THREE QUEEN DOWAGERS.

Dominion, Volume 5, Issue 1336, 13 January 1912, Page 10

THREE QUEEN DOWAGERS.

There have probably never been so many queens in Europo as there aro at tho present moment. Besides tho consorts of tho reigning Sovereigns there. aro the Queen-mothers of England, Spain, Portugal, Itajy, Russia, Sweden, and Holland; Queen Natalie, mother of the uniortunato King Alexander of Scrvia, and the ex-Empress Eugenie, of France.

Tho Quceu of Sweden is the senior of tho Queen-mothers. A daughter of the house oi Nassau, the home of her childhood was at Uiebrieh, where tho lii'e of tUe ducal court was simple to a degree and absolutely free from ostentation. But tko Duke, her father, was a patron of men of art and genius and a great admirer of Wagner, ami it was just when Wagner was preparing to bring out "Die Meistersinjjer" under his auspices that l'rinco Oscar of Sweden happened to come to Biebrich on a visit. Wagner had sent tho Duko a capy of the music of the new work, and both Prince Oscar and 'Princess. Sophie were enchanted with it. They were never tired of practising it, and while thus engaged they fell headlong in love with one another. Their marriage took place in 1857. There was very little likelihood at that time of i'rinco Oscar ever coming to the throne, as he was only the third son, but, both his brothers. dying without heirs, he eventually succc-oded. They celebrated their golden wedding in Juue, 1907, just feix mouths before the King's death. Queen Sophie has. always been delieato and was never able to take much part in the life of the Court, The climate of Sweden was too rigorous for her, and sho frequently had to go away to a milder one. Tho air of Bournemouth seemed to suit her very well, and she has been there more than once in years past. At the headquarters of the Young Men's Christian Association in Bournemouth there hangs a text wiiich she painted herself and sent to them to show her interest in the institution. Her Majesty is of strictly ovangelical views, having been brought up iu tho Lutheran school, and has expressed sympathy with .the Salvation Army more than onoe. It was at Bournemouth, too, that tho marriage of her second son, Prince Oscar, to Miss Ebba Ihinck, ono of her ladies-in-wait-ing, took place. She is very romantic, and her own marriago haiing boen a love match sho was very anxious for her son to marry the woman' of his choioo. The King absolutely refused to listen to such a thing, and at ono timo tho case of tho lovera seemed hopeless. Then the Queen had a very serious illness, and her life was despaired of, and so King Oscar, seeing how . much she had it at heart, finally gave way and withdrew his opposition. Tho wedding took place at St. Stephen's, Bournemouth, the Queen coming over expressly for the ceremony. Tho Prinoo had to.

resign all his rights of succcssion, and his title of Royalty is now simply Frinct! Bernadotto Count Wisborg. Thero' are probably few Royal' ladica in all history who havo paid more heavily for tho exalted position they occupy than has the Dowag-.'.r Empress -of Russia. Tho Empress succeeded to the tlirono through an assassination—thu assassination of her father-in-law, Alexander ll—and in 1888 she and her whole family escaped with their lives by a miracle from the train which tlw Nihilists wrecked. It is not possiblo to describe the conditions of terror under which they have respectively lived and the sympathy of . every ..woman in tho civilised world must go out to them for what they havo suffered and are suffering. Tho Empress rarely left Russia during her husband's lifetime. His life was always in such danger that fiito could not bear to be parted from him, Irat since his death sho has paid long visits to Denmark every yeax, and- has so constantly stayed with. Quc«n -Alexandra 6he is well known both in. London and at Sandringhtun.. The. oastlo at Ilvidore which tho two Royal sisters own jointly is a great pleasure to them both, and the simplicity of . tho lifo they lend thero is in marked oontrast with tho great state which is kept up in her St. Petersburg homo, the Anitchkoff Palace. A devoted wife and mother, it is said thot one of her most cherished possessions is an; Kastor egg of pure gold given to her by her husband. It was inlaid with shell pink enamel, and contains a tiny golden replica of tho Stats carriago in which they drove on' their_ wedding-day. It is a perfect thing of its kind, being complete in all details, oven down to tho crimson cushions and doth of silver hangings. Qupon Margherita of Italy had onoo a' similar experience to that of Queen Amclie, but mercifully not with tho samo fatal ending. She was driving with tlio King one. tiny in Naples when a man approached the carriage as if to present a petition. On tho King leaning forward to tako it the man suddenly produced a long knife, and endeavoured to striko him with it. Like Queen Amclie, Queen llarghorita thrust her bouquet into his faco, and, blinding him for a moment, tho brief delay enabled tho guards to oomo up and seize him, and f-o tlio attempt failed that time. Mercifully sho was not with her husband when ten years ago lie was assassinated ila tho streets of Alonza, and so escaped - tho horror of that scene. Sho nnd tlio King .were cousins, but they did not see'much of one another as children, and seem hardly to havo met until they were grown up. Queen Margherita deserves well at tho hands of Italy. Tho whole of King /ictor Emmanuel's reign was a critical poriod for tlio new monarchy, and runny a difficult moment was made considerably easier by (ho assistance which the queen's Popularity gave him. He.r court was always above reproach. Whilo it was always dignified and Ptatoly, eho jjiopagrxl to crata an atmogphani whish tos mtot

lectual aiul charming, and succeeded ad- | mirably in keeping away from it all | suspicions of envy and 'intrigue. No easy task in a new monarchy, and in Italy of all countries in the world. Liko all the members of the house of Savoy, Queen Margherita in her younger days was very fond of all active pursuits. She was an intrepid mountaineer, and went for many years in succession to either Counneyor or tho beautiful Valley of Aosta, where s l le used to revel in mountain expeditions and would camp out lor days and nights together among ice and snows of the upper passes. When tho Alpino Club of Italy erected a new hut on Punta Gnifetti they invited her Majesty to formally inaugurate it, which she did, negotiating tho difficult climb without much eft'ort. Since her widowhood, Queen Marghcrita has lived at the Palazzo ilnrgherita, in the Via Vcneto at Home;, but she is not thero so very much, as of late years sho has become an enthusiastic motorist, and goes, away frequently on long lours. She bears her sixty years very lightly, and is still handsome and stately and dresses as well as ever. She was always renowned for her excellent taste in dress. Blue used to bo her favourite colour, and she would never allow any one to wear black in her presence, but, of course, all that is changed now. H«r Majesty's fondness for pearls is well known. She is said to h'ave tho finest collection of pearls in the world, licr husband used to give her a new string'of thenl on each of her birthdays. —From the "Woman at Home."