The Guardian from London, Greater London, England • 15

THE MANCHESTER GTTARMAN, SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 21, 1925. fully to its formation. Queen Alex QUEEN ALEXANDRA. TO THOSE WHO KNEW HER. THE LAST OF A WELL-LOVED FIGURE.

PERSONAL CHARACTER. PRINCESS QUEEN OF WIDE SYMPATHIES. imparted a brilliance to the Court wiil-h it had not known for many years. Almost the first act of King Edward after his accession was to install the Queen as Dame of the Garter, in a special session of the Order on February 12, 1001. Preparations were soon begun for the coronation in the summer of 1902.

The Queen in August, 1901, issued a special request that ladies who meant to attend should wear dresses of English materials. As the time drew near rumours about the King's health were spread and denied. On June 16, 1902, it was announced that the King had contracted a slight chill; in his absence the Queen reviewed 31,000 troops at Aldershot. A few days later the King and Queen went to London 'the Crown-Princess; Wilbei Alfred, Duke of Edinburgh, "and the Grand Duchess Marie, the Tsar's only daughter. The project was successful, though it did not improve the political relations between the two coiuitries as statesmen had hoped.

In November, 1874, the Prince and Princess paid a visit to Birmingham, which excited much interest at the time because Mr. Chamberlain, then Mayor, was re- farded as almost a Republican. The Eayor, of course, received his visitors with as much courtesy as any other Mayor would have shown. In October, 1875, the Princess saw her husband leave" for his long Indian tour and met him or! his return in the following May, when Portsmouth gave Him a great reception. Silver Wedding Celebrated.

The succeeding years passed quietly, varied by functions and visits of the usual kind. In June, 1882,. the Prince and Princess visited Bradford -to open new technical schools, and stayed with that remarkable man Sir Titus Salt at Saltaire. In May, 1883 the Princees re-received the foreign fisher-girls who had -to -attend- the opening of Exhibition. In August, 1884, -the- Prince and Princess stayed with Lord Roseb'ery-at 'Dalmeny during a visit to Edinburgh, just before the opening of Gladstone's annual Mid andra' did make, friends, jveia quickly or very often.

Indeed it -may, be said that, besides Princess Mary, Duchess of Teck, to whom she was wont to communicate her inmost thoughts on every subject, and whose advice was more valued than any other, there was only one other friend in whom she reposed full and unrestricted confidence. This was the Hon. Charlotte Knollys, who had been appointed, to the Household- shortly after the royal and whose services ended' only with -The Queen was extremely sensible of any service rendered to her, and extended her favours to the children and grandchildren of those who had been about her person. She was always most gracious to everybody with whom sho came iu contact, and had a peculiar facility -for setting strangers at ease. Though not blessed with the extraordinary memory for men and matters 'which characterised King Edward, she was.

never at. a -loss with regard to the personal connections or particular c-irumiistapces of those, whom she addressed. Yet, whether 'owing to a certain natural--reserve" or" -to the slight deafness- which for the: greater part of her life affected her, the.Queen admitted very few persons to. any, degree of intimacy. This perhaps altogether to be regretted, for although it debarred her from, many agreeable friendships it also her intense kindness of heart, and anxiety to aid anyone in any.

need or stress from being freely imposed upon. Fondness for Music. The artistic tastes of Queen Alexandra, if not wide in scope, were very pronounced. Her love of musio was genuine. Unlike any of the members of the Koya! House into which she married, she liked music for music's sake, and not because it was supposed to be a duty to encourage it, or even because circumstances associated her with musical people.

As regards her own powe.o execution, it is, of course, out of the question to credit with a degree of proficiency attained by first-rate professionals, or even to rank her in the very first flight of amateurs. Nor perhaps was she able to bring very acute criticism to bear on the purely theoretical side of the classical' music to which she really delighted' But though falling, tho lpVPl j-if nOl'fnvmn nnn yet. from constant and sedulous -prac- i. j. uitc, uuui iiimufsi unity- intercourse with cultivated music-lovers, andJrorn her own educated enthusiasm, 'f op-her favourite she 'was inHhis respect far in advance of mosf amateur She drew and 'painted, with considerable skill- and 'admirable taste, though without any special devotion' to this branch' of art.

