Archduke critically ill

December 13, 1936


According to an Associated Press dispatch, Archduke Friedrich of Austria is "said to be in critically ill" at his home at Magyarovar, near the Austrian border.  The 80-year-old Archduke commanded the Hungarian army in the World War. 
His son, Archduke Albrecht, a candidate for the Habsburg crown,  "hurried to his bedside from Budapest by airplane."

Marie of Yugoslavia told to go home

Queen Marie                     

December 13, 1926

Queen Marie of Yugoslavia, the second daughter of King Ferdinand and Queen Marie of Roumania, is "being hustled home to her people,"  reports the Chicago Tribune

Marie is currently in Bucharest visiting her very ill father.  Although the king's condition remains critical,  Queen Marie "will be shipped to Belgrade in the next few days, virtually as an undesirable."   The Roumanian government is concerned that Marie has been "meddling in matters concerning the succession to the throne," and government officials have asked Belgrade to "have her recalled her."

Serbia's minister in Bucharest does not deny "Marie's imminent departure," but he has "protested vigorously against the implications" that the queen has "tampered with Roumanian affairs."

Queen Elisabetha

Queen Marie's alleged tampering is a "touchy subject" at present as the Roumanian Premier Averescu has "been flirting with Italy, but does not trust Yugoslavia.
The queen's expulsion "throws into strong relief "  a scenario at Cotroceni Palace, where Ferdinand's "predominately petticoated family plots and counterplots for the spoils after his death."

The players include three queens, Ferdinand's wife, Marie, Elisabeth, the eldest daughter, and former Queen of Greece, and Queen Marie of Yugoslavia, as well as Princess Helen, the estranged wife of former Crown Prince Carol; and "little Princess Ileana."

Queen Marie of Yugoslavia is said to adore her older brother, "despite his wild ways, " and is playing the Crown Prince's cards for him."  Her eldest sister, Queen Elisabeth, said to be Ferdinand's favorite child, is siding with her.  Elisabeth may disapprove of Carol's treatment of his wife, but she "has bowed to what she knows are her father's secret desires," and is actively seeking support for her brother.  Both women are "trying to discredit the regency."

There is another force to be reckoned with, as well.  Ion Bratiano, described as the country's "invisible force," has put a stop to the Yugoslavian queen's intrigues and arranged for her to be called home.

It has been suggested that Prince Carol, now in exile, stands between his mother and his two oldest sisters.   Queen Marie of Roumania is "doing her own competent best" to have become a "member of the regency, solo agent, or even monarch."

Queen Marie:
  all images Marlene A. Eilers Koenig collection

Her two daughters are "spreading poisonous reports" of her ambitions and they have criticized her "bitterly for leaving King Ferdinand on what perhaps is his deathbed to trot to America."

Queen Marie was called home, and her youngest daughter, Ileana, "has been sat upon."  The New York Times reports that Elisabeth, an ardent Carolist, is primarily responsible for "the most biting comments on Queen Marie's American tour."  She has accused her mother of "forsaking her father" to "promenade Mlle. Ileana through the world."  Elisabeth "refuses "to regard Ileana as her sister."

Princess Ileana has taken her mother's side and has made it clear to everyone that her "brother Nicky is just sick at the prospect of being made a stuffy old regent, and would much prefer to return to a seafaring life."  This would create a vacancy in the regency that "would be quite convenient for her mother."

A court official said today:  Princess Ileana "has been sharply reprimanded by the proper authorities for presuming to discuss, much less attempt to influence changes to the regency, which is Ion Bratiano's masterpiece, and which he alone is destined to change."

The final woman in the drama, Princess Helen's only strength, and concern is her young son, Michael, now the heir to the throne.

Queen Marie of Yugoslavia's "continued presence is deemed undesirable," and her husband, King Alexander, has requested that she return home to Belgrade.

Archduke Karl Stefan elected as Polish Regent

Marlene A Eilers Koenig collection

December 13, 1916

Archduke Karl Stephan of Austria has been named as regent of Poland "with the prospect of an election as king later," reports the Chicago Daily Tribune today.
The archduke is described as "the brainiest and most energetic member of the Habsburg house." 

