STUDY IN CHARACTER: H.R.H. PRINCESS

VICTORIA MARY OF TECK.

IN

II.

N these days of competition and eager struggle for distinction, when the keenest criticism and sternest tests are applied to everyone's fitness and capabilities, it is remarkable to find not one dissentient voice to the choice that has been made of the person who will have to fill one of the most exalted positions in this great Empire. It is no exaggeration to say that the country has by acclamation. welcomed and taken to its heart the bride of its future King. It is a curious freak of fate which has decreed that the hard-working, comparatively unknown sailor Prince and the Princess who has led the simplest and least ostentatious of lives should be called so suddenly to fill one of the greatest if not the greatest position in the world. To wield the sceptre of this Empire, to be a constitutional monarch, and at the same time to have an influence, wisdom, and experience that is possessed by few people now living, is an ideal position, but as such it is filled by the Queen, who during a long reign has raised the dignity and importance of her office to a point never before attained. The Queen's life, fortunately for her people, is one which seems likely to be prolonged beyond the spell of ordinary lives. Therefore the position of the Duke and Duchess of York will not at first be one of so great importance, but it is impossible for their example and influence ever to be other than one which must affect the future of our country in no ordinary way. The position of Royalty in England has, like every other institution, been affected by the reforming influences of the age, and perhaps in no other has that influence, while weakening in one direction, materially strengthened it in other and more important ones. The sporadic outbursts of disloyalty and criticism which from time to time appear are merely ripples on the great sea of the deep attachment and pride with which

we in England regard the person of the Sovereign, and it is because the feeling has become a personal one, and ceased in a great measure to be anything else, that the position of the Queen, which rests on the affection and respect of her people, is such a powerful one. As the feudal and political influence of the Crown has decayed the deeper and stronger sentiment has taken its place, and her pure and blameless life and profound unselfishness have added lustre to her reign and given her a place in the hearts of her people stronger and more enduring than any mere outward appearance of monarchical power.

We in England, who assume the position of a hard-headed, calculating people, are in reality the most sentimental in the world, and the virtues and qualities we sneer at and depreciate are those which impress and influence us most strongly. It would not be accurate to say that the strength and position of royalty in England is merely a sentiment, and yet it is built up on a foundation of all that is emotional in English life. We are proud of it and glory in it because, though there are blots on its 'scutcheon, the record of the lives of our sovereigns, from the Conquest till now, is that of men who possessed some of the qualities most common to and distinctive of our race, and on the whole their vices and weaknesses were in many cases only the darker side of characters which by their charm, capacity, and personal influence were remarkable. It may seem paradoxical to say that even their vices hardly weakened their position, for where they were the weaknesses of ordinary humanity the common sense and strong feeling of justice so characteristic of English opinion forgave shortcomings which they were fully aware were not the monopoly of the Crown alone. Those days are past and gone, for the "fierce light which beats upon a throne" makes the position more delicate and difficult and renders it absolutely essential that the personal character and life of the representative of the Crown should be of a high standard; and in the reign of Queen Victoria that ideal has been fully realised. We forbear to speculate on the future which we hope is yet far distant, but when the Prince of Wales is called upon to take her place we are satisfied that he will be a worthy successor. The personal feeling of affection and liking for the Prince is one of the deepest and strongest in England; his kindness, his amiability and tact, his unfailing willingness to assist by his patronage and personal exertions any worthy. cause, have endeared him to his fellow-countrymen, and they know that when the inexorable hand of fate calls him to the throne we

shall have a King in every way worthy of the great traditions of his ancestors, and one of whom it can be truly said he was the kindest, truest, and most loyal of friends.

There is, however, beside the Queen and Prince of Wales one figure which stands pre-eminently out as the centre of devotion and affection of the country, and who, ever since she took the hearts of England by storm thirty years ago, has never ceased to be the idol of the country of her adoption. The position of the Princess of Wales and the strength she has given to the loyalty of the country is the strongest proof of the sentimental foundations on which the structure of monarchical government rests in England. Since the day when she first drove through London to this hour the Princess of Wales has occupied a position unique in its way. Not a very clever woman, and suffering from a physical weakness, though slight, very irritating and wearisome, she has by her grace, her sweetness, and her great beauty endeared herself to the people of England in an indescribable way, and given the strongest proof of how great an influence and power a good woman can exercise over the destinies of her country. Always ready to give sympathy and help, apparently never tired or weary after years of unending ceremonial and incessant calls on her time and strength, a devoted wife and mother, she has embodied all the graces and virtues in which England loves to see her women abound. Last year, when the greatest sorrow that can be borne by a woman, the death of her first-born, fell upon her, the sympathy of the country went out in full to the mother who was drinking that bitter cup, and the knowledge which then became public property, of the deep affection which subsisted between mother and son, only increased the sympathy for the sorrowing woman. Her seclusion was willingly accepted as the natural tribute to her boy's death, but the ringing cheers which greeted her reappearance at Ascot must have told her more eloquently than words how gladly she was welcomed again in her old place, and her return to the world has placed the crowning stone or the great event which amid the clanging of marriage bells and the acclamations of a loyal and united people we have for months been longing and waiting anxiously to see accomplished.

