Cable editor puzzled by many names

November 10, 1900

Last Monday evening the New York Times received a cable dispatch from Vienna announcing that Archduchess Maria Raineria "had married in great state" to Duke Robert of Württemberg.

This cable apparently caused "wailing and gnashing of teeth in every newspaper office in New York."  It is the norm, "when a royal personage marries," for the news report to explain the bride and groom's relationship to "what are known as the 'crowned heads'".

The cable editors were a bit puzzled about this archduchess because no one had received "preliminary news of the engagement."  They consulted the Almanach de Gotha, which devoted ten pages to Austria Imperial family.

After "considerable labor," the foreign expert in Times' office decided that the bride must be the Archduchess Maria Immaculata Raineria Josephine Ferdinande Theresa Leopoldine Antoinette Henrietta Francoise Caroline Heloise Januaria Christina Philomene Rosalie. But when he noticed that the name Immaculata was in brackets, he realized that he had the wrong archduchess.  The brackets signified  "that the lady is known to her intimate friends and relatives" by that name, and
which would have been used in the dispatch.  So he tried again.

The editor then settled on Archduchess Marguerite Raineria Maria Antoinette Blanche Leopoldine Beatrice Anne Josephine Raphaelle Michelle Stanislawa Ignatia Hieronyma Camina Catherine Pietra Cecilia.

Alas, the archduchess was born in 1892, and could not have been the bride.   The editor kept looking for the possible bride.  He narrowed the choices to Archduchess Anna Maria Therese Ferdinande Josephine Adelaide Leopoldine Antoinette Francois Germana Henriette Hedwige, Archduchess Marguerite Marie Albertine Alice Ferdinande Louise Antoinette Leopoldine Roberte Henrietta Theresa Edouardine and the Archduchess Germana Maria Theresa Antoinette Leopoldine Alice Ferdinande Josephine Louise Caroline Ehrentraut Prota. 

The editor eventually gave up.  The real name of the archduchess was Elisabeth. 

[The editor was right the first time.  The bride was Maria Immaculata]