 His younger brother, Archduke Eugen,  the Austrian commander on the Italian front,  "is also extremely popular and highly esteemed among the common people for his ability, democracy, and accessibility."

The archdukes are cousins of Emperor Franz Joseph.  They are among the tallest members of the family.

The 50-year-old Karl Stephan has been the subject of press reports for the past two years about the possibility that he would be named as king for the new kingdom "to be established in the Polish local territory captured from Russia."

His ties to Poland are strong as he has owned estates there for some years.  His daughter, Archduchess Renate, is married to Prince Jerome Radziwill.  Another daughter, Eleonora, is the wife of Captain Alfons von Kloss, "who navigated her father's yacht," according to the New York Times.

The archduke currently serves as a commander in the Austrian navy.  His sister, Maria Cristina, is the Queen Mother of Spain. 

For more information about Karl Stephan and his family: 
http://royalbooknews.blogspot.com/2010/12/red-prince-by-timothy-snyder.html

Divorce for the Ariberts

December 13, 1900

The Government of Anhalt "has officially published" the divorce decree for Prince and Princess Aribert of Anhalt, "accompanied by the statement that the divorce has been granted in consequence of their mutual desire," according to a New York Times dispatch from Berlin.

Dessau's Official Gazette announces that the "marriage of Prince Aribert of Anhalt has, on the application of both parties, been dissolved by the Duke of Anhalt in virtue of the family of the House of Anhalt and of his sovereign prerogative."

A life celebrated: William Addams Reitswiesner

From Sunday's Washington post ...

love the final lines

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/12/11/AR2010121102394.html

No dukedom for William

Read on ... http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/royal-wedding/8196402/Royal-wedding-Prince-William-asks-the-Queen-not-to-make-him-a-duke.html

This is not official.  No announcement has been made regarding a possible title for William, but in view of the fact that he will become the Duke of Cornwall when he father succeeds to the throne, he may want to wait.  But I doubt the Queen will create Catherine a princess in her own right. 

Caroline Stockhammer

Joachim Albrecht's second wife, Karoline, had a very interesting life -- she mingled with the right people.  She had a liasion with Franz Joseph, Duke in Bavaria, and on December 1, 1909, she gave birth to their son, Ottomar Gustav.

The late William Addams Reitswiesner put together genealogical information on Karoline and her descendants.

Descendants of Caroline Stockhammer (1891-1952)




1. Caroline (Lilly) Stockhammer, b. Braunau am Inn 5 IX 1891, d. München 17 X 1952, dau. of ... and of Anna Stockhammer,

m. (1) ... 1915, div. ... 1918, Werner von Nostitz-Bąkowski, b. ... , d. ... , son of ... von Nostitz-Bąkowski and of ... ,

m. (2) Wien 9 X 1920, div. Berlin 9 VII 1936, as his second wife, Wilhelm Friedrich Karl Ernst Joachim Albrecht, Prinz von Preußen, b. Hannover 27 IX 1876, d. Berlin 24 X 1939 [he had m. (1) Ischl 3 IX 1919, Maria Sulzer, b. Wien 16 X 1872, d. Strobl 9 XI 1919], son of Albert, Prinz von Preußen, and of Marie, Prinzessin von Sachsen-Altenburg (AD H XXVII 15),

m. (3) Neukirchen 1 VII 1946, div. Neukirchen 9 IX 1949, as his second wife, Raoul Maria Leopold, Graf Lavaulx, Freiherr von Vrécourt, b. Mödling 24 IX 1911, d. ... [he had m. (1) Wien 17 II 1934, Liliane Franz, b. Wien 10 I 1916, d. Wien 8 X 1942, and later m. (3) Wien 3 X 1950, Maria Schneider, b. St. Leonhardt bei Freistadt, OÖsterr., 25 V 1919, d. ... ], son of Richard, Graf Lavaulx, Freiherr von Vrécourt, and of Stefanie Klusaček.

(in 1991 -- Rathausstr. 13, A-1010 Wien)

Illegitimate issue [by Franz Joseph, Herzog in Bayern, b. Tegernsee 23 III 1888, d. München 23 IV 1912, son of Karl Theodor, Herzog in Bayern, and of Marie Josephe, Infanta de Portugal (AD W XXX 45)] (surname Stockhammer):

2 a. Ottomar Gustav, b. München 1 XII 1909, d. Bad Homburg 28 I 1959.

