The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1889-03-22
ROYAL WEDDINGS.
Three of Them to Come Of at an |
Early Day.
From the st. Louis Republic.

RoyaI wedding bells will soon be linking
in several parts of Europe. The first event
for which they will tinkle, will in all prob
ability be the marriage of the Princess
Alice of Hesse to the czarevitch, the heir
anparent to the Russian throne. Two
other notable marriages are also on the
card. but these will probably be postponed
for some months on account of domestic
affection. One of these, that of the Prin-
cess Fedora Louise of Schleswig- Holstein, to
Prince Leopold of Prussia will doubtless be
the second in order of occurrence, while the
last to come off, and this may be postponed
until next winter, on account of the recent
tragic death of the prospective brides
brother, is the marriage of the Arch-duch-
ess Maria Valeria of Austria to the Arch
dixie Franz Salvador, member of the Tos-
cana line of the house of Hapsburg. Though
no date has been definitely fixed as yet for
either of these marriages. the engagements
were announced some tims ago and much
interest is already developed in European
court circles concerning their approaching
celebration.
To begin with the wedding of the care
witch. Nikolai Alexandrovitch, Grand Duke
of Russia and heir apparent to the throne is
the eldest son of the Emperor Alexander Ill.
of Russia and the Empress Maria Feodoro-
vana, nee Maria Sophia Frederick Dagmer,
daughter of Christian TX, King of Dem
mark. This imperial youth, who was born
in st. Petersburg, is still mere boy in
wears as well as appearance, as he will not
have attained his maj )rity until the 18th of
next May. Nevertheless he bears a burden
of titles sufficient to tax the strength of an
old veteran. He is chief of all the Cossacks,
captain of the Preobrajensky regiment of
the guards, chief of the ' lynia regiment
of the guards, chief of Infantry regiment
No Is of Moscow, proprietor OF the Aus
trian Uhlan regiment No. 5 and lieutenant
of the Austrian Uhlan regiment No. II of
Alexander H., Emperor of Rus ia. While
these numerous titles may not be very i'm
posing, to the average American mind, it
is doubtful il any Russian journalist would
have temerity to omit any one of them in
even a casual illusion to his imperial high
ness
Little is to be found in books about this
young man and less is known in this coun-
try, but his character so far as it has de-
veloped itself up to this time, may be
summed up in a very few words. He is
not robust physically, and is generally &C
credited, whether justly or not, with being
mentally feeble. Being heir apparent to a
throne, however, neither of these facts may
be considered to initiate strongly against
him as matrimonial catch. 1t was origi-
nally supposed that a match would be
planned between him and a daughter of
Prince Nikita (Nicholas) of Montenegro, the
leader of the PanslavisUS of the
Balkan Peninsula and a veteran of
the Greek church. Such a match
would have been in religious accord
with the views of the Russian people and
would have made the future emperor the
leader of the Panslavist movement There
can be little doubt that such a match was
at one time contem lated, but the reasons
for abandoning it have not been made pub
lie. Perhaps the car, who it must be re-
membered, has rot an overlooking treas
ury, deemed an indirect alliance with the
most powerful nation, financially speaking,
on earth, fraught with more useful poSs bill
ties in the future than even the leadership
of the Panslavist. This may have been
his reason for selecting granddaughter of
Queen Victoria as the bride of his son and
future Empress of Russia.
The Princess Alice Victoria Helena
Louise Beatrice of Hesse, the fiancee of she
czarevitch, is not quite II. She was born
at Darmstadt, June 6, 1872, and is the
daughter of Louis w, Grand Duke of
Hesse and the Rhine. Her motler was the
Grand Duchess Alice Maud Maria, a daugh-
ter of Queen Victoria of England and
royal Princess of Great Britain and Ireland
who it will be remembered died a number
of years ago. Little as is known of the
czarevitch, even less is known of his
fiancee. but she is pretty and viva
cious Her father, who is a
Prussian general, and by his mother a
grandson Of Louis l. of Bavaria, was prob
ably the most troubles me son-in-law Eng
lands queen has had 10 deal with. Not
long after the death OF his wife, the Prin-
cess Alice, the grand duke became infatu-
ated with and formally engaged to
be married to a certain Mrs. Kolo-
NINA bo ~
sian military officer. The rules of the
English church are almost as strong as those
of the Catholic church az inst the marriage
of divorced persons, and the horror of Queen
Victoria when she heard of the engagement
may well be imagined. but she did not con-
tent herself with simply exercising her
horror. The foot of the mother-in-law
came down with queenly determination,
and the engagement was broken off. But
the grand dukes luxurious maladroitness
did not end there. He seemed determined
TO trench on the religious prejudices of his
mother-ln-law, for scarcely had he allowed
time enough for his first misstep to be for
gotten when he formally proposed for the
hand of the Princess Beatrice, Queen Vic
torlas youngest daughter. The proposition
TO marry deceased wife's sister is scarcely
less shocking to the consistent
member of the English church than
the proposition TO marry divorced wife.
And so the royal mother-in-law rejected the
proposal with such stern disapproval that
her naughty son-in-law returned abashed to
his home on the Rhine.
The wedding of Prince Leopold of Prus-
STA and the Princess Louise of Schleswig-
Holstein will be probably deferred until
after the 10Th of June, the expiration of the
year OF mourning for the late Emperor
Frederick. The Princess Fedora Louise
Sophia Adelaide Henrietta Amelia of
Schleswig- Holstein, Sonderbourg Augusten-
burg, is daughter of the late Duke Freder-
lex OF Schleswig- Holstein and sister of the
present Empress of Germany. She was
born at KEEL April g. 1866. She is very
handsome young woman and emf the
reputation of being both amiable and
pleasing. The one thing that can be said
against her is that she is poor, but like her
sister, the empress, she remede this defect
by making a rich match. But to be poor
is the tirth-right f most of the princes and
Processes of Germany. In fact, as rule,
they are mere dependents ON the bounty of
the German emperor who, with an income
Oh about $3,000,000 a year, is expected to
provide for all his needy relations. Before
the marriage Of the empress the family re-
SIDED In comparative seclusion at Castle
frmkenau, a small estate in Silesia. But
mat event. Of course, put very different
aspect upon their fortunes. A brother of
the princess father, Prince Christian of
Schleswlg- Holstein, married daughter Of
queen Victoria, and another brother, the
NJ Al Al