April 24, 1923
Grand Duchess Luise of Baden died this morning at her palace in Baden. She was 84-years-old. The Grand Duchess was the only daughter of Kaiser Wilhelm I of Germany, and thus, the oldest member of the House of Hohenzollern. She was the widow of Grand Duke Friedrich of Baden, and the mother of the present head of the house, Prince Max.
When she was five-years-old, the princess fell from a palace window and was caught "in the arms of a soldier of the Lifeguards on sentinel duty."
According to the New York Times, the Grand Duchess "was beloved by all classes in Baden for her benevolence and democratic spirit."
The New York Times also reports the death of the former Grand Duke of Saxe-Weimar, Wilhelm Ernst. He was known even to his fellow Princes as "the Best Hated Prince in Germany."
He died "last night" at Schloss Heinrichsbau in Silesia. After he abdicated his throne, Wilhelm Ernst was able to make an arrangement with the new government, where he and his family would receive an annuity of about 300,000 marks. In return, he "was to renounce all claims to his former title."
Grand Duke Wilhelm Ernst was 47-years-old.
Why was the Grand Duke the most hated Prince?
ReplyDeleteAbusive, bad-tempered, treated his wives badly .. for starters.
ReplyDeleteIt seems an odd comment for the NY Times to make re "Best Hated...". Normally you would say "Most Hated...".
ReplyDeleteAllan Raymond
The style of writing was different in the earlier part of the 20th century -- and may have been based on a translation from German.
ReplyDeleteI also seem to recollect the Grand Duke either killed or seriously injured one of his workers by thrashing him with a horse whip during one of his bad temper days.
ReplyDelete