Northern Wisconsin advertiser. [volume] (Wabeno, Wis.) 1898-1925, 1902-05-08

His two younger brothers, respectively
Prince Henry XXXIfI. and Prince
Henry XXXV. of Reuss, come next in
the line of succession. After them
their sister, the now 17-year-old Prin-
cess Sophie of Reuss, and in the de-
fault of Princess Marie and of her
four children, just enumerated. the
rights to the Dutch crown pass to her
younger sister, Princess Elizabeth of
SaXe-Weimar. married to Duke John of
Mecklenberg- Schwerin. half-brother of
that Duke Henry who married Queen
Wilhelmina of the Netherlands.
Duchess John of Mecklenberg-
Schwerin has no children, and failing
her the throne of the Netherlands
would pass to the crown princess of
Denmark and to her children, the
crown princess being the only child of
the late King Charles of Sweden, who
married Princess Louise of the Neither
lands, daughter of Prince Frederick
who was younger brother of King Will
liam II, of the Netherlands and an
uncle therefore of the late king of
Holland. The crown princess of
Denmark has a family of no less than
eight children. and also some grand
children, every one of whom would
have rights to the Dutch throne
through their mother. Then comes
Prince Frederick of the Netherlands
other daughter, Marie, who is married
to the prince of Wied, and her chill
dren. and lastly. the descendants of
Prince Frederick of the Netherlands
sister, Marianne, who married the late
Prince Albert of Prussia. and whose
son, the present Prince Albert of
Prussia. is now occupying the throne
of the duchy of Brunswick as Regent.
From this it will be seen that, al.
though Queen Wilhelmina of Holland
has no children, yet that there is no
lack OF heirs to the Dutch throne, ac-
cording to the terms of the national
constitution of the Netherlands of
Aug. "a, 1915, and of Oct. IA, 1S4S. In
fact, the rights of Emperor William
to the throne are so remote that it is
not necessary to take them into seri-
Gus consideration although he is like
ly to prove an important factor in the
question of the Dutch succession, ow-
ing to the circumstance that all the
heirs enumerated above are German
princes and princesses, looking to him
as their de facto if not de jure suze-
rain and as their guide, counselor,
and protector. Moreover, Emperor
William as the recognized head of the
house of Orange-N Nassau takes his posi-
ton as such seriously, and considers
that it gives him the right to exercise
his will and to enforce his views in all
matters relating to the family of
Orange-Nassau, in which the success
sion to the throne of Holland is
vested.
In order to explain the position of
the kaiser in the matter as prince of
Orange it is necessary to refer briefly
to bit of ancient history concerning
which, strangely enough, little is found
in ordinary works of reference at the
disposal of the student In the first
place, the title of prince of Orange,
which most people imagine to be of
entirely Dutch origin, and to constitute
the Netherlands counterpart of the
English dignity of prince of Wales,
that is to say. an attribute of the eld-
est son and heir of the king or queen
regnant of Holland is altogether
French. Situated in what is now the
department of the Vaucluse, Orange
was formerly an independent princi-
pality.
In the year 1887 on the death of
Prince Philibert without issue,
Orange became the inheritance of his
only sister wife of the prince of Mas
sau. From that time forth the heads
of the Nassau family assumed the title
of prince of Orange, and continued to
retain 1t after becoming possessed of
the sovereignty Of the Netherlands as
hereditary Stockholders. The first of
these Stockholders was William |. of
Nassau and prince of Orange He was
succeeded by his three sons in turn,
only the third of whom Frederick
Henry, left any children. Frederick
Henry's offspring included son, who
followed him as William H.. and an
eldest daughter, Louise by name. who
married the elector of Brandenburg
known in history as the "Grosser
Kurfurst" and from whom the present
German emperor is descended in d.
rect line. William III. died, leaving
one son, who, after marrying the
daughter of the last of the Stuart
kings Of England. became ruler OF
Great Britain and of the Netherlands
under the name of William III. Dying
childless, his rights of sovereignty to
the principality of Orange and to the
Stadtholdership of the Netherlands
should, in accordance with the
statutes of the house of Orange Mas.
sau, as well as with the national laws
of both Holland and Orange, have
gone to his aunt. that is to say, to
William lis sister, Princess Louise of
Brandenb1rg. and on her death to her
eldest son, Frederick l., King OF Prus-
lisa.
William Ill. however, who detested
his Prussian aunt, Princess Louise, |
and hated still more her son, King
Frederick of Prussia, made a will of