Wilhelm’s Wife Gives Problem in Etiquette

Sun (Auckland), Volume II, Issue 565, 18 January 1929, Page 11

Wilhelm’s Wife Gives Problem in Etiquette

Bavarians Laugh at A ristocra ts ’A rgu men ts

The Bavarian aristocracy is confronted with one of the Knottiest problems it has been obliged to face in many years.

Munich retains its “court season,” i lasting from Christmas until Lent, when the gentry rally at the Bavar-! ran capital for a gay round of social l events lacking nothing of the grandeur of the days of the empire. Among the prominent debutantes coming out this season will be the young daughter of the former Kaiser's present wife, Princess Hermine. Although this young lady is very welcome in the inner circle and is considered a real attraction for Austrian, Hungarian and North German royal visitors, there is a fly in the ointment. Princess Hermine wishes to accompany the young debutante at her coming-out party, according to Dame Rumour. And this provides a quandary which is causing the royalists sleepless nights and days filled with apprehension, says a waiter in an American paper. No one knows how to address the former Kaiser’s present helpmate and no one is able to find a proper title. In the monarchistic camp there is a faction of staunch adherents of the old regime who contend that Wilhelm 11. never abdicated and that his wife must be addressed as "Your Majesty.” Others believe she should receive no other title than princess, which was hers as the wife and widow of Prince Schoenaich-Carolath. Princess Hermine is known to be very sensitive about how she is addressed and on several occasions is said to have stormed and raged because her present position as wife of the former Kaiser was not recognised. These controversies crop up practically every time she visits Germany. The only time she expressed accord with the treatment given her was when she was received in royal fashion at a South German watering place, and addresses as “Konigliche hoheit” (“Your Royal Highness”) by the stationmaster, who also put the royal waiting room at the station at her disposal. That she considers her eldest son as eligible to the German throne should the monarchy return to power has long been an open secret. Trying To Frame a Letter

Apparently the easiest solution of the problem would be to address the visitor as she desires. However, this would be a signal victory for the extreme monarchistic camp which the opposition will not concede. Formality is one of the first laws of the little court which has thrived despite the change of government. Nothing is more serious than addressing a member of this aristocracy or nobility by a title either higher or lower than that to which the bearer is entitled. Therefore some conclusion must be reached before the social season opens and the solution must be the right one to uphold the honour of the court.

For days several members of the Bavarian gentry have been engaged in framing a letter to Princess Hermine, couched in the most discreet language in which it is intimated that a member of the Schoenaich-Carolath family could act as chaperon to the young . Princess at her coming-out party. But the gentlest words of the German language seem harsh when the writers visualise the possible effect the letter may have on the mistress of Doom castle and what attitude Wilhelm himself might take. Either or both of them might send a reply criticising the court or even charging disloyalty to-' their monarch.

Bavaria must remain the seat of the court of Germany, Austria and Hungary, it is argued in Munich circles. Before the revolution, Bavarian aristocrats flocked to Berlin and Vienna for the Christmas holidays for court festivals. Now Munich has become the centre of activities and the Bavarian capital is eager to retain that distinction although the former leaders are shorn of their erstwhile power in the political and even the social world. The pretensions of the unseated aristocrats are being made sport of by the burghers, who point with a great deal of pride to the ease with which ordinary mortals impersonate the nobility. First, Harry Domela posed as the eldest son of the former Crown Prince and received the homage of the nobility itself. After his escapade in Thuringia, a milkmaid who is not as comely as girls of this vocation are often described in verse and song, played the role of princess and hoodwinked the same neighbourhood which had been victimised by Domela. The gullible public was not entirely from the ranks of the common people, but from the gentry as well. Martha Barth, a milkmaid in the former Crown Prince’s dairy at Potsdam, learned enough about the lives of her superiors in a few short months to play their role and collect such tribute as willingly was laid at the feet of royalty. Martha’s magic wand was jewellery which, owing to the degree of perfection achieved in manufacturing synthetic stones, she was able to purchase from the savings of her meagre wages. Martha now must serve about six months in gaol for her escapades but she is willing to pay the fiddler.