Imperial Requiem: Four Royal Women and the Fall of the Age of Empires

by Justin C. Vovk

  The birth of Princess Elizabeth in 1926 punctuated an exceptionally bleak period in Queen Mary’s life. It began with the death of Queen Alexandra and continued with the death of her sister Minnie, the dowager empress of Russia, in 1928. In a letter to the queen, Minnie’s daughter Xenia expressed what she and her sister, Olga, were going through: “You know how much we loved our mother & how we clung to her always & how in these cruel years of exile more than ever. She was all that was left to us—everything was centered in her—our home, our country, all the dear past … The light of our life is gone.”1280 Minnie’s life since the Russian Revolution had been a sad one, having lost two of her sons, her grandchildren, and numerous other relatives to the Bolsheviks’ murderous rampages. She had settled in England for a time, staying with Queen Alexandra, though this eventually led to strained nerves between the dowager empress and the British royal family. She eventually decided to spend her last years in semiseclusion at Hvidøre, a seaside villa in Denmark. Upon her departure from England, she wrote to the queen, “I am more than sorry that I might have caused involuntary trouble to you, but I hope & trust that my absence will help to calm everyone. Everyone has only been kind to me & I have never even heard an unkind insinuation of any kind. With God’s help things will blow over and I will return. I promise faithfully not to go near Buckingham Palace as long as my presence there might be misconstrued.”1281 When she died, her famous jewels—which were estimated to be worth possibly as much as £500,000 at the time—were sold to help her daughters’ financial situations.

  The queen, a consummate lover of jewels and antiques, contributed to the auction by purchasing some of Minnie’s most famous pearls. She later turned them into her famous pearl-drop tiara, which became one of the British royal family’s most prized crown jewels. Princess Diana was a particular fan of it during the 1990s. Minnie was not the only person from whom Mary received jewels. Upon the death of Grand Duchess Marie Pavlovna in 1920, Mary acquired her famous loop diamond and pearl tiara. This piece became a particular favorite of her granddaughter, the future queen Elizabeth II. When George’s aunt the Duchess of Coburg also died in 1920, she bequeathed “a chain with sapphires and a brooch to match” to the queen. The duchess’s daughter Queen Marie of Romania wrote that she hoped Mary would “think of my sad old Mama sometimes when she wears” the jewels.1282

  The deaths of Alexandra and Minnie in relatively quick succession seemed overwhelming for Mary and George. Shortly after Minnie’s death, George fell ill in the winter of 1928 after a weeklong hunting party at Sandringham. The king caught a dangerous chill. In no time, streptococcal infection set in. For the next several weeks, his condition grew worse. No sooner was the infection identified than blood poisoning flooded his body. There was little doubt that George was near death. In the meantime, stories were flying about the future of the monarchy. According to one story, the king had in fact died, and the queen was in league with Bertie to usurp the throne from the Prince of Wales, who was on his way back from safari in Africa. Bemused by such stories, Bertie half jokingly wrote to his brother, “In the event of anything happening to Papa I am going to bag the Throne in your absence!!! Just like the Middle Ages.”1283 It was a cruel story, not only since the king was still alive, but also because Bertie had no desire whatsoever to rule.

  A special council of six advisers led by the queen was appointed to rule during George’s illness. Though Mary took a leading role on the council, she nursed her husband with unfailing devotion. But even the indefatigable queen could not maintain her characteristic calm. “G. was very ill in the evening as the heart began to give out,” she confided to her diary. She ended with the ominous words, “Terribly anxious.”1284 When the king’s condition became critical, he was moved from Sandringham to Buckingham Palace where the family could be closer to London’s medical community. Outside the palace, hordes of people stood crowded around the Queen Victoria Memorial in stunned silence, reading the bulletins posted on the gates. Churches nationwide were opened twenty-four hours a day to allow people to pray for the king. On December 12, an operation was performed to save his life. His chances of survival were slim, but without the surgery, the certitude of death was absolute. It took nearly three months, but the crisis passed; the king had been spared. Later, after her first real conversation with her husband during his recovery, Mary was so moved that she recorded, “After tea G. sent for me, he was perfectly clear & we had a talk for 20 minutes which cheered me much after not having spoken to me for practically 6 weeks.”1285 Once it was obvious the king was on the mend, his cousin Queen Sophie of Greece sent him a relieved letter: “It was the greatest joy—to see your picture in the papers again to see you up about & about. It all brought you, if possible, still nearer to your people who showed such touching loyalty. It was splendid.”1286

  After his brush with death, the king showed signs of his age. Just shy of his sixty-fourth birthday, George’s health was never the same. His convalescence was long and arduous, and even after he was deemed healthy, it appeared he had lost most of his hearing. This latest illness showed everyone just how fragile the king had become. It also revealed how close to the throne David really was, leaving everyone to wonder whether or not the playboy prince would be able to handle being king. George was deeply worried about the future of the monarchy in his son’s hands. Speaking about the Prince of Wales, he ominously declared, “After I am dead, the boy will ruin himself within 12 months.” George knew that the hope of the dynasty rested with the Yorks: “I pray to God my eldest son will never marry and have children, and that nothing will come between Bertie and Lilibet [Elizabeth] and the throne.”1287 Time would soon show just how prescient King George’s words would be.

