The Princess in a merry mood--How Prince Ferdinand deluged the
tablecloth--A curtain lecture for Princess Marie?--The royal
children--Elizabeth a beauty--Mignonne (Marie) “a beautiful little
snow-maiden,” yet piquant and merry--Ileana of the china-blue
eyes has a great idea of her own importance--Prince Carol, a fine
fellow, learns politeness--He and Elizabeth eat raw carrots in
the Minister’s garden--A war game with Pat Kennedy, when neither
would be a Boer--Pretty Prince Nicolas, “a little terror”--Nicolas
as a sailor--His watch on deck and his sea-strut--An adventure at
Piræus--A sailor valet--Nicolas’s first communion and his struggle
with the bread--The royal governesses--A little story about the
Queen of Holland.
Princess Marie must often have been amused at the German habits of the
people by whom she was surrounded. Although King Carol was so firm in
not allowing her to be accompanied by even one English lady-in-waiting,
that did not prevent him from surrounding himself with Germans. To
a large extent the etiquette of the Court was German, and unrefined
German practices were frequently observable at table.
As many people are aware, they had a horrid habit in the highest
circles in the Fatherland of rinsing the mouth at table after eating,
and then ejecting the water into a finger-glass. On the occasion of a
big dinner-party, a few weeks after the marriage, Princess Marie was in
a gay mood. Seeing her husband perform the customary mouth ablution,
and prompted by a spirit of mischief, she raised her finger and poked
it into his distended cheek. Tableau! The water spurted across the
table, and there was something like consternation for a moment or two.
For my own part, I was rejoiced when the scene was described to me by a
friend who was present. It showed that the poor little lonely Princess
had not lost her spirit. Prince Ferdinand had sense enough not to
appear angry, whatever he may have felt, but the King was inexpressibly
shocked.
The present King and Queen have now five children, two sons and three
daughters, all of them handsome, as might be expected with such
handsome parents.
Princess Elizabeth, the eldest girl, now the wife of the Crown Prince
of Greece, is a great beauty, with perfect features and lovely fair
hair.
Princess Marie (the second girl), or Mignonne, as she is affectionately
called, was a beautiful little snow-maiden. She is quite healthy, I
believe, but one cannot help being struck with the perfect whiteness of
her skin; her hand lies in yours like a snowflake. Her nose is of the
_retroussé_ type, and, together with a merry pair of grey eyes, gives a
piquant expression to her face.
The youngest girl, Ileana, is also fair, with china-blue eyes. Even
as a very young child she had a great idea of her own importance, and
if the person to whom she was presented did not please her she could
not be induced to be pleasant. At the garden parties at Sinaia it was
most amusing to watch her parading about among the guests with quite a
consequential air, and she was not much more than a baby then.
Prince Carol, the eldest son, recently married to Princess Hélène of
Greece, is a fine fellow, though I dare say he is much changed since
the days when it was his greatest delight to get with his sister
Elizabeth into the garden of M. Costinescu, Minister of Finance,
and eat raw carrots! Well, I dare say they did them no harm, as no
complaint has ever been made of their digestions.
At that time Prince Carol’s playmate was little Pat Kennedy, the
youngest son of Sir John Kennedy, the English Minister. Usually they
agreed very well together, but one day (it was during the Boer War)
King Carol happened to pass through the apartment where the children
were playing. To his surprise a heated discussion was taking place. On
inquiring the cause of the dispute, he found that they wished to play
soldiers, but neither of them would consent to be a Boer!
The King soon settled the point; he ruled that as Pat was English,
he must act the English soldier, while Prince Carol, greatly to his
disgust, was obliged to take the part of a Boer. He exclaimed, “I don’t
care. I have an English mother anyhow.”
Prince Nicolas, the second son, named after the Czar of Russia, is
a nice boy. When tiny he was almost too pretty for a boy. He was,
however, a real little terror.
