The Washington herald., 1913-06-28
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Queen Mary, who celebrated her birth.
day recently. was born at Kensingtor
Palace at one minute before midnight
on the 18th of May. 1867. May has been
was In May, 1910, that George " became
King and she took her position as queen
consort. According to a horoscope. which
was cast of Queen Mary, the year 1911
was to prove a very notable and event
full one for her, and so 1t did: for 1t was
In that year she was crowned with King
George at Westminster Abbey.
Queen Mary is only the second Queen
Consort of England. who has borne that
name since the conquest, the other Mary
being James lis wife; on the other
hand, two out of the five queens in their
own right have borne this name, Mary
BLOODY Nary. the daughter of Henry
VIII and Catherine of Arragon, and
Mary, the Queen of William III. The
last named. as is well known, was not
a queen consort, but she had equal rights
to the throne with her husband.
From her earliest childhood the pres
ent Queen Mary has been noted for her
goodness of heart. She took part In many
of the works of charity inaugurated by
her mother, the late Duchess Of Teck.
Inc queen possesses poihhis
of herself. This was done in chalks by
a young lady artist who. having been
born without arms. had to draw and
paint with her feet The portrait is one
of the most charming likenesses Of the
Queen as a girl Queen Mary herself is
an artist Of no mean order, for she can
draw and paint well and also Is an ex-
pert photographer.
A good story Is related in regard TO
her pet hobby of photography. When
on a voyage, as Princess of Wales, she
was anxious to snap a picturesque MEM
Der of the crew. who could not be found
when wanted. Some one was dispatched
to find the man. After time he re-
turned to say that he could not obey her
summons at once. but would not be very
long. The princess naturally was sur
prised, and asked why the man could
not come at once. The steward hesf-
tated a few moments. and then replied:
We'll. your royal highness, l am afraid
he could not"
why not?' asked the Princess.
We'll. he is just on the point Of being
seasick."
The Queen has literary tastes also. and
il very fond of reading, especially his
torical works. She is a good linguist.
speaking French and Italian fluently, is
very fond Of the theater. and enjoys
visiting places of historical interest.
Queen Mary does not approve of smok-
ing by women, and none of the ladies
of the encourage smoke in her pres
ence. On one occasion when Princess of
Wales. she showed her dislike for the
cigarette habit in very marked man.
ner. She was dining with a well-known
American hostess, and after dinner the
royal assent was obtained to the ladies
present smoking. During all the time
the smoking proceeded, however, the
Queen remained standing. and necessari-
ly every other lady in the room had 20
remain standing also. Then 1t dawned
upon the hostess what was the cause
Of the Princess attitude. and she passed
word to the ladies present that tEey
should throw their cigarettes away. This
they did quickly, for they also had
guessed why they had been kept stand
ing in this way. No woman has ever
smoked in the Queens presence since.
The Queen has earned for herself a
quaint nickname at court c'Knitting
Mary'), and she is proud of it. She is
seldom seen without her knitting, being
expert in crocheting and needlework.
She is constantly making croche: and
knitted garments for the poor. satin
bag, containing her work. is always
brought to the drawing room after din
ner by an attendant, and hung on the
back OF her chair. Queen Mary is most
particular n regard to her dress, and
taboos anything that is extreme in the
way of fashion. Her dressrrakers have
instructions net to tighten the waist,
not to make her skirts tight, or her col-
lars low cut. II Is said that on the
whole. she does not spend more than
s1.ooo a year on her clothes, but this
statement ! doubt.
It is as a good mother that Queen
Mary has endeared herself above all to
her people She has been a true COM
panion to her children. entering into all
their games and pursuits. Once Princess
Mary, when quite a baby. asked her,
Nanny, what do you do without toys?"
Children are the favorite toys of
their parents" was the characteristic
reply.
To H. X. l., Buffalo: There are but
few who could answer correctly the ques-
ton as to who was the originator OF
Empire Day." though 1t saw its birth
In your neighboring Canada It came
about In this way: On June 6. 1886. the