No favors for young Alexander

February 3, 1906

Prince Alexander of Battenberg is the subject of a profile by the Los Angeles Times.  The young prince, eldest son of Princess Beatrice, may imagine that he might like to change places with his sister, Princess Ena.    Alexander is 19 years old, and his sister is 18.  

Princess Ena came out into society a year ago, and "she has been pampered and patted and made no end of a fuss over," while Prince Alexander, having left school, has had to "go through the ordinary course of sprouts of a naval cadet."  He is not given any special treatment, even if he is a grandson of the late Queen Victoria, and a nephew of King Edward VII.

Ena will soon marry the young King Alfonso XIII of Spain, and "then become a real Queen and have all sorts of homage paid her and rank among the most exalted personages on earth."

Alexander's future does not include a kingdom.  He recently joined the Drake, a first class cruiser, as a midshipman.  His prospects are limited.   His mother, Princess Beatrice, a widow, receives an annuity of $30,000 a year. and does not have a large personal fortune to leave to her sons.

Alexander has two younger brothers, Prince Maurice and Prince Leopold. 

But under the "watchful care" of his uncle, Prince Louis of Battenberg, whose "flagship is the Drake," he will have the opportunity to show "whether he has in him the making of a smart naval officer."

The Royal Navy is "no place for duffers, royal or otherwise."   No man receives a command "of a fighting up who does not understand his business.  Prince Alexander of Battenberg cannot prove himself "as a thoroughly capable sailor."

Unfortunately, for the young prince, he does not "look like a particularly brainy youth, but like, like a singed cat, he may be better than he looks."