A ROYAL WEDDING
The train which carried Princess Ena across France toward her unknown
Destiny approached the Spanish frontier at dawn. On the platform of the
first station within the borders of Spain paced the awaiting
bridegroom,--eager, impatient, anxious. He smoked cigarette after
cigarette as the minutes went by, pausing ever and anon to peer into the
gloom which still lingered of the passing night as if to catch the first
sight of the coming train. When at last it arrived and the Princess had
alighted, her very first act was one which made an appeal to the Spanish
people. Turning almost directly from the group of ministers, generals
and courtiers who were there to greet her, she stepped toward the Mayor
of the little village who was surrounded by a group of peasant
delegates, and extending her hand for him to kiss, she graciously
accepted the bouquet which he handed to her. This man was a field
labourer--a peasant--and his comrades were all of the soil. Thus the
first homage which she received and acknowledged was that which came
directly from the people.
The evening of the day of her arrival at Madrid she seized a splendid
opportunity. In the town of Badajoz, the capital of the Province of
Estremadura, was a man condemned to death and whose sentence was to have
been carried out the day following the arrival of the bride-elect. On
the evening of her arrival in Spain, the people of the town,
representatives of all classes, telegraphed to the Princess an earnest
petition beseeching her to exercise her influence with the King for him
to exercise his prerogative of Royal clemency and pardon the condemned
man. The Princess went immediately to the King and told him that almost
the first message she had received upon her arrival in Spain was this
petition asking her to save the life of a man. This wedding present, she
said, would please her more than any gift she might receive. King
Alfonso instantly granted her request and the Royal pardon was
despatched by telegraph, arriving at Badajoz less than one hour before
the sentence was to have been carried out. Upon receipt of the news, all
the bells of the town were set ringing and there was a scene of
extraordinary demonstration; the whole community gathering in the
streets crying: “Long live Queen Victoria Eugenie.”
Thursday the 31st of May, 1906, had been appointed for the wedding. The
day broke bright and clear in Madrid, a glorious sun tempered by a
cooling breeze shone throughout the day and with not a cloud in the sky.
The King arrived at the Palace of the Pardo just outside of Madrid where
the Princess and her suite had remained during the few days preceding
the wedding, in a motor car at 6.30 in the morning; he appeared in the
uniform of an Admiral. The first act of the day was an attendance at
Mass in company with his bride-elect. Shortly after 8 o’clock the couple
were driven in an electric brougham straight to the Ministry of Marine
where the Princess donned her bridal robes. In this she was assisted by
ladies-in-waiting, who had come in her suite from London, the last touch
being added by Queen Maria Cristina who placed upon the head of the
Princess the bridal veil. This veil was of Alençon lace and was the very
one worn by herself at the time of her marriage to King Alfonso XII.
This veil is being carefully preserved by Queen Victoria, who says that
at the marriage of her first daughter she hopes to place it upon her
head.
In Spain it is customary for the bridegroom to present his bride with
her wedding gown; this is a universal custom common in all ranks of
society. Don Alfonso, aided by his Royal Mother, had had prepared one of
the most elaborate and exquisitely embroidered gowns ever seen at the
Spanish Court Forty of the most expert Spanish women were engaged for
fifty-six days in making this wonderful creation. Or, to put it another
way, one woman, working constantly every day of the year, Sundays
excepted, would have required almost precisely seven years to the task!
The material was of the richest white satin and cloth of silver, cut in
the style of dress known as Louis XVI. The dress
[Illustration: “To the Marquis of Villalobar.]
was bordered with dull silver, slightly burnished and shaded at
intervals and trimmed with exquisite rose-point lace, which was
festooned over a background of cloth of silver. The lace flounce was
eighteen inches in width and the whole gown was relieved with loops of
orange blossoms.
The wedding took place in the Church of San Jeronimo, which is on the
far side of the city from the Royal Palace. The church is not large, but
there are no large churches in Madrid, Madrid being one of the most
modern of all continental capitals, and big churches of the cathedral
order are mostly relics of the Middle Ages. The selection of St.
Jeronimo for the event was made in order that the bridal procession
should of necessity pass across practically the entire city, thus
affording the largest number of people an opportunity to view the
spectacle.
The marriage service conformed to every last detail with the etiquette
and rites of the Roman Catholic Church in Spain. The Archbishop of
Toledo, Cardinal Sancha, was assisted by Dr. Brindle, Bishop of
Nottingham, who had come from England especially for this occasion.
The bridal procession advanced very slowly, receiving the homage of the
distinguished congregation section by section, the Spanish legislators,
the courtiers, Ambassadors, the Special Missions, and the foreign
Princes saluting in turn. Preceded by a crucifix, while the band
continued playing the National Anthem, the King and his bride advanced
and took their places before the altar. After kneeling for a short
period, King Alfonso rose, and passing behind the Princess approached
his mother, who was on the bride’s left, and knelt and kissed her hand.
