A Royal Pair

Court circles in Rome were agog. The engagement of Princess Mafalda, second daughter of the King and Queen, to Prince Philip of Hesse, nephew of the ex-Kaiser of Germany, was announced from the Quirinal. The prospective bride is 22 and the bridegroom-to-be is 29.

Prince Philip, son of Prince Friedrich Karl of Hesse and Princess Margaret of Prussia, youngest sister of the present Emperor of Doorn, has been in love with the tall, handsome Italian Princess for some years, but the Italian King and Queen have steadfastly opposed the marriage because the Prince is a Protestant and the Princess a Catholic. There were obviously other reasons. The intervention on behalf of the lovers by Princess Yolanda, who is happily married to Count Carlo Calvi di Bergolo, allegedly overcame their Majesties' scruples and the marriage is to take place. The date was not mentioned.