Did Hermine have another suitor?

September 22, 1922

The Daily Express' Berlin correspondent reports that "it is not generally known that the ex-Kaiser carried off his bride from under the nose of Prince Hermine's nephew, the young Prince von Schoenaich."

The young prince, having tried to court his aunt, "begging her to marry him." The story of this courtship, according to the journalist, "is known to the whole countryside." Princess Hermine was not interested, and "persisted in treating him like a boy."
The Prince "became morbid" and "in the hope of touching her heart," affected a death announcement. He arranged for a telegram to be sent to Hermine, announcing his death, and he asked that his body be returned to Saabor for burial in the family vault.
Hermine was "overcome with grief," and ordered that his burial take place in the vault. Apparently, Saabor is an area where "there is much feating and drinking," at funerals. Dozens of chickens were baked and pigs were roasted. The pastor arrived to officiate, and when the vault was opened "there was no sign of the lamented princeling."
This was a hoax, of course. Hermine was at first "very angry," but "later she forgave her nephew."