Is Ena preparing to become a Catholic?

December 7, 1905


According to the New York Times today, the "Vatican has not received any communication concerning the marriage" of King Alfonso XIII of Spain to Princess Ena of Battenberg,  except a "report from Spanish clergy saying it would be impossible for a new Queen to enter Spain" without having first become a Roman Catholic.

If King Alfonso has chosen Princess Ena to be his bride,  it is believed that her "conversion to Catholicism will be announced before the marriage."  It is also understood that the princess is already preparing for the conversion "under the tutelage of ex-Empress Eugénie" who lives in Farnborough, England.  Eugénie is very close to Princess Ena, and looks upon her as a daughter, and if rumors are to be believed, Eugénie will leave Ena a "large fortune."