ROYAL DRAMAS

Shannon News, 16 March 1926, Page 4

ROYAL DRAMAS

MORGANATIC MARRIAGES. ROMANCES OF KINGS AND PRINCES. ...... Many royal dramas, due to morganatic marriages, have been played in European Courts in modern times, but none of them aroused a more piquant interest than the announcement that Prince Carol, heir to the throne of Rumania ,and a grandson of the late Duke of Edinburgh, has not only renounced his rights of sue., cession, but surrendered all prerogatives attached to his rank, including that of membership of the royal family. Behind this dramatic renunciation lies the romantic story of the morganatic marriage of the Prince ito Mile. Ziza Lambrino, the ( daughter of a Rumanian General, and all its tragic consequences. The Prince, on securing divorce, afterwards married Princess Helena of Greece,, and thereby secured the succession, to the throne, the new heir apparent being his infant son Michael. But something seems to have gone wrong. It was noticed that while in London, on ithe occasion of Queen Alexandra’s fueral ,-the Prince was accompanied by a lady other than the Prince'ss or her predecessor ,and since then his conduct in Venice and elsewhere has given rise to scandal, which has call, ed for tlie intervention pf the Rumanian Government. A Matter of Succession.

Morganatic marriages are the more complicated when a hereditary prince rajther than a princess is involved, inasmuch as it is a matter of succession which has to be considered. Such mesalliances ar& essentially German in their (Origin, for there the old-fashioned law of “equality of condition” applies not only to the royal houses f,but to the nobility. Family prestige, etiquette, and nobility codes have an importance In other European countries which in this country would be' considered as somewhat obsolete. It is evidently for that reason that morganatic marriages are so frequent ,and thajfc the secret archives of royal and noble houses throughout Europe are so crowded with romantic stories .some charming and idyllic, many lamentable and often tragical. Rank Sacrificed. for Romance, It is remarkable that so many of the Austrian Archdukes should have been prepared to sacrifice privilege and position for romance. There is the Avell.known instance of the late Archduke Henry, who mariedj Leopoldina Hoffman, a. member of the company of the Karl Theatre in Vienna. The marriage was forbidden by the Emperor Francis Joseph, but the Archduke disregarded the prohibition, and was consequently sent into exile for seven years. A. reconcili. ajtion waJs eventually, brought about by the unfortunate Empress Elizabeth.

In ISB9 the Archduke John married an obscure actress called Milly Stubel in London. He renounced his rank, took the name of John Orth, and afterwards served os a sailor on board a ship that disappeared on a voyage from Buenos Ayres to Callao. It was assumed that Ithe Archduke was drowned with the remainder of the crew, but the fact was never definitely established. I Then there is the case of the Arch, duke Leopold Ferdinand, another Austrian Prince, who married ail actress and renounced his royal rights. And, as everyone knows, Archduke Franz Ferdinand, who was heir to the late Emperor Francis Joseph, fell violently in love with and married the beautiful Counters Sophie Chotek, daughter of a Bohemian magnate. The aged ruler was stoutly opposed to the match, and en_ larged on the eomplica)tions that w ould ensue, because children by a morganatic marriage could not inherit the throne. But the Archduke w’a.s obdurate ,and before the wedding was celebrated in July, 1900, he took the oath .of renunciation that “both he and. his wife looked upon the marriage as a morganatic one, that she would never attempt to share her husband’s throne, nor seek to place her future children thereon.” Hohenzollerju Mesalliances.

The names of several Hohenzol. lerns are also included in the list of Princes who have contracted mesalliances. Prince Adalbert, who was a brother to the late Queen of Bavaria, morganatiealiy married Teresc Prince Augustus of Prussia's morganatic wife was a popular player. Marie Arndt, afterwards created Baroness Prillwitz. Few Princes have been more persistenly attracted by the theatre than was Bulte Louis of Bavaria, the brother of the late Empress of Austria. His first wife was Henrietta Mendel, a popular Munich actress, and on her death he married Antonie Barth, of the jMunich Opera House, bestowing his favours thus on both branches of the theatrical pro. fession. King and Actress. Another actress, . the American Kiser, a weli.known dancer, and singer, Elsie Hensler, married the late King Ferdinand of Portugal in 1569. Miss .Hensler was born at Cambiidge. in Massachusetts, and made her theatrical debut at Boston Her morganatic marriage with King 1* erdinand had a far-reaching, effect on the history of Europe. Ferdinand who had abdicated the thi’one of Portugal after the death of his firsft wife was a popular favourite for the sue' cession of Queen Isabella on \ho throne of Spain. He stoutly declined however, to go to Madrid unless he could be accompanied by his American wife, and this condition made his candidature impossible. There followed in consequence the nomination of a Hohenzojlern Prince ’by Bis marck, and Ithe Franco-Prusslan war. The late King Victor Emanuel also* married morganatiealiy the Cpuntess

Miraflores, by whom he had two children. For a long time he had been attached to her as the beautiful Rosina, the daughter of d gamekeeper. During a long illness at a time when his wife was considered, (to be in. danger .and on account Of conscientious scruples, he was anxious that this marriage should be legitimised by the Church ,and it was by a monk that a nuptial blessing was given it, although it had never been ratified by civil contract. In Italy, as m France, a marriage to be essentially regular must be both civil and religious. In after years Victor Emanuel was anxious to free this marriage from its clandestine character, but he had to contend againsit the immutable opposition of his Ministers, who pointed out to him that that case, the marriage being recorded in the royal register, his wife would have to rank as queen. So the majfcter remained in abeyance, and was not settled at the time of'his death. . The tendency of the Sons of George 111. to mary ladies of non.royal birth led to the passing in England of the Royal Mariage Act in 1772. By this Act none of the descendants <£f George 11. can marry under the age of twenty-five without the consent of the King. At and after that age, after twelve months’ notive given to the Privy Council, they can contract such mariage, which shall be good unless both Houses of Parliament disapprove. If the ceremony is performed without the consent of the Sovereign, the union becomes, mor. ganatic, in which event it is stipulated that neither the wife nor her children shall enjoy the rank or inherit ‘ the possession of the husband. But in this country even the morganatic marriages of princes with actresses have been vigorously opposed for it must not be forgotten that the morganatic mariage is, in the eyes of both the law and the Church, as binding on the contracting parties as an ordinary marriage , The only difference is that the wife Is not admitted into the royal caste, and that the children are not royal .although, of course .they are legitimate. William IV. and Mrs. Jordan.

The most striking instance in England of a royal union with an actress ,s that °f William IV. witli Mrs Jor. dan. This, contrary to the general idea, was not even a morganatic marriage, although the King, when Duke of Clarence, lived openly with Mrs. .Jordan, and had ten children by her. Ihe King s legitimate marlagre was with the eldest daughter of the Duke of Saxe-Meininger;, by. whom he had two daughters . The most notable instance of a re. gulai, although morganatic, royal union with an actress was that of the late Duke of Cambridge, who married without the Crown’s consent, Miss Fairbrother, .who was known as Mrs. I itzgooi ge. King Edward had not been born ,and the Duke .therefore, was then heir-presumptive to Queen Victoria. The Duke’s eldest son did not succeed to his father’s rank, ant! the dukedom became extinct.