Honolulu star-bulletin. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu, Hawaii]) 1912-2010, 1914-09-29
WAR;
LORDS CLOSELY
knit BY BLOOD

! Knit by BLUUD
When yOn consider it frem the poin
of the men who are wearing tn,
crowns, the rumpus over on the othe
side of the water is nothing more thar
ia family row.. Practically every kini
in Europe is either blood or marriage
relative of every other king. In {
great number of cases the Relationship
lis very close.
/ King George of England and thu
German kaiser are first cousins. The
ear of Russia and King George ara
first cousins. The ear and Wilhelm
are distant cousins by marriage but
Egeing further back, they both descend
from the same parent line.
| Nicholas isl son of sister Of the
Dowager Queen Alexandra of England
The kaiser is "a grandson of Queen Vie.
toria as is the present king of Eng.
land.
i King Constantine Of Greece Is o
brother,in-laW of the kaiser, having
married one Of the latter's sisters. II
Germany does not make q satisfactory
explanation of the reported sale of two
cruisers to the Turks, the king Of
Greece may join in the war against his
brother by-marriage. Everybody's do
ing 1T now, anyhow. Constantine is q
nephew Of Haakon VII, king of Den
mark.
i HaakOn Is brotner-in-law Of King
George, having married Princess Maud,
q daughter of Edward VII.
Francis Joseph is not closely relat-
ed to his brother monarchs, but his son,
the Archduke Rudolph, who committed
suicide, married cousin Of Albert /
of Belgium.
The many descendants of Queen Vic
toria are called the Queens Breed, !"
because of the numbers that either .oe-
lcupy thrones or. are wives Of rulers.
They are on the thrones Of England,
Germany, Spain. Greece, Denmark, Rus.
| lisa, Roumahia and Sweden.
Many authorities have pointed out
the danger Of weakening the strain
by forcing royalty to marry only its
equals. Many years Of this have re-
dueed kings to the necessity of marry
| ing only relatives. A crown prince,
when he hears the call of spring, can't
stroll out in the park, become smitten
of some handsome and husky. young
woman and marry her with the aid Of
bored j. p. If he could it would be
a lot better for his descendants-and
possibly for the people they govern.
When your crown prince fallA in,
love, the royal papa calls loudly for
the . Aimanack de Gotha and looks
up the ladyis pedigree. If she is the
daughter of house Of rank equal to
his own, the SON may be allowed 10
walk up the long aisle with her. II not
the royal papa slams the almanaek to
and says:
Nothing doingl"
Only, most of the time, the young
man is an innocent bystander in the
matter of selecting his own wife. II
is usually arranged by mania and
papa--with the able assistance Of some
gray-whiskered minister of state who
thinks great deal more Of strengthen
ing the power Of his country than he
does Of the color of eyes and hair the
young prince prefers.
All the crown prince has to do is
marry whoever is selected. The young
prince and princess have to appear to
live happily ever after for the sake Of
what people might say if they didn Z.
There are many who deny that this
close in-breeding Of kings is necessar-
lily bad thing. They point out that
the plan is followed with success in
the breeding Of thoroughbred horses.
The main danger, they declare, is in
the strain of insanity that taints the
blood Of many royal houses. Fore
bears Of King Alfonso were: % queer
that even their subjects called them
plain crazy. Alfonso, however, is one
Of the most brilliant rulers on the con
tinent.
The reigning English king is Of Ger.
man -blo0d--as are most Of the other
royal families. The cause Of this goes
back to a curious example of antique
eugenics.
In the 18th century, seven brothers
inherited ans estate on the Black For;
est which included the free Hanseatic |
city Of Luneburg. If the estate were
kept intact it was important enough to
be power among the German king.
doms-bnt if it was cut up by being I
handed down to many children it would i
inevitably have. been overwhelmed by
more powerful neighbors. The brothers !
held council and decided that u
would be disastrous for all Of them TO
marry and have children. 1t was de-
eided that only one would marry.
The lot fell to Ernest Augustus, /
bishop of Osnabruck, the sixth brother.
By singular good fortune he married
the talented Sophie. The sons oftthis
made the same rule--onIy I
one of them would take wife. This
system of in-breeding with q careful
selection of wives soon prodneed soIns +
Of the most prominent figures Of En-
rope. Descendants of the bishop now
sit on the thrones of England, Ger
many, Russia, Denmark, Norway.
Greece and many other countries Of
less Importance.