The Sun.
London, England, 1864-10-13 00:00:00

The Prince and Princess of Wales in

Sweden.

(From the limes' Special Correspondent.)
FREDENSBORG, Saturday Night.
To. day a grand hunting expedition was organised
by the Royal family, who started, with most of the
distinguished guests now staying with them on a
visit, from the Castle of Fredensborg at the early
hour of half-past 9 a.m. The circular court yard in
front of the Chateau of Fredensborg presented a
very animated appearance, the farmers resident in
the neighbourhood having claimed the right of fur-
nishing vehicles according to the usage which ob.
tains on such occasions. In old times it formed part
of the royal prerogative that the inhabitants of the
district through which" the Sovereign passed should
supply whatever vehicles they possessed for the use
of the Royal retinue, and assist in dragging them
over the villanous roads which then existed. In
more modern times the oppressive portion of this
prerogative has been abandoned, and the farmers,
grateful for this concession, have voluntirity
tinned to furnish the requisite means ee tranepwt
whenever a battue is contemplated. Nt cessarily the"
vehicles are of a very elementary description, but
the practice is indicative of good feeling between
Sovereign and subject, and, as such, importance is
rightly attached to its maintenance. Of the car-
riages, all ordinary chars a bane of the country,
nearly 20 were required to convey the members of
the Royal party— English, Russian, and Danish—
to their destination, and while these were assems
bling the principal personages included in the circle
at Fredensborg amused themselves by forming
groups on the castle steps for the purpose of being
photographed. High over head, through the open
door leading to the entrance hall, the pale uniforms
of the Royal Horse Guards were dimly discernible
in the shade within, their cuirasses now and then
gleaming like sparks of fire as chance movements of
the wearers brought them within the influence of a
ray of light. Upon the level of the courtyard the
band of the regiment was stationed, and performed
appropriate musical selections. The shooting party
consisted of his Majesty the King of Denmark, his
Royal Highness the Prince of Wales, all the prin-
cipal officers of the Danish and English households,
and the following nobles and gentlemen in the
suite of the Russian Grand Duke :—Prince Benie.
tinski, Count Woronzow, Gen. Richter, Dr Chestiff,
and Capt. Roslev. With few exceptions the party
were dressed in light shooting costume, some wear-
ing knickerbockers, and others long hunting boots.
The most conspicuous exception from the prevalent
shade of gray was probably Col. Keppel, who ape
peared in a suit of dark velvet. His Royal High-
ness the Prince of Wales wore his favourite round
hat and plain shooting coat, the facsimile of those
which may be seen in the Sandringham portraits.
The Crown Prince of Denmark and the Russian
Grand Duke were not of the party. .Her Royal
Highness the Princess of Wales came as far as the
door of the Palace to wish success to the expedition
—and the Queen of Denmark with the younger
members of her family descended nearly to the bot-
tom of the outer staircase, and appeared to interest
herself very much in all the arrangements. The
cortege having been marshalled in order left the
Palace yard under a salute from the foot guards on
duty, preceded by two forest rangers for the dis-
trict, whose experience no doubt proved very value
able during the day, though their costume was of •
the strangest. In their stiff brown hate, somewhat
of the high wide-awake pattern, these rangers car-
ried feathers, having in the centre an iris, similar
to that visible on the tail of a peacock. What would
otherwise have been very suggestive of a livery coat
acquired a certain dignity from the addition of a
hunting knife to topboots already worn by the
bearer. In the second carriage, immediately fol-
lowing these rangers, the King and the Prince of
Wales rode, and, in common with the rest of the
hunt, was guided by the country driver of horses,
furnished in the manner :already described. The
cortege proceeded in the direction of Elsinore, and
became so much interested in the .sport that,
although the dinner had been ordered for 7 o'clock,
it was nearly 8 before they were able to reach the
Palace on their return. The game in the Danish
forests is limited pretty much to deer, hares, and
foxes. Of these the gross return at the end of the
