The News-Herald. [volume] (Hillsboro, Highland Co., Ohio) 1886-1973, 1905-06-15
POSITION OF QUEEN,
UNIQUE PHASE or TIE DuTr1s
OF ALEXANDRA OF ENGLAND.
For Certain Business Reasons Hsl
Royal Highness Assumes to Ds
Controls Her
Own Affairs.

Great interest was aroused recently
by the circumstances that In a grave
national crisis, when the king Was for
the moment inaccessible, the minisl a .
Of state were summoned to the pres.
ence Of Queen Alexandra for consulta.
ton, with, as was generally under.
stood, most satisfactory results, says
Tit-Bits. This was quite new de.
parture for the present reign. OF
course, Queen Victoria played this SOW.
ereign part constantly, but her late
majesty was the head of the state and
It was the proper course for her to
pursue.
Except when considered as part OF
the king. and sovereign, Queen Alex.
andra is not the head Of the state
She enjoys a position Of her own
which Is unique. While It differs from
that of any other woman, married or
single or Of any rank. In some mate.
rial ways 1t is also different from that
of previous queen consorts. One OF
the most curious and interesting pro.
visions in the law and customs of the
state is that the queen Is for private
business purposes not regarded as a
married woman at all. She Is the only
woman in Great Britain who does not
come within the scope of the married
woman's property act.
The principle of the law is that the
liking is entirely different from all 9th.
er married men and that his time Is
too fully taken up with the affairs OF
state for him to have any left to de-
vote to domestic matters, and that
therefore. the whole management OF
the queens private business matters
and that no responsibility whatever in
respect to them rests upon the king.
Therefore. IL such thing could be
imagined as tho queen contracting
debts in her husbands name the king
would not be responsible for them. az
any other husband would be unless he
had given due notice to tradesmen and
all others concerned that he would for
the future decline to settle all such &C
counts. If the king contracted debts
the law, which says that his majesty
can do no wrong. would prevent any.
body from suing him for recovery OF
the amount due. but no such protec.
ton is granted to the queen. who could
be proceeded against in the ordinary
manner. She has her own attorney
general and solicitor general to repre-.
sent her in all legal matters-though
Of course, except for ordinary private
purposes. their services are scarcely
ever needed.
While the constitution Is glad tc
recognize the queen as part Of the
monarchy, 1t cannot lose sight of the
fact that after all her position is lin
tied to that Of queen consort, and thai
therefore she is in large sense one
of his majesty's subjects. and in GER
tain cases. which there is no human
possibility of occurring in these times
she would be treated as a subject
But in other respects she is accorded
privileges by the realm which arc
given to no other person except the
king. Particularly there is no ques
ton Of high treason.
IL is generally UNDERSTOOD tnat the
king is the only person whom 1t Is
high treason to plot against but II
would be high treason also to plot
against Queen Alexandra. The sig
nature Edward Rex" is attached tc
all state documents of such importance
as to demand 1t. But in no circum
stance whatever would the correspond
ing one, Alexandra Regina" be al
lowed to be attached, either in con
junction with that of his majesty OF
without It.
II 1t should happen that the queer
should survive the king. many of thu
| privileges which she at present pos
sesses would be Withdrawn from her
only nominally in some cases. but &C
tually In others while constitutions
law provides that some curious restric
tions shall be placed upon her. 4
would be no longer high treason Il
plot against her. and It is held by at
least one high authority that she coult
not marry again II she wished to DE-
30 without the special license and per
Il