NEW LIGHT ON A ROYAL MYSTERY

New Zealand Times, Volume LIII, Issue 12453, 22 May 1926, Page 11

NEW LIGHT ON A ROYAL MYSTERY

Romantic History of the Missing Archduke-Sail or man

DEPOSED FOR LOVE OF A DANCING GIRL

iiiiiit]iiiiiiiii!iiuiiiiui!iiiic3iHiiiii!iiiE]iiiiiiiiii!ic}imiinniicaiiiniuim Secret documents of the Hapsburg family throw a new light upon the baffling mystery of the fate of John Orth, for .erly the Archduke Johann Salvator, who, renouncing his titles and citizenship, married a dancer and disanneared after sailing away in a ship of which he was the captain* THOUGH th© documents which have recently been discovered in the archives of th© Hapsburgs at Vienna do not account in any way for his strange disappearance, they lend colour to the theory that he and his pretty wife lost their lives at sea while on one of their voyages. MILITARY GENIUS Tim© was when Archduke Johann was regarded as one of the coming military geniuses of Austria. In every army there arc commanders of the old school who are opposed to change, and tho Archduke, in his desire to revolutionise obsolete methods, soon found himself at variance with th© High Command. That wfls the beginning of his downfall. Resenting the views of the younger man as an attempt to meddle with a sacred tradition; the military chiefs lost no opportunities of belittling him to the Emperor.

ENTER THE BEAUTIFUL BALLET DANCER

At last the storm of indignation rose to such a pitch that he found himsc ! thwarted and opposed On every side Friends deserted him, the Empero frowned upon him in disapproval, bi: he refused to give way. “Reform i needed,” he declared, “and I shall figh for it to the last.” The trouble reached its climax whei the Archduke’s infatuation for Lud milla Stubel, the beautiful ballet dancer whom he afterwards married, became known. Try as they would, his family failed to iilduce him to give up his love. Even the displeasure of Francis Joseph had no effect. Then came the secret report to the Minister for Foreign Affairs, Count Kalnoy, which, forwarded to the Emperor, appears to have led to the final

rupture. The report is on© of the documents which have just come to light. It was written by the Consul-General Alexander, Baron of Warsberg, and relates to an episode which occurred during fi stay of th© Archduke in Venice. After referring to an incident in connection with a woman who was lodged aboard the Archduke’s yacht, the report goes on: — This unpleasant situation has .been solved last Sunday by tho sudden advent of Field-Marshal Lieutenant Count Uexkucll, who brought tho Imperial order that his lnvperiial Highness immediately return to “Orth” at th© -Sea of Gm linden —to which he immediately submitted. Baron de Fin, who is still living here j and is on friendly terms with me, ©an give to the Archduke no certificate that would be bad enough. Baron de Fin pretends that there would be no other means to euro that completely undisciplined and immoral character but by dismissing him formally from -the Imperial family and by allowing him, as it is his desire, to enjoy, under an adopted name, that liberty- that he pretends to deem as the highest good. RESIGNATION What effect this had may easily be imagined. All his tolerance exhausted, the Emperor was implacable. The Archduke must resign his military career; he must go into retirement,

an d abstain from all participation in military and political affairs. Crushed and broken by the desertion of the man who had been his close triend the Archduke Johann bowed his bead to the decree, and the Imperial Court know him no more. But a life of inactivity and repos© did not suit his adventurous nature, and, after two years’ mental torture in exile, he made his decision to abandon his titles and become plain John Orth. He wrote to the Emperor: Being too young to rest forever, and too proud to live as a paid idler, my situation has become .painful, even intolerable, to me. Checked by a justified pride from asking for re-employment: in the army, I had the alternative: either to continue the unworthy existence of a prinoeiy idler or—as an ordinary human ’being to seek a new existence, a new profession. I was finally urged to a decision in the latter sense, as ray whole nature refused t-o fit into the frame of my position and my personal independence must be compensation for what I have lost. I therefore resign voluntarily, and respectfully return tho titles and rights of an Archduke, as well as my military title, into the hands of your Majesty, but request your Majesty submissively to deign to grant, mo a civil name. Far from my fatherland, I shall seek ■a purpose in life, and my livelihood probably at sea, and try to find a

DID “JOHN ORTH” PERISH WirH HIS SHIP ?

aiC2III!IIinjimi!llltHIHIC3IJIIIllllflIC3II!lllll!]IIC3II!IMIHlllEaillIII]lll!ICa humble but honourable position. If, however, your Majesty should call your subject to arms, your Highness will permit mo to return, homo and—though only as a common soldier—to devote my life to your Majesty. EMPEROR’S TERSE REPLY The extent to which the Archduke had alienated himself from the Emperor’s esteem can be judged from the fact that he dispatched a terse reply. In this lie sanctioned th© abdication of th© Prince’s right to be treated as one of th© Imperial family, consented to him adopting a civil name, agreed to his resignation of his commission as an officer, struck him off the “Knights of the Order of tli© Golden Fleece,” and added: Without my express permission you are forbidden to pass the frontiers of the monarchy from your residence abroad for a permanent or even a temporary stay in Austria. Franz Joseph. Free at last from Hapsburg domination the ill-starred Archduke married the ballet girl', Ludmilla Stubel, bought a ship, and sailed away to South America. TERRIFIC STORMS Some indication of the possible solution of his mysterious fate is contained in one of the newly discovered documents —a letter to his mother which tells of terrific storms at the parallel of Rio Grande del Sero, and of an outbreak of fire which very nearly ended disastrously.. Eventually, however, the flames were got under control. “God he thanked!” (he wrote) “for the boats were parched up by heat, And had been out of water for a long time; they would have sunk immediately—and we were at a distance of 504 miles from the coast of Brazil ” Here is the most probable cause of John Orth’s strange disappearance. The vessel, was an old one; it had been ravaged by storm and fire, and the boats were useless. The inevitable conclusion is that she encountered another storm and was lost with all hands.