The Secret Memoirs of the Courts of Europe: William II, Germany; Francis Joseph, Austria-Hungary, Volume I. (of 2)Fontenoy, marquise de
History
The Secret Memoirs of the Courts of Europe: William II, Germany; Francis Joseph, Austria-Hungary, Volume I. (of 2)
Fontenoy, marquise de
Franz Joseph I, Emperor of Austria, 1830-1916; William II, German Emperor, 1859-1941
Among the princes there is none, however, who possesses so striking an
individuality as William's only brother, Henry. His assignment to the
command of the German naval forces in the far Orient a couple of years
ago, created much comment and speculation, being construed by many,
both in Germany and abroad, as a banishment resulting from the
kaiser's jealousy and dislike of the very popular Sailor Prince. I
do not believe for one moment that this supposed jealousy exists,
although everything that can possibly be conceived has been done,
unintentionally and intentionally, to create it, in a manner which I
will describe a little further on.
The reason of Prince Henry's being sent to the far Orient was of a
twofold character. In the first place, the Chinese Empire seemed to
be on the eve of a break-up, and each of the various Great Powers of
Europe, was exerting its utmost energies to secure the lion's share in
the game of grab in progress at Pekin. Scions of European royalty who
visit China and Japan are few and far between, and the emperor very
naturally thought that the presence of Prince Henry at the head of
the German naval forces in Chinese waters--a prince who in addition
to being the kaiser's only brother, is brother-in-law to the Russian
czar, and a grandson of the Queen of England,--would have the effect
of giving to the cause of Germany in the Orient an importance and a
prestige which would atone for the inferiority of its naval strength
in that part of the globe. Then, too, the emperor is generally
believed to have foreseen the conflict between Spain and the United
States, and to have known beforehand of the intention of the latter to
make a dash upon Manila, in order to secure possession of the rich and
fertile Philippine archipelago at the first outbreak of hostilities.
Germany's navy is of such relatively recent origin that its
flag-officers are far from possessing either the spirit of resource,
or the cleverness and diplomacy for which the commanding generals of
the German army are so distinguished. They are men who, officially,
intellectually, and socially, are of an inferior calibre, the majority
of them being of plebeian birth. The emperor held, therefore, that it
was all-important that Germany's squadron in the far Orient should be,
at that particular juncture, under the command of an officer such
as Prince Henry, who, by reason of his royal rank and his intimate
knowledge of his brother's views and wishes, would have the necessary
boldness, tact, and presence of mind to know exactly how to deal with
any crisis that might arise.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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