Do you remember (Peter) ?

O πρίγκιπας Γεώργιος και η Μαρία Βοναπάρτη έκαναν δύο παιδιά. Τον πρίγκιπα Πέτρο  και την πριγκίπισσα Ευγενία. Στην Ελλάδα είναι πιό γνωστός ο πρίγκιπας Πέτρος για την διενεξή  του με την βσίλισσα Φρειδερίκη. Στην Δανία ο Πέτρος ήταν πολύ αγαπητός. Το 1978 γιόρτασε τα εβδομηκοστά γενεθλιά του. Μια ομάδα Δανών φίλων του, για να τον τιμήσουν, έγραψαν ένα βιβλίο με τίτλο «Οι φίλοι του πρίγκιπος Πέτρου». Η αδελφή του, πριγκίπισσα Ευγενία, στο ίδιο βιβλίο, του αφιέρωσε  ένα πολύ συγκινητικό άρθρο, στο οποίο περιγράφει διάφορα γεγονότα από την παιδική τους ηλικία και αφήνει να διαφανεί η αμοιβαία αδελφική τους αγάπη και η συνεργία τους στα μικρά, δικά τους μυστικά…

Θα μεταφέρουμε τό κείμενο του άρθρου στην γλώσσα που παρουσιάστηκε στο βιβλίο, στα αγγλικά.

Do you remember?

Her Royal Highness Princess Eugénie of Greece.

Sister of Prince Peter
Do you remember, Peter, how long the years of our childhood seemed, compared with those of old age?
Do you remember, Peter, our childhood, our games, our childish quarrels? I… I have never forgotten them. I can still picture you as the little boy who wore a sailor suit. We were great friends… But how we could fight, in spite of our mutual affections! Like all children i suppose…

I remember father telling me that i was only a girl. I envied you because of that. Every night i prayed to Jesus, asking Him to transform me into a boy. I remember touching my lips in vain, hoping to feel the hairs of a moustache.

Do you remember my dolls… George, Polly and the handsome Jack? Not counting the others! How snug they were, lying in my pram. They were my «children». Unfortunately, they did not have a father. It was very nice of you to agree to take his place. You, then, became their «daddy», and my dolls were happy!

The mischief we used to get up to! Do you remeber the day in Athens when, together, we devoured all the dainties which had been prepared for a cocktail party…. before the guests had arrived?

Do you remember the language we invented? We did it so that we could talk together once they had put us to bed and forbidden us to say a word. Our language was nobody’s business. If our nanny heard us and came to tell us off, we used to say…. and without feeling guilty….. that it was a mistake, that we had not been talking.

Do you remember our mother? She did not want us to have a dog, for reasons of hygiene. So we contented ourselves with a pair of old clogs to which we attached a piece of string, and we took them for walks, pulling them along behind us as if they were real dogs. At night each one slept beside its master.

We must admit that our imagination was very productive! We invented two characters, Ebena Klynx and Capoucha. To us they were real people. As his name suggests, Capoucha always wore a hooded cape, and even the most violent of showers could not make him wet. Ebena Klynx was charming. We could talk to him openly and rely on his discretion. He always  agreed with us.

Do you remember » The Jungle book»? Mother used to read it to you, and you listened with great interest, while i….. fourteen months younger than you – used to find the story very boring.

How can one forget the day when Kipling came to visit us? When you Peter, received a photograph of the great poet, and he signed it for you. As for me……i was completely ignored.

But one day, my godmother,mine, the Empress Eugénie, 93 years old, received us at a hotel in Paris, where she was staying for a few days. The hotel’s windows faced the Tuileries Gardens, where so many memories must have been haunting her…

Mother took us there. I was nine years old. How pround I was! For once, I, the goddaughter, was going to be the centre of attention. We waited for a few minutes in a small lounge, then the door opened, and an elderly lady appeared. To my surprise, she did not look at me, but at you, Peter….for a long tine and with a fixed expression.

-» I had a son, too,»she said, crying.

Her only child had been killed by the Zulus in South Africa at the age of 23, i knew it, and i felt pity of her. But once more i felt ignored…

And time went by….

When i was 16…. do you remember? …  I became seriously ill, and had to leave our home for a sanatorium. It was the first time we were separeted. I missed you, Peter. But you did not forget me. Each holiday you used to come and see me…. and you helped me through three long years of illness.

When i left the sanatorium I was able to travel a little, and one day…. do you remember?- we went to the reptile house. A crowd was standing there. Three wardens had taken the long boas out, so that the public could see them better.

-«Who wants to hold them? » one of the wardens asked. Nobody moved.

-«I’ ll give you a nice dress if you dare hold them», you said to me, without fear, laughing.»Go on!».

I took your defiance seriously: the dress or my fear of snakes? Well, the dress won. In a few minutes, two enormous snakes were crawling round my neck. I no longer have the smart dress you gave me, but i still posses the beautiful golden leather belt.

And time went by again…

We have lived our owns lives, yet we did not forget each other’s birthdays.

We have always had happy hours together whenever we have had a chance to meet… no matter how much time has passed.

Our affections have never changed.

As for Ebena Klynx and Capoucha…they are gone…

Ο πρίγκιπας Πέτρος (1908-1980)

επιμέλεια κειμένου: Τέπη Πιστοφίδου.
Τhis article is dedicated to Mrs Marie-Claude Dumay who΄s contribution to our site is greatly appreciated.