The Washington times., 1922-08-13
ROME, August /,

TTHE world knows that the King and
Queen of the Belgians recently paid
formal visit to the King and Queen
Of Italy, and that one object of their visit
was a marriage between their young son,
the Duke of Brabant, and the Princess
Yolanda, oldest daughter of the Italian
rulers.
1t was generally known that the mar
riage was greatly favored by both the
Italian and Belgian sovereigns. But no
engagement resulted from the visit. The
Belgian King and Queen went home with
their young son and the expected an
nouncement was not made. Now it is
announced that the Princess Yolanda will
go on tour of the world, including the
United States.
What could have happened? Every
body in Italy is anxious to know why the
young princess is going away, for she is
beloved by the whole country.
The truth is that Princess Yolanda is
deeply in love with young Prince Piero
historic families and a hero of the late
war. He returns her love, but the mar
riage is considered an imprudent one for
political reasons by the King and Queen
of Italy.
On the other hand, a match between
Belgium was considered very desirable
one from a political and dynastic stand
point. The King Of Italy insisted that
his daughter should receive the crown
prince, and she did. But she declared
that she could never be his wife, and that
she would die of broken heart if she
could not marry Prince Colonna.
When she goes abroad she is really
going into exile, in the hope that travel
will help to heal her broken heart.
Many who hear of this affair will re-
call the romance of Vittoria Colonna one
of the most famous members of young
Prince Piero Colonna's family. She was
left widow in early life and inspired a
great passion in Michelangelo. She is
said to have been the only woman he ever
loved. He executed many of his greatest
works of sculpture under her inspiration
and wrote many poems to her. She is
believed to have returned his affection, but
owing to the difference in their rank a
marriage was impossible. He never mar
ried and she never remarked.
The Princess Yolanda, who is now the
heroine Of a similar love tragedy, is a
beautiful and high-spirited girl of twenty
one, of considerable strength Of character
and determination. She is her fathers
favorite child and has been the most popu-
lar figure in the Villa Savoya, just out
side the Salaria Gate at Rome, where the
royal family make their home, rather than
at the Quirinal Palace, which is reserved
for state purposes.
During the war she did splendid work
in cooperation with her mother, the
queen, in nursing the wounded They
converted the Qurinal into a hospital for
especially severe cases. The sights she
saw there, as we'll as the suffering and
the misery with which she was brought
into immediate contact, helped to give a
serious turn and certain maturity to her
character
She also enjoys the fun of living, for
she is devoted to racing and hunting and
has splendid seat in the saddle. At
Rome she is a regular racegoer.
The plan of a marriage between the
princess and the Duke Of Brabant, Crown
Prince Of Belgium, has been under discus
sion for about two years. The duke is
an attractive lad, with fine war record,
in spite of his youth. During the war
he pursued his education at the great
English school, Eton, but spent all his
holidays as a private in the trenches on
the Belgian front, often under heavy fire.