Queen Ena likes exile

December 7, 1935

Queen Ena of Spain has no regrets about being in exile, according to a close family friend who is vacationing in Menton, France.

The unnamed informant told a United Press reporter that she is "enjoying personal freedom for the first time in her life."

"A reigning queen's life is all duty, and my stenographer working from 9 to 5 has a better job and a more enviable existence.  I haven't the authority to speak for His Majesty, but I think I am safe in saying that she has no regret over losing her job as Queen.

"The greatest part of a queen's time is taken up with bowing to iron-clad court etiquette, submitting to compulsory ceremonies that are tiresome and boring.

"Over and over they must extend fingertips to be kissed by pompous court officials.  Even in receiving their equals, queens or princesses from other courts, whether on state occasions or in private, they are denied the privileges of intimate talks, and must limit themselves to monotonous 'ready-made' conversations.
"The route is much harder on old queens, and these are usually the most unhappy of all.  Many queens have been bereaved through political assassinations and are mourning the loss of a husband, son or brother, although the monotonous court routine must be continued.  The expression 'happy as a queen' is meaningless, and I'm positive that Queen Ena has no regrets but is enjoying the personal freedom which was denied her before the revolution."