Mr. Gladstone, interrogated on Thursday by Mr. Monk (M.P. for
Gloucester) as to the reason why the Prince and Princess of Prussia had been allowed to take up their residence in Prussia House during their stay in London, instead of being offered one of the Queen's palaces, very naturally regretted the question, and also made as little lame an answer to it as possible. He said that the visit was to be made to the Queen at Osborne, and was fixed for the 15th ; that the Prince and Princess came earlier without communicating with the Queen, in order first to enjoy a little stay in London, and took up their residence, by their own arrangement, at Prussia House, but that directly it was found that Count Bernstorff's residence was not large enough for the Prince and Princess and their suite, and that the children would have to go to an hotel, the Queen offered them Bucking- ham Palace. Mr. Gladstone also intimated that the circumstances of this visit paid by a daughter and her husband to the mother and mother-in-law were strictly private, and not public matters, into which the public had no business to inquire. But that is surely quite unsound. It is impossible for the visit of the heir to the German Empire and his wife to be a private matter, and the people, who regard the Throne as representing them, expect to see not only hospitality, but some splendour of hospitality, exercised where it is due. Not only the Queen, but all the nation, knew perfectly well that the Prince and Princess were in London a week ago, and were not the Queen's guests, not the guests of England, as any of our Royal House certainly would have been the guests of Prussia, had they been in Berlin. We have remarked elsewhere on the strong feeling that is growing up in the working-class in relation to royal personages who have the rank and emoluments without the duties of royalty. As we have said, there is much in that feeling which is unjust, but there is nothing that is unjust in the grave disappointment felt when the obvious duties of. public hospitality are grudgingly discharged.
