Detroit Free Press from Detroit, Michigan • 63

Detroit gfrte WiW JSHpW Msvdazine Section" UGZ2SSE5 SUNDAY AUGUST 7 1921 Imperious Victoria Queen and Woman Intimate acts of Her Life Heretofore Closely Guarded Now Given for the irst Time to the Public Her Accidental Heritage of Sovereignty ever again even on the sup B'y Lytton Strachey (Author of Victorian HEORGE III was still living (1817) an aged luna tic at Windsor completely impervious to the im pressions ot ths outer world Of his seven sons the youngest was ot more than middle age and none had legitimate offspring It seemed highly improb able that the Prince Regent who had lately been obliged to abondon his stays and presented a preposterous figure ot debauched obesity could daughters Ot these two the Queen ot Wurtemberg and the Duchess of Gloucester were married and childless The three unmarried princesses Augusta Elizabeth and Sophia were all over forty The fourth son of George III was Edward Duke ot Kent He was now fifty a tall stout vigorous man high ly colored with bushy eyebrows a bald top to his head and what hair he had dyed a glossy black He had spent his early life In the at Gibraltar in Canada In the West Indies and under the influence ot the Duke To marry as a public duty for the sake ot the royal succession would surely deserve some recognt tionfrom a grateful country The Duke reflecting upon all these matters with care ful attention happened about a month after his niece's death to visit Brussels and learned that Mr Creevey was staying in the town Mr Creevey was a close friend of the leading Whigs and an inveterate gossip and it occur red to the Duke that there could be no better channel through which to communicate his views upon the situa position that he divorced his wife and remarried becqme the father ot a family The Duke of York whoso escapades in times past with Mrs Clarke and the army had brought him into trouble now divided his life between London and a large extravagantly order ed and extremely uncom fortable country house where he occupied himself with racing whist and improper stories He was remarkable among the princes for one reason: he was the only one ot them so we are Informed by a highly com petent observer who had the feelings ot a gentle man He had been long married to the Princess Royal of Prussia a lady who rarely went to bed and was perpetually sur rounded by vast numbers ot dogs parrots and monkeys They had no children The Duke of Clarence had lived for many years in complete obscurity with Mrs Jordan the actress in Bushey Park By her he had had a large family ot sons and daughters and had appeared in effect to be married to her when he suddenly separated from her Shortly after wards Mrs Jordan died in distressed circumstances tn Paris Son of the King Suspected of Staying Valet The Duke ot Cumber land was probably the most unpopular man In England Hideously ugly he was bad tempered and vindictive in private a violent reactionary in politics and was subse quently suspected ot mur dering his valet and of having carried on an amor ous intrigue ot an ex tremely scandalous kind He had lately married a Garman Princess but there were as yet no chil dren The Duke ot Sussex had mildly literary tastes and collected books He had married Lady Augusta Queen Victoria in 1863 A xV pt SRI 1 I VM ggu itB 5' 1 IBI V' t' pita Ifl VV Mill feS SO fen Vi 'I a 4S e'k' Xv 4 rimre tion to political circles at home He therefore sent for him on some trivial pretext and a remarkable conversation ensued Victoria's ather Lamented liis Duty to Marry the Duke of Clarence not marry" hesaid next prince in succession is myself and although I trust I shall be at all times ready to obey any call my country may make upon me God only knows the sacrifice it will be to make whenever I shall think it my duty to become a married man "It is now seven and twenty years that Madame St Laurent and I have lived together we are of the same age and have been in all climates and in all difficulties together and you may well imagine Mr Creevey the pang it will occasion me to part with her I put it to your own feelings in the event of any separation between you and Mrs Creevey As for Madame St Lau rent herself I protest I know what is to be come of her if a marriage to be forced upon me her feelings are already so agitated upon the subject brother the Duke of Clarence is the elder brother and has certainly the right to marry if he chooses and I would not Interfere with him on any account If he wishes to be king to be married and have children poor man God help him! let him do so myself I am a man of no ambition and wish only to remain as I am Easter you know falls very early this year the twenty second of March If the Duke of Clarence does not take any step before that time I must find some pretext to reconcile Madame St Lau rent to my going to Eng land tor a short time When once there it will be easy for me to consult with my friends as to the "proper steps to be taken" Two names the Duke Murray by whom he had two children but the marriage under the Royal Marriages Ant was declared void On Lady death he married Lady Cecilia Buggin she changed her name to Underwood but this marriage also was void Of the Duke of Cambridge the youngest of the brothers not very much was known He lived in Hanover wore a blonde wig chattered and fidgeted a great deal and was unmarried Besides his seven sons George HI had five surviving ot military training had become at first a disciplinarian and at last a martinet In 1802 having been sent to Gibraltar to restore order in a mutinous garrison he was recalled for undue severity and his active career had come to an end He was hopelessly in debt He had quarreled with most ot brothers particularly with the Prince Regent After the death ot the Princess Charlotte it was clearly important that the Duke of Kent should marry It was also likely to be highly expedient from the point of view said had been mentioned in this connection those of the Princess ot Badon and the Princess of Saxe Coburg The latter he thought would perhaps he the better of the two but before any other steps were taken he hoped and ex pected to see justice done to Madame St Laurent As to his own settlement the Duke observed that he would expect the Duke of York's marriage to be consider ed the precedent he said a marriage for the succession and £25000 for income was settled in 1 0:1 4 1 1 2 i 1 1 A i i 1 1 ii 1.