New Britain Herald Newspaper, December 18, 1928, Page 19

QEDUJ othe Death Over the Princess’ Skirt THE BAROMETER How a Quick-Tempered & SKIRT LINE Challenge to a Critical Cleric Almost Brought on Bloodshed in At Loft: The Trend in Skirt. Lengths Since 1805. As the Baremeter Crept U;. and Also the ki 1 That the Princess Astrid Affair Hes_Vigoreusly Rovived. naawunnuu.%:u > Brussels & STREET COSTUME. The “Radiant Rulers-to-Be” of Belgium, the Crown ! d His Wife—in Conservative Prinee Leopel Strest Dress. HOULD the “prettiest princess in S Europe” shun the chic abbreviation of modern fashions because of a possible influence upon the thousands of young girl subjects whose eyes follow her as 8 model and paragon of the virtues? Or ought she, on the contrary, to be IDE. BRIDE. Princess Astrid, of Sweden, in the Costume She Wo \ gllowed a few inches leeway in skirt short- ness, without eriti- cism because of her lovelinezs ,lnd royal parentage? These speculations, while interesting, scarcely seem of life- and-death importance, In Belgium recently, however, they became just that. They in- spired a serious challenge to an old- fashioned affair of honor, a duel calcu- lated to end only in death for one or both of the participants. Princess Astrid, of Sweden, wife of Crown Prince Leopold of Belgium, was the charmi? girl around whom the alter- cation raged. A priest was challenged by a mem- ber of the Bel{:u gentry for daring to eriticize the beloved Astrid. In an article for “Le Vingtieme Ciecle” the cleric expressed concern for the mor- als of the nation as a result of Princess Astrid’s “insufficient” skirt. Promptly and peremptorily a young: and hot-blooded patrician from the social “400” of Brussels demanded sat- isfaction from the priest for what was termed his impunity— thus creating an ex- traordinary and alarm- ing situation that im- mediately became the talk of the boulevards and salons. The young princess, who has been called by many the loveliest of living royal women, was probably more surprised than anyone else when the whole distressing affair began “TO A MAN:' HEART—" - Princess A-u||d' 'reparing a Meal for Her Re‘y-l Husband with Her Own Hands, Proving That She Believes in the Old Adage About the Way to Male Affection Being Through the Stomach. te Belgium's Future King Twe at Mons during a public ceremony in which she took part. The girl, who in all probability will ene day be the Queen of the Belgians, ap- peared at the open-air celebration clad in the height of fashionable apg«ul. But certainly her exquisitely modecled frock displayed no more daring than that of the average woman today who has youth and beauty which she wishes to frame at- tractively. The princess was pho!ogrflphed by a newspaper cameraman as she stood on a raised platform. It cannot be denied that her skirt DID fail, by an inch or two, of covering her knee when shesat down. Yet at Continental breakfast tables the next morning this fact undoubtedly went unnoticed by those who viewed the like- ness of the “Adorable Astrid.”" The in- adequacy of skirt-length was no more acute than that enjoyed by most of the ladies who viewed the picture. Anyway, who would want the future first lady of the land to be even a trifle unstylish? Since the couturiers of the hour dictated comparatively brief cos- tumes for women, shouldn’t Princegs Astrid, beautiful, dashing, adored, be the first to gown herself “correctly”? But when the paper containing the "glnt{otm photograph” reached the offices of “Le Vingtieme Ciecle,” a journal that has been taking the lead in a crusade against the alleged “immodesty” of modern dress, the conservative clerics who saw it were deeply shocked. The skirt worn by the Princess was well moulded to the figure and flared into a fringe of brilliants at her knees. Her critic thought it flared too soon. A priest and contributing editor rushed to his desk and turned out a stinging article on the length of the Princess’ skirt. Among other things he said: “The radiant beauty of the Princess aroused admiration in itself without the addition of such a piece of trivial daring. The example coming from the throne, or even the steps of the throne, is the most substantial impetus that can be given to shameless fashions.” The comment at first aroused only in- difference—and a bit of laughter, in: much as the Princess had admittedly nof exceeded the dictates of fashion. en eame the :h-llenio. and a more serious agpect to the incident. All the newspapers printing an account of the would-be duelist’s comeback did not divulge his name. It was considered better policy to omit it, since it was gen- erally E;cwn that the author of the bid to battle was the scion of sn old and socially prominent family. “The affront which you have seen fit to bestow gratuitously upon one of the ben—he]o\'e: and most lovable women of the Belgian nation, one who will some Jay become our Queen, cannot be overlooked,” ran the sharp and to-the-point note of the enraged young man. He went forward, after that introduc- tion, to a brief but explicit challenge. Nothing but shed blood could wipe out the insult to Princess Astrid. It was the sort of thing—aeccording to the aggressor in the duel—that could only be settled by gentlemen in the immemorial way. The picture of a frocked priest engag- ing in a duel, with pistols or rapiers, was one which shocked many Belgians even more than the brevity of Astrid’s dress could have anncyed the cleric who wrote | the article. Of course, the Princess herself made no comment publicly on the episode. @myvies. 