The Columbian. [volume] (Bloomsburg, Pa.) 1866-1910, 1896-04-23
MANY ROYAL WIDOWS
THERE ARE FOUR IN THE ENGLISH
ROYAL FAMILY ALONE.

Victoria is first In Importance. Empress
Eugenie aud tho widows Left by the
Tragedies of Austria and Mexico. Two
Queens Regent.
1t is Just n thought astonishing to
reckon the number of royal widows,
regnant or uncrowned now more or
less in public view. First, of course,
comes Her Majesty Victoria, Empress
Of India, Queen of England, Scotland,
and Ireland. Next TO her ono must
rank her eldest child, Victoria. Empress
Dowager of Prussia, moro commonly
known as Empress Frederick. Then,
in the same family circle, there are the
Duchess of Albany, born Princess of
Waldeck- Pyrmont. and widow of the
English Queens youngest son, and the
lately bereaved Princess of Battenberg,
who is to be the Duchess of Kent in
her own right.
Upon the Continent there are pair
Of widowed queens regent-Christine OF
Spain and Emma of Holland. Both
havo won golden opinions from those
they govern, no less than from impair.
tial onlookers. Queen Emma is, by the
way, sister TO the Duchess Of Albany,
who is said to have been the first
choice of the gay old reprobate. King
William of Holland. She refused him,
but her sister threw herself into the
breach, inspired doubtless by the linowl-
edge that reigning soveroigns, even
though somewhat battered and worse
for wear, We're not likely to come often
a-wooing in starveling if princely house
holds. So they were married, and there
is q little Queen Of Holland to cheat the
anticipations of the house of Cumber-
land.
But none of the queens or empresses
can put out of court Dagmar some
time of Denmark now the widowed
Czarina, Marie Feodorowna. 1t must
have gone hard with her, in spite of the
splendors the change implied, to give
over her Spanish name, which means
''daydawn," for an appellation so cum
brous. Feodorowna means, by the way,
daughter of Theodore as does Paul
ovna daughter of Paul The termi-
nation "ovna' or owna' has in all
cases that significance in Russian
names, just as the sufiix witch means
always "son Of thus AleXandrovitch
is the son of Alexander"
/ Austrian royalty has two widows out
| right between whom it is hard to say
which has the more tragic story. All
/ the world still remembers the tragedy
| of Meyerling-how the Crown Prince
Rudolph shot himself, and the beautiful
| Marie Vectsera, leaving his wife, Ste
| phanie of Belgium, by no means dis
consulate, as the pair had been on the
| point of judicial separation. Still the
shock and shadow of it all for time
/ overwhelmed her. But she has no con
tinuing sorrow such as has driven to
madness Carlotta, once Empress of
| Mexico, who missed seeing her husband,
Maximilian, shot only because she had
gone to Europe asking for help for him,
where no help was. Yet it is ques-
ton if, in spite of all, she is not less
unhappy than her sister, the Empress
Elizabeth of Austria, who has been for
long years widowed in all but name.
Besides Empress Eugene, widowed,
childless. widowed shadow Of her
beautiful self, France has Duchess OF
Orleans, whom the Legitimists rank as
Queen Dowager-not TO mention the
wife of her murdered President, Car
not. And there is more than Gallo
trace in the youngest of royal widows.
tho Bonaparte Princess. who married
her uncle, the Duke D'Aosta, and since
his death has set the Italian court wild
with her freaks.