-Her visits to picture-galleries were always correctly timed, and her purchases were generous and judicious, but her. personal interest in any other arts' than those named was inconsiderable. Curiously enough, in spite of her personal beauty and of almost unique-opportunities of having her' likeness perpetuated by the best portrait-painters of the time; no ehtirefy successful portrait, was ever painted. of her Tlnli'lrn -ffiTio. disliked sitting for "picture, and uaijcumiiy averse ironi givine i always overcame this' reluctance if 1 1 I ujfccu uu uu bo ioi- some pumicreason, or, as was often the case, -in; order tft help a rising artist.

"Every Inch a Queen." The special and very 'striking merits and the personal foibles of Queen Alexandra stood in several respects in marked contrast with' those most characteristic of the House of Hanover. Her unounc tuality and indecision were pro verbial; and occasionally raised a difficult situation. When her Majesty ascended thf ucajjibc, curiously enough, her repug- iiEiuce io pomp anu uispiay and. her iovc ox sue manifested a decided wish ftl fn t. ilWCCU certain prerogatives belonging to the i i umoicigu ana nos tne aue or any subject, even though that subject were the Queen Consort.

For example. Queen Alexandra at one time thought Ueibelf entitled to hold Courts, not as the repre- 1 ii Alia istiieir sional absence, but on her own behalf aua ner own right as-tjueen. It needed a great official to point out Lh.lt lrPRfnf nt.ii-in rif Inoi. than i Sdvereign or to his appointed repre- sciiLauvB wouia-ntn De neia vana lor foreign Courts. Unsuccessful in this Queen Alexandra secured concessions on two others.

She. disliked any difference being made in the stylo of letters or other communications addressed to the King and to -herself lespectively consequently whereas the Sovereign had hitherto been correctly addressed timply as ''The Kintr" nr Thp. Onpon tdIo i.i.vj Queen Consort was atyled "Her majesty the yueen," K.ing tdward let it be known that he wished both himself and the Queen to be addressed uu wou yielded to the Queen's wish'jfchat when cvci Hue Yirwc in rcbiucuue- -even- vx the King" were' absent, the' Standard should fly at Buckingham Palace j.hd a full cavalry guard be mounted. at. WViitp.tiall Hp.r.

M.wjw.vj was exemplified on the 'occasion of the at St. Paul's Cathedral in iSOB.of the Chapel of Jsti -Michuel Order of bearing that iJ i 1 A une. uo pia.ee could DB assigned. v.AM -r -js ui uo jiuiivaijr ma Queen her' intention ot being presehin' the: Her Many As -a Chuichwoman -Queen caused such fasts" and" feasts as Ash Wednesday and Ascension- Dav -tobe observed at Court: mo tioned in the -Court Circular Her religion and wholly unostentatious, "ftinir-oi, oho frequently enriched places- otWorship with and choice specimens of ecclesiastical art. It? is "no: figure 0j sp ee' to say' that poor.

auu-iiomatm-BBpeuiauy tho ereat cities, ieiat. -sxr, powerful fnend. It mayiJossible thejbeart 'rg, jule the huf. Queen' AlMmViri'ii-. uuiunjncc Was Ly 1 --6erosity hilt; infiiinna undertakenjin.

a perfunptjSner" for -she always seemefl tSzV the, nighei -uo Baa, ana to raise toe fcBen. QUEEN On 3 who was personally acquainted with the late Queen Alexandra writes to us: It is, to use the language not of liattery but of sober truth, familiar to all whose recollections extend sufficiently far back to say that the bride of King Edward from the-very first moment that she stepped on the hhore of the land of her adoption, kindled the love of the British nation, and that it continued to burn un-dimmed for the rest of her life. No cloud of mistrust arose between her and them; no incident occurred, no rumour was rife, tending to Queen Alexandra's personal disparagement. The people regarded her at once with the affection which a young and beautiful girl in her exaltedt position was bound to call forth. Since the accession of the House of Hanover the wives of the' Heirs Apparent and Heirs Presumptive to the throne had not been remarkable for physical charms, and there is no question that the beauty of the young Princess gave her a great initial advantage.

But the kindly feelings of the people towards her deepened when they found that the woman whose good looks and attractive manners had first won their favour possessed a more solid title to their admiration in her private virtue and her public patriotism, when they came to know her as the dutiful daughter, the loyal daughter-in-law, the self-denying wife, the devoted mother, and when they had experienced the gentleness of her demeanour, the kindliness of her heart, and the sympathy which she was always ready to extend to the poor, the sad, and the suffering. The English people neither found nor desired to find in "the Princess the popular phrase ran commanding intellectual gifts or a knowledge of public affairs such as is indispensable in a ruler. What they did find, and they rejoiced to find, in one who from the first had frequently to represent the-Sovereign, was a fulfilment of their ideal of womanly simplicity, and tact. It is true that no specially memorable occurrence, no overpowering exercise of individual influence in the region of high politics, no wide-reaching social movement is associated with Queen Alexandra's name. Her claim to distinction lies rather in this, that having come as a youthful stranger to England, the then Princess of Wales walked for nearly forty years along a sucial precipice where a single false step might have done her incalculable harm.

