The Indianapolis times. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1922-1965, 1935-07-13
Social Note: The HOhenzOllernS
Again Are Calling on the WindSors
BY MILTON BRONNER

NEA Service stan Correspondent.
I ONDON, July 13-Slowly, re-
~ luctantly, the strands be-
tween the royal English House Of
Windsor and the German House
of Hohenzoilern, snapped by the
World War, are being patched up
by King George v.
Only after II years from the
end of the war has Englands
king somewhat half-heartedly
hung the latch string outside
Buckingham Palace for royal
Germans.
The World War broke family
ties in some cases and knitted
them closer in others. This was
especially true Of King George.
He was the son Of the late King
Edward Kaiser Wilhelm was the
son Of the late Emperor Frederick,
whose wife was Edwards favorite
sister George and Wilhelm we're,
therefore, first cousins.
Georges mother was the lovely
Queen Alexandra, Danish Prin-
cess. The late Car Nicholas II
of Russia was a son of AleXan-
dra's sister. So George and Mich
olas also were first cousins. The
var put George and "Nicky" on
the same side of the fence. 1t put
George and Wilhelm on opposite
sides.
1t happened that this suited
King Georges personal prefer
ences. He always liked his Russian
cousin, who resembled him so
much physically that they
looked like twin brothers. And
from his father, George inherited
a dislike of his German cousin.
A FTER the war goodly num-
- Der of relatives of the Rus
sian royal family, in exile from
Bolshevik Russia, came to Eng
land. They not only were made
to feel welcome by King George,
but, in many ways, he quietly and
unostentatiously helped them.
The German royal relatives gave
England a wide berth.
But all this has been changed
in 1885. One of the first to come
was young Prince Louis Ferdi-
nand, son of ex-Crown Prince
Willy and grandson of the ex-
kaiser. He is third cousin of
England's king, and rather an en-
gaging youth, who has had the
corners knocked off him by his
American experience among the
workmen in Ford's automobile
factory. During his stay in Lon
don, Louis got a free tea, King
George being the donor.
The next tea guests were the
Duke and Duchess of Brunswick
and their daughter, Princess Fred
erica. They came over here to
place their daughter in finishing
school. Both the Duke and Ouch
esS of Brunswick are blood kin OF
the House of Windsor.
The dukes connection goes
long way back. Old King George
III. against whose tyranny the
American colonists successfully re-
belled, had a fifth son, Ernest
Augustus, whom he created Duke
of Cumberland. Now the royal
Georges, from whom the House
of Windsor descendS, were far
more German than British. In
fact, they had been the rulers OF
Hanover.
TINE Duke of Cumberland,
above mentioned, became
King of Hanover in 1887. His title
descended in succession to his
heirs until Hanover was grabbed
by Prussia and the separate king
dom ceased to exist. But the
Dukes of Cumberland still set up
their claim to the throne and this
led to bitter relations with the
Hohenzollerns.
When the World War broke out
the then holder of the Duchy OF
Cumberland was good German
with a perfectly good English title.
Parliament, therefore, deprived
him of the right to wear it. His
son, Duke of Brunswick, had be-
come reconciled with the Ger
man kaiser by giving up all fur
Their claim to Hanoverian throne.
And in 1918 he got his reward,
winning the hand of the kaiser's
only daughter, Princess Victoria
Louise.
So when King George had them
to tea, his male guest was his
umpteenth cousin and his female
guest was his second cousin.
And only the other day King
George and Queen Mary had as
luncheon guests still another set
of visiting fremen-ex-Crown
Princess Cecilie of Germany and
her daughter, Princess Cecilie Vic
toria. The mother came over to
place her daughter in a finishing
school. BY marriage, the ex-
Crown Princess is related to King
George. But there also is dis
tant blood tie.
A ND (whisper)-the former
IA Crown Princess is apt to get
in Dutch when she goes back to
Maitland. In London she was the
house guest of Lady zia Wernher.
Lady Zia before her marriage was
Countess Torby, daughter Of the
late Grand Duke Michael of Rus
STA.
So when Cecilie visited Zia 1t
was a case Of royalty visiting
royalty.
But Lady Zia is the pretty and
happy wife of Sir Harold Wernher
and that's another kettle of fish
for Hitler.
Sir Harold's father was born
Julius Wernher in Darmstadt, Ger
many. He was a non-Aryan who