The evening times. [volume] (Grand Forks, N.D.) 1906-1914, 1909-07-24

ll,
The princess, however, declared that
she would never change her religion,
but finally vhen she said she had no
objection Sizing her children as
Then the,> M. slightest diff
~ticulty to the TO-. iways said
that if l had hao &ov Son he
should have married 'ce. 1T.
She added that she hers.. o.
testant ancestors.
Later at LaGranja. King Alfonso
formally asked the hand of Princess
Beatrice for his cousin, and when
Beatrice on that occasion raised the
proposed marriage. but Beatrice re-
fused him in most decided fashion
even declining him permission to cor
respond with her. Shortly after this
the prince entered the military school
question of religion his majesty said:
Il give you my word of honor there
will be not the slightest difficulty"
The princess then again proposed
and was accepted and the couple who
had not yet apprised Beatrice's
mother. the duchess of Saxe-Coburg
and Gotha. with difficulty prevented
King Alfonso from officially announc-
ing the engagement.
When he returned to Madrid King
Alfonso asked Premier Maura what
he thought of the marriage and the
premier replied that the marriage of
an fnfante of Spain to a protestant
could not take place on account of the
difficulties 1t would cause the govern
ment. King Alfonso was absolutely
furious.
Princess Beatrice, because of her
friendship for Queen Victoria, said
she would give up the prince and
King Alfonso summoned the prince to
Madrid and asked him what was his
intention to do in the matter. The
prince replied that he had given his
word to make Beatrice his wife and
besides his personal feelings would
not permit him to retire from the pro-
posed union and that he intended to
marry the princess regardless of con-
sequences.
King Alfonso warmly congratulated
the prince on his attitude, saying that
his reply was just what he had ex-
pected. that it was worthy of Bour-
bon and even If the constitution pre-
vented him from giving official con-
sent to the marriage without the ap-
proval of his ministers he as Alfonso
OF Bourbon would do everything in
his power for the couple.
Princess Beatrice then departed
from Madrid and Prince Alfonso, upon
the advice of the king, went to see
Pope Plus and asked for a dispen-
sation for mixed marriage. The
Spanish government. in the mean
time, warned the vatican of the pro-
posed union and the dispensation
neither was granted nor actually re-
fused. After this the couple waited
patiently, considering themselves af-
f1anced, as also did King Alfonso,
who visited Princess Beatrice at
Munich last summer.
When the prince graduated from
the military school at Toledo July
IL, he Immediately volunteered to 20
to the front, as the war in Morocco
had broken out. King Alfonso grant
ed the prince a three days leave of
absence before going to Manila and
urged him secretly to marry Princess
Beatrice, declaring that he would
wire the bishop of Bamberg to grant
dispensation.
Prince Alfonso arrived at Coburg
July Is and the civil marriage took
place that morning. At 3 o'clock in
the afternoon, the priest at Coburg
received telegraphic dispensation
from the bishop of Bamberg and at
$3.50 the Catholic ceremony was per-
formed. 1t was not intended that the
news of the marriage should be made
public, but it was printed in Spain
and the royal decree of the degrade
ticn Of Prince Alfonso followed.
The prince in concluding his story
to his friend said:
"Mauri, the head of the clerical
party in Spain and because he holds
a majority in parliament, forced the
king to kick his own cousin out of the
country and the army and to strip
him of title and honors for the crime
of marrying protestant who is a
niece of King Edward and first cou-
sin of the emperors of Germany and
Russia"
The prince again has wired King
Alfonso asking to be allowed to go
to the front. The infanta Eulalie, the
princes mother, who is here, is al
most prostrated over the ruin of her
sons career as she knew that both
the Spanish and British royal families
were in perfect sympathy with the
marriage.