Alma record. (Alma, Mich.) 1878-1928, 1889-07-26
KINGS AND PRINCES.
The Numerical Strength Of Eu-
ropes ROYAL Houses.


houses of Europe have been much dis
cussed OF late. All those are recogniz-
ed as being of royal blood, members
OF whose families now occupy or at one
time have occupied thrones. Accord
ing to official reports, published in
Harper's Weekly, there are now
u such royal families in Europe, with
459 male members, so that each
dynasty averages II Princes, number
reached, however, only by 10 of them
OF these ~ families no less than Is
are German, namely, the Hohenzoll-
ern, Wittelsbach, Victim, Nuremberg,
Zahringen, Hessen, Meclllenburg,
Uolstein, Anhalt. Schwarzburg, Reuss,
Schaumburg, Lippe, Waldcck, llaps-
burg-Lorraine, Welt, Nassau and
Liechtenstein; six are Romantic or
Latin, namely, Bourbon, Savoyen,
Braganza, Monaco, Bonaparte, Berna-
dotte; two are Slav, namely,
Obrenowitch and Njenosh; and one
is Turkish, namely, Osman. OF the
German no less than five, and OF these
the historic houses of Hohcnzollern,
Well and Hapsburg originated in the
little Swabian Wurtemberg. The pre-
pondelauce of the German dynasties
Is all the grelter because OF the III
actually existing thrones, they occupy
33. OF these 20 are in the German
Empire. IL are in other countries
namely, Austro-Hnngary, Russia. Eng
land. Tenn rk, Holland. Belgium,
Portugal. Roumania, Bulgaria, Greece
and Liechtenstein. The Romanic dy-
nasties occupy only five thrones, name
ly. those OF Italy. Spain, Brazil, Mo-
naco and Sweden-N Norway. The Slav
dynasties are found only in Servia and
Montenegro. Nothing is clearer from
these data than that the nationality of
the reighing families has had but little
influence in determining the political
ideas and aims Of the people they
govern. Notwithstanding the thorough
German character Of the Russian
reigning house, the politics of the
country is as decided in its anti-Ger.
man character as though its rulers
were Slavs.
The religion of eleven of these dyn-
asties Is entirely Protestant, Of five
others the greater number Of the mem
bcrs are Protestants. To these last
belong such houses a the Hohenzoll-
ern of Prussia. of which the older and
Catholic side lines are not entitled to
the royal succession in any case; also
the house OF Victim, OF which the Cath
Ollie King of Protestant SaXony is the
leading representative; the Holstein
house of Denmark. Of which the mem
bers in Greece and Russia belong 10
the Orthodox Eastern church, and the
Wurtemberg and Lippe houses. The
Romantic dynasties are all Catholic,
except that of Bernadotte, in Protest
ant Sweden-Norway. These excep-
tons to the predominating religion of
a dynasty have in nearly all cases re-
suited from the acceptance of "A throne
in "a country with a different nation
al religion. Where suce "A change il
not made ii is the result Of special
stipulation, as is the cash with Prin-
cess Sophia, Of Prussia, who i'm be-
coming engaged TO the Crown Prince
Of Greece, insisted upon her adher-
ence to the Protestant faith. Three
German dynastes are entirely Catho-
lie, namely, the Hapsburg- Lorraine,
the Wittelsbach-tO which the rulers
of Bavaria belong and Liechten stein.
Numerically the strongest is the
Danish house of Holsteiu. with its 50
living Princes, next TO which comes
the Saxon house of Victim. with 81
Princes. Members OF the former fami-
ly rule in Russia. Greece, Denmark
and Olden burg: of the latter in five
A l 4
gal and Bulgaria, aud will, when the
Welt family becomes extinct at the
death of Queen Victoria, wear the
crown OF Great Britain and Ireland.
The house OF Hohcnzolleru, which lost
in 1888 not ouly the two emperors
Wilhelm !. and Frederick Ill, but also
the last member OF its Oldest line. the
Hohenzollern-He chingen. still have
twenty Princes in its ranks, of whom
eight are less than fifteen years Old.
Another side branch will become ex-
tinct when chiidless Charles Of Rou-
mania dies. who will be succeeded by
his nephew, Prince Ferdinand.
OF the once powerful house of
Bourbon, only one repre- sentative now
occupies a throne, and he is an in
FAINT, namely, the King Of Spain
There are still 40 Princes Of this dy-
nasty, OF whom only one seems to
have chance 10 occupy a throne,
namely that OF Brazil, where the hus-
band Of the Crown Princess Isabella
may succeed her father The Haps-
burg house has really been extinct
since lao, and the present members
belong really to the Lorraine line.
The death OF Rudolph causes no en-
barrassment in the succession, the
supply still exceeding the demand, as
there are yet "a Princes of the dynas-
ty alive. The most productive soil
for Princes is the diiniuutive Liechten-
stein, which has only 1900 inhab-
itants but boasts of Is Princes of roy
al blood, or one for every 500 souls.
The two influential houses of Savoyen
in Italy and Bernadotte in Sweden
Norway are not correspondence pro-
life. the former having but eight
princes and the latter seven. The Old
house OF Welt which lost the throne OF
Hanover in 1864, and will lose that OF