An Early Test of Prudence. Except on one minor occasion, when her benevolence was cruelly imposed upon and she was induced for the moment to lend her countenance to a person whom her royal mother-in-law for excellent reasons could not have received at Court, no bolitary act or word could be traced to her which was not wholly in harmony with the responsibilities of her high, though from a strictly constitutional point of view negative, position. Her prudence and self-control rose almost to the level of heroism the year, after her marriage, for it was impossible that she should not have been profoundly moved by the injury done to her kindred and her native country when the two great German Powers attacked Denmark. The temptation to use her new power on behalf of her father and his brave people must have been great under the circumstances. Lord Palmerston warmly favoured the Danish side, as did nearly all Englishmen.

The position was critical, and the Princess was the idol of the people. A mere unguarded word, a little urging of the powerful Prime Minister, a little turning to account of her popularity with the multitude, might, despite the determined patience of Queen Victoria, have plunged Great Britain in war on Denmark's It is to the undying credit of so young and inexperienced a woman as the Princess 'then was that she should have kept strictly within the bounds of duty. Nor again in after years did she, either as Princess or as Queen, permit her natural resentment of the German treatment of her country to colour -her inter On their return the King and Queen in July opened the new buildings of Leeds University and the new Town Hall at Stockport. In February. 1900, they paid a State visit to Berlin, which as thought at the time to have some political significance.

In the following Jul3r the King and Queen came to Manchester to open the new Royal Infirmary, and they afterwards went to Birmingham to perform the same ceremony for the new University buildings, which were the outcome of Mr. Joseph Chamberlain's energetic appeal on behalf of the institution. IV. THE QUEEN MOTHER. King Edward died on May 6, 1910.

The widowed Queen, who had returned in haste from a yachting cruise in the" Mediterranean when her husband was suddenly taken ill, was the object of deep and universal sympathy. She ihanked the nation in touching letter of May 10,. I confide my dear son into your care, wlio I know' will follow in. his dear father's begging tor show him the loyalty and devotion you showed his' dear father." She spentthe autumn in Denmark herp widowed sisfetJ the Dowager Empress Marie of Russia; and in the spring of 1911 she -took up. her residence at Marlborough.

which was assigned to her. In June, 1912, Queen' Alexandra -was the unwitting inventor "of what became almost too familiar, durinir "the sic TTlaor' SV, mo.ro fcoi I approval to a -band of -ladies who proposed to sell roses, real or artificial, in the streets on "Alexandra Day," June 26, for the benefit of the hospitals. She herself drove through the streets and personally thanked the amateur flower-girls, -who collected' in all the of A year: later Queen Mary accompanied Queen Alexandra in her progress on "Alexandra ALEXANDRA'S course with" or to affect her hospitality towards tne lierman personages who, in- the days -before the Great War, visited the Court. In Matters of Fashion. No apology is needed for emphasising the that in" the case of the -first lady, subject in the land the is a point of It might, have -been (anticipated that the Princess, who during Queen Victoria! 'long semi-retirement- was the acting ruler in the social sphere, would exercise- a predominant influence on the "fashions of feminine dress.

This was-'by no means the-case. Unlike the Empress -Eugenie, she never set a vet. on the other hand, she never slavishly one. Styles of dress might come and go, but the Princess always" wore exactly what she thought suited her, and after the early disuse, curl" never varied her coiffure. In 'this comparatively trifline resbect.

as in more impor tant matters, the Princess's character peeped through for, like many other very ami a Die persons, sne coniDineu with great gentleness of demeanour a fixity of purpose which was proof in many cases very happily proof against all argument. As regards dress, the Princess's good taste was specially noticeable two particulars that under no circumstances was she ever seen at a disadvantage, and that her attire was invariably suited to the occasion. No apparel was so gorgeous as' hers at great and' ceremonious occasions none so simple when simplicity was the right note to strike; while on those countless occasions which demand something midway between' splendour and simplicity her choice of costume was always irreproachable. A Great Blow. As a mother, Queen Alexandra won the admiration and enjoyed the sympathy of every mother in England.