day showed that 10 foxes, 6 hares, and 17 stags had
been killed, 2 hares and a stag falling to the gun
of his Royal Highness the Prince of Wales, and the
rest being tolerably well distributed among the
retinue. Gen. Knollys was among the most success.
ful of the individual shots.
In the course of the afternoon, and while the
hunting party was absent in one direction, a second
circle of notabilities issued from Fredensborg, with
the object of paying a visit to the Castle of Fredea
ricksborg, which lies at the distance of about 6
miles from there. Among those occupying seats in
the Royal carriages were the Queen of Denmark,
and her father, the Landegrave of Hesse, her Royal
Highness the Princess of Wales, the Russian Grand
Duke and his fiancée the Princess Dagmar, the
Crown Prince of Denmark, &c. The drive to Fredea
ricksborg lies through charming scenery ; at every
turn of the road distinct views are commanded of
the lovely Essom Lake, which can be reached in a
very few minutes from the Palace, and affords in
itsel opportunities of enjoyment almost boundless
to pleasure seekers. The Palace of Fredericksburg
shoots up from the midst of a miniature lake, or
sheet of ornamental water, and, though the archie
tecture is very simple, the effect produced upon the
spectators of the fairy-like structure that seems to
rise out of the water is exceedingly striking. The
quaint outline of the building is familiar to many
who have never been in Denmark through the draw-
ing of its proportions made by Mr Reichardt, one of
the best of the Danish modern artists—a drawing
which is so accurate in detail and in proportions
that it has served as the basis for all the designs in
cut glass and china into which this historic Frede.
ricksborg Slot has been imported. The Royal
party spent more than an hour in examining the
castle and in walking about the grounds adjoining,
returning to Fredensborg in time for dinner. Inter-
nally there is little now to be seen at Fredericks.
borg, the palace having been gutted by fire in 1859,
and its valuable picture gallery, renowned through..
out Europe, in a great measuredestroyed. Its boasts,
however, a church probably unique in the richness
and peculiarity of its decorations, the restoration of
which, exactly as first constructed in 1619, was com-
pleted in the course of the year 1863. Upon a pane
of glass in one of the windows in the gallery
may be seen the names of the King, Queen, and
younger members of the Royal family of Denmark,
and likewise those of the Prince and Princess of
Wales, inscribed there on one of the days last month.
that the Royal party drove across privately to view
the edifice, before the visit to Sweden was under-
taken. The excursion to-day was altogether of a
family nature. Ou the part of the few spectators
who witnessed their arrival no attempt was made to
interfere with its privacy. Any curiosity which was
exhibited had reference to the Russian Grand
Duke, the future husband of the Princess Dagmar,
who is a young man of slight and rather delicate
frame—taller, probably, than the Prince of Wales,
but wanting the breadth of chest and shoulder
which distinguishes his Royal Highness. Like the
majority of his countrymen the Russian Prince is
an excellent linguist, conversing fluently, when he
does sustain a conversation, in English, French, or
German. Yesterday he was dressed with brown
hat, light walking trousers, and loose overcoat,
and while en route drove with the Princess Dagmar
and other members of the Danish Royal family in ct
light wagonette. The Crown Prince of Denmark, as
usual, drove his own phaeton, having Leside him
the Princess of Wales, who, to all appearance, had
recovered from the fatigue of her late journey, and
looked charmingly. Her Royal Highness wore a
hat with a white feather, a cloth jacket, hand
comely braided, and a mauve dress. Tartan formed
a conspicuous element in the dress of her younger
sister, the Princess Thyra, and also of the little
Prince Waldemar, who in any station of life would
be accounted a remarkably fine boy, and, with all
a boy's partiality for horses, would manifestly rather
have stayed with the equipages than made acquaints
n with the
Chapel. glories and art treasures of the
Fa rcee w
d er icksb
The understanding at present is that the Russian
Grand Duke will leave Denmark on Tuesday next,
on which day also another Prince, the infant son
of their Royal Highnesses the Prince and Priacess
of Wales, is to begin his homeward journey.