ROTHERMERE SUED

Gisborne Herald, Volume LXVI, Issue 20091, 10 November 1939, Page 11

ROTHERMERE SUED

VIENNA PRINCESS

BREAKING CONTRACT

PAY OF £SOOO YEARLY

KING-MAKER STORY

CONTACTS IN EUROPE

(ElftC. Tel. Copyright—United Press Assn.)

(Reed. Nov. 9. 2.30 p.m.) LONDON, Nov. 8.

Alleging that Lord Rothermere had engaged her as a personal foreign representative, a Viennese, Princess Stefanie of I-lohenlohc-Waldenbourg, the divorced wife of a Hungarian magnate, sued Lord Rothermere for an alleged breach of contract. Her counsel, Mr. G. C. Beyfus, K.C.. declared that Lord Rothermere sought a feature for the Daily Mai! and the princess persuaded him to champion the cause of Hungary and supplied him with information for an article in the Daily Mail on June 20, 1927, which had ever since been celebrated in Hungary as a day of national rejoicing.

The princess, during 1932, rejected a suggestion that Lord Rothermere’s son, Esmond Harmsworth, should be nominated as the King of Hungary. Thereafter there was some coldness in her relations with Lord Rothermere, who, on hearing that she was publishing articles about her part in the Hungarian treaty-revision campain, paid her £SOOO not to publish any more.

Restoring Monarchies

Mr. Beyfus suggested that Lord Rothermere did not want anyone to share in his glory. Next Lord Rothermere appointed the princess as his personal foreign representative at a salary of £SOOO a year, as lie had decided to seek to restore the Hohenzol'lerns and Hapsburgs to their thrones.

Mr. Beyfus declared that Lord Rothermere wanted to be a modern Warwick King-maker and asked the princess to make contact with the Empress Zita, and the ex-Kaiser and acquaint them of this campaign to establish the monarchies as a bulwark against Bolshevism. Lord Rothermere corresponded with the ex-Kaiser, the Crown Prince, Herr Hitler and the Regent of Hungary on equal terms as though he was a sovereign power himself. Offer to Princess Zita The princess acted as an ambassadress. Lord Rothermere suggested offering the Empress Zita an annuity of £25,000 for five years, although only a year or two before he told the princess that it was difficult to keep his head above water. The princess advised Lord Rothermere not to deal with the Empress Zita and the ex-Kaiser but to make contact with the Crown Prince. As a result, Lord Rothermere accepted an invitation which the princess obtained for him to go to Germany, where lie was given a royal reception. Lord Rothermere promised the Crown Prince to restore the Hohenzollerns and told the princess that Herr Hitler should make her a duchess. Contract Not Disputed Sir William Jowitt, K.C., appearing for Lord Rothermere. said he did not dispute the contract for the plaintiff's valuable services, but contended that a year’s notice was sufficient for the termination of the contract. Mr. Beyfus pointed out that the princess had accepted Lord Rothermere’s advice not to take action against articles libelling her in the French press. Lord Rothermere was fearful of the publicity. He assured her that all would be well. Lord Rothermere had promised to pay her £SOOO a year for life, saying: “I never let down a woman.”

Mr. Beyfus stated that Lord Rothermere paid the princess £46,000 during 5£ years and requested her not to keep accounts of expenses, which included expensive gifts for various notabilities.

The princess continued in Lord Rothcrmerc’s service and secured an invitation for him to meet Herr Hitler at Berchtesgaden in 1938 and escorted him there .from the frontier.

Lord Rothermere sent her on a >’ital mission in January of 1938 to Herr Hitler to discuss the return of colonies to Germany.

Thereafter the princess and Lord Rothermere quarrelled over an in-come-tax return. Lord Rothermere dropped her without a single word. The hearing was adjourned.