IMPOVERISHED PRINCES.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LVII, Issue 151, 2 December 1914, Page 6

IMPOVERISHED PRINCES.

ROYAL INCOMES STOPPED BY THE •WAR. BRITISH AND CONTINENTAL SUFFERERS. The London correspondent of the Chicago Tribune, supplies the following particulars of the effect which the war has produced in Royal circles:— All because of the war, which spares neither the high nor the lowly, several minor royalties resident in England find themselves within hailing distance of the poorhouse as a result of having been deprived altogether of their incomes, and several of them would actually bo in want but for the fact that King George has come to their assistance. Meanwhile not only the king and queen themselves, but several of the oilier most exalted members of the Royal circle have been hard hit in a financial way, and at least one of them has been placed in a mightily embarrassing and humiliating position.

PRINCE CHRISTIAN'S INCOME GONE. Prince and Princess Christian, for example, have had their entire private income which came from German Government annuities and money invested in German securities swept away. The prince, however, as the chief ranger at Windsor, has a salary of £4OO per annum, and as such he also occupies Cumberland Lodge, one of the finest residences at Windsor, in the king's gift, rent free.

It is absolutely impossible for the prince to keep up this establishment on a salary of only £4OO a year, which would not be sufficient to pay the servants' wages. The prince and his family before the war had an income of about £3OOO, and this has now absolutely ceased, as it all came from Germany. Prince Christian, like many other minor Royalties in England, lived up to the last penny of his income, and when' sudden financial pies.-;-,ire came, he had no resources of any sort to fall hack on, and tradesmen about Windsor, to many of whom the prince was in debt, refused to deliever the usual monthly orders without cash when the prince could not •pay.

King George came to his relative's aid and arranged .with the tradespeople at Windsor to supply Cumberland Lodge witli necessaries in the way of food. °

QUEEN'S BROTHER IN BAD WAY. Prince and Princess Alexander, of Teck, who are notoriously among the moat impecunious of Royalties in England, have also lost practically all their private means through the war. The prince, who is, of course, Queen Mary's brother, received ah income of about £BOO per annum from interest on mortgages on real estate in North Germany, and the princess lias about £IOO per annum from German government annuities.

Queen Mary had to come from time to 'imr (o the aid of her brother, but Hcrr iiajoaty has now to support both him and the princess and their family altogether. The prince was appointed some little while back Governor-General of Canada, but it is unlikely that his lioyal Highness will go to Canada until the war is over.

The Prince and Princess with their family are now occupying a few rooms at fit. James 'Palace. They have, but two servants, am\ are living in the plainest and simplest manner.

EX-KING MANUEL IN STRAITS. Of all Royalties in England the king of Portugal and Queen Victoria, liia wife, liave suffered moat severely in pocket by the war, and the Royal residence at Twickenham has been thrown into utter confusion.

The whole of the income of the Queen was derived from German sources, and of course ceased, but that did not amount to very much, not more than a few hundreds a year. But King Manuel, who had invested very largely lately in Russian and French securities on the advice .of his banker in Paris, has for the moment been deprived of nearly the whole of a considerable income, excepting the interest on some of his holdings in British industrial concerns, which have declined about 50 per cent in capital value.

The ex-monarch is in far worse circumstances, as a matter of fact, than he was at the time of the revolution, in 'Portugal. He has no resources to fall Lao.': on and no one to come to his aid.

PRINCE ARTHUR HAS RICH WIFE.

'Prince Arthur,'of Connaught, has lost an income of about £7OO arising out of money invested in Germany, which was settled on him by his maternal grandfather. This was all the private means the Prince had before his marriage, but he got, of course, an immense fortune with his wife, and neither he nor the Princess have suffered any special inconvenience by the present financial disturbances.

The Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotlia, a "first cousin of King George, who has thrown in his lot with the Germans and is fighting for his native country, has lost for the moment a sum of about £2OOO, which he had banked in London and payment of which has been refused to the Duke's agent in London.

KAISER SELLS ENGLISH SECURITIES

; the outbreak of the war the Kaiser was holder of a considerable block of English Government stock and also of some British industrial shares and railway stock. Over two months ago the Kaiser disposed of his holdings, which were assigned in trust for the German Emperor to the Princess Henry of Battenburg. The Princess, bv the way, is one of the wealthiest of foreign Royalties in London. She will continue to receive the interest on it until the end of the war,'when she will pass it back to the Kaiser.

1 King George derives practically all his private income from Money invested either in England or the Solonieo, and ha snot, therefore, suffered any special loss by the war, but it lias necessitated many calls on his purse both in the way of helping his relatives at homo, and in the subscriptions lid has 'been called upon to give the various charitable funds for the relief of distress. The most extraordinary economies have, therefore been made in the management of the Royal establishment.