Elizabeth
PRINCESS • ABBESS • SAINT
Mary Ford
Illustrated by Ruth Sanderson
chesterton , indiana Ancient Faith Kids
Not so long ago, there was a princess named Elizabeth, though most people called her “Ella.”
Her family lived in a small palace in Germany. They also often visited England to see Ella’s beloved grandmama, Queen Victoria.
Elizabeth and her siblings had school at home. She studied many things, like history, German, English, French, and Latin. But she especially loved the arts, working hard at drawing well, watercolor painting, piano, and singing in her lovely alto voice. Ella also learned practical things like sewing, which she started at age three!
For royalty, Ella’s family lived modestly. The children cleaned their own shared rooms. Most days they wore simple clothes and ate ordinary food. They were not allowed to have sweets or chocolate.
After their two hours of school lessons, she and her siblings had to spend one and a half hours outside every day, whatever the weather. Exercise was important, but so was learning to find the many beauties and wonders of nature.
That’s why they often walked in the woods or had tea parties and picnics in their lovely gardens. The children could ride ponies, go boating, or drive the pony carriage Queen Victoria had given them. They played games like croquet, or tennis, Ella’s favorite. In the snowy winters, they enjoyed ice-skating, riding in horse-drawn sleighs, and even throwing snowballs!
More importantly, the children learned that even princes and princesses should live as Jesus taught. They especially should do good and share with those less fortunate. So, every Christmas when Ella was young, she chose some of her own toys to give away, and she and her siblings helped their mother bring food and clothing to the poor. They read the Bible and prayed daily for those in need.
When she was older, Ella often went with her sisters to the hospital their mother, Princess Alice, had founded. To cheer the patients up, the girls brought bouquets of flowers from their garden and talked with them. They also sewed clothes as gifts for poor children. Once the three sisters sewed clothes for 91 children and served them all tea!
Back then, sometimes people died of diseases that can now be cured. That’s what happened to Ella’s little brother “Frittie.” A few years later, her baby sister May and her mother both got diphtheria and died. Elizabeth was only fourteen years old.
Out of her own great sorrows, a longing to relieve the suffering of others began to grow in Ella. She drew even closer to Christ.
Ella was still fun-loving. She enjoyed acting in plays her family and friends put on. When she was about seventeen, she attended grand balls in beautiful clothes. She loved to dress up and to dance!
Because Elizabeth grew up to be loving, kind, and beautiful, many princes and other noblemen wanted to marry her. She said “no” to them all. She was waiting to find a man who not only loved her but also loved Jesus Christ and wanted to help others as much as she did.