While even those who knew her best could never detect anything in the nature of favouritism towards her children, the death of her eldest son was perhaps the most severe calamity which she could have been called upon to endure. His death occurred just at that period in his mother's life when such a blow was likely -to be most acutely felt when, while the elasticity of youth has gone, advancing age has not yet robbed bereavement of its full force. Although in due time the Princess resumed her ceremonial and social duties, she never quite recovered her former gaiety. In her dress she henceforth discarded bright colours, and never again took part in any dance other than a stately quadrille of honour. Nor did she ever again follow the hounds a sport which had been one of her greatest amusements, and although always anxious to.

please her guests, she discouraged after 1S92 any festivity-in the nature of a ball at Sandringham. Two years and a half afterwards the Princess was present at the birth of her cldftst grandson Edward, now Prince of Wales. Turning to her Lady-in-Waiting, who was by her -side, she whispered the words, My first joy since. It was often said of Queen Alexandra that she was somewhat unimpressionable and that, although Jn some respects highly accomplished, she did not rise to the high level of intelligence reached by her sisters The former suggestion has perhaps an element of truth in it. Queen Alexandra's sympathies were wide and very real; her compassion naa easily aroused and her generosity Has occasionally prone almost to err on the side of excess.

Yet it may be that, as is true of many other persona who enjoy almost complete immunity from ill-health and whose circumstances preclude the existence of petty cares, events calculated to stir to the depths people less fortunately situated would leave her comparatively unaffected. The cause was not want of heart but a certain lack of imagination. To this absence of petty cares was no doubt due uhe astonishing youthfulness, both physical and mental, amounting to a positive evasion of the hand of Time, which marked, the personality of Queen Alexandra. Her Closest Friends. No estimate of character can afford to lose sight of the friendships which contribute so power- Day," and the fixture was established ju titular tavour, ro oe repeated vear by year ever since.

The War Years. In the spring of 1913 Queen Alexandra received numerous addresses from public bodies on the fiftieth anniversary of her arrival as a bride in England. She took her usual autumn holiday in Denmark for-the last. time. before the war made travelling, impossible, and in December, 1913, she visited Lord Derby at Knowsley took the opportunity of seeing the new Liverpool Cathedral.

TheDowager Empress came to stay with her at Marlborough -House'' in the summer of 1914. On August. 3 the day' before Great Britain declared war Queen Alexandra, 'caw Her nff tio Dowager Empress- unthinkingly took ner usuai route by way- of" Germany, but she was-topped at Berlin and-sub-jected to much, needless inconvenience before she was allowed to continue her journey through Sweden." When the war broke out," Queen" Alexandra the labours, of. -the 'King and Queen," as far as her ageper-mitted, in promoting 'voluntary effort -on behalf of the sick and.wonmdml Shp -attended the principal cere monies ana was. present at such events as the funeral services; in "memnnr of Lord Roberts and "Lord" n-d.

xne service at haul's -which marked the entry of the United States into" tne war. She visited the war hospitals -iad gave constant; hehvtp the British Bed Cross Fund, Queen -Alexandra's" Fiejd Force Fund, and' other organisations for the benefit of the fighting ibler personal popularity 'and her "wide ex perience were" of e'reat" value to many women's societies which looked to herana-to yueenMary for.Bupport in their QneeJt'rAlexandra took part -in official celebrations i li the Armistice of of the Peace "KeatyV, and then" gradually re; tired' from the Prince of rWales "and-his brothers -and Bister; Decame oxa enougn to neip-tne King'and Queen. THE DANISH PBINCESS. Queen- Alexandra eldest daughter, of the late King Christian IX. of Denmark.

She. was born the Palace, Copenhagen, on December 1844. At 'that' time' her father was known as Prince Christian of Glupksburg, son of Duke -Frederick of Hols tein-S onderburg-Glucksbiirg. Her mother was the Princess- JLouise, 'daughter of the Landgrave William of and the Princess "Charlotte and. of, the reigning monarch, Christian Villi The i prospect lofy a failure of1 the -direct male line, after" King Frederick Vll.

