The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1906-05-27
SIDELIGHTS ON MARRIAGE
OF THE KING OF SPAIN
BY ETHEL ARMIES.

her little gracious bows to the waiting
/ officials, among whom, for some reason,
a Spanish officer appeared suddenly l
think he had come over on the Alberta,
but in any case he had very lately been
presented to Queen Victoria. and belied
the traditions of his race in being very
considerably Hurried thereby Cooling
down a little, he hooded toward a child
who was jumping into the train. and said
that he had been watching her. 1t is
an English child just such as l read
about in books. She has gold hair blue
eyes, rose and ivory cheeks; she runs and
dances, but does not walk; she has been
laughing continually al that boy with her
now. who has been singing comic songs
to her under his breath. very pretty,
very charming little English child out of
a story book. Who is i'll?
=" Princess Ena of Battenburg' was
the low-voieed answer.
Princess Victoria Eugenia Julia Ena,
of Battenburg. since she was born in the
October-the luck opal month'-of 1887.
has had the same remark made about
her by men and women OF a good many
nationalites. At Nice. during Queen Vic
toras last few visits there, Princess
Henry of Battenburg took separate
villa for her children since Princess Ena.
and one of her brothers were romps of
the most riotous descriptions; and here
their free out-of- door life was a matter
of amazement and amusement to some of
the French visitors and residents. I
have just been introduced to your queens
little grandchildren said a French lady
at Cimiez to the writer in the spring of
1896 4 talked to them as long as could
with all possible court etiquette and
sfa.r,a H.,
whether they were the two children who
robbed my orange trees last week.
Princess Ena has had two very devoted
friends all her life: one her elder brother.
Prince Alexander. the singer of comic
songs who was with her when Spanish
admiration was first offered to her, and
was her companion at lessons for ten
years, and Is with her now at Biarritz;
the other, her godmother, the Empress
Engenia. The brother and sister We're
greatly attached, too, to their grand
mother. albeit kent little in awe by
her strict, old-fashioned and most whole
some nursery regime and Queen Victoria
loved them both. The two children We're
among the last relatives on whom the
dying Queens eyes roster. and one of
her majesty's last acts was to order a
piece of furniture for Prince Alexander's
room at school. But though more than
half a century separates them. the En-
press Eugenia and Princess Ena have
been friends confdants sympathzers
throughout the younger ones life; the
young princess has stores of knick-
knacks, valuable jewels, books and gifts
of all kinds from her friend and will
probably. 1t is believed, inherit a large
part of her fortune.
1.-The young princess conversion to Ro-
man Catholicism was more than half
effected years ago, because this kindly
godmother was longing for It. The hours
spent lately by Princess Ena at the Car
melite church, DIN Church street. Ken
sington have been devoted to very little
more than formal study of Roman creeds
and practices. all the real faith of the
Roman Catholic church came to her long
ago, because it was the faith of the ex-
empress of the French.
princess Ena, who, by the way, was
born at Bamoral, was the first royal
child born in Scotland for 800 years, was
years old when her father died. and
since the death of Queen Victoria she
has shared her mothers life entirely.
Princess Henry very soon discovered,
somewhat to her amusement. that the
public at various functions in the Isle of
Wight had almost as warm a welcome
for 1.-THE children as for herself; Prin-
cess Ena was invited to be president of
the Isle of Wight Juvenile Needleworl1
Guild; and If Princess Henry had allowed
it, her daughter might have opened as
many bazars and presided at as many
meetings as herself. The queen of the
Isle of Wight. as PRINCESS Henry is oc-
casionally called, knew better, however,
than to allow anything of the sort, and
the young princess led a very quiet life,
with plenty of music and a little yachting
and a few chdren's parties (of which no
announcement might ever appear in the
papers, till she came out last year. Her
musical studies have been as successful
as those of her mother, for whose talent
Nine. Blanche Marchesi has much ad-
miration; and she is fairly good lin
gulst, talking three languages besides
English.
Life changed euriously little for the
young princess when she came out last
season. Princess Henry politely, but reso-
lutely, declined to have her parties talked
about by the public, and very little was
known to the outside world, even about
the large ball at Kensington Palace at
which Princess Ena made her debut, ex-
cept that the King was there. Princess
Beatrice of Saxe-Coburg kept her cousin
company throughout the season at Ken
sington Palace, and the two young peo-
Pile one dark, the other fair, both enjoy
ing themselves immensely wherever they
went, were always popular gusts Ad-
mration of very much the same kind as
in her youth, admiration for healthy,
active. happy English child. followed
Princess Ena at all the parties given to
her: and she laughed with everybody at
everything declined altogether to be for
NAL. young man came up to her dur
ing her first ball at Kensington Palace