October 25, 1916
There is a movement in Holland to "change the order of succession to the throne," according to the Marquise de Fontenoy's latest dispatch. The heir presumptive, Princess Juliana, is now in her eighth year. She is in "the best of health and a strong and sturdy child, in whom all the affection, the loyalty. and the hopes of the Dutch people are centered as the next heir to the crown."
But Juliana is Queen Wilhelmina's only child, and she "has but one life." Following her in the order of succession is "a whole series of German princes, most of whom are now fighting under the kaiser's orders." They are all born and bred in German, and in the event of succeeding to the Dutch throne, they will do whatever it takes to "bring that country within the sphere of the Teuton empire, at least in an economic sense."
This is why a number of groups in the Netherlands are advocating a change in the succession law. Prof van Hamel, who lives in Amsterdam, has pointed out that the succession to the throne -- outside the direct line -- "is regulated at present in such a manner as no longer to correspond to the highest interest of the state." Every one of the possible heirs to the throne is German, "mostly officers in the German army, and naturally devoted heart and soul to Germany's politics."
After the Saxe-Weimars comes the widowed Princess Heinrich VII Reuss, 69, who is a daughter of the late Duchess Sophie of Saxe-Weimar. The Princess has three sons, two of who are married, and each has a young daughter. All have succession rights to the Dutch throne.
They are followed by Prince Friedrich zu Wied and his two sons. The Prince's mother, Princess Marie, was the daughter of Prince Frederick of the Netherlands, the only brother of Willem III. Friedrich zu Wied's younger brother, Wilhelm, follows in the succession. He "showed himself too entirely fit to reign during his brief and ignominious tenure of the throne of Albania."
The question of succession is causing "considerable anxiety" to the Dutch people. They "might default" on the German princes and princesses, and seek an "heiress among the younger sisters of the Grand Duchess of Luxemburg."
But what is more probable is "that in default of Crown Princess Juliana," the Netherlands will once again become a republic, and Germany will be powerless to "enforce the claims of her princes and princesses of Saxe-Weimar, of Reuss, and of Wied, to the crown of Holland."
There is a movement in Holland to "change the order of succession to the throne," according to the Marquise de Fontenoy's latest dispatch. The heir presumptive, Princess Juliana, is now in her eighth year. She is in "the best of health and a strong and sturdy child, in whom all the affection, the loyalty. and the hopes of the Dutch people are centered as the next heir to the crown."
But Juliana is Queen Wilhelmina's only child, and she "has but one life." Following her in the order of succession is "a whole series of German princes, most of whom are now fighting under the kaiser's orders." They are all born and bred in German, and in the event of succeeding to the Dutch throne, they will do whatever it takes to "bring that country within the sphere of the Teuton empire, at least in an economic sense."
This is why a number of groups in the Netherlands are advocating a change in the succession law. Prof van Hamel, who lives in Amsterdam, has pointed out that the succession to the throne -- outside the direct line -- "is regulated at present in such a manner as no longer to correspond to the highest interest of the state." Every one of the possible heirs to the throne is German, "mostly officers in the German army, and naturally devoted heart and soul to Germany's politics."
Second in line to the Dutch throne is the Duke of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach, whose grandmother, Sophie, was a sister of Willem III of the Netherlands. The Grand Duke and his wife, Princess Feodora of Saxe-Meiningen, have a daughter, 6, and a son, 5.
After the Saxe-Weimars comes the widowed Princess Heinrich VII Reuss, 69, who is a daughter of the late Duchess Sophie of Saxe-Weimar. The Princess has three sons, two of who are married, and each has a young daughter. All have succession rights to the Dutch throne.
They are followed by Prince Friedrich zu Wied and his two sons. The Prince's mother, Princess Marie, was the daughter of Prince Frederick of the Netherlands, the only brother of Willem III. Friedrich zu Wied's younger brother, Wilhelm, follows in the succession. He "showed himself too entirely fit to reign during his brief and ignominious tenure of the throne of Albania."
The question of succession is causing "considerable anxiety" to the Dutch people. They "might default" on the German princes and princesses, and seek an "heiress among the younger sisters of the Grand Duchess of Luxemburg."
But all the princesses are "German, having been brought in Germany by a mother who, although she was born as an infanta of Portugal, has never set on the Iberian peninsula and has spent all her life either in Germany or in Austria."
But what is more probable is "that in default of Crown Princess Juliana," the Netherlands will once again become a republic, and Germany will be powerless to "enforce the claims of her princes and princesses of Saxe-Weimar, of Reuss, and of Wied, to the crown of Holland."
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