Princess May, who has a great and brilliant future before her, has at the same time a serious and important career. She has had the advantage of great and noble examples, and she has the knowledge that besides being the choice of the Duke of York, she is the choice of the

English people. When affection plays its natural and unchecked part, and when dynastic motives are not of any consideration, a Royal marriage can be one of as pure affection as that of a peasant, though the field of selection is necessarily more limited. Had the Duke of York gone further afield for a wife we should have welcomed her for his sake, but the universal satisfaction would have been more constrained and less spontaneous. In Princess May the country has got what it most desires-viz., an English Princess-one born, bred, brought up, in our country.

If we come to analyse the situation and look at the facts she is no more an English Princess than many others, but in some inexplicable way her mother and the Duke of Cambridge are never regarded in any other light than as an English man and woman. The German element which is so strongly impregnated in other branches of the Royal Family is not associated with her, and we have grown accustomed to hear Princess May called "the English Princess." Perhaps the absence of any foreign accent, the perfect pronunciation of the letter "R,” which is not shared by other members of the Royal Family, has lent colour to the idea, but be the causes what they may, the fact remains that in the future Duchess of York the country believes it is to have an English bride, and it is the first instance since the days of James II. that an Heir to the Throne has chosen his bride in his own country. These among other causes have combined to make the marriage a popular one, while the long-continued affection of the Queen and the Prince and Princess of Wales for Princess May's parents is a proof that the strong family ties which bind all English families together exist also in theirs, and that the union is going to add another happy household to the family of which the Queen is the head, each of which is a bright example of English home-life, in its best aspect.

Of Princess May, we may say at once, we know a great deal and yet very little. True, she has been with us all her life and has grown up in our midst, but circumstances have prevented her taking a very prominent place till three years ago, when the idea first took shape that she might be our future Queen. The very ignorance which we profess is perhaps her greatest recommendation, for in her home life, in its simple surroundings, she has had the best training that can be given to a woman called to the career before her. Never rich enough to be extravagant, obliged to subordinate her wishes to those with whom she lived, she is unselfish and thoughtful in

a marked degree. As an only daughter and sister she possesses in an unstinted degree the love and devotion of her parents and brothers, whose affection for her is truly unbounded, for the admiration of brothers for a pretty and charming sister is nowhere seen to a greater extent than at White Lodge. In all family discussions and differences (and where do they not arise?) she has always been the peacemaker, and her calm sweet temper has carried her through the storms. that assail every woman in her life, and her evident self-control and power of reserve must give her influence. Of her personal appearance one need say nothing. She is an Englishwoman of the truest type, with all the sweet freshness of an English girl, and if her beauty were less, the calmness and dignity of her manner would always give her great distinction. But in a country where beauty is appreciated and where it adds much to the influence and power of women, Princess May's charms will not be thrown away, but will give her a position of her own, second only to that of her still youthful mother-in-law.

In writing of the private life of a woman, however much she may be considered public property, one must touch but lightly and carefully.. Not much can be said without indiscretion, but of the gifts which are the best tests of a person's character one may truly say that Princess May has a lion's share. Sympathetic and kind-hearted, full of tender pity for suffering, energetic and active, industrious, and ever anxious to help in any good cause in which her assistance is sought, she will in her new position have ample opportunities of utilising all the good qualities she possesses to an unlimited degree. As a companion she is pleasant, with plenty to say and a great sense of fun. She has read a great deal, and is a good linguist and musician. Her books are her great delight and enjoyment, and her little boudoir gives good evidence of how sound and varied have been her literary pursuits. In common with all the Royal Family she has a wonderful memory for faces, and her knowledge and recollection of things is remarkable, and when she actsas cicerone (as she often does) to visitors at White Lodge nothing is more amusing and interesting than her description of the pictures and objects of interest with which the house abounds. To see her in her own home, which she loves so fondly, surrounded by her own people, with her books, her work, her flowers, and the countless interests of a happy English girl, is to see the Princess May at her best, and in realising that picture we have the best guarantee that the country can ask for the goodness and virtues of its future Queen. The affection of her