Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1905-11-18
PRINCESS MAUD.
She Would Like to Be Plain Girl for
the Fun of the Thing.

F:om the London Mail
81 sometimes get tired Of being royal,
especially when 1 am looked at and won
dered' at as though 1 were one of Nine.
Tussaud's waxworks. 1 often think how
glorious it must be to be able to jump on
the top of a bus and have day out 1
have never tried to do so yet, but 1 think
1 shall some day"
In these few words Princess Maud
sketched her own character more clearly
than any biographer could have done in
three volumes.
Deservedly known as the prettiest of the
kings daughters, Princess Maud long be-
fore her marriage to Prince Charles of
Denmark had gained reputation for orig
inality. In her childhood she was always
the life and soul of the English family
party.
Apparently the only shade on her early
life was the totally inadequate supply of
dolls allowed to her and her sisters So
austere was their training that very few
toys were allowed and no luxuries what
ever. The Marquis of Lorne, however,
managed to smuggle some fascinating dolls
into the hands of the princess, and as the
youngest of the family she enjoyed a few
privileges which were denied to her sisters.
The simple training of early days may
have been responsible for her avowed dis
like to all ceremony. So entirely unaffected
is her manner that on more than one &C.
'casion people have been entirely deceived
by 1t. For instance, a stolid official once
declined to allow her to say goodbye" to
the kaiser when he was leaving Wolferton
station, being unable to believe that the
young lady in the simple tailormade dress,
and whom he had seen driving to the sta
ton in dog cart, could be a princess.
On another occasion, when she was
yelling In one of the royal parks, she was
stopped by a conscientious policeman who
felt considerable nervousness when he dis
T,,tn tlNxa nf he hioNro limo
trespasser. It is also related, with what
truth it is difficult TO say, that at one time,
when under the assumed name of Miss
Mills she was staying with an old friend,
a youthful clergyman, imagining her to
be a young lady of his own station, fell
seriously in love and one day startled her
by proposal.
Open-air sport of all kinds attracted her
from her earliest days. When quite young
she was a plucky rider, and used TO set her
brothers, Prince George and the late Duke
of Clarence, tasks of Craftsmanship in the
follow your leader fashion that they
often found difficult to initiate. Like most
of the royal family, she is devoted to ami
mails, especially horses and dogs.
She Is q tireless cyclist, a good billiard
player, can speak German, Swedish, Nor
wegian, French and Russian, and, among
her other accomplishments, can play far
better game of chess than most amateurs
she was 1t may be remembered, patron
Of the ladies' international chess congress
held a few years ago.
Though the open-air life has always been
the one of her choice, she is a hard reader,
and is also to be included in the list of
royal authoresses. In Denmark much OF
her time was given to writing, and under
the nom de plume of Graham Irving" she
was the author of one play.
1t has often been confidently stated that
on two occasions the prospective crown of
an heir-apparcnt was laid at her feet in
vain, and more than one minor potentate
would have been glad 20 have remained In
England as the accepted wooer of the
kings youngest daughter.
Years ago it was whispered that she
hoped to make such a marriage as would
enable her to live in England, but these
rumors ceased when her engagement to
Prince Charles of Denmark was announced
publcly.