accession to 1849, brodfght'aljout family compact by which the Princess 'Charlotte renounced" her rights to the throne in fay our of her daughter Louise, who in turn transferred them to her husband. This arrangement. by the' Powers in the Protocol of London, 1852, made Prince Christian the recognised heir to the throne, both of Denmark and of the Schleswig-Holstein duchies. It also aggravated' the 'controversy- as to the succession to these duchies a quarrel which, fomented by Prussian Statecraft, led jiltimately to the war of 1864, in which Denmark lost The Princess Alexandra" Caroline Maria Charlotte Louisa 'Julia was the econd of a family of" six. The eldest was the.

late King Frederick VIII. of Denmark. Her younger brothers and sisters were later known as -King George of Greece, Princess Dagmar the Dowager Empress of rtus'siaThyra Duchess of Cumber-, and. 'Prince Waldemar. They were all carefully educated in the quiet little palace at and at the i country seat of Bernstorff, a few miles away.

Every other year the whole family visited their Hessian connections at the. country house of Rumpenheini, on the Main, near Frankfort. Here the Princess Alexandra" formed a close friendship with the late Duchess of Teck, then Princess Mary of Cambridge. As a child of ten, Princess Alexandra came to London to visit Princess Mary and her mother, the Duchess of Cambridge. She did not yisit England again until she came as bride.

First Meeting with King Edward. In J861, when Queen Victoria and the Prince Consort were looking for a Protestant Princess of the name of Princess Alexandra was put forward from various "quarters. said that Mr. Augustus Paget, then British Minister at -Copenhagen, was the first to -propose, -her as a suitable wife 'for the Prince. seems more probable that the influence of the Princess Mary of Cambridge and her mother, Queen Victoria's aunt, was decisive in, the matter.

At any rate it was. arranged that the Prince and Princess should meet on.a Continental -tour, ostensibly devoted the inspection of art galleries. They first saw each other at Speyer on September 24, 1861. In the winter following the Prince Consort died, and the Prince of Wales went on a tour in Palestine with Dr. Stanley.

Almost a year passed- before the Prince and Princess met again, at the Belgian Court in the summer of 1862. In September of that year Princess Alexandra, was asked to visit Brussels again, to meet Queen" Victoria. This time the Prince, aud Princess were formally' betrothed; the ceremony took place at the palace of-Laeken on September 9, 1862. Iv was publicly announced in England in November, when the Prince lompleted his twenty-first year, and the Princess came to visit the Queen at Osborne. Both here and in Denmark the match was popular.

marriage treaty was promptly and signed on January 15, 1363. The Queen's Speech 1S63 announced the coming marriage and desired Parliament to make provision for the Prince and Princess, which was done with unanimity. The Prince received 40,000 a year in addition to his hereditary revenue from the Duchy of Cornwall, then amounting to 60,000 a year the Princess was to receive 10,000 a year. Reception, in. London.

At the end of February, Princess Alexandra left Denmark 'with her mother and travelled to Antwerp, whence she crossed to Gravesend in the royal yacht Victoria and Albert, escorted by a British Sherj was received with immense popular enthusiasm. She went by road from through London to Windsor, making a royal progress that had probablv been "unequalled since Charles', came into his kingdom-The crowds in the London streets were too -great to" be controlled, and royal party passed' through" them with difficulty. Thackeray" and Dickens have described the general excitement. Tennyson produced one of his best official odes to mark the occasion; Martin Tupper excited much ridicule by a rival piece beginning A hundred thousand welcomes, and a hundred thousand more." The Princess reached Windsor late in the evening, after a- triumphant- day. The marriage celebrated on March 10 in St.

George's Chapel. was the first great State function that had been held, since Consort's death in 1861. The -Queen' in her widow's weeds sat apart in the royal gallery; Lord r-Palmerston was affected tears by the contrast which she preiented with the glittering throng royalties, nobles, and ladies' who filled the chancel, -and have. One uninterested spectator Uttln- '--Prince William. the Emperor William H.j.

who was brought by his mother iorce said tnat he bit his little. quiet In the evening -London was a -primitive kind of. electric light was used, with little success, to irradiate, the 'dome of St. Paul's. The theatres were all opened 1 free.

vL -flnce- and Princess' went'--for their honeymoon to Oshni-fi. rn.n, of congratulation-' on. their way. Wedding gifts were showered upon snem. me ladies ot Manchester save-a diamond, and opal bracelet the City of London jrave" a- diamond necklace.

the hpneymoonj the' "uu jTiixivess aown -at Sandnneham. Tfean Sta.nl khbw 'the. Princess instruction' J1 Prayer-book, from him while a uuvxv. kJXIC was. most' "simple "and' fascinating" onto 1 IL THE PKINCESS OF WALES.

