is Oscar's duty to be true to himself and to his love," she used to
say. But the king, who was not wont to refuse any of the wishes of
his consort, steadily refused to sanction the union. There were many
things against such a marriage, for Prince Oscar was the second son
of the king, and the very fact that the reigning House of Norway and
Sweden was one of the most youthful of the royal houses of Europe made
it all the more necessary that its scions should intermarry with the
members of the ancient reigning houses.

About this time the queen was seized with one of her serious attacks
of illness, and her state was such that at one time her life was
despaired of. Her physicians declared that her only hope of recovery
lay in an instant operation, which was both dangerous and extremely
painful.

The queen called the king to her bedside, and said, "If I undergo this
operation and recover, will you allow Oscar and Ebba to have their
way?" The king was unable to resist such an appeal, made at such a
time, and gave his promise. A short time afterwards the operation was
successfully performed, and when the queen was convalescent, the king
redeemed his promise and gave his consent to the marriage of his
second son. It was on Christmas Eve, and the king had come to his
wife's apartments to see her. He found Ebba Munck and his son Oscar
with her. The maid-of-honor was, at the time of his entrance, singing
one of his poems to Her Majesty, which, oddly enough, was on the
subject of the right to love. After waiting until the song was ended,
the king went up to his son, and, leading him to the girl, laid his
hand in hers, in this manner signifying that he had withdrawn his
opposition to their plans.

The marriage has proved a most happy one. Prince Oscar has found
perfect content, and has been able to follow his career as a
philanthropist. The wedding took place at Bournemouth, in the presence
of the queen of Sweden, on March 15, 1888, and for some time after it
the prince and his wife were known as Prince and Princess Bernadotte;
but later the uncle of Prince Oscar, the Grand Duke of Luxemburg, gave
him the title of the Count of Wisborg for himself and his descendants.
When their children were born, Prince Oscar and his wife proclaimed
them as the children of Oscar and Ebba Bernadotte, and, during
their entire married life, they have lived as quietly and simply as
possible, and have found their greatest interest in working for the