The Savannah morning news. (Savannah, Ga.) 1900-current, 1901-02-03
A ROMANCE OF ROYALTY.
THE LOVE STORY OF wlLuELMIN 4
OF HOLLAND.
She viii Marry n Poor Dukc-How
the Little Queen of the neither
lands Dehed the Forms of state
to We'd the Man OF Her Choice.
From the Philadelphia RecC


lands Dehed the Forms of state
to We'd the Man OF Her Choice.
From the Philadelphia Record
This is the love story of a queen.
In the end its moral is the same as the
morals of all the love stories ever written.
Yet the narrative itself is somewhat more
interesting. because it shows that a wo-
man viii be a woman always and despite
any condition of the worlds making;
that the course of true love is often as
turbulent in castles as we know Ia to be
in cottages, and that the royal preroga-
tive, decried in some quarters. may some
times be used to good and humane ends.
Wilhelmina Helena Pauline Maria,
Queen of Holland, loves Henry. Duke of
Meckenburg- Schwerin, and on Feb, z.
next, she will marry him, Notwithstanding
published rumors to the contrary, the
difficulties arising from matters of form
and the reported clash of the poor and
proud Henry with the obdurate members
OF the Dutch Council. And we have every
indication to show that she viii live as
did our beloved Princesses of the fairy
tales with their gallant iords-happily
ever after.
The little Regent has proved herself to
be a woman first and Queen afterward-'
which is good for the Netherlands When
the time came for her to choose consort,
she looked calmly under the bushy brows
of her councillors and said: II love my
country and will make every sacrifice for
its welfare. but in choosing a husband
will follow my heart" At another time
Emperor William said to her, facetiously;
I'm three days | could cover your country
with soldiers three deep" Possibly"
replied the Queen In excellent German,
and in one day l could drown them all!'
a Search for IA Husband.
But to go back to the little Queens
life and her romance. In her youth she
was educated as royal children usually
are. and invariably showed a strong will
and great intelligence. Her instincts are
decidedly democratic. She skates at the
carnivais and drives without guards and
with little formality, and 1t is not strange
that she is beloved and held in pride by
her subjects.
When she was IS, i'm September, 1888 she
assembled the throne, and it is "a little
later that we find her sallying into Ger
many on the oldest of pilgrimages--a
Queen in search of a husband.
Wilhelmina did not have to 20 far. The
German Emperor displayed much interest
in the enterprise and after a short time
gave a fete in her honor at his palace i'm
Potsdam. This must have been "a some
what trying occasion for the youthful
Queen. All the eligible princes of the
blood were there, plumed to their finest
and in a brave array The Emperor per-
sonally presented his second son, who it
is said at once fell in love with Wilhel-
nina, and did his best TO impress her,
las did William HIMSELF with his rank,
Importance and devotion. But away over
across the room stood great blonde
Teuton, in the uniform of the Prussian
Guards. He looked sadly alone, and ner-
vousy tapped the hilt of his sabre to the
time of the swinging music.
The Queen asked who he was, and in
dicated a desire 10 make his acquaint-
| ance. This they told her, was Duke
Henry of Mecklenburg-Schw poor, OF
| unimportant rank, but with a noble pride
| and an ancestry running back to times
| before the centuries were in their teens.
| Henrys pride served him well in this
case He undoubtedly felt desperately out
| of the august proceedings, and carried
| himself through the introduction with
| great dignity and nonchalance.
It is said the Queen was piqued, but al
any rate she showered Henry with fav-
| OTSi allOWeu MIN TO nOiu DeT ran, ana M
once proceeded to snub other suitors OF
incomparably greater wealth and rank
| For some time the Duke failed to re-
| spond to Wilhelminas evident interest
and it was Whispered about that. prior
| to the Queens advent, he had lost mis-
| heart to a German princess.
| However, in the light of recent events II
! is evident that Henry's attitude was the
| result of a proud cautiousness. After
| ALL his duchy was a poor forgotten little
| place far away on the northeast coast
| of Germany, and there were those about
! who far overshadowed him. Wilhelmina
| probably understood this and acted with
| great tact. At a later carnival she com
manded Duke Henry to entertain her
| That night he looked inquiringly into heI
| eyes. She looked back steadily, and the
| die was cast.
At this turn of events the Kaiser, who
| wished to marry Wilhelmina to his son,
showed great rage, but was at once re-
pressed, and when the news Travelled to
| The Hague there was a great outcry
| among the ministers. After the courtship
| had progressed for a year and the trend
of events became unmistakable. the min
| listers went to the Queen. This man,
| they said, has no rank" 81 have" re-