mi. r- j.ne nrst public ceremony of; note in which, the Princess tonic after ball her marriage, was a grand at the r. The City fathers delighted -ner uy arranging a transparency representing the old country house of 'Bernstorff, in which "she had spent ui ner youth, a week later Prince and Princess attended the Encsenia.at Oxford. Lord Derby, the Chancellor, made a graceful and well-turned allusion to the Princess in the Latin speech with which proposed the Prince for the honorary. D.C.L.

de gree. The of 1863 was full political anxiety. The Princess's father ascended the throne on November 15 as Christian and war with Austria and Prussia was clearly inevitable. It broke out next year. Meanwhile, on January 8, 1864, the Princess gave birth to a son, Albert Victor, at Frogmore.

The event was somewhat premature no nurse was in" attendance, and the" Ipcal physician had to be brought in haste. But all went and on March 10, the anniversary, of her wedding day, the Princess was able- to attend the christening of the infant prince at -Buckingham Palace Chapel. In the summer, the Princess accompanied the Prince to Cambridge, where the undergraduates gave three cheers for the baby and to Ascot and to the Harrow Speech Day. She spent the autumn in Denmark from this time onward she was accustomed to visit her native land once or twice a year. Her second son, George, was born on June 3, 186, at Marlborough House.

A month latex there was a rather serious of fire in the house, and the Princess had to be moved to But she made a good recovery, and a fortnight later started with the Prince on a yachting trip to Devon and Cornwall, in the -course of which she descended the famous Botallach Mine. Next year, 1867. she attended the wedding of her intimate-friend Princess Mary of Cambridge to- the Duke of 'Teek and thatiof Princess IHelena to Prince Christian. She went north with Prince to visit York, staying with Archbishop and with Earl De Grey at Studley Royal. First Visit to Manchester.

In 1867 the Princess. gave birth to a daughter, Louise, now Duchess of Fife. After this she had a long and serious illness which prevented her from taking part in the elaborate ceremonies with which the Sultan. Abdul Aziz was entertained. She, went to Denmark in August, and after a long stay abroad regained her health.

In the following year, 1868, the Prince and Princess visited Ireland, which the Princess had never seen hefor. had a round of festivities in Dublin, during which the Prince was inducted as Knight of St. Patrick. Another daughter, Victoria, was born to them on July- 6. After a visit to Glasgow' in October, they left England for a six months' tour in the Levant, visiting -Constantinople and Egypt.

They returned home in and, a month later, received a return visit from the Khedive Ismail, who' was entertained with much ceremony in London and In July the Prince and Princess visited Manchester for the first time, staying with the Earl of Ellesmere at Worsley. On July 20 they came in a state barge o-i the Bridgewater Canal from Worsley to the Botanic Gardens, where they landed to inspect the Royal Agricultural Show hard by. On July 21 they drove in by road, receiving an address from the Mayor of Salford at Peel Park and an address from the Mayor of Manchester at the Town Hal). In the afternoon they left- for Hull. On November, i'5 following, a third daughter, Maud, was born to them.

Their sixth and last child. Prince Alexander, came into the world on April 6, 1871, but lived only a day. The Prince's Illness. The Princess was always popular from the first, -but she won public sympathy and affection an exceptional degree in the winter of 1S71-3, when the Prince ill of typhoid fever at Sandring-hanu Atjfirst his illness was regarded as slight, but. on December 8 he had a relapse and'for a week or raore-hovered between life an'd death.

The" whole nation shared, the wifes anxiety. Crowds besieged Marlborough House to watch-for jthelatest bulletins and prayers -were offered in all the churches and chapels. On December 14 there was a slight turn. for, tie better and on December 19 the Queen was to leave her son's bedside. and.

return to Windsor. The 'Princess iiur sed her husband devotedjy; conduct at this. trying' time gained'h'er lasting admiration; When the Prince; was better he left England-with the Princess for a long- Continental holiday, returning in time to open the new Bethnal Green filled with. Sir." Richard Wallace's famous collections, in June, 1ST-2. Next vear came the Shah's visit.

Iwhich impressed the popular imagina tion moat vivicny.ana; wnat was more imDortant, a-Russian royal, visit. The Princess's-sister Dammar had married the-- Tsarevitch (afterwards Tsar She arid Her husband came to stay with the-Prince and Princess in order to arrange a marriage fte Queen'B son, Prince from Windsor for the coronation. King Edward's Illness. On June 24 the nation was shocked to hear that the King was seriously illy and that the ceremony was indefinitely postponed. While' King Edward was recovering from an operation, the Queen carried out, a kindly scheme of her own for celebrating the coronation by entertaining numerous servant-maids at tea some' hundreds were thus honoured.

