The Providence news. (Providence [R.I.]) 1891-1906, 1898-08-15

they Are Perfectly Legal In the
Eyes Of the Church.


celebrated by the Protestant. Greek
and Roman churches. No stigma at
taches to the wife I'm the eyes of the
world. There is nothing to prevent her
being received as the lawful wife OF her
husband at the court of his family II
the head of his family so wishes, and
questions OF precedence can be settled
by comforting on her some title which
will give her definite rank OF her own.
On the other hand. by the court law
the marriage never had any binding
force at all. Therefore. II the man
chooses to be scoundrel either for his
own purposes or because his family in
stst that he must marry In his own
rank in order that he may continue the
line, it i'm not necessary TO take any
legal steps to establish his independ-
ence. He need not even inform the un-
happy lady of his intention. And when
We consider the extreme hardship of
her position. we must also remember
that the rule Is as old as the oldest or
the reigning houses OF Germany, and
is as well known as the law OF military
service. The victim OF a morganatic
marriage can no more plead that he
or she did not know the possibilities OK
the position than the peasant who de-
serts his regiment could urge that he
was not aware that the thing was pun
ishable.
A notable case In the last ten years
Is that of Prince Oscar OF Sweden, who
fell in love with Miss Ebba Munck, the
pretty daughter of one of the Swedish
ministers. and insisted on marrying
her. The marriage. OF course, was
morganatic; the wife did not become
member OF the royal family, and the
children could never inherit the throne.
On the other hand. the king and queen
thoroughly recognize this lady as their
daughter-in-law, and treat her with
over has conferred on the pair the
nom royal title of Prince and Princess
Bernadotte Another instance Is that
OF Princess Frederica or Hanover, VINO
fell in love with and married her faith
er's court physician in defiance or her
family. who made every effort first to
stop the marriage. and, secondly, when
Il was accomplished, to induce the
Princess to repudiate II. Another quite
recent case Is that Of the Grand-duke
Michael of Russia, who married NOR
ganatically German lady or noble put
not royal birth. The late Gear COM
manded the Grand-duke to give her up
and marry within his own rank or De
banished from Russia. The Grand
duke preferred exile with his wife. who
has been created Countess Torby py
the King of Bavaria In order to relieve
her of the humiliation Of being Obliged
to use her maiden name still.
The reasons why Prince and Princess
Edward of Saxe-Weimar, Princess VIC
tor of Hohenlohe- -Langenburg and her
son Count Gleichen reside In England,
and Prince and Princess Louis of Bat
tenberg follow the British fleet are
these: In the first case, Prince Edward
is married to sister or the Duke OF
Richmond and Gordon; in the second;
Prince victors widow was daughter
of Marques Of Hertford; In the third,
Prince Louis, being the son OF NOR.
| ganatic marriage, is not on the royai
| level. All these marriages are morgan
| attic, with the result that in German
| Princess Edward would be known az
| Countess Dprnberg Ga title conferred or
| her after her marriage): Princess Vic-
| tor would be merely Lady Laura Sey-
mour and her son would have no title
at all; while Princess Louis would pe
| STYLED Princess Victoria OF Hesse, just
| as IL she were unmarried. Some Idea
| of what can be done I'm circumstances
| like this may be taken from the case oil
| the late Grand duke or Hesse, who, ,after
| the death Of his first wife (our Princess
| Alice), married morganatically lady
| OF non-royal birth. A few days after
| the ceremony he dismissed her.
| Neither the common nor the court
| law of England recognized these dis
tinctions, and marriages with subjects
| were by no means uncommon up tt
| about century ago. Queen Mary IL
| and Queen Anne were both the daugh.
ters of the marriage between James II
and Anne Hyde. daughter OF Lore
1 ~ q hfat
| ever, had German ideas. and resented
some alliances OF this kind. He got {
law passed, called the Royal Marriage
| act. which declares that members o.
the royalsfamily in the line of success
sion could not marry without the con
sent Of the crown before they attained
the age of Twenty-Five. This law die
not create a caste. 1t only imposed !
condition. The difference between !
and the inorganic rule Is that under tn
latter a marriage between a royalt,
and a subject can never become bind
ing against the royalty. The Mtte
| may be voluntarily bound as long as h
or she may choose. but no longer
whereas a marriage between royalt
and a subject celebrated. in England un
der the Royal Marriage act with tn
consent of the crown is as binding as
| marriage celebrated lawfully betwec
subjects. and cannot be broken excer
! by the high court for legal cause More
over. r.the children of this union have fu
rights Of succession and inheritance {
both their parents. The marriges {
Princess Louise. Princess Henry of Bal
tenberg and the Duchess OF Fife cor
stitute exact examples of what In Gei
many would be styled morganati
union. In England. however. as the
were celebrated with the consent of tn
queen. they are on the same footing a
other marriages. A strong proof OF th
Is to be found in the fact that tn
Duchess of Fife comes next to tn
Duke of York's family In the line {
succession, and her daughters com
after her. In Germany her marriag
would have cut the Duchess and he
children out Of the line altogether. Th
strongest case. however. Is that OF th
Duke and Duchess of York. Accordin
to the German law. the Duke OF Tecl
being the son OF a morganatic maj
riage. could only marry the late Prir
cess Mary Adelaide morganaticall,
Their children were morganaticall
born. and when Princess May Marie
the Duke OF York II was merely MOI
ganatic alliance. 1t may be added. how
ever. that not even the German En-
peror has ever ventured to treat II
, | Duobacc ae n rnorgapatfC wifp.-ErO