EUROPE'S YOUNGEST SOVEREIGN.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XLIX, Issue 15002, 25 May 1912, Page 5 (Supplement)

EUROPE'S YOUNGEST SOVEREIGN.

A PRINCESS AND HER FORTUNE.

On February 25, Queen Wiihehnina of Holland was robbed of tho distinction of being the only female monarch in Europe. The Grand Duke William of Luxembourg has passed away, and his proud office devolves upon his young daughter, Princess Marie. This fortunate young lady is as yet too young to take up the reins of office, being only seventeen years of age, though it requires but three months before she reaches her eighteenth birthday and her majority. In the meantime her mother is acting as Regent, which is merely a continuation of office, for during the last four years the late Grand Duke was incapacitated by mental and physical paralysis; the burden of State affairs thus falling entirely upon the shoulders of his consort.

That a yo'ung § pretty, high-spirited girl should become ruler over a community numbering some quarter of a million persons is in itself unusual enough to evoke more than ordinary interest. But there is, more in it even than this. The ruler of Luxembourg is, possessed of virtually autocratic sovereignty, for the small, legislative body is only in season for four months of iho year, and has hardly any powers of restraint upon the monarch. Moreover, there is a great fortune to be included, worth some £110,000,000, which is hers by every right, and makes her quite independent ol the i civil list of £8000 odd. This fortune was amassed for tho most part by tho Dukes of Nassau, previous to 1866, when, they were driven into Austrian exile, through the prosperity of Monaco's forerunner, Wiesbaden, once tho gambler's paradise, and other places of a similar nature. Besides this, the rulers of Nassau, through tho extinction of several branches of their family, became heirs to various considerable sums from time to time. This fortune of the House of Nassau is invested well, for the most part in large, estates in Austria, Hungary, Germany, and Luxembourg, including mines, distilleries, and many industries of all kinds. 'A Spoilt Child. The outlook is very interesting,' for "it is difficult to conceive a more romantic figure than a beautiful girl of barely eighteen, possessed of virtually' autocratic sovereignty, the mistress of millions of pounds, and who, in spite of all the efforts of her mother and grandmother, has been so spoiled by , her- other relatives and by her entourage that she is bent on' having her- own'way in everything; 'impatient of advice, impulsive, quick-tempered, and so unmindful of r tho obligations .of • her • position that at several-public ceremonies- at which sli6 represented her father site positively refused to kiss tho -young girls deputed by the.local authorities to present her with bouquets on the' plea- that they —that its, the young girls, not the flowers —were too ugly, and, moreover,' offended her olfactory nerves. Perhaps, under the circumstances, it is just as well that the standing army of Luxembourg does not exceed 150 men and-officers all told, supplemented iu the case of emergency by a gendarmerie or constabulary force of as many more, otherwise there is no knowing what might happen if she fell out with the rulers of some of tho neighbouring States. . ~. Whom Will She Marry? I - is needless to state that all sorts of rum 'us have been current as to her prospect., e husband. The most popular is that ho is to be found amongst the younger sons of the Emperor of Germany. To those who really know, however, it would seem most probable that the young Princess, being somewhat wilful, and having no one powerful enough to check any such wilfulness, will choose just exactly whom who likes. True, the family statutes of tho House of Nassau, we are told, restrict the matrimonial alliances of its members to royal personages, and to those whoso patents of Counts and Countesses of the Holy Roman Empire date from tho seventeenth century. But as the principal stipulation is that the raarriago i in order to be .valid, should have the consent of the head of the house, who is now the young Grand Duchess Marie, the statutes are open to construction that she herself, .as such, could marry whomsoever she pleased. That is, in go far as the. possession of,the -Nassau fortune is concerned. With . regard to the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg.'all that is required for the marriage of a member of the reigning house is that the alliance should 'receive the .sanction of the head of the house, namely, of the Grand Duchess, and of the legislature, which has always shown itself to ■be 'extremely subservient. ■ • - ■

Defendant in Lawsuit.

| Only about two years ago there closed one of the most sensational lawsuits in Europe of modern times, in ' which the young Princess was the defendant. It will bo remembered that, Count George Merenburg laid claim to the throne of Luxembourg in tho event of the decease of the thou Grand Duke, father of Princess Marie. Count Mercnburg's. claims were in tho first, place' presented to- the Legislature of Luxembourg with the object of nis being recognised as next heir to the crown of Luxembourg on the plea that he was the. son of Prince Nicholas, the only brother of Grand Duke Adolf of Luxembourg, ami that, according to the 'family statutes of the reigning House of Nassau, recognised by the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, the rights of the women of the dynasty did not become active until there <v;?re no males left. The Compromise To thi?, objection was .made that tho marriage cf Prince Nicholas to Natalie Pouchkine, divorced wife.of General Doubelt, Chief .of .the. Russian Police, was of cubtful validity, and had at the very best _bjen of a morganatic character. In .support of this allegation a document was produced from the Luxembourg State archives,, which existn in duplicate in the family archives of the House of Nassau, in which, under tho date of the beginning of' June, 1868, Prince Nicholas, in return for the restoration of his allowance ,by his elder brother, then Duke .Adolf of Nassau, explicitly and formally promised that under no eircumctanccs would cither his future wife or his children by her ever assume the name ox* the armorial bearings of the- royal House of Nassau." Other objection? were many; and a rather disgraceful action ended in a settlement by which iirreturn for a withdrawal of all his pretensions, ho was to receive an annuity of some £2000 a year .for - himself, and the senior of his" descendants in the male line direct, in perpetuity, and the payment of Ids enormous legal expenses.