Evening star., 1900-12-15
BIG FAMILY PARTY
How Queen Victoria Will Spend the
Coming Christmas.
AFFAIRS OF STATE PUT ASIDE
The Sort of Presents Her Majesty
Gives and Receives.
AN ELABORATE DINNER
ELABORATE DINNE

Special Correspondence of The Evening Star
LONDON, December g. 1900.
Queen Victoria's Christmas this year will
be spent at Osborne unless something un
foreseen should prevent.
When her majesty goes to Osborne she
probably feels much as President McKin
ley does when he goes to his home in
Canton, for the palace on the Isle of Wight
is her own personal property, and doubt
less would be the place she would go to
live il England were to conclude suddenly
that 1t could worry along without royal
family and were to cut off her majestys
million-folars-a-year salary.
Parts of the present palace were standing
when the queen and prince consort bought
the property from private family. The
place at once became the particular hobby
Of the prince consort, who personally super
vised the enlargement of the buildings and
the improvement of the grounds He
bought more land, until the estate now COW
ers 1900 acres, and whenever he could
run away from the cares of the position
which he himself described that Of per
manent private secretary to the queen, he
used to putter about at Osborne, where ne
spent his happiest days.
She is Strictly Secluded.
Osborne is a secluded. comfortable. ram
bling place, from which the public is barred.
The queen never did like to be stared at,
but she comes to London occasionally for
that purpose because she considers it her
duty. She Is often seen at Windsor. and
Ralmoral too but when she goes to Os-
borne she breathes a sigh Of relief. Even
the townsfolk around the palace refrain
from assembling along the route when sne
takes her daily drive, and the tourist couid
get through the eye of needle easier tnaA
bo the Osborne gate Keep
erS.
He wouldn't find much to see. anyway.
for Osborne is not imposing, either OUTSIDE
or in. 1t has some good statuary, out ths
most of the pictures that line the walls are
the handiwork Of the queens own FAMILY.
and some thirty or forty are water colors
by her own hand. Most of them commem-
crate scenes visited with the eVer-lamenteu
Prince Consort and are cherished for that
reason. A ribald public might undertake
to criticise them as works OF art, but II
will never get the chance while the queen
lives. That is one reason why she is so
fond of Osborne; she can have around her
there the things she really enjoys without
being bothered with other peoples stand
ards of criticism.
So you can see that Osborne would be
just the place in which to celebrate a good.
old-fashioned family Christmas, in which
the queen figures more as grandma and
great-grandma to troops of lusty children
than as sovereign of the realm. Politics
and cabinet ministers are excluded rigor-
ously. and only members Of the queens
own family are guests at Osborne during
Christmas week.
Queens Christmas Shopping.
The Christmas shopping at Osborne is
usually the earliest feature of the festival.
The queen does not exactly go shopping;
the shops come to her. The lucky dealers
who by royal warrant are entitled to de-
scribe themselves as 'purveyors to her
majesty, send samples of. their Gu )lcest
wares to the palace and for week after
the middle of December the queen and
Princess Beatrice, and any other prineassas
that happen to be handy, are busy selecting
presents.
These are not bought in Job lots by any
means. for 1t is pet theory Of the queen
that thought contributes as much as money
to the value of present. So she takes
pains tha. each gift shall be suited e.pe-
cially to the recipient. First come the
queens fifty-one children, grandchildren
and great-grandchildren, every individual
one of whom is remembered. Then come
the queens personal servants and pension
ers and a small army Of those dependents,
in whom, for some reason or another, the
queen takes a special interest. AS rule
the presents are rather simple and homely
and not necessarily expensive.
Royal Christina. Trees.
The week before Christmas is usually a
busy time for the prlncesses. to whom. un-
der the presiding genius OF Princess Be
atrice, is confided the task Of decorating
the house with holly and mistletoe brought
down from Windsor. The queen raises her
own Christmas trees at Windsor, and they
are trained and trimmed with particular
care. The biggest of these trees Is set up
in the Osborne banqueting hall and loaded
with presents for the school children of
Whippingham Church, thanks to some old
custom which has managed to get itself
preserved. The queen herself used to dis
tribute the presents, but has surrendered
this task to the princesses. although she
usually comes In to see the fun.
1t is at the dinner on Christmas eve that
the celebrated baron of beef is placed on
the sideboard. 1t must be taken from one
Of the queens own oxen. and the roasting