I only used the term pathological in a 'tongue in cheek' way Ella! You know what I am like with my great big spoon in a cauldron!
I remember last year I mentioned the peculiar nature of Louise's shyness and how Lillie Dehn compared Louise's affliction to Alexandra Feodorovna's shyness and how unusual it appeared to be! I also remember pointing out that Queen Victoria herself was terribly shy too! Princess Beatrice was also another who suffered agonies due to shyness as well! But duty and obligation came before personal proclivities in both cases.
What I find so very interesting is that Louise, Victoria and Maud were known rather cynically as their 'Royal Shynesses' and yet only Louise remains the one who today is really labelled as such! Whether this is simply because we know so little about her, is I feel, the most interesting and pertinent point for consideration. Victoria's life and personality have been 'pawed' over and discussed at great length in the last twenty odd years as has that of Maud. Both made a far bigger impact, whether intentionally or not than Louise. Victoria's role as a shadow to her mother made her a relatively familiar figure to the public regardless of what the press of the time said. During the reign of her parents, Victoria was generally always with them at public engagements, hence she was far more of a familiar member of the family than her elder sister. As for Maud, well we all know that she was thrust upon a throne and found herself duty bound to fulfill her destiny in the best way she knew how. She subsequently did it admirably as we all know!
Only Louise really lingers in the shadows! I dare say she preferred this and wished it so! As I have said over again here, I find it fascinating that an individual born into the purple could have been able to lead such a 'private' life! It is also relevant to take into account the very valid point made by several posters here,which is that that neither Edward VII nor Queen Alexandra appeared to have encouraged or instilled an ethos of Royal duty into any of their children! It is a curious issue as George, Maud and to a point Victoria all grew into perfectly able working members of the Royal Family although none shone! George proved himself a reasonably able sovereign even though he was never trained for such a role, Victoria spent years traipsing around after her mother and although she was never very good at PR relations did not retire into obscurity post 1925 but in fact if anything did become a Princess with an 'indentity' of her own albeit on a local level! Maud as we all know proved herself with elan, maybe not perfect or easy going, but goodness did she surprise those who may have doubted her ability to cope!
As for Louise....well that is just it.....she never seems to have had to confront and face up to her position as a Princess let alone that as 'Princess Royal'. If one looks at every single one of the six women who have been Princesses Royal, Louise alone is the only one who never seems to have had to fulfill a significant role. I remember saying that I thought Louise was guilty of Sloth and although I am fascinated by her, I still think that in the Royal sense of that word she was guilty of failing to fulfill her duty! It does not matter now and I am sure it was easy enough for her to fade into the background primarily because she had aunts like Helena, Louise Argyll and Beatrice as well as cousins like Helena Victoria, Marie Louise, Alice Athlone and Patricia Connaught who all carried out engagements (that last significantly less so after 1919). Why Louise was such a shrinking violet or was allowed to be so during the 1890s, which then lead to her being more or less side lined, always leaves me wondering why she was allowed to flout her responsibilities and duties in the first place? It always seems to go back to the issue of her 'delicate' health and shyness! Well looking at the Denville Hall footage....although it may only be one single reel of footage shot when she was fifty eight, I think that it shows that there must be more complex issues here that require further consideration than just the simple excuse of 'shyness' and what not!
