Every evening, Wilmington daily commercial., 1920-03-08
PRINCESS MARY GOING
TO VISIT ROYAL KIN
King Georges Only. Daughter. 23.
Twice Reported Engaged. as
Popular as Prince Of Wales.

minstrel with either to sing the presses OF
the princess A reporter with typewriter
makes pretty poor substitute. But, de-
spite the limitations Of the twentieth CEN
tury, would sing of the Princess Mary,
only daughter of their majestics the king
and Queen of England, an outdoor prin-
cess, who rides and rows and renders val
liable assistance TO her parents and her
brothers, the princes, in making the royal
family one of the most popular institu-
tions in this democratic country.
Princess Victoria Alexandra Alice Mary
will be 23 wears OF age on April 25 next.
She was born in the year of the memoir
able Diamond Jubilee Of her great-grand-
mother, Queen Victoria, then ruling over
the British Empire. During her brief bie
she has been great-granddaughtcr, grand
daughter and daughter of the relgning
queens and monarohs of England, yet to-
day she is hailed by all her countrymen as
the perfect type OF all-round English glri,
fresh, unspoiled, with that Inherent love
for the great outdoors which Is the most
attractive characteristic Of Britains 'dAugh-
tiers. .,,
princess May" they used to call her
in those dsys when she was bonny little
blue-eyed tot al York Cottage, SAndring-
ham. her birthplace. Her father, the
present King George, was then only the
eldest son Of the then Prince of Wales,
lstcr TO become King Edward VII, so the
mantle of royalty did not weigh too heavi-
ly upon her tiny shoulders. Nevertheless,
she was in direct line for the throne, so the
present Queen saw to it that her cduca-
tion was all that princess's should pe.
Mile. Dplssau was appointed governess tor
the little princess, and though she never
went to school, she was taught more sub
<hnvy in
period of her tutelage than the average
American school girl learns OF in ten years
of study.
One Of the best linguists among the
Younger ROYALTIES, Princess Mary learned
early TO speak Frcn n, German and
Italian, the first two languages with q
fuency unexcelled by her grandmother
Besides these she dabbled In Spanish,
Norse and Danish.
But her schooling was of the all-round
variety; geography, music, art, science,
peedlework, sports, swimming, dancing
there seems to be no limit TO this royal
young Iady's accomplishments.
Behold her today, in her twenty-third
wear, fair-haired, with deep blue eyes and
the high pink complexion for which the
most beautiful of English girls are famous;
of medium height, with well-balanoed
fcllre WHICH Is blDuSi Rli llSiiif iccoiiiS ebu
not quite sthletioally rounded.
Princess May is an ardent athlete. She
plsvs cricket. bowling with the best Of
them and welding dangerous bat when
her side is 'in" she drives and rides, plays
q good game Of tennis and bad game OF
golf: she is a really expert swimmer and |
can paddle her owr canoe. Which leads |
lis to the inevitable anecdote.
Princess Mary was hosting on the |
Thames. So were some young and Viva |
cious bows from Eton College. The two |
skiffs collided, whereupon one OF the !
youngsters arose and in loud voice |
which shocked the princess chaperone, |
who WAS some distance away, demanded: |
s'Sayl Why didn't your mother teach |
YOU how TO row before she let you out?'
"Why didn't yours teach you good |
manners?" the princess came back with !
out an instants hesitation, skilliuiiy DIS /
entangiing her boat and leaving very |
awed young man in complete silence.
Twice already has Engiands princess
been enormously reported engaged 10 be !
married. The first time was in 1915, when /
she was but IS when rumor had it that !
she was to marry Prince Eric Of Denmark. /
a youth OF about her own age, who WAS
then expected to become king OF Po- 1
land" The rumor proved unfounded; the 1
war further changed the map of Europe, /
snd the question OF Polish king was drop !
ped.
In May, 1919, London daily announc- |
ed that II was able to state that Princess /
Mary was engaged TO marry the Earl OF |
Dalkeith, son of the seventh Duke OF !
Buocleuch, 25 years Of age, lieutenant IN |
the Grenadier Guards. This was hailed as |
a sign OF the new democracy, when royal |
princess should marry outside ROYALTY. |
The report was at once denied from Buck |
inghann Palace, and the incident closed |
with retraction by the paper.
The number OF young unmarried men |
among European royalty is rapidly |
dwindling; none OF the royal princes OF
other houses has been mentioned lately as |
eligible for the hand Of Princess Mary. The |
princess herself is active in various sorts of |
work, and shows no disposition 10 take the |
occasional rumors of her impending mar |
yiage seriously.
Princess Mary is shortly to leave Eng
land on a tour of the European capitals.
She will visit p Paris, Brussels, Copenhagen,
Christiania, and possibly
Rome snd Madrid. Since her brother, the
Prince of Wales, has become overworked,
with trips everywhere, investitures, open
ing bazaars, laying cornerstones and other
manual labor designed for royalty,
Princess Mary has come to his relief She
attends many functions devoted to Eng
lish women; she Is herself commandant of
the Girl Guides of England and frequently
takes part In their meetings.
During the war England's princess did
valiant service as a Y. A. ID. She studied
and became fully qualified as 3 nurse She
spent three days Of each Of her busy weeks
to the wounded at Devonshi-e
House. She was also honorary colonel OF a
crack English regiment, and handed out
decorations TO heroes with all the gracious
ness of her parents and brother.
Needlework is one of Princess Mary.
fortes. Whena little girl she learned TO sew
expertly. When war came and with it the
need of all sorts OF clothing for soldiers and
for the poor she personally made many
garments, which were distributed 1t was
necessary 10 conceal from the recipients
the origin OF these gifts, otherwise. such is
the love the English poor have for their
princess, they would have framed them for
the front parlor, but never worn them.
Queen Mary did not believe In her /,
daughter being educated entirely alone;
i was impractieable TO send her TO public
school, so dozen or more young ladies of ,.
The court were invited TO attend lessons
with her. They also had classes in sewing.
md on one occas ion turned out more than
f4O worth for charity bazaar, all with
..ieir OVID hands.
Dancing had always been bore Of corr
>ntion With the royal famiii 5 Of England;