Queen Cristina, bending over, affectionately embraced her son who
thereupon returned to his _prie-dieu_ before the altar. Following the
bridegroom’s example Princess Victoria Eugenie descended the altar steps
and passed down the nave to where her mother stood beside the Duchess of
Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, and warmly embraced her. The Princess then
returned to the altar and the religious ceremony began.
Cardinal Sancha, arrayed in his Pontifical robes and having on either
side the assisting bishops, gave his archiepiscopal crozier to the
Master of Ceremonies, and addressed King Alfonso and his bride as
follows:
“High and Mighty Senor Don Alfonso XIII, of Bourbon and Austria,
Catholic King of Spain, I demand of your Majesty, as I also demand of
your Royal Highness Victoria Eugenie Julia Ena Maria Cristina, Princess
of Battenberg, to say if you know of any impediment against the
celebration of this marriage, or against the validity or legality; That
is to say, if there exists between your Majesty and your Royal Highness
any impediment either of consanguinity, affinity, or spiritual
relationship; if you have made a vow of chastity or of religion; and,
finally, if there is any other impediment, your Majesty and your Royal
Highness shall declare it. And the same I demand of all those here
present. For the second and the third time I require that if there exist
any impediment whatsoever you shall freely make it known.”
Having concluded these questions, the Cardinal paused for a while, and
then, turning to the Princess, said:
“Victoria Eugenie Julia Ena Maria Cristina, Princess of Battenberg, does
your Royal Highness desire to have Don Alfonso XIII, of Bourbon and
Austria, Catholic King of Spain, for your lawful spouse and husband by
words _de presente_, as is ordained by the Holy Catholic Apostolic and
Roman Church?”
This was a very solemn moment, and not a whisper broke the almost
painful silence. All eyes were turned toward the Princess who replied,
in a clear voice:
“Yes, I do desire him.” (Si, quiero.)
His Eminence then said:
“Does your Royal Highness consent to be the lawful spouse and wife of
the high and mighty Señor Don Alfonso XIII, of Bourbon and Austria,
Catholic King of Spain?”
Looking at His Majesty, Princess Victoria Eugenie replied, in clear
tones:
“Yes, I consent.” (Si, otorgo.)
Continuing, Cardinal Sancha asked:
“Does your Royal Highness accept the said Señor Don Alfonso XIII, of
Bourbon and Austria, King of Spain, for your lawful spouse and
husband?”
With even stronger emphasis, the Princess replied:
“Yes, I accept him.” (Si, recibo.)
Cardinal Sancha thereupon asked the three questions, in identical terms
of King Alfonso. His Majesty, with his eyes fixed upon his bride, and in
a strong and clear voice, which was distinctly heard in every part of
the church, answered to the several questions, “I desire,” “I consent,”
and “I accept.”
At this moment, Princess Ena betrayed emotion and glanced toward the
place where her mother sat. Queen Maria Cristina was scarcely able to
restrain her tears and looked alternately from the King to his bride and
from the bride to her son. King Alfonso, who was perfectly calm, gave
his hand to the Princess according to the directions of the Master of
the Ceremonies, and while the Royal couple had their hands joined,
Cardinal Sancha took his archiepiscopal staff and said:
“And I, on the part of Almighty God and of the Holy Apostles, Peter and
Paul, and of the Holy Mother Church, do join in matrimony your Majesty,
Don Alfonso XIII, of Bourbon and Austria, Catholic King of Spain, to
your Royal Highness, Victoria Eugenie Julia Ena Maria Cristina, Princess
of Battenberg, and I confirm this Sacrament of matrimony in the name of
the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost.--AMEN.”
Then the Bridal Mass began, the King and Queen kneeling, and as the
swell of music filled the church and died away, a faintly tinkling bell
announced the Elevation of the Host. All knelt with heads bowed low--the
most impressive moment of great silence broken only by the clinking of
swords and the hum of distant voices outside the church. Mass over, the
Royal bride and bridegroom proceeded to the daïs. A little lower down
the Queen-Mother, in her beautiful robes and splendid jewels, stood
beside her Chair of State, while kneeling on either side were the
heralds, in their gorgeous uniforms. Princess Victoria Eugenie, now
Queen of Spain, lovely, young, dignified and looking “every inch a
Queen,” standing beside the youthful and most charming King-Bridegroom,
whose face was beaming with proud happiness, all made a picture,
touching, beautiful and never to be forgotten by any of those present.
