The semi-weekly messenger. [volume] (Wilmington, N.C.) 1897-1908, 1903-08-28
A ~ROXBURGHE ROMANCE.
Devotion to a Royal Princess the
Cause of Third Dukes

The DUKE of R~oNbourghe. who arriv-
ed or Saturday. bears a name and a
title familiar to book lovers and biblio-
philes the world over. The third duke,
on account of a romantic love affair
with a princess of one of the reigning
houses of Germany, pledged himself to
a NE Oh ceHbacy. and sought consola-
ton for his sorrows in the collection
OF a world famed library. which after
his death was sold at auction in Lon
don, the sale lasting fortv-two DAYS.
and attracting collectors from the
United States and all over the CONT
nent Of Europe. Among the most nora-
bic treasures was the -Naldarfer Boo
caccio, printed in Venice in 147l, which.
after passing through the hands of the
late Duke of Marlborough and Of Lord
Spencer, is now, l believe. in the pos
session of J. Pierpont Morgan. The
romance which led the third duke to
live and die unmarried is little known,
yet is worthy Of being placed on rec
ord. In 1851 the third luke set out on
the grand tour with all the pomp and
circumstance befitting his rank and the
statelineSS of his time. He was hand
some, gallant n t~wenty-one. On his
way back from Moscow he halted for
d LIN az l1IS 11kSiS NOulI VI
which was then ruled by the duchess
dowager. to whom her son. the resign
ing duke, and his brothers respectfully
deferred. She had TWO daughters
Princess Christine, a lovely girl of
twenty, and Princess Charlotte, small
and plain. the ugly duckling' Of the
family. With Christine the younk duke
fell violently in love, and she not only
smiled on his suit. but promised him
her hand. her mother and eldest brother
regarding the match with approval.
And then a strange thing happened
nothing less than a formal demand
on the part of Kin" George III of En-
gland for the hand of the homely Prin
cess Charlotte. The demand was, of
course, at once granted, along with
h stipulation made by the English
government that no member of the
Mecklenburg-StrelitZ family should
marry a British subject. This dashed
to the ground all the hopes of the
Duke of ROXburghe and put an end to
the plans for his union with Princess
Christine. He left Strelitz at once.
and for the forty-seven years which
elapsed until his death spent his life
in virtual retirement, devoting himself
entirely to his books. and never ap-
pearing at court. The peerages accord
ed to him the briefest possible mention.
merely abiding to him as having been
a KNIGHT of the Garter. But for his
sake Princess Christine of Mecklen-
burg-StrelitZ remained unmarried to
her death, rejecting all offers, finding
no wooer who could compare with the
gallant Scotsman who had won her
heart before her homelv sister Char
lotte became Queen of England. 1t is
only fair to King George III to explain
that he had no voice in the selection
of his consort, who was chosen for him
by his mother. the Princess Of Wales.
n her favorite Prince Minister. the
Marquis of Butte. with the object of
preventing his i~nfatuation for the faS-
chatting Lady Sarah LennoX from lead
ing him into inviting her to share his
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Fontenory in New
York Tribune.