Issue by first husband, if any, unknown.

Issue by second husband: none.

Issue by third husband: none.


Generation II
2. Ottomar Gustav Stockhammer, Adoptivsohn [Vertrag vom 16 IX 1927, amtsgerichtl. bestätigt Berlin-Mitte 18 XI 1927 seines Stiefvaters mit der Namensführung "Prinz von Preußen", worauf er [Vertrag vom 4 III 1937, amtsgerichtl. bestätigt Berlin-Charlottenburg 8 VII 1937] verzightet und mit Zustimmung d. vorm. Kgl. Hauses Preuß den Namen "von Plottnitz" [nach dem zur Fkhrschaft Kamenz gehörenden Waldgut Plottnitz in Schlesien] gewählt hatte, Adelsrechtl. Nichtbeanstandung der durch Erlaß d. Reichs- u. Preuß. Min. d. Innern vom 17 VII 1937 festgelegten Namensform "von Plottnitz-Stockhammer" durch Beschluß d. Ausschusses f. Adelsrechtl. Fragen der Deutschen Adelsverbände vom 16 VII 1957, b. München 1 XII 1909, d. Bad Homburg 28 I 1959, illegitimate son of Franz Joseph, Herzog von Bayern, and of Caroline Stockhammer [number 1],

m. Berlin 8 VIII 1937, Kitty, Baronesse von Taube, b. Laupa, Estld., 15 III 1911, dau. of Otto, Baron von Taube, and of Kitty, Baronesse von Meyendorff.

(in 1958 -- Bad Homburg v. d. H., Quellenweg 2)

Issue (surname von Plottnitz-Stockhammer):

a. Franz-Joseph Rupert Ottomar, b. Danzig [now Gdansk] 4 VII 1940.

b. Marie Monika Kitty, b. Danzig [now Gdansk] 30 I 1942.

The Prince of Wales and Duchess of Cornwall thank police

Here is a selection of articles to muse over regarding the near attack on  the Prince and Princess of Wales
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/theroyalfamily/8193730/Prince-Charles-and-Camilla-thank-police-after-attack.tml

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/theroyalfamily/8193570/Prince-Charles-and-Camilla-car-attack-someone-could-have-died.html



http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/theroyalfamily/8193645/Prince-Charles-joked-about-student-protests-before-Royal-couple-attacked.html

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/12/10/world/europe/10britain.html?scp=2&sq=prince%20charles&st=cse

Hotel Adlon lets Prussian Prince back in

December 10, 1920

Prince Joachim Albrecht of Prussia, cousin of the former Kaiser, is back in Berlin, reports the New York Times.  He received "worldwide notoriety as the ringleader in an anti-Entente riot at the Adlon Hotel last year."

He was banned from Berlin for a year, and "having brightened his days of exile by courtship and remarriage,"  Prince Joachim Albrecht has returned to his Wilhelmstrasse palace.

The Prince, however, still had a "hankering for the fleshpots of the Adlon restaurant," but, after his "March escapade, he was warned to avoid."  He had been told that he was no longer welcome at the restaurant.  This afternoon, the Prince sent his new wife, the former "Baroness Nositsche, a well-known figure in Berlin society," to visit Herr Adlon and inquire if "the Prince would now be admitted to his favorite restaurant."   [Joachim's wife's name was Karoline Stockhammer.]

The Princess made assurances to Herr Adlon that her husband "would behave himself."   Herr Adlon lifted the ban.  The Prince's "promise to behave is in a way a belated confession" for his actions last March.  Earlier he had maintained that "he was nothing more than a spectator" at the riot.

Thus, the Prince and Princess, both smiling, arrived for dinner.  They were shown to the Prince's favorite table.  The band did not play "Deutschland uber Alles."   To honor Prince Joachim Albrecht's return, the band played two of his own compositions, "Toujours Fidele," a "rather pretty slow waltz," and another waltz, "Mietta."

The Prince and Princess were greeted by many friends, and before leaving the restaurant, they expressed their thanks to Herr Adlon "for restoring hospitable relations."

