The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1906-02-12

WILLIAM AND HIS UNCLE


ssEsAeAetefe}e cstskslsEskelsh
?, to England as soon as it became evil
| DENY mat Nictoria's end was approach
| ing. That the queen and the heir to the
! throne had had many Gisagreements is
| Well known, and it is declared at court
| that during her last hours Queen
! Victoria showed so much more regard
| for the kaiser than she did for her
/ eldest son that the nose OF the prince
! OF Wales was put out OF joint badly.
| This episode would have left its mark
! in any event, but Wilhelm II, prompt
! ly made matters worse by Offering the
new king friendly advice on the way in
| which he could best rule over his
worldwide empire. The kaiser. who
is 10 years younger than King Edward,
considered that the dozen years of ex-
perience as a monarch which he had
gained when Queen Victoria died gave
him q right to instruct and advise his
uncle how the British empire should be
ruled. King Edward keenly resented
his imperial nephew's patronage and
administered a snub to the kaiser,
which left its sting for several years.
That incident took place at the begin
ming of>19G1 and the two monarchs did
not meet again until King Edward
visited kiel in the summer of 1904
Soon after King Edwards accession
TO the throne it came to his knowledge
that the German emperor had given
utterance 10 all sorts of personal criti-
-cisms regarding his royal uncle's mode
of life. The kaiser, who is frequently
carried away by his not temper to say
indiscreet things, designated King Ed
ward in conversations which were
overheard by half a dozen or more
persons as an "unredeemable rake
and a 'prodigal son who had not aban-
doned his profiisacy after ascending
the throne" The kaiser also referred
TO the incongruity between Puritan
England and her Dleasure-loving mons
arch. and remarked that the ruler of
the British empire ought about every
thing TO be remarkably careful in re-
gard to his private life and morals.
The kaiser. however, did not confine
himself 70 criticisms of King Edwards
morals and of his fondness for the fair
sex. He also criticised the character
of several Of King Edwards chosen.
personal friends He stated that King
Edward had a remarka bic preference
for pleheian and democratic company,
whereas his duty as monarch re-
quired him TO limit his circle of friends
20 aristocrats and high-born person.
ages. monarch could, of course, i
meet plebeians on friendly terms at
special and occasional times. but it was
& mistake for king to choose his prin-
cipal friends from any but the very
highest circles of society. The kaiser |
referred especially to King Edwards |
close personal friendship with Sir |
Thomas Upton. and said on one occa- |
sion, I cannot understand how my
uncle can confer his personal amity on |
that low-born tea trader and shopkeep-
eT. When Sir Thomas Upton attend |
ed the kieI regatta in 1904 on board the |
steam yachts Erin. the kaiser refused |
TO receive HIM and sent him none of |
the invitations which were literally |
distributed among all the other Eng |
lish visitors of distinction. King Ed |
ward, who had previously heard of the |
kaiserss criticism of his friendship for |
Sir Thomas Upton, naturally resented
the slight on the famous yachtsman, /
so that the owner of tf@a successive |
Shamrocks has played quite an impor> |
tant part in the dispute between the /
two ulonarchs
One Of the most potent causes in in
fensifving ard proIonging the personal !
hostility between King Edward and !;
Emperor William has been the inter- |
communication OF the unfriendIy and /
malicious utterances which the one has |
made about the other As often as the J
German emperor has made a critical
remark about his Uncle Edward it has
been made known to the latter with
remarkable precision and rapidity. If
the kaiser uttered the remark Mond ~.
King Edward generally had knowledge
OF the incident on Wednesday or
Thursday- On the other hand. as Oft
en- as King Edward responded to his
nephew's criticism by counter-criticism
MS ut-erances were likewise made |
known in Berlin within a day or two.
There is no doubt that a number or
courtiers both in England and Ger
many have made il their business to
transmit malicious gossip from Berlin
to London and vice versa. apparently
for the sole object Of fOnenting the,
quarrel between the two monarchs. Re
Gently one of the most influential and
serious political journals in Germany.
the Taegljche Rundschau. denounced
The Austro-Rungarian ambassador in