1990, Intervations] Fusture Servies, Ise Grest Britain Rights Reserved Ago. She Was Married Presumably she com- sidered her personality 80 well known and un- derstood by the Bel- gian people that none WAS necessary, even were it becoming to the dignity of “the steps of the throne” to engage in such a con- troversy. All Europe remem- bers the circumstances surrounding the mar- riage of handsome Prince Leopold and Princess Astrid. After “state betrothals” be- tween the future king and several other prin- cesses had been ru- mored in the press for two or three years, Leopold had a stroke of luck that very few royal sons ever have. On a visit to Scandi- navia he met the daqghter of Sweden’s ruling house and—fell promptly and head- over-heels in love with her charming disposi- tion and fragile blonde beauty. Nearly always mar- riages between princes and princesses are ar- rln‘;ted fifn 8 very matter-of-fact and, to o i Americans, cold- (Lhe Skt blooded manner. They foithegEs have so many formal f'untgirms to perform. Nuptials for Crown Princes are impor- tant and pressing rites. And then there must an eir to the throne, of course. xzfigxif;,‘zn?n&shin between nations are 3 e in i i i fomiites rmarriage of their ruling . Love seldom plays a very striking role in such matches. Yet Leopold and f\!trfid were in the extremely lucky position of being in love with each other and at the same time of heing excellent cementers of international accord. There were two ornate and spectacular ceremonies performed to clinch the troth of Astrid and Leopold, one in Sweden be- fore the eivil authorities, and one in Belfi:um before a priest. The couple set up housekeeping to- gether almost as any other loving pair would do—except, of eourse, for the fact that they enjoyed an allowance from the Government of $120,000 on which to worry along, and for the additional fact that they were photographed and cheered whenever they peeped out-of-doors. The voung wife and queen-to-be de- cided to be a mate in the old-fashioned sense and immediately took a course in domestic science so that the princely table might be graced by delicacies confected by her own hands. After a year Princess Astrid presented her husband—and the Belgian people with a nine-pound daughter, and it well known that the company of nu maids in the household had little work to do, because the young mother tended her first-born as assiduously as the most domestic of wives. Belgium, and indeed all Europe, re- membered these things, and sympathy was quick to range itself on the si the young man who challenged the “ Thought t Her . Her C It Flared Too Soon. crect” letter-writer to a duel. Eve thought, of course, that the duel ?J.“& was an utterly untenable idea, but they could understand the youth’s indignation. This question of skirt length is one which has vexed the custodians of publie morality these many years. When is a skirt not a skirt? ‘Some might answer: “When it is on a modern girl.” But tolerance in such matters seems to be a rather elastic thing. When the frisky breezes of 1895 rustled the skirt hem of une belle dame of that period, disclosing two _or three millimetars o ankle, a quick flush would spread over her face and her eyes would be hastily cast down However, by 1910 the hem had been definitely divorced from the instep and by 1918 it had ascended merrilly to just below the knee. After that it had to pro- ceed, of course, with some caution, but proceed it did, possibly because kness are shapely, 'and deserve a place in the sun. And today the ladies of fashion throughout the world would feel positive- ly “tacky” with long skirts, although it is true that in recent months there has been a slight trend downward again—though not, optimists predict, for long. At any rate people have ceased to comment on the scantiness of female apparel, except Ln isolated instances, like the one related ere. Meanwhile, no reply has come from the cleric to the challenge—and there may be no duel. But no more articles have ap- peared criticizing the dress of Princess Astrid, either. “If the princess wishes to reveal a fow “inches of shapely limb, like sny other lovely lady, why then, let her do it,” runs the comment in the cafes of Brussels.