Then came a most picturesque and ideal scene. The newly-married Royal
pair proceeded arm-in-arm to the spot nearby where formerly a grand old
monastery had stood, and where there still remains a ruined cloister,
and here the register was signed, the King having chosen this spot a few
days before the wedding. One corner of the cloister had been screened
off with magnificent tapestries of world-wide renown, on which were
depicted scenes from Don Quixote; on a wide table, covered with crimson
cloth, stood the necessary implements--a silver inkstand, pens, and the
books in which the signatures were to be entered. The procession of
Royal personages who followed the bride and bridegroom in pairs through
the quaint old cloister was led by the Prince of Wales, who conducted
the Queen-Mother; then came the Archduke Francis Ferdinand of Austria
with the Princess of Wales, followed by the other Royalties in order of
rank.
On the return of the procession to the church, the assemblage dispersed
according to Spanish Court etiquette, in order of precedence, commencing
with the lowest, each couple advancing to the daïs, where they bowed and
curtsied to the King and Queen, who were seated in their Chairs of
State. The Prince and Princess of Wales were the last of the Royal
guests to go. The Queen-Mother then rose, and, advancing to the front of
the daïs, made a reverence to her son and his bride, both of whom rose
simultaneously and returned the salutation. Last of all the Royal
personages, the King and Queen passed down the nave under the baldaquin
and the gorgeous scene melted away.
Just before midday, the sound of saluting cannon announced to all that
the King and Queen had left the church, and the procession started for
the palace in the following order:
THE BRONZE LANDAU
The Kings of Arms.
STATE CARRIAGE
Miss Cochrane
Lord and Lady William Cecil
Gentlemen-in-Waiting on Her Majesty the Queen.
STATE CARRIAGE
Her Majesty Queen Maria Cristina’s
Mistress of the Robes
The First Huntsman
Gentlemen-of-the-Chamber-in-Waiting on
His Majesty the King.
SEMI-GALA CARRIAGE
Mistress of the Robes of the Palace
Grand Chamberlain of Queen Maria Cristina.
STATE CARRIAGE
Superior Chief of the Palace
Grand Chamberlain of their Majesties
Commandant-General of the Halberdiers.
SEMI-GALA CARRIAGE
Princes Leopold and Maurice of Battenberg
STATE CARRIAGE
Princess Marie of Battenberg
(Princess of Erbach-Schönberg)
Prince Alexander of Teck
Prince Alexander of Battenberg.
CARRIAGE
The Infante Don Alfonso of Orleans
Princes Rainer and Philip of Bourbon.
SEMI-GALA CARRIAGE
The Infantas Doña Paz and Doña Eulalia.
STATE CARRIAGE
The Infantas Doña Maria Teresa and Doña
Maria Isabel
The Infante Don Fernando of Bavaria and Prince
Gennaro of Bourbon.
GALA CARRIAGE
Princess Frederica of Hanover
Princess Alexander of Teck.
COACH OF THE DUCAL CROWN
The Duchess of Saxe-Coburg
Princess Beatrice of Saxe-Coburg
Prince Henry of Prussia.
THE AMARANTH COACH
Prince Eugene of Sweden
Crown Prince of Monaco
Princes Louis Ferdinand and Alfonso of Bavaria.
THE CIPHER COACH
The Duke and Duchess of Genoa
Prince Albert of Prussia
Prince Andrew of Greece.
THE TORTOISE-SHELL COACH
Archduke Francis Ferdinand of Austria
Crown Prince of Portugal
Prince Albert of Belgium
The Grand Duke Vladimir of Russia.
GALA CARRIAGE
The Prince and Princess of Wales.
THE MAHOGANY COACH
Her Majesty the Queen, Doña Maria Cristina
Princess Henry of Battenberg
The Infante Don Carlos
The Infante Don Alfonso (Heir-presumptive).
THE COACH OF GOLD PANELS
(Unoccupied)
THE CROWN COACH
Their Majesties the KING and QUEEN.
The spectacle along the route of the return journey was one of
indescribable rejoicing and excitement. The Pageant was magnificent, and
the procession took nearly an hour to pass. The batteries of artillery
thundered out a royal salute, trumpets blared, the bells of the churches
pealed forth, and the populace raised a mighty roar of acclamation.
Coach after coach passed along the route--each to be greeted with cheers
by the delighted crowds. The beautiful “mahogany coach,” in which were
seated Queen Cristina, Princess Henry of Battenberg, Don Carlos, and his
son Don Alfonso, came in for a specially warm greeting. That containing
the Prince and Princess of Wales was also received with shouts of
welcome. At last came that which most of all the multitude had assembled
to see, and to greet with demonstrations of the greatest enthusiasm--the
coach of the Royal Crown drawn by eight superb horses, with nodding
white plumes, and containing the Royal couple. That the young King and
his beautiful bride were immensely popular there could be no doubt. One
had only to hear the hearty and repeated cries of “Viva el Rey!” “Viva
la Reina!” to know that the young couple had won the hearts of the
people and all Spain was rejoicing at their wedding.