Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1894-04-26
EoyaIty's peculiaritics.

The gathering of crowned heads and other
representatives of royalty at Coburg last
week to witness the marriage of Prin
cess Victoria Of Edinburgh and her cousin,
Duke Ernest of Hcsse, presented many pc
culiar features; and while the assemblage
was entirely OF social nature, some of the
incidents of the occasion are fraught with
deep and significant meaning. The over
whelmng and all-pervading power OF roy
altv stood out in marked contrast to the
evidences of its impotent weakness
which were apparent on every hand,
and the student will find in the events
and circumstances of this mingling of the
royal courts of Europe food for profitable
consideration
Conspicuous among the rulers assembled
at Coburg was Queen Victoria Of Great
Britain, who, by the way, is now intimately
connected by marriage with the rulers of
all the first rate powers of Europe as well rs
with those of most of the smaller nations
The list of royal personages also included
Emperor William of Germany, who is
Queen Victoria's grandson the czarowitch
of Russia, whose mother is a sister of the
Princess of Wales, the Prince of Wales, ex-
Empress Frederick of Germany, Prince
Henry of Prussia. and the representatives
of numerous principalities. In this family
gathering were members of tho reigning
families of three rival powers England,
Russia and Germany, between whom there
have been wars as well as rumors of war
without numbers.
This consansuinity Of reigning families
undoubtedly tends to promote peace be-
tween the nations over whom these crowned
heads rule but it also undoubtedly consti-
tutes great obstacle in the way Of the
progress of republican idcas as opposed to
monarchical rule Tho powers of Europe
may contract international commercial
treaties without number, but more binding
and more potent is the unwritten compact
between the royal families of Europe to OPP
pose to the bitter end the entertainments
of parliamentary rule. In England alone
the government of the people has gone be-
You'd the power of kings or queens, while in
other nations the contest between the idea
of the divine right Of kings to rule on the
one hand, and democratic rule on the other
is still being waged in various guises.
The Coburg family reunion also demon
strated the extreme weakness of royalty.
While ordinary people felt perfectly safe to
move about the streets unattended, the
members of royal families did not dare to
step into park or thoroughfare without an
armed guard as we'll as detectives in dis
guise Rumors of anarchistic plots to take
the lives Of Emperor William and tho czaro-
witch evidently impressed every scion of
royalty present for we read that the most
perfect precautionary measures were taken
to guard against an attempt upon the life
Of any Of the reignng families assembled.
The German emperor was constantly at
tended by detective bodyguard as well as by
German soldiers. the czarowtch had body
guard of Russian police, and was also looked
after by some of the most experienced of
German detectives. A similar German
guard was assigned to the protection of
Queen Victoria, in addition to the special
English police who guarded her during her
stay in Florence and even the Prince of Wales
was constantly guarded by two English de-
tectiyes and detail of German police
The Ducal palace and all other buildings
Where INC royal ana lillperIal pcrsollaSes
were quartered We're guarded night and
day by uniformed police, troops and detec-
tives, and in addition to these precautions
the police required hotel and lodging house
keepers. and the propretors of other places
where strangers are entertained, to furnish
the authorities with the names and descrip-
tons of their guests.
"A
| tons of this character must have served to
diminish somewhat the spirit of pleasantly
which ordinarily attends royal marriages as
well as the nuptials of common people; but
be this as it may, the fear of assassination
which beclouded the Coburg marriage fresh
| ly illustrates the truth of the adage that
Uneasy lies the head that wears crown. :"