She told Louise that she had heard of her charming family and hoped that she would be allowed to meet the members of it. This was arranged and the young Countess was enchanted by the good looks and perfect manners of the young people. She was especially attracted to Alix and was very soon invited to Bernstorff where leading the simple country life, it was very easy to become quickly on familiar terms.
Wally was so amusing. She had come from Berlin and the Court of the Crown Princess, who had been the Princess Royal and eldest daughter of the Queen of England.
‘Poor Vicky,’ confided Wally to Alix, ‘she had a very trying time when she arrived. First she was forced to ride through the streets in the freezing weather in the kind of dress one would wear in a heated ballroom and when she arrived at the schloss she found it gloomy and it was said to be haunted, and I really think her mother-in-law enjoyed putting her next to the haunted chamber.’
‘How dreadful!’
‘Vicky is very self-reliant. She is in fact brilliant. But she needed someone to confide in and she chose me. And when Augustus goes to England I shall go with him. We shall be received at Court of course, and I shall be summoned to Vicky’s formidable mama and even more formidable papa and a report demanded of me.’
Wally was a little disrespectful but Alix enjoyed that. What fun to be able to laugh and have little jokes with someone as brilliant as Walpurga.
What Walpurga did not divulge to Prince Christian and Princess Louise was that she had been asked to report on Alix. Her mistress, Vicky, was very anxious that a bride should be found for her brother, the Prince of Wales; and the fact was that she had actually made a journey through Germany to inspect the Princesses who appeared on the list above Alix’s name. She was very critical and had found something wrong with every one of them.
It was Wally – eager to have a say in affairs – who reminded her of number seven.
‘Augustus writes to me from Denmark that Princess Alexandra is a real beauty,’ she had said, ‘very carefully brought up by her clever mama – accomplished, healthy and beautiful … in fact everything that your brother Bertie could desire.’
Vicky’s father, the Prince Consort of England, who had loved his daughter devotedly (and Wally, who collected gossip, had heard that Queen Victoria had resented this affection between her husband and their eldest daughter and was jealous of it) had asked her help in choosing a husband for Bertie. He had the utmost confidence in her judgement and she was eager to justify this.
So she said: ‘You are going to Denmark to get married. What an opportunity. You can let me know if these reports of Alexandra are correct.’
It was a mission after Wally’s heart.
She was soon writing back glowing reports of Alix – a lovely girl, unspoilt, very beautiful, not intellectual – which by all accounts would just suit Bertie – but accomplished and well educated. In fact in Wally’s opinion, Alix was the perfect wife for the Prince of Wales.
It was time to set out for the annual visit to Rumpenheim. During the journey Alix and Dagmar speculated on who would be there this summer. They were both looking forward to the round of simple pleasures. Although Christian and Louise were well aware that feelers were being put out with regard to Alexandra’s virtues both parents were anxious that this should be kept from their daughter.
‘So many girls are told of brilliant prospects which don’t come to anything,’ said Christian. ‘I wouldn’t want Alix to be upset.’
‘It’s much better that she should be kept in ignorance of what’s afoot,’ agreed Louise. ‘But I’m not sure that it wouldn’t have been a good idea for you to take her to England.’
‘I’ll not have her paraded like a prize cow,’ declared Christian in the raised voice it was necessary to use to Louise, whose deafness had increased in the last years.
‘She would make a good impression.’
‘I’ve no doubt of it. I just say I won’t have her paraded.’
Louise smiled at her husband. There was a great charm about him and this was accentuated by a certain innocence. When he came to the throne it could be for her to guide him.
Nor was Alix the only member of the family about whom inquiries were being made. The charm of the girls had been discussed abroad; they were exceptionally good-looking and, what was more important, healthy. It was due to the outdoor life they had lived; and constant exercises had made them walk in a graceful fashion. Whenever they went to a theatre in Copenhagen which the King thought they should do now and then, they were always cheered by the people and it was said that the royal box with the Christian family in it was as great an attraction as what was going on on the stage.
Now there was talk of a Russian marriage for Dagmar – the Tsarevitch, no less. With one daughter married to the ruler of England and another to that of Russia, Denmark’s position in the world would be far more significant than it was at this time.
But Christian was saddened at the thought of losing his daughters; and the time for doing so was, he could not pretend otherwise, coming very near.
This was proved on their arrival at Rumpenheim.
A trip had been arranged to visit the Cathedral at Speier and Christian and Louise were to take their daughters, Alix and Dagmar. This was typical of the outings they enjoyed when at Rumpenheim, but this was an outing with a difference. The Crown Princess with the Prince and her son little Wilhelm was on a visit to Mecklenburg-Strelitz and she too wished to visit the cathedral at Speier on the very same day at the very same hour as Christian and Louise would be there with their two eldest daughters.
As the carriage drove along and Alix and Dagmar called each other’s attention to the remembered landmarks, Christian was looking a little sadly at his eldest daughter. If she doesn’t like him, he thought, she is not going to be forced. I’ll not have our Alix made unhappy for all the princes in the world.
Louise, watching him, followed his thoughts. Dear, good, kind Christian! She could not have had a more loving husband and a better father for her children. But he was unambitious. Perhaps that was what made him so lovable.
The Cathedral rose before them.
‘It’s magnificent,’ said Dagmar. She was more interested in architecture than Alix was. She wanted to pause and examine the structure but Louise hurried her on.
‘You can look at that later,’ she said. ‘Let us get inside first.’
They entered the Cathedral. Alix knew afterwards that this was one of the important moments of her life for entering at the other door was another little party – quite clearly an important one. The two groups hesitated and then a young woman came forward and Prince Christian went to meet her.
Alix saw her father bow and beside the young woman was a young man – not tall but with a pleasant smile; and now her father was bringing them over.
‘My dear,’ he said, ‘I have the honour to present you to their Royal Highnesses the Crown Princess of Prussia and the Prince of Wales.’
Walpurga’s Vicky, thought Alix. And … Bertie!
He was smiling at her, rather conspiratorially, and she found this pleasant. He greeted Dagmar but his eyes came back to Alix. She flushed a little. He was very friendly.
Vicky was saying: ‘My brother is on a visit and we are both staying for a few days with Aunt Augusta at Mecklenburg-Strelitz.’
They started to talk about the Cathedral. What a pleasure to meet in this way. They could look at the Cathedral together. And they must of course arrange another meeting.