King Edward's recovery was rapid, and on August 9 the and Queen were solemnly crowned in Westminster Abbey. In the following October they drove through' London to the Guildhall, and again ten days later to St. Paul's to attend a thanksgiving for the King's recovery. At Christinas the Queen gave a dinner to six hundred widows and eight hundred children of soldiers who had fallen in the South African War. The most notable event of 1903 in the Queen's life was Eer third visit to Ireland with the King.

The King and Queen visited Dublin and Belfast, and then, after touching at Londonderry, sailed in their yacht down the west coast, stopping here and there to motor into the interior. In the following year, 1904, they repeated their visit, this time going south from Dublin to Kilkenny, Waterford, and Lis-more, in April and May. In 1905 the Queen accompanied the King on a yachting tour in the Mediterranean and, after his return came back by sea. On July 17. she presided at the first council meeting of the new British Red Cross Society, which had been organised -as a result of the lessons of South- Africa.

Appeal for the Unemployed. In the following winter there was' much distress in London. An Unemployed Act had been passed in the previous and Mr. Balfour had made special reference to the subject in his Guildhall speech on November 9. Four days later the Queen excited much surprise and interest by publish ing a brief, frank letter to the nation I appeal to all charitably disposed people in the Empire, both men and women, to assist mc in alleviating the sufferings of the poor, starving 'unemployed during this winter." The Queen promised 2,000, and appointed the 'Treasurer of her Household, Earl De Grey, to receive subscriptions.

It was very soon arranged that the Queen's gift should be divided between the Salvation Army and Jhurch Army, and that public subscriptions should go the bodies set-up by the Unemployed Act. The Queen's appeal was so successful that 100,000 was raised in a fortnight. On November 18, 1905, the Queen had the satisfaction of seeing her youngest daughter raised to the throne; the separation'" of Norway from Sweden Prince Charles of Denmark was selected as King. On January 29, 1906, the Queen lost her aged' father, King Christian of Denmark. She again went to the Mediterranean in the spring, and sailed as far east as the PirsEus to visit her brother, the King of Greece, visiting Italy, Spain, and Portugal on her way home in May.

She accompanied the King in June to the opening of the new King Edward VII. Sanatorium for Consumptives, and' in August varied the round of state ceremonies by a trip in a new motor torpedo-boat. Her customary visic to Norway and Der nark was brief this year, and ihe spent a somewhat longer time at Balmoral. In the early days of 1907 the King and Queen visited the Duke of Devonshire as they had done every year since their accession it was the last visit before -the" Duke's health broke down. They made a flying visit to Paris in February, and later in the month opened the new Central Criminal Court in the Old Bailey, purins; the King's absence at Biarritz in March the Queen's sister, the Dowager Empress Marie of Russia, came to stay with her for the first time for many years the visit was repeated a year later.

In April the King and Queen went achting in the Mediterranean the King returned alone early May, but the Queen, who seemed to have developed pission for the sea, stayed several weeks longer. In June she attended the very successful Queen's Fete at the Mansion House in aid of crippled children. In July f.he accompanied the King to North Wales, to Dublin' for the Exhibition, and to CardiS. In August she attended the review of the Home Fleet, and went for a brief cruise in the Dreadnought-Her autumn stay in Norway and Sweden was this year prolonged, and she returned late in October just in time to receive the young King and Queen of Spain, and after them the German Emperor and Empress. The Queen of Portugal, so soon to be widowed, was also a guest; rarely had such a party of royalties been collected at' Windsor.

In the early spring of .1908 it was announced' that the King and Queen "would not take their customary. Mediterranean tour, but would go instead, Scandinavia. First State Visit to Russia. In June, 1908, Queen Alexandra accompanied King Edward on the first visic paid by a British Sovereign to the Russian Court. The visit, which followed immediately upon the reception of the" French President in London, where he -opened the Franco-British Exhibition, emphasised the existencel-'of the Entente" between" Great Britain, France, and Russia.

