Empress Augusta-Victoria and her mother-in-law, the Empress Frederick, are the only two women who have ever been admitted to the Order of the Black Eagle, the highest order of the kingdom of Prussia, and neither the consort of Old Emperor William nor any of the earlier queens of Prussia, not even Queen Louise, ever received this distinction. The innovation dates from the time of the late Emperor Frederick. The first thing he did on becoming emperor was to take the ribbon of the order from his own uniform and hang it across the shoulders of his wife, in token of gratitude, and in recognition of the fact that, had it not been for her championship and faithful guard of his interests, Bismarck would have carried the day, and debarred him from accession to the crown. While the emperor's action, of course, excited a good deal of criticism amongst the older dignitaries of the order, and among the members of the government and court, it was heartily approved of by the world at large, as being not only well deserved, but also a singularly pathetic demonstration on the part of the dying monarch of his profound sense of obligation to his most devoted consort. When Emperor William in turn ascended the throne, he at once proceeded to follow his father's example, and to invest his own wife with the Black Eagle, in order to place her, as the reigning empress, upon the same level in this particular respect, as her mother-in-law, the dowager empress. It may be taken for granted that henceforth the Order of the Black Eagle will remain a prerogative of all the consorts of the kings of Prussia and emperors of Germany. The whole youth of the empress was spent at Prinkenau, the fine country seat of her parents, which is now owned by her brother. Those days were varied only by visits to her uncle, Prince Christian of Schleswig-Holstein, who makes his home in England, where he is married to Queen Victoria's daughter Helena, and to her relatives, the Prince and Princess Hohenlohe. The emperor first made her acquaintance during a day's shooting at Prinkenau. He was _en route_ to the château, when, having lost his way in the forest, he met a young girl, of whom he inquired his whereabouts and how to proceed. This was the Princess Augusta-Victoria, and he always declared that he fell in love with her from that moment. She was, therefore, a total stranger to Berlin court life and Berlin society at the time of her marriage, and at first found it very difficult to adapt herself to the formal etiquette by which royal personages are surrounded at Berlin. It was here that her American aunt, Countess Waldersee, came to her assistance, instructed her, and acted as her mentor, not only in matters of etiquette and manner, but in the attitude to be observed towards the various members of Berlin society as well.