The San Francisco call., 1910-06-24
Of
HAPSBURG TO
RULECARNIVAL
Queen Bea of 0roviIle Fete Has
Real Royal Blood in Her
Veins
Gorgeous Display at Night on
Feather River to Open
Celebration

OSlSUI abAVM
oROvILLE, June 23.-The royal blood
of the house of Hapsburg will rule over
the Oroville water carnival, which will
begin tomorrow at Oroville on the
Feather. The house which gave Marie
Antoinette and Marie Louise to the
throne of France, which is now strong
in the blood Of Franz Joseph. emperor
of Austria, which has given kings, en-
perors and exciting incidents to the
history of Europe ever since the thir-
,teenth century, will also give a queen
to Orovilie.
nival is Hapsburg. She Is the great
granddaughter of the Princess Sophia
Maria Louise Of the house of Hapsburg,
who, in the latter part of the
eighteenth century, eloped from the
brilliant court of Austria and came to
America with man of inferior station
named Fouke. In her private life
Queen Bea is Mrs. Beatrice Prior wife
of Leonard Prior, an electrical engi-
neer in the employ of the Oroville
water, light and power company
Few people In Oroville know that the
popular young matron is of royal an
cestry, and she herself has tried to
keep the old story of the house of
Hapsburg quiet But it became known
today, and she reluctantly admitted the
facts of her lineage.
Family of Adventures
The Hapsburg family ever went in
for thrilling adventures since the time
Rudolph /. who gave the family start
in 1878. The flight of the Princess
Sophia Marie Louise was but one blot
on the royal escutcheon. But the house
maintained its pride and pomp, and
during the seven centuries of its sway
it has ruled over everything from the
holy Roman empire to the Oroville
water carnival. The only other time it
appeared in America was when Maxi.
lived experiment in transp1snteds
royalty.
Queen Bea is a handsime woman,
with the regal beeariag and charm that
come with California sunshine and en-
vironment rather than from remote
connection with the house OF Hapsburg.
Shs c. Insiders the coincidence of her
royal great-grandmother and her own
temporary royalty husaorous.y.
Such a Scandal
Il had not intended saying anything
about that little story" said Mrs. Pryor
this afternoon. But it is true that my
great-grandmother was the Princess
Sophia Marie Louise of the house of
Hapsburg. There probably was a tre-
mendous scandal about her, for she
eloped with a man named Fouke. nv
great grandfather on my fathers side.
and came to this country prior to the
end of the eighteenth century. / pre-
sumo that her adventure irreyocably
estranged her from the house of Haps-
burg. / am sure about the lineage and
my relatives have been joking me about
this carnival oueenship, but I had not
intended to speak about the matter
Queen Bea Is prouder of her Ameri-
can ancestry than she is of her con-
nection with the house of Hapsburg. A
grandfather, General Gibbon. was killed
in the French and Indian wars. She is
a daughter of the confederacy. Her
uncle was Admiral Coghlan, who died
United States navy. Another ances-
tress from whom Queen Bea receives
blue blood was Lady Catherine Fitzger
aid of the Leinster family of Ireland.
and her grandfather was McCa rhlan
of Delhi Binara, Ireland. So the house
of Hapsburg is still in the game of
reigning, and while the Emperor Franz
Josef is seated tomorrow on the
throne of Austria, his cousin will he
ruling over the splendid Feather river
water carnival at oroville, along with
King Albert, who today is Major AL
bert r. Jones.
In Gorgeous Barge
The pageant on the river tomorrow
night will not be without its aliegory.
King Albert will represent the rich
ness and stability of the community.
the solidarity of civilizations, 40 70
speak, and so far as solidarity is con-
cerned the rotund king may be con-
sidered quite representative and tvp-
ical. Queen Bea will be the spirit Of
the mountain stream. She, in bar
grace and charm, will personify the
beauty of the mountain streams. fresh
from the softness and purity Of the
Sierra SHOWS. On a gorgeous royal
barge, surrounded on her dais by her
six maids of honor, the queen will Ioat
out of the dark canyon of the Feather
river into the brilliant light of the ~
Illuminated zone. On her float will burn
colored calcium lights Her throne
will be blue and gold sunburst. she
will come out of the darkness of the
canyon from behind great star. so
feet in diameter.
From behind the moored star the
queens royal barge will noat down
the stream under the radiant arch of
triumph, which is a. wagon bridge by
day. but span Of light by night.
AS the boat floats down the current
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