As the Tsar had dismissed the first and second Dumas and was enforcing a repressive policy, the King's journey was thought by some to be inopportune and likely to create misapprehension- The Labour party moved what amounted to a vote of censure in the House, tof and. attacked the domestic administration of RuEsia in severe "terms. The royal lothian campaign. In April, tney paid a second 'visic to Ireland, which was then 'seething with; political excitementl Passions xan high, and Unionists and were tempted todrag royalty into their dis putes. Happily nothing happened to mar the visit, except perhaps' a little window-breaking in' Dublin and a great deal of violent talk on both sides.

The Princess-received the honorary degree of Doctor of Music from Royal University. In the Jubilee festivities of the Princess naturally took an active part. Next year, on March 10, the Prince and Princess celebrated their silver wedding. Unfortunately the old German Emperor, William had died the day before, but this was not permitted to interfere with the festivities, which the Queen 'herself, for ortce leaving her seclusion at Windsor, made a point or attending. Three months later the Prince and Princess 1 had to abandon their usual visit to Ascot because of the illness of the Emperor Frederick who died on June 15.

In the summer of 1889 the Prince and Princess went to Paris to see the Exhibition, and ascended the Eiffel Tower, the latest sensation of the Death of the Duke of Clarence. The Princess had' now to- think of her children's' future. In thislsame -summer her eldest daughter Louise was betrothed to the Earl of Fife, who was created a "Duke on the occasion. The betrothal raised the question of making provision for the Prince and Princess's family, and this led to heated debates in Parliament. Bradlaugh objected to any further grants to royalty, but was overruled.

A Select Committee then proposed annuities to the five children, amounting to 49.000 a year. This pro posal again excited so. much criticism that Mr. Gladstone suggested, as' a a grant of 36,000 yearly to the Prince for his children, and carried his point. The marriage of the Princess took place on July 27.

Two years the Princess of Wales' was staying'with her brother-in-law, the Tsar, Livadia, in the Crimea, -when she 'was urgently recalled home by the news that her second son; George, had contracted enteric, fever. Travelling six days and nights continuously, she reached London on November 22 to find the patient recovering. Prince George's illness had reminded the public that his elder brother was still unmarried. It occasioned no great surprise when in December the betrothal of Prince Albert Victor, Duke of Clarence, to his second cousin, Princess of Teck, was A few weeks later, on January 14, 1892, the nation was shocked by the news of the Duke's death, only a- month before the day fixed for his wedding. Prince George, now heir-presumptive, was created Duke of York.

In the earlv summer of 1892 the Prince -and Princess and their family attended the golden wedding of the Princess's father, King Christian. In the following year the Princess and Prince Georfte made a Mediterranean tour, in the course of which they visited the aged Pope Leo and conversed with -him an houran event for which there wereiew precedents in English history. On' their return home the betrothal of Prince George to Princess Mary of Teck was announced, and the marriage took place on July 6, 1893. Diamond Jubilee Celebrations. Queen Victoria in her later years as compelled gradually to devolve almost all her duties upon the Prince and Princess.

Thus in June, 1894, they opened the Tower Bridge on behalf of the Queen, and numerous other instances might be cited. The Princess came to be regarded as the natural leader or all movements relating especially to her own sex, such; as nursing, Red Cross work, the, like. On October 31, 1894, she was suddenly summoned by her sister to Livadia, where the Tsar had fallen- ill. Unhappily she never saw him alive again, as he died suddenly next day. She made a long stay in Russia and Denmark with the widowed Tsarina before returning home.

'In 1895, she had the pleasure of. seeing her youngest daughter, Maud, tj'eirothed to her cousin, Prince Charles "of Denmark; the marriage took place next year. In the Diamond Jubilee of Queen Victoria the Princess took" a more prominent part than she hadlayed ten years before. She arqused' much-enthusiasm by a proposal, made on April 30, 1897, for giving' dihners'to -poor people on Jubilee The Princess's initial subscription of 100 brought so many others tnat alone 310,000 people could' be 'entert ained" at dinner, and similar dinners were'given'in "other great centres. When the- South African War broke out -the -Princess promptly took steps -to organise -the -Red Cross I Vint! stf T.a -l, balance of funds' unexpended the igyptiap.

campaign to equip-a har lal shin. La-hex -last year-as. 'Princess she accomnanie'd -the 'Prince to' the London Coun'cil'Sj'Boundaiy oireet awemngs anu to tne opening- of the Wallace- collection. III. HER MAJESTY THE QUEEN.

On Queen-Victoria's death, January 1, 1901, Queen Alexandra continued not less actively than before to inl. herself in philanthropic and religious work, while at the same time she.