HOAXING A NATION
POSING AS A PRINCE Once “King of Albania,” now a man without home or means. Otto Witte, a shabbily-dressed man of sixty, was lately arrested in Berlin on a charge of swindling. His adventure reads like a fairy tale. Born the son of a ‘ Punch-aad-Judy ’ showman. Witte was travelling in the Balkans in 1913 just at the time when the newly-created State of Albania was looking for a king. He heard that a Turkish prince had been invited to Albania to submit his candidature to the throne in person. Witte immediately bought a gorgeous uniform, telegraphed his arrival at Durazzo in the name of the prince, and was given an enthusiastic reception by the prince’s supporters. The festivities in honour or the “ King ” were still in progress when another telegram arrived, this tiw-e from the genuine prince. Witte promptly denounced the newcomer as an impostor, and the prince only just escaped being temporarily thrown into prison. . The prince was detained at the Prefecture while inquiries were made. Meanwhile, Witte had gained sufficient time to enable him to steal secretly out of the country.
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https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/ESD19321013.2.107
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Evening Star, Issue 21232, 13 October 1932, Page 11
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186HOAXING A NATION Evening Star, Issue 21232, 13 October 1932, Page 11
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