. the treasure, and been able to bn v it and bring it hack with her to its honoured home at Cronherg. Of late, the Empress has been interested in collecting all the relicilies she can find of the ancient House of Cron berg which she intends to place in the obi castle, which she is restoring at Cronberg. and which is to he a museum for the recovered possessions of the fa mi Ir, and for other interesting ant icraiues of the neighbourhood. It is not generally known that the Empress Frederick and the present royal house of Great Britain, as well as the Prussian Royal Family are descended from tffi very House of Cron berg, whose ancestral schloss is now in the possession of her MuieMv. The ancestress both, of the E l:sh Roval Family and of the HohenzolIfvns was one Anna von Croiibergy who lived some hundreds of yearn ago. The German Empress has also a favourite hobby. Her Majesty is particular! v fond of nhotegranhum. and her collection is both very large and very interesting, /if the recent Exhibition cf Amateur Photographs held at Berlin, which was under her protection, her Majesty exhibited a large number of her own pictures, taken during her various journeys l , the latest having been views of the departure or the troops for Chinn. There were also family pictures of the ’Kaiser and his children, snorting pictures token durum 1 the weeks the Empress spends with her husband at Hubertu-seek and many views of the Holy Lend. The Princess o f Wales is an ardent pjio Integra pher. and has had a great success in h<=r efforts. Her Royal Highness has also . transferred some of her photographs to china, and she has a most interesting' eo - lection of family groups is ken on various occasions. The Queen of Portugal has found her greatest interest in the study of medicine, anil if is said that she has recently taken her doctor’s degree, and intends to practise. what she has learnt. Her Modesty is energetic ancl determined to do all in per power to improve the condition of' the P o i-t u guess hosdi tal s. The present King o f Italy is a collector of coins, and his Majesty possesses the mock perfect collection in the world. He has 20,000 rare specimens, and has written a treatise on coins, as well as a guide to his own collection, giving the history of all coins. The Duke or Turk collects postage stamps, and has a most valuable collecrion ; in fact, bis Roval Highness has some almost unique specimens, and his collection is said to be worth several thousands of pounds. The late Duke of Saxe-Coburg Gotha, as befitted a sailor, had a magnificent collection of nets, one of' the most interesting things in the world to collect. His Royal Highness had specimens of all dates, some made of silvet and gold, others being only of inferior metal. The Grand Duke of Hesse has a curious taste for a man. His Royal Highness is most skilful with his needle, and his embroidery is exceedingly beautiful. He takes the greatest interest in his work, and is particularly clever in the arrangement of colours. He has a very artistic nature, as he is devoted to music, dancing and acting ; while he does not care much about more active pursuits, though lie both shoots and rides. The Queen of Roumania is known to all as a clever writer, a poet and a musician. She has beautiful thoughts and a very poetical manner of describing places, persons and events." The poet Queen, as she is often called, has many interests, and perhaps’ her chief pleasure, after her writing and music, is the encouragement of Roumanian industries, the bringing into fashion the national costume, and the improvement of the women’s work, of embroidery and fine needlework. It is wonderful how much her Majesty has done to improve the condition of her husband’s subjects, and she has not only thought of their bodily necessities, she has also endeavoured to improve the manners and customs of the country which has become iters.