THE ROYAL NURSERY OF SPAIN
There is a striking contrast between the two princes. The Prince of
Asturias is absolutely fair with flaxen hair, while Don Jaime is as dark
as a typical Spaniard. Even at the age of two, his hair is dark and his
eyes are as lustrously brown as his father’s.
All three of the children are learning to speak English, Spanish and
French, with equal fluency. They have between them two English nursery
governesses and one French maid in addition to a usual number of Spanish
maids and other servants. Their mother, the Queen, was brought up
familiar with French and German, in addition to her own English, while
King Alfonso was taught English, French and German from his boyhood. It
is expected that a modern king be able to talk and think in two or three
languages, but it is exceptional to find a crown prince of three who can
already express himself in three tongues.
When speaking to his mother, the Queen, the little Prince invariably
uses English, but with his father, the King, he uses Spanish. He seems
to know instinctively one tongue from the other. If he is handed
something--for example, a box--he will take it and pronounce the word
in English and Spanish and sometimes in French also. In that way he
seems to instinctively teach himself the three languages simultaneously.
The two Princes are naturally constant playmates. In the Casa de Campo
where they are taken every morning at half-past ten they play in the
sand together and stand up their little toy soldiers. As I had the
privilege of playing here with them one morning I shall have more to say
of this later. The Crown Prince usually refers to his brother as “my
brother, the Infante,” never as Don Jaime or Jaime, although
occasionally he lapses into English and calls him “Jimmy.”
The Princes are very fond of each other, but like all children they have
their quarrels now and again. The Crown Prince has a good deal of a will
of his own and sometimes his nurses find him something more than a
handful. One morning he rushed up to the Royal Governess and said: “My
brother the Infante has been very naughty, _very_ naughty, so I kicked
him and he cried. But now he is no longer naughty so I shall run and
kiss him,” whereupon he rushed off to the playroom in the châlet where
he found Don Jaime and tenderly kissed him.
Don Jaime has one of the sweetest baby faces I have ever seen. He has
inherited his father’s soft, beautiful eyes and winning smile. His
nature is said to be as lovely as his smile. He is a great favourite in
the Royal Household and already is manifesting unusual signs of
keenness and intelligence.
Curiously enough, the newspapers of Europe including England, and also
of America, have from time to time printed stories to the effect that
these two Princes are deaf and dumb and otherwise defective. These
rumours are all baseless slanders. The King’s secretary has been put to
great trouble writing to inform people all over the world that there is
no truth in these stories. On one occasion the Prime Minister found it
necessary to issue a public signed statement to the effect that he had
personally talked with the Princes and that he knew them to be mentally
and physically fit and normal. As a matter of fact, I found them both
unusually sturdy boys with exceptional intelligence for their years.
In this connection I had a striking experience of the way these stories
are circulated. The second or third day after I arrived in Madrid the
head porter at my hotel said to me: “So you are the American physician?”
“What American physician?” I asked in surprise.
“The doctor who has been brought from New York to attend the Crown
Prince.”
“No,” I replied, “I am not a doctor. How did you come to think that I
was?”
He thereupon explained that shortly after my arrival in Madrid the
King’s private secretary had called for me at my hotel and that directly
after I had been seen entering the Royal Palace. This aroused some
curiosity among the hotel people and finally someone concluded that as I
wore a Van-dyke beard I must be a physician, and as I had gone to the
Palace I had undoubtedly gone to examine the Princes who were said to be
deaf and dumb! This absurd tale circulated about the capital and as it
went from mouth to mouth details were added, and that which at first was
characterised as probable and circumstantial became absolutely definite.
It is really cruel to spread such nonsensical stories about two such
bright boys as the Prince of Asturias and Don Jaime.
Both the Prince of Asturias and Don Jaime are devoted to horses and all
the trappings of the stables. They are also very fond of cats. There is
one big nursery cat which is an especial favourite. So far they have not
taken much interest in dogs, and in fact there isn’t even one dog about
the Royal Palace in Madrid. Formerly the King had many dogs, but now
very few and these are kept in the country. The Queen had a dog which
was presented to her by her uncle, the late King Edward of England, but
one day at La Granja the dog strayed away--as the best of dogs sometimes
will, even when their masters are sovereigns and their abode a royal
palace.
The palace of the Alcazar in Seville is a favourite residence with the
Princess just as it is with the Queen. The gardens of this old Moorish
palace are very delightful and here the Royal children love to play
just as their father did when he was a boy. Down one of the walks is a
series of tiny holes. Ordinarily no one would even see them. It was a
favourite prank of the little Don Alfonso to send some unsuspecting
person along this walk while he loitered in the rear; suddenly he would
turn a hidden wheel and instantly a fine stream of water would shoot up
through each of these squirt holes, to the astonishment and oftentimes
consternation of the victim of the Royal joke.
There is a maze of boxwood in these gardens which affords the children
endless amusement. A stranger once entering this maze gets completely
entangled and bewildered. It takes even an adult some time to discover
the path leading out. Here, too, are several small ponds stocked with
gold fish and every day the Princes visit the ponds to feed the fish.
The Prince of Asturias is especially fond of playing in sand, and on his
third birthday the Queen bought for him a set of sand pails and little
shovels which pleased him tremendously.
