PRINCESSES ELIZABETH AND MARGARET

Hawke's Bay Herald-Tribune, Issue 94, 7 May 1937, Page 23 (Supplement)

PRINCESSES ELIZABETH AND MARGARET

Home Life of the Future Queen "LITTLE MOTHER" TO HER SISTEf

A1 though everyone learns a great deal about Royal ty it is somehow dafficult to believe that a, Queen was once a baby or that a baby will one day be a Queen. Even in a democratic age such as this there are and must he many things about the habits and bearing of a Queen which mark her off from the wiays of other women, But bahies are a91 more or less alike: they cry and demand their food and sometimes refuse to eat it; they have pains; they eiv> counter the glory or boredom of toys; by degrees they learn to walk or talk, Little princesses are veritably littls children.

But, ©radually, into their livec must. come a oonsdousness that they are not auit© as other littl© children; that they have an exalted and mysterious destiny ; that they are treated with a combination of authority aDd deference. When Princess Elizabeth was born she was at once high up in the Royal succession. Now she is heir presumptive to the Throne. Her claim is even more direct than was that of the Princess Victoria, who spent her infancy and early years in Kensington Palace more than a hundred years ago. Child Who Matters So, at the age of 11, she is a child who matters tremendously. Her younger sister and playmate} Margaret Rose, is, by intimate association, another child who matters. They are already woven into the historic pattem. Books have been written about them; many more books will be written about them. When the time comes, Queen Elizabeth the Second will inherit an immense responsibility. Her very name, recalling the overflowing epirit of SHakespeare and Baeon, of Drake and Frobisher, should be enough to strike an awful obligjation into the heart of its holder. What is its young holder like 1 There ara even now signs that Princess Elizabeth will be capable of dealing firmly with events when they present themselves. Before all ©Ise, she is practical and efficient. Clearly she knows that the occasion may come when she will have to move with a firm step and use a steady hand. , There are already suggestions of that other budding* ruler in Kensington Palace.

The Healthy Life. Princess Elizabeth already knows how to do things. She can embroider and knit; sKe can ride a horse and swim. It is probable that she prefers riding and swimming to embroidory and knitting. For she enjoys the outdoor life and has a modern, athletie turn which was not granted to the young lady of a centuiy ago. The British Government's new scheme for developing physical fitness in the nation should have a staunch advocate in its future ruler, and in her physical development she has had the consistent and eonseientious help of her parents. There has been no coddling for her or her sister. They have gone bareheaded and sleeveless and have set a healthy fashion for millions of little girls all over the world. Thera is to be no feeble nonsense for the Princess Elizabeth ; her juvenile metier may be deseribed as self-reliant inatter-of-factness.

The Rose-Bud. When the younger Princess was born, Elizabeth was four and the new sister came into her life as sometbing like an animated doll of great possibilities as a plaything rather than as a playmate. Elizabeth felt herself almost grown-up ; the neweomer was a tiny baby. There was no jealousy of the tiny baby ; jealousy would have been undignified as well as wyong. There was a dawning of maternal interest; a protective attitude, and, possibly, something of superior condescension, expressed in the avowal to call the baby "Bud," becatsse anything so small could not possibly be accepted as a fully blown rose. While the condescension has gone, the protecfciveness remains, and there are no signs of any growth of jealousy. Conscientiously, Elizabeth looks after Margaret Rose's health. She guards her from sitting on cold, damp surfaces and keeps a watchful eye on her general movements. Her sense of efficiency is satisfied b.y an ability to act the part of nurse as well as sister. "Lillibet."' as Elizabeth is known in the family circle, believes in being useful. Hcr superiod years carry a sense of responsibility in small things

Dislikes Formality. This sense of responsibility extends to other things and finds an outlet in many ways. Tfee Heir Presumptive saddles her own horse and tidies up after her games. In all this she shows

herself & child of the age, tad she- It a true child of tbe age Is her dlaUbtt of formality. This dislike % dfstinguishing quality of almost all the members of the Royal Family. Not so many years ago, the Enghah Oounfc waa as outstanding stronghold of ptmctiKo. Now the rather stiff fiorm jg giving way to an easier reality.. Princess Elizabeth is a marked reaKst in these matters. She may be a future Queen; she is also a future womaa with a woman's duties and diffierdties. Already ehe has a sharp eye on these facts, an eye which is eneonritged by example. Life in her home to-day sugr gests that homely atmosphere ©f Copenhagen from which came the beautiful Queen AIexandria| the Con-sort of Edward VII.

Another "Royalty" Although both of the Princeases as being brought up in the satme school o healthy commonsense, thqy have al ready developed marked dbfferenoes o character. In Elizabeth one does not detect any strong strain of the artistie temperament. But Margaret Rose probably prefers music to muscle. It it told of her that, when she was but eleven moit.lis old, one of her elders was astonished to hear her hnmming the waltz from "The Merry Widow," and Sir Edward Elgar clearly noticed this tendency when, on her second birthday, he dedicated his "Nursery Suite" t « Indeed, the younger of the two Princesses seems to have the gift of attracting^ f amous and sensjtive men. A remark of hers to Sir James Barrie giave him the idea for his play "The Boy David," and his letter of grateful acknowledgement drew from Elizabeth, writing on behalf of her sistef (who could not yet write for herself), a businesslike demand to know more about the exact value oi a twopenny royalty promised by the lamous dram • tist. Sir James can always be relied upon to awaken the playfulness in children.

Lord Bathtub. ' There |s another playmate who ha* always been very precious to the tw a children: that "Uncle David," who now, bears the title of the Duke of Windsor, It was he who inspired the game of "presentation at CJourt" and the resounding titles of Lord Bathtub and Lady Plug which accompanied it. The Iighter side of life is by no means denied to tbe beir to tbe Throne, and cinemas and theatres already play their part in the development of the future Queen, But for Elizabeth and Margaret Rose tbe day is far from being all play time, Although it has been definitely decided that schools should not be for tbe elder Princess, there will be, and are, care-* fully planned and supervised lessona with regular honrs for both of them., Buckingham Palace, their new home, eontains a well appo'inted school-room, where governesses will supervise their progressive etudies, and there is even a certain amount of "hom© work" in the o^enlngs.

Child and Emp ire. It is likely that a wider school of education is in store for Princess Elizabeth — the education which comes with world travel. For the possibility of her acoompanying the King on his forthcoming Empire tour is being seriously considered. So this ehild is faeed by all tbe responsibility as well as the pomp and cireumstance of oue who may have to assume the title of Queen-Empress. She has been born into a world full of urgent and terrifie problems. Events may tax her personal jesources to ihe • ^ utmost. Her temperament, education and early experiences may have farreaching consequences. Princess Elizabeth is at once a child and a portent. She has a mind of commonsense and an unquestioned self-determination. What will she make of them? What bearing will they have on events?