Pan-Germans are angry that the selection of the "throne-seeking Duke of Urach" as King of Lithuania. According to the New York Times, the Duke has accepted the offer.
The acceptance may be true, according to reports in Berlin, but there will be the "usual official denial," as "true Prussians are obviously pained" that the Lithuanian National Council, made up of a "packed body of loyal German Barons," should ignore the Kaiser and prefer a southern German prince and independence to joining Prussia.
The Germans would prefer for Lithuania to be annexed, "preferably to Prussia."
The Duke of Urach wants "dearly to obtain a place in the indecently hurried race of German princelings for new thrones." He serves as a Württemberg general, and heads the non-ruling line in the Württemberg family. He has ties to the Bavarian royal family and was an "unsuccessful candidate for the Albanian throne."
Wilhelm is the 2nd Duke of Urach. He is the elder son of the late Duke Wilhelm and his second wife, Princess Florestine of Monaco, daughter of the late Prince Florestan I. Most of his childhood was spent in Monaco, where his mother often acted as Regent for the minor Prince Albert. He was seen as a possible heir to the Monegasque throne, but in 1911, Prince Albert legitimized his son, Prince Louis's illegitimate daughter, Charlotte.
In 1892, he married Duchess Amalie in Bavaria. She died in 1912 following the birth of her ninth child, Princess Mechtilde.
Should the Duke become king of Lithuania, he will be known as King Mindaugus II.
It was odd how it never got that far, after the selection. Though some claim the Present Duke as the Pretender to a throne that might have.
ReplyDeleteactually it is the Duke's younger brother who has taken on the mantle. Not a surprised it fizzled out considering the events of the final months of World War I
ReplyDeleteactually it is the Duke's younger brother who has taken on the mantle. Not a surprised it fizzled out considering the events of the final months of World War I
ReplyDelete