EX-KAISER SON FACING DIVORCE.

Taihape Daily Times, 14 July 1919, Page 3

EX-KAISER SON FACING DIVORCE.

CRUELTY AND INFIDELITY‘ ‘ ZURICH, April 17. The former German Crown Princess Cecile has applied for a. divorce from Frederick William '.ae.cording to a statement given to Swiss newspapers by the former Grand Duchess Ar’x'a7s.tasie of Mecklenburg-Schw-erin, mother of the former -Crown Princess. The statement says that it long has been the desire of Cecile to divorce her husband, but that the pressure of the Hohenzol. lern family up to this time had prevented her from carrying it out. The statemen-t of'rthe Grand Duchess charges Tlnederick Willliam with cruelt.y to his wife,_ saying: “On one occasion some time ago the situation became so unbearable that my” daughter actually fled from her home. She almost succeeded in reaching Switzerland. Orders rwere semi: from Berlin -to intercept her,,cnd she was captured at the. German frontier like a common criminal and taken to Berlin under arrest. My daughter will be able to place before. the German Court overwhelming evidence against her husband, and will be able to prove many instances of the grossest cruelty. His infidelities were numerous, and there is abundant proof of them. His brutality tvas atrocious. On more than one occasion my daughter was treated with actual violence. She was bruised, and her face was disfigured by her husband’s blows.” O Berlin despatehes by way of Zurich, February 3, said that Frederick William had instituted -proceedings for a divorce, but. there had’ been no further reports on the case. The-' former Crown Prince is an exile in Holland.

His family has remained at ‘Potsdam. The former Grand Duchess Anatasie was a Grand Duchess of Russia before her marriage. Since the ‘war she has been living in Switzefland. She renounced her German nationtality, and renewed her allegiance to Russia late in 1914. ...___——_.——...... V