Tuesday, December 29, 2009

Is the Prince of Wales to marry a Swedish princess?

Marlene A Eilers Koenig Collection

December 29, 1925


Princess Astrid of Sweden is about to visit King George V and Queen Mary at Buckingham Palace, and this news has set in motion a frenzy of reporting on both sides of the Atlantic. The New York Times reports that all London newspapers "are excited."

Astrid is the niece of the King of Sweden, and according to an unnamed Swedish diplomat, the princess, 20, is "one of the prettiest girls in Europe." She is said to be a "keen sportswoman and a delightful dancer."

It is also being pointed out that Princess Astrid has already met the Prince of Wales, as she visited London about a year ago.

But is Astrid's visit to the Palace a precursor to a royal engagement? A year or so ago, the late Queen Alexandra had a "delightful" Danish princess as her guest for several months, "and the Prince hardly went near her."

Princess Astrid is the daughter of Prince Carl and Princess Ingeborg of Sweden. Princess Ingeborg and King George V are first cousins as Ingeborg's father, Frederik VIII of Denmark, and Queen Alexandra were brother and sister.

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