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Tuesday, December 7, 2010

The Hohenzollerns and King Edward's romance

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 December 7, 1936

Members of the "once-mighty Hohenzollerns," are keenly interested in the "storm around the British throne," and are following the accounts with "intense interest," reports the New York Times.   The German press has not covered the constitutional crisis in Britain, thus sending former Crown Prince Wilhelm to "all available personal sources of information.

King Edward's predicament is of interest to the former German imperial family because of a similar situation.  In 1826, the future Emperor Wilhelm I was "prevented under similar circumstances" from marrying the very beautiful Princess Elise Radziwill.  She was one of the "most beautiful women of her time," and Wilhelm was very much in love with her.

Wilhelm wanted to marry the very lovely Polish princess, but there were questions about the Radziwills' equality of birth.  Wilhelm's father, King Friedrich Wilhelm III of Prussia, ruled that Elise was not of an equal rank, and, thus, Wilhelm could not marry her.

Willhelm, crestfallen, was obliged to "renounce his love" for Elise.  Three years later, he married Princess Auguste of Saxe-Weimar.  This marriage was for "reasons of state," and not for love.  

Emperor Wilhelm I was the Crown Prince's great-grandfather.

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