Constantine's message to the American people

Embed from Getty Images 

 December 10, 1920

King Constantine of the Hellenes will be returning to Greece as sovereign.  In an interview with the Associated Press, the King reiterated his "expression of good will toward the Entente and the United States."

"In returning to my country and reascending the Greek throne, which I was forced by the Entente and the intrigues of a political party to abandon for three long and trying years, I feel more than ever as the President of the United States must feel. I, too, have been elected by the vote of the people to the high office I am about to fill and which I formerly occupied by the single constitutional right of heredity.

"In this most solemn moment of my life I am duly conscious of the heavy responsibilities I assume.  I feel in duty bound to express to the great American people my most heartfelt thanks for the sympathy I received from them in my trials.  I thank them also for the impartiality they certainly have endeavored to show in judging me and in criticising  my attitude during the most disastrous war ever known in the history of mankind.

"I, upon whose family crest stands the device, 'The law of the people is my power,' ever have had at heart the interest of the people by whom I am now called, by their express and indisputable will, to rule.

"Mindful of the great upheaval the war was going to cause, I endeavored to follow a line of action which I considered would serve the best interests of my people, and I feel I did it with enmity toward none and good-will toward all.  The combination of circumstances all tended to make credible the calumnious reports that an alert and indefatigable statesman, who, unlikely, out of spite for me had been blinded to all the dictates of reason, had caused to be spread sedulously abroad.

"In order to create this false impression, a misinterpretation, well calculated to alienate me from the good-will of the Entente, was most steadily placed upon my very act, word or thought.  By this an estrangement was brought about between me and the Entente Powers to which  I myself, as well as my people, had always looked as our best and natural friends.

"I solemnly declare to the American people that neither the policy I followed in the past nor the action of my people in unanimously calling me to my throne was actuated by any intention to show hostility toward the Allies.
"More than any one else, I realize that the interests of Greece and those of the Allies and America have ever been and are now identical.   I personally am anxious to show it by all the means  I possess and am only too willing to clear up the misunderstanding of which I have until now been the victim.

"I sincerely hope and believe I will get the hearty support of the American people, whose wonderful qualities I admire and whose sincerity, open-mindedness and impartiality I unreservedly reply upon."

Princess Helen of Russia is freed

December 10, 1918

Thanks to the intervention of the Norwegian Legation, Princess Helen of Russia has been released by the Bolsheviks.  The daughter of King Peter of Serbia arrived today in Stockholm aboard a steamer from Petrograd. 
The princess was held as a prisoner for several months.  She was married to Prince Ivan Constantinovich of Russia, son of the late Grand Duke Constantine.  There are reports that the prince and other members of the Imperial Family were thrown into a well alive by the Bolsheviks and "then killed with hand grenades."   A recent dispatch by a New York Times reporter confirms that the bodies of "five Grand Dukes" were found near Ekaterinburg.

Offer made to Leopold's daughters

December 10, 1910

By telegraph to Clifden, Ireland, "thence by wireless to the New York Times.

Next week Princess Clementine and Prince Victor Napoleon will travel to Vienna to visit Emperor Franz Joseph. Clementine's older sister, Princess Stephanie, and her husband, Count Lonyay, will also travel to Vienna.  The two sisters "will consult together" to discuss the settlement recently offered to them by the Belgian Government.
The Government's offer includes a payment of $800,000 to each princess, as well as a similar sum "as the basis of a life annuity."  The amount offered is based on their share in their late father, King Leopold's fortune. 
Princess Clementine has already received $400,000 "without prejudice to her further expectations."  Princess Stephanie has "so far refused the offer of a settlements" as the third sister, Princess Louise, has filed suit against the Belgian government.   Princess Stephanie and Princess Clementine will also "claim a full third" of their father's fortune.

A new interview with Allegra Hicks

Allegra Hicks, the former wife of Ashley Hicks, is featured in today's Evening Standard.

http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/lifestyle/article-23905600-allegra-hicks-on-life-after-divorce.do

Prince William to head charity, commemorating World War I

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/theroyalfamily/8191574/Prince-William-recruited-to-raise-funds-for-First-World-War-centenary-exhibition.html

The Hohenzollerns and King Edward's romance

Embed from Getty Images 

 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.