The Savannah morning news. (Savannah, Ga.) 1900-current, 1901-12-08
wILuELMINA,s HUSBAND.

The illusion that Wilhelminas was
genuine love match has been shattered.
1t is now well known that her husband,
Prince Henry, has not only been very
rude to her, but has pinked with his
sword two gentlemen of the court who
dared to question his conduct. And, as
one consequence, Henry has been Sc
verely criticised and roundly denounc-
ed. The common opinion has been that
he ought to consider himself very
lucky fellow, to be the husband of so
sweet and pretty a little wife and
queen, and govern himself with most
exact propriety and appreciation. 1t
seems, however. that Henry does not
look at matters quite in that light.
The unpleasant dinner incident at
Het Loo has brought out the fact that
the marriage of Queen Wilhelmina was
very largely a political affair, as most
royal marriages are apt to be. The
Emperor Of Germany is credited with
having been the matchmaker. He de-
sired to increase the German influences
in Holland. For more than thirty years
there has been a very strong suspicion
in Holland that Germany has an eye
upon that country with a view to an
nexation. When Wilhelmina chose a
German prince as her consort, in ac-
cordance with the wish of the German
Emperor, the Dutch court and people
Immediately conceived a strong antip-
athy to that prince. They imagined
they could see in the occurrence the
strategy Of the Germans leading on to
the final obliteration of the Dutch ma
tionality. 1t is strongly suspected that
even Queen Wilhelmina and her moth
er, the Dowager, shared to some ex-
tent in this prejudice against the young
German Prince. Nevertheless, wilhel-
nina dutifully married him, accepting
the least Objectionable on the list of
eligible young men who might become
her husband. And Henry, on his part,
could not decline when the Queen of
Holland had proposed to him.
Henry was not an unknown quantity
when he became Prince Consort. 1t was
an open secret that he was a ot-head-
ed young fellow. with abundant debts
and duelling record. And at the very
beginning the thrifty young Queen re-
fused to pay his debts. Being true
Dutch, she had knowledge of the value
Of money and did not propose to give
up any that she didn't have to. Then
Henry was thrust into a decidedly
frigid atmosphere. On every hand he
was met with suspicion and distrust,
and no doubt there were abundant an
noying details about his daily life.
None Of these things, nor all of them,
afford an excuse for the young man to
treat his wife rudely; still they should
not be lost sight of II Justice is to be
done all around. 1t is safe to say that
Prince Henry did not act in a repre-
hensible manner from pure cussed-
ness" as Mark Twain calls It. There
is a considerable chance that he was
"nagged;" and "nagging" counts for
about as much in royal household as
any other.
What the outcome of II all will be
is yet TO be seen. It may be that
the clouds viii roll by, and that they
will live happily ever afterwards" as
pretty young queens and handsome
princes do in the story books. It may
or not be true that the time OF German
domination of the Netherlands has
been advanced by the marriage of Hen
~ 70 Wilhelmina The fact remains.
nevertheless, that In pretty nearly
every German breast there abides the
conviction that at no very distant day
the German standard win float not