THE PRINCE.

Taranaki Daily News, 15 October 1920, Page 5

THE PRINCE.

WHO WILL HE MARRY! BRIDE OF CHOICE FAVORED. By Telegraph.—Presj Assn— Copyright, Received Oct. 14, 10.25 p.m. London, Oct. 14. The Times, in a leader, says the ques--1 hem of the marriage of the Prince of Wales has been widely discussed, and there is real anxiety that the choice may be a wise one. The war in this, as in most things, brought about a great change in public opinion, which here as elsewhere throughout the Empire, is strongly averse to any compulsion upon the Prince to make his marriage one of policy. Britishers wish the marriage to be one of true happiness, meaning a marriage of inclination. It follows naturally that the hope is that his wife will be one of the Prince's own race. Though there have been fortunate exceptions, it is certainly true that marriages of policy with foreign Princesses have not had happiness as a primary condition. The Tim« doubts whether the need now exists, though it may have existed before the war, to* restrict the choice to blood Royal.—Times Service. WSWLL BE THE LUCKY GIRL! MATCH-MAKING MAMMAS AND PRINCE OF WALES. For the first time for hundreds of years there is a probability of the heir to the British Throne marrying the daughter of one of his father's subjects. In pre-war days it was taken for granted that the Prince of Wales would marry some girl of royal rank and of the Protestant faith, and that meant that he would probably have to go to Germany for a bride. But as a marriage with a German princess is now impossible, and as a girl of royal rank and of Protestant faith is difficult to find elsewhere, the Prince may take as a bride the daughter of a commoner. The difficulties in the way of such a marriage are considerable, but the fact remains that the future Queen of England may not be of royal rank- This possibility has set all the match-making mothers, not only in England, but abroad, concentrating their attentions on the popular heir to the British Throne. SURROUNDED BY INTRIGUE. The Prince of Wales lives in the midst of continual intrigues to secure him as a guest at the homes of ambitious mothers with one or more marriageable daughters. ; A society hostess, however, even one who baa the entrea to the Court and who lias met the Prince, cannot ask him to her house. The suggestion that he would wish to visit her or to dine with her must proceed in the first instance from the Prince, but this fact merely results in the ambitious match-making mother using all her influence to induce the Prince to make such a suggestion. The following story illustrates the methods of the ambitious match-maker who dreams of her daughter becoming Queen of England. When the Prince returned from his American and Canadian tour, he met at the Bachelors' Club an old friend of the Royal Family. This individual was a guileless old gentleman who was interjested in old tapestries. He knew that the Prince was interested in the same I subject, and suggested to him that he should visit the house of a well-known sporting baronet in the North of England, who owned some splendid examples sixteenth century tapestries. The Prince gave the old gentleman permission to arrange for a visit to the baronet's house. Now, the fact was that the baronet's wife had told the old gentleman about the tapestries in the hope that he would persuade the Prince to come to her house to see them. A CUNNING DECEPTION. In reality, she had no tapestries, but directly the visit was arranged she bought half-a-dozen inferior ones to show to the Prince. She had, however, a very charming daughter, whom the Prince no doubt found more interesting than the inferior tapestries. A man of lesser position might have pardoned the deception and remained a guest at the house for at least a few days. The Prince, however, was compelled by the pressure of other engagements to leave within twentyfour hours of his arrival, not in the best of tempers, for he had been induced: to travel over 250 miles on a false errand. When in New York the Prince danced three times with a Miss Sclveter, the daughter of a copper king, at a dance given by the Californian Club. The i Prince lunched at her father's flat the ] following day, with the result that the American papers were full of rumours , of the Prince having proposed to this ' lady. HOW SILLY RUMOURS START. \ The plain truth is that the Prince : cannot have the same freedom in 1 selecting a wife as an ordinary individual. 1 The King and Queen will, of course, never force him into a marriage with a '■ girl he does not wish to marry; that is a certainty. Indeed, it is extremely 1 doubtful if they could do so. Not long ago the Prince of Wales met a certain princess, a relation of a European royalty on very friendly terms with our Royal Family. The princess is a charming girl, and there was nothing that would stand in the way of an alliance between her and the heir to the British Throne. '. The Prince liked her and met her frequently, but did not fall in love with her, and he told his parents so quite frankly. No mor« was said about the matter, and all idea of a marriage between him and this princess was abandoned. Here are the difficulties in the way of the Prince marrying outside royal rank. If lie were to marry the daughter of a peer, the then Princess of Wales would become separated from her family by a considerable social gulf. Her parents and brother and sisters _ would never meet her on an equality either at Court or in general society; no member of her family would ever be asked to meet her at' a country houso without her own consent, and none of her brothers and sisters would be suppled

to marry without the consent of the King and tW Prince of Wales. For the Princess of Wales to be placed in such a position would be almost intolerable for her. In such a case, considerable alterations would have to be made in the rules of Court etiquette and precedence. WILL THE PRINCE PROPOSE ' AGAIN? There is one girl among Princess Mary's Mends who may yet possibly be Queen of England. The Prince has known her intimately since she was a little girl, and she is a member of an ancient and honourable family. Failing a royal alliance for the Prince, which their Majesties would undoubtedly prefer, this girl may ere lorn* become Princess of Wales, though at, the moment she and the Prince are nothing more than good friends. The Prince did, in fact, once propose to her. He was seven years old at the time and she some years younger. The proposal was made in the presence of the King and Queen at a children's party at Marlborough House. "I think I would like to marry you when I grow up," said the Prince. "Oh!" was the reply; "I like you very much but I have promised to marry Lord when I am twelve." Lord was a gentleman of forty, and a friend of the Royal Family and of the girl's father. The proposal and the reply amused the King and Queen, and the Prince was afterwards chaired by his brothers and sister on the manner in which his first and so far only proposal of marriage was declined. If it ia ever made again it will probably meet with a different answer.