H.R.H. VICTORIA EUGÉNIE OF
BATTENBERG.

TO-MORROW H.R.H. Princess Victoria Eugénie of Battenberg becomes Queen of Spain, Castile, Leon, and Aragon, Queen of Jerusalem, Queen of the East and West, and of Gibraltar—for such are the titles which descend to her, even if they are, in some cases, nothing more than historical compliments. For months past the young Princess has stirred the romance which is concealed beneath British decorum. The doings of her youthful lover as he flashed hither and thither—by motor, special train, and steam yacht—have preserved the enthusiasm of a nation that dearly loves a monarch and finds a peaceful joy in perusing personalities with its morning egg. The trousseau, the wedding presents, the embarkation, the meeting of the Royal pair—up to the last has the sympathetic interest of Great Britain and Ireland been creditably maintained.

Princess Victoria Eugénie, who makes her last appearance under her maiden title—in these pages, is of the typical Saxon type. She is fair of hair, blue-eyed, and with the bloom on her cheeks which tells of a happy life spent in the open air. Amongst the personal belongings that accompany her to Spain are golf clubs and hockey sticks, from which it may be inferred that the future Queen does not intend to abandon the outdoor pursuits in which she engaged on the slopes of Windsor and the links of Bembridge. She is of a frank, open nature, with that sympathy for the unfortunate and distressed which endows a Queen with the affection of her people.

Roses will greet her as she comes, a happy bride; but the roses of Spain do not differ from those to which we are accustomed in our own land. They have their thorns. In the life of the palace, as in her dealings with her people, difficulties must, of necessity, be encountered; dissensions will arise which only tact and patience may heal. But that the fair young Queen, shielded by the love of a bold and chivalrous husband, and already worshipped by a gallant and romantic nation, will pass upon her way, enjoying happiness in her own life and promoting it in the lives of all around her, is the belief that now inspires her humble servant,

JEHU JUNIOR.