ILLUSTRATED
NEW YORK
DODD, MEAD AND COMPANY
1915
Copyright, 1913, 1914
By THE BUTTERICK PUBLISHING CO.
Copyright, 1914
By THE CENTURY CO.
Copyright, 1915
By DODD, MEAD & COMPANY

CONTENTS

CHAPTER PAGE
[I][The Seeds of Revolt][1]
[II][Irksome Duties of a Princess][22]
[III][Pulling the Strings of Sovereignty][43]
[IV][Love and Ennui][63]
[V][My Marriage—In Mourning][85]
[VI][England and the English][106]
[VII][The Kaiser and His Court][134]
[VIII][The Tsar and His People][157]
[IX][The Regal Pose][181]
[X][The Scandinavian Democracies][190]
[XI][The Courts of Italy][213]
[XII][Adventures in America][222]
[XIII][After the War][242]

ILLUSTRATIONS

[H. R. H. The Infanta Eulalia of Spain][Frontispiece]
Facing Page
[The King’s Study in Escurial][26]
[Gardens of the Alcazar, Seville][38]
[Royal Palace, Madrid][50]
[The Infanta Eulalia][72]
[Alfonso XIII of Spain][96]
[Dowager Queen Alexandra of England, Queen Maud of Norway and Prince Olaf, Crown Prince of Norway][108]
[King George V, the Late King Edward VII and the Prince of Wales][120]
[Infanta Eulalia on Horseback][138]
[German Emperor in Austrian Uniform][148]
[Nicholas II and the Heir of Russia][164]
[King Albert of Belgium][186]
[King Haakon of Norway][198]
[Infanta Eulalia at Window of Her Apartments][218]

INTRODUCTION

I have endeavoured in these pages to present a true picture of Court life. It is a life hedged about by many restrictions; to me a great deal of it all was empty and meaningless.

I say nothing of those who are actively engaged in the duties of rulership; but to the other members of Royal families, life is little more than a round of useless ceremonies, from which a mind with any pretence to independence flies in relief—does opportunity offer. I have left behind me the life of Courts and palaces. But for many years, in my own youth, and while my sons were growing up into manhood, I fulfilled my part as a Princess of Spain, after my marriage visiting practically all the Courts of Europe. I have written here of these visits and of my impressions of the rulers of Europe, and, while I hope there is much in this book of kindliness and sympathy, yet I have considered truth to be the first essential in these recollections.

I am democratic in my sympathies, and consider the day has gone by when Royalty should live behind closed blinds. The world, as I see it, is peopled by one big family. We are all brothers and sisters; let us know one another better.

Paris, 1915.