One day I was in the nursery playroom at the Alcazar and I took occasion
to examine the toys of the Royal children. What was my surprise to find
a great assortment of little tin mechanical toys such as one sees
exhibited all along Fourteenth street or Twenty-third street--toys that
cost about ten cents each. The things that are wound up with a
[Illustration: THE COURT OF THE VIRGINS AT SEVILLE.]
key and then rush about in circles. There were boxing men, and little
go-carts drawn by monkeys and donkeys and a great assortment of similar
devices.
Of course, they have many grand toys, gifts from sovereigns, potentates
and ambassadors, but so far neither of the Princes has exhibited any
particular predilection for these expensive toys. The simple ten-cent
things afford them as much pleasure as anything.
The favourite toy of the Crown Prince for a long time was a doll dressed
as a soldier. The one positive passion that this little fellow has as
yet revealed is soldiering. To most children, soldiering is the most
fascinating thing in the world. But to the Prince of Asturias, soldiers
are almost an obsession. The sound of bugles and drums excites him
tremendously and he never wearies of watching troops at drill or on
parade. The guard mount at the Royal Palace in Madrid takes place every
morning at eleven o’clock, and is considerable of a ceremony, many
troops being employed and representing several branches of the
army--infantry, cavalry and field artillery, while two bands are
constantly playing. The Prince’s room in the Palace looks out upon the
esplanade where this takes place, and never a day does he fail to watch
this when he is in the Palace. This is another trait inherited from his
father.
Another remarkable evidence of more than ordinary brightness in the
Prince of Asturias in his familiarity with the different uniforms. He
knows them all and rarely makes an error. Even from his window looking
down into the street, he can distinguish an artillery uniform from the
infantry,--a lancer from a halberdier.
Queen Victoria Eugenie is one of the most devoted of mothers. As it has
been the policy in Spain for queens-consort to hold aloof from politics,
she has been able to devote more of her time than would ordinarily be
the case to her children, without at the same time neglecting other
duties of queenship.
She is devoted to each of them alike, with a possible special fondness
for the Infanta Beatrice. But the Infanta is only one year old and as
she is the baby as well as the one daughter, this slight preference is
understandable.
The Princes get up every morning at half-past seven. After their bath
they repair at once to the Queen’s room and remain for an hour or more.
Thus is every day started.
Every bright morning when the Royal Family is in residence at Madrid all
three children are taken to the Casa de Campo to play, at half-past ten.
When they tire of their play they drive a little, and the Prince of
Asturias takes his morning ride on his pony “Belaye,” and then they go
to the pretty little châlet which has been built for them in the park
and enjoy a nap before luncheon. The Prince is keen to hear
stories--especially stories about soldiers. They must be invented
stories, however, and each morning the governess or one of the nurses is
implored to tell a story. Generally he drops off to sleep before the
story is finished, which is what he likes. At bedtime the Queen
generally tells him a story until he falls asleep.
One Monday morning in one of the rooms of the private apartments in the
Royal Palace at Madrid I noticed a suspended sheet. There were a group
of chairs in front and obviously the sheet had been used as a screen for
lantern pictures. Upon inquiry I was told that every Sunday evening the
King and Queen and all the Royal Family dine together informally--_en
famille_ as it were--and after the meal they all adjourn to the
adjoining room for a biograph exhibition. These Sunday evening suppers
and entertainments constitute one of the most charming features of the
Spanish court life.
The children of the Spanish Royal Family are especially fortunate in
having parents who are above all things human--vibrant with youth,
indulgent with the pranks and pleasantries of childhood. It is not so
long since King Alfonso himself was a mischievous lad, and Queen
Victoria Eugenie a capricious girl. According to all reports, the boy
Alfonso was quite as full of spirit and mischief as the average small
boy anywhere in the world.
King Alfonso even now has not outgrown this love for fun. The first
Shrove Tuesday that Queen Victoria was in Spain she was made the victim
of a joke by her Royal spouse and his sister, the Infanta Maria Teresa.
As Her Majesty was passing through one of the corridors of the Palace
the King and the Infanta suddenly sprang out upon her, disguised behind
masks, giving her a considerable start. This is the survival of an
ancient custom in Spain peculiar to this particular day. This boyishness
is constantly cropping out, often to the amusement of the court. There
can be no doubt that when the little Princes are old enough to indulge
in practical jokes that they will find their Royal father and mother the
most sympathetic of parents.
I had seen the Royal children a good many times during my stay in Spain,
but I had had no opportunity for close observation of them. I wanted to
see them at play, and to take some snap-shots of them with my own
camera. None of my friends at court quite knew how to obtain this
privilege for me. The request was without precedent, as the Princes have
not yet reached the age of holding audiences. So I spoke to His Majesty
the King about it. I broached the matter delicately, but without the
slightest hesitation the King replied: “Most certainly you may meet
them. In the Palace if you like, but they are so little I am afraid they
would be shy and quiet. The best thing would be for you to go to the
Casa de Campo one morning and play with them. There you may also have
your camera and take as many snap-shots as you like. And if the pictures
are good,” he continued, “you will let me show them to Her Majesty the
Queen who is always much interested in all photographs of the Princes.”