The Life of King Edward VII. Marie Belloc Lowndes

take any trouble to please those dear to him that wherever he went he collected a number of flowers or leaves from every famous spot. These, after having been carefully dried by him, were sent to his sister, the Princess Royal, afterwards the Empress Frederick, who had a particular taste for such memorials.

      It was very soon after his return from the East that the King played for the first time an important part in a family gathering—the wedding of his favourite sister, Princess Alice, to Prince Louis of Hesse. The bride was given away by her uncle, the Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, but the young Prince of Wales acted as master of the house during the quiet week which preceded the ceremony.