At the afternoon teas at the palace he was occasionally present with
his brother and sisters. He would offer cake with such insistence that
one was obliged to take some whether one wished it or not. I remember
an acquaintance of mine being asked to recite at one of the Princess’s
“At homes.” All the time she was reciting she was intently watched by
Prince Nicolas. Immediately she had finished, the little imp placed
himself in front of her and faithfully imitated every one of her
gestures, to the great amusement of the assembled company, but rather
to the confusion of my friend.
Prince Nicolas was thought to be rather delicate, and was frequently
ordered to take sea voyages, much to his delight, as he was very fond
of the sea. On one of those voyages, a few years ago, a small adventure
befell him. Princess Mignonne and he, accompanied by a confidential
maid, embarked on a Roumanian steamer bound for Greece. Some friends of
mine, M. and Mme. Nacescu and their daughter, who were also on board,
gave me an interesting account of how Prince Nicolas comported himself.
A thorough little sailor, he could be seen strutting the deck whatever
the weather, generally with a huge chunk of bread sticking out of his
pocket, at which he nibbled from time to time. Whilst the ship was
lying at the Piræus, the port of Athens, the Greek military authorities
took it into their heads that a soldier who had deserted was concealed
on board.
There was a great hubbub, as both Greeks and Roumanians are always
quick with their tongues. During the search that was made of the
steamer, and the heated altercations which accompanied it, the royal
children were kept closely to their cabin. The deserter was not found,
so the Greeks were perforce obliged to withdraw. On the children
regaining their freedom, little Prince Nicolas was heard to exclaim,
“When we get back to Roumania and send a lot of our men here, then
these Greeks will see something!”
He took a great fancy to one of the sailors on board, and, as he would
not be separated from him, the sailor was obliged to attend him on his
return home as a sort of valet.
I met them in the woods at Sinaia one day, and it was most amusing to
watch their proceedings. Princess Mignonne, Nicolas, and the maid were
in front, the sailor some paces behind. The last-named was carrying
something for the Prince--a knife, I believe; and he must assuredly
have wished himself back on his ship to have a little peace. Nicolas
would give him the knife to carry, then after a few steps he would turn
and take it from him. This play was kept up till the children were out
of sight, and I dare say it was continued much longer.
One Sunday all the royal children were at the monastery in Sinaia
for service. It is the custom in the Greek Church for all children,
whatever their age, to take the communion. Bread only is partaken of;
the forehead is touched by the priest with a little brush dipped in
oil; the communicant kisses the priest’s hand, and the ceremony is
ended.
Prince Carol, as the eldest, went up first to partake, the others
following according to age. Little Nicolas, the youngest, was of course
last, and, being in a panic lest he should be left there alone, he
seized in his haste such a large piece of bread, that as they were
filing out of church he could still be seen surreptitiously stuffing
his finger into his mouth in an effort to facilitate its passage.
And now Nicolas is a big boy at Eton. I wonder if he retains his
nautical tastes.
When the royal children were of an age to begin lessons, the first
governess they had was an Irish lady, Miss F----, of whom the little
ones were very fond. Princess Marie, at a later period, went to
Germany on a visit to her mother, the Duchess of Edinburgh, and upon
her return she found that Miss W----, an Englishwoman and a former
governess of the Queen of Holland, had been installed as governess to
the children. It was said that she had been appointed by King Carol.
Princess Marie certainly took umbrage at the arrangement, and said that
she herself was the proper person to decide who should be the governess
of her children. She never rested till Miss W---- was relieved of her
charge.
I may be forgiven for relating here a little anecdote of Miss W----’s
experiences at the Court of Holland. It appears that on one occasion
the present Queen had incurred the displeasure of her governess, and as
a punishment she was told to draw the map of Europe. This she did, but
not restricting herself to the actual features of the map, she drew it
to suit her own ideas, and probably with a spice of revenge governing
them. When the map was finished Holland appeared in it a vast country,
whilst England was the merest speck in the ocean.
The next governess to be engaged for the royal children of Roumania
was Miss M----, who educated the children of the Duke and Duchess of
Connaught, and gained a great deal of credit through the social success
of those charming sisters.