Eagle River Democrat. [volume] (Eagle River, Vilas County, Wis.) 1893-1896, 1896-01-27
PRINCE HENRY DEAD.
Husband Of Princess Beatrice of
England Passes Away on
Board Ship.

London, Jan. 22-News has been re-
ceiyad at Osborne house, Isle Of Wight,
that Prince Henry of Battenburg, who
went to Ashantee in a special capacity
and who contracted fever there, is dead.
The Queen and Princess Beatrice are
Frustrated with grief.
From the few details received it APP
pears that the prince had a relapse yes
terday while on board the British cruiser
Blonde, on her way to Madeira with the
sick man. In spite of the efforts Of the
special surgeon in attendance and of the
ships surgeon, the prince died at 8
o'clock yesterday evening.
The End was Peaceful.
The Blonde then returned to Sierra
Leone. west coast of Africa, from which
place the news was eabled to the adj
miralty and was by that department
communicated to the Queen and to the
Prince Of Wales. The Blonde reached
Sierra Leone this morning. The end of
Prince Henry was peaceful.
The first lord of the admiralty, George
j. Goschen, after consulting with the
Queen, has given instructions that the
Blonde be ordered to bring the remains
of the prince to England.
1he greatest sorrow is manifested
throughout the Isle of Wight at the
death Of Prince Henry and flags every
where are at half mast
Prince, Henry was the third son of
Prince Alexander of Battenburg, uncle
OF Ludwig ", Grand Duke of Hesse.
He married the Princess Beatrice in
1885. They have four children He
was born October s. 1853, and was gov
ernor of tho Isle Of Wight and of CARTS
brock castle.
The death Of Prince Henry will make
decided difference in the court plans.
IAe period of mourning for the late
prince will extend over the coming sea-
son and all the drawing rooms have
been abandoned.
Rather Unpopular with the People.
While Prince Henry of Battenburg
was unpopular on the whole with the
people. principally because he was a poor
German prince and therefore considered
unworthy of the hand Of princess of
the royal house of England, he was well
liked by all those who had the pleasure
OF knowing him personally. He was a
splendid. athletic-looking man, a good
sportsman and he sailed his own yacht
skillfully. To those around him he was
unpretendlng and considerate and he
was great fayorite with the Queen.
Previous to his departure for Ashantee
considerable ridicule appeared in the
English newspapers over the alleged
preparations being made for his depart
ure to the picnic" as the expedition
to Coomassie was called and as it turned
out to be. 1t was said he was going to
travel in a specially prepared saloon car
rage and to have specially prepared
cabin on board q special steamer, and a
mass of other eXaggerations of similar
nature was printed, much to the disgust
of those interested i'll the prince. But
subsequent events showed that all this
IL H. n u
embarked like any other officer on board
an ordinary troopship and was not treat
ed with any more consideration. than
would be accorded to an ordinary of
fcer. He ranked as colonel of an Isle
of Wight volunteer regiment and was
attached to the expedition in a special
capacity. although his rank would have
entitled him to assume the position of sec
ond in command. But, of course this
would never have been tolerated by the
press, to say nothing Of the war Of
) fee authorities, and SO the unfortunate
prince went to the west coast of Africa
smarting under a storm of undeserved
ridicule and abuse probably with the
object of attempting TO show those who
made a practice of eliminating him
from the outset that he was not draw
ing room soldier and that he was not
deficient in courage even if he was not
wealthy and of rank said to be inferior
to that of his wife, Princess Beatrice of
England.
It is now said that when it was finally
decided, against the wishes of the com.
mander-in-chief, Gen. Lord Wolseley,
that Prince Henry and Prince Christian,
the latter a grandson of Queen Victoria,
were to accompany the expedition under
Sir Francis Scott, the question arose as
to whether the bodies of the princes
should be brought home if they werH
killed or if they succumbed to the te,
rible swamp fevers peculiar to that pa
of Africa. The Queen decided in tht
affirmative and remembering the difficult
ty experienced in bringing home the re-
mains of the prince imperial of France,
who was killed by the Zulu war, her
majesty ordered that proper apparatus
for embalming remains be taken to Cape
Coast castle. and consequently it is be-
lieyed that the Blonde will either go to
Cape Coast castle from Sierra Leone and
that the remains will be emhalmed at the
former place or that the embalming appa-
ratus will be quickly sent on to Sierra
Leone and the work of embalming the
body Of the late Prince Henry OF Bat
tenburg will take place there.
Royal Family Plunged Into Grief.
The Princess Beatrice, his wife, was
upon the point of starting for the island
of Madeira in order to nurse her huS-
band when the news of his death reached
Osborne house and plunged the royal
family into the deepest grief. The death
of Prince Henry is the one great topic OF
comment in the press and III public today.
The review of the flying squadron now at
Spithead, which was to have taken place
today off Osborne, has been postponed
on account of the death Of the prince
and all the naval and military stations
throughout the country are lying HaGs
at half-mast.
Many of the fashionable west end
stores were closed as soon as the news
of the death Of Prince Henry became
known and their example was followed
by a number of others.
On the government buildings and clubs
the flags were half-masteG, the church
bells were tolled and the ambassadors
and ministers and all the representative
public bodies of London and other cities
Of the country sent telegraDhic messages
of sympathy.
The newspapers Of this city announce
the princes death with inverted rules
and it is said today that even those who
have been the most active in ridiculinG
Prince Henry now recognize the tact
that he died il an attempt to prove that
he was not unworthy of the esteem OF