Friday, May 11, 2012

Donna Elvira arrives in Hoboken




May 11, 1896

Donna Elvira Marie Therese Henriette de Bourbon, second daughter, and third child of Don Carlos, Carlist pretender to the Spanish throne, arrived earlier today in Hoboken, New Jersey.  She had traveled from Genoa, Italy onboard the German Lloyd steamship Kaiser Wilhelm II, reports the New York Times.

Donna Elvira, who is traveling incognito, was born at Geneva on July 28, 1871.  She is a niece of Queen Maria Cristina of Spain, who is the regent for her young son, Alfonso XIII.   Elvira is a "good looking woman, and has a pleasant voice and frank manner."  She was "very plainly attired."

She spoke to a New York Times reporter as she waited on the steamship wharf for her bags to inspected.  She said that her health was not food, and she had become "enervated by the climate of Italy, where her family resides."

Her doctors recommended an ocean voyage, and she had "long-desired" to visit America.  She is accompanied by the Countess de Lausen and Dr Arturo Grosser, her physician, and a maid.   They were met by Dr. R.D. Cortina, who had been "specially requested" by Elvira's family "to look after her comfort and welfare" while she remains in New York.

The doctor told the reporter that "no public importance could be attached" to Donna Elvira's visit.  She traveled to the United States "in search of health and recreation," and to learn more about the country.

Donna Elvira "waited patiently" as her boxes and trunks were examined by customs officials.  After, she and her party were driven to Holland House, "where a suite of apartments had been engaged for them."

As she is traveling incognito, Donna Elvira wants to "maintain the reserve," so she can travel freely and see "what she wishes without any formality or public attention being drawn to her.

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