  28

  The Tinge of Sunset

  (1928–36)

  The six years that Empress Zita and her family had spent at Uribarren Palace in Lequeitio were among the calmest they had known since their brief time at Wartegg. “Such a quaint place, so bracing and wholesome!” was how Zita described it.1288 The family’s financial situation also improved. Revenues started coming in from two of the Habsburgs’ personal properties in Hungary, an estate at Rackeve, and an apartment house in Budapest. These were augmented by vineyards in the Rhineland and South Africa. King Alfonso also insisted on providing for the family. With the help of an anonymous group of Spanish grandees, he raised a small fortune to help the Habsburgs improve their standard of living.

  Like Tsarina Alexandra of Russia, Zita took delight in raising her children herself, though it was a responsibility she did not take lightly. “I have one great political duty, and perhaps only that one,” she said in an interview. “I must raise my children according to the mind of the Emperor, to make of them good men who fear God, and above all to prepare Otto for his future. None of us knows what that is.”1289 From her perspective, Zita was not only caring for her children; she was maintaining the future of the dynasty. All of her children were scholarly like their mother and became her students in history and languages over the years. In appearance, the archduchesses—Adelhaid, Charlotte, and Elisabeth—shared similarities with their brothers, the archdukes Otto, Robert, Felix, Carl Ludwig, and Rudolf. Whereas Otto, Charlotte, and Adelhaid, with their fair hair and blue eyes, resembled their father, the other five children inherited their mother’s dark, exotic features. The Archduchess Adelhaid, more studious and intellectual than her sisters, was close to her eldest brother, the robust Archduke Otto.

  At Uribarren, Otto was given a stricter education than his siblings; naturally, the youngest children had the lightest workloads. This was mostly because, if there was ever a restoration of the Habsburgs, it would be Otto who would be placed on the throne. The other children were aware of their brother’s vaunted position. When the children played, the moment the empress stepped into the room they snapped to attention, saluting both her and Otto. King Alfonso treated Otto as if the monarchy still existed, emphasizing his role as the lawful imperial heir. The king frequently
invited the archduke to formal events in Madrid, where he was given the place of honor next to the royal family. But Otto’s vaunted position never got the best of him. When he was once confined indoors for two days because his only pair of shoes was being repaired, his mother remarked, “he will understand the poor and will really be their king!”1290 As the eldest child, he was sensitive of his family’s uneasy position, vividly remembering when his parents were deposed and exiled. Rather than being spoiled or difficult, Otto’s circumstances had shaped him into a thoughtful young man who cared deeply for his family and his responsibilities.

  Whenever Otto returned to Uribarren after his visits to the king and queen in Madrid, a disciplined atmosphere prevailed. Under his mother’s supervision, the fifteen-year-old archduke typically began his day at 6:00 a.m., followed by nearly thirteen hours of studying or bookwork. The money that the empress had received from King Alfonso allowed her hire a number of tutors to instruct her children in German, French, English, and the classics. Zita’s other sons thrived at Lequeitio. Robert, Felix, Carl Ludwig, and Rudolf grew into obedient children who adhered to their mother’s wishes. They also inherited her fervent patriotism for Austria, along with the hope that the monarchy would one day be restored. None of the children seemed to inherit the weak constitution that had plagued Emperor Charles. With the exception of Archduchess Elisabeth at birth, all eight of the children were in excellent health, suffering rarely from serious illnesses.

  Unfortunately, the tranquility at Uribarren did not last. By the late 1920s, Spain was beginning to succumb to its political woes. The king’s mother, Queen Maria Cristina, was a regular visitor to Uribarren Palace and kept the family abreast of current politics. Archduke Otto recalled one of the last meetings between the empress and the queen: “She told my mother about her anxiety about the future of Spain. During her time as Queen it was she, rather than her husband who had kept up personal contact with all the left-wing leaders … who were later to proclaim the republic. She warned that if she were to die, she was very much afraid that the monarchy in Spain would come to an end within the next six months.”1291 The deteriorating atmosphere in Spain galvanized the thirty-eight-year-old Zita, who had been preparing to send her older children off to reputable universities. For the second time in less than a decade, the empress was forced to find a new home for her family.

  But where? That was the problem facing the young matriarch with the heavy Habsburg mantle on her shoulders. For her, France would have been ideal; but the republic, having got rid of its own Bourbons, might not take kindly to the Regent of another banished dynasty settling there, especially in view of the unabashed monarchist activities of her two brothers in Paris. England, the Netherlands and the Scandinavian countries all still had monarchies, but their Protestant reigning houses had no family links with the Habsburgs. A strong link did exist with Luxembourg, for Felix, another of Zita’s many brothers, had married Charlotte, the reigning Grand Duchess. They now stood eager to help in any way … but the principality was simply too tiny to bear the weight of Zita’s burgeoning ambitions. Mussolini’s Italy was out of the question. Portugal, for all the official friendliness shown in Madeira, had deposed her own mother’s dynasty and was, in any case, too far away from Europe’s centre of gravity.1292

  In 1930, Zita chose to relocate her family to politically neutral Belgium. It was an ideal choice, since its proximity to France, Luxembourg, Austria, and Germany meant the Habsburgs could be closer to their numerous relatives. King Albert I and Queen Elisabeth, the Belgian monarchs, offered the family an invitation to stay in their country indefinitely.

  In September, the empress rented a small villa from the Marquis de Croix called Hams Castle. Located near the town of Steenokkerzeel, it was roomy enough to house Zita, her family, and their small entourage of servants that had steadily grown since Lequeitio. The location was exactly what the empress had been looking for. It was close to Brussels, and it was on the direct road to the Catholic University of Louvain, one of the most reputable Catholic universities in Europe. Surrounded on three sides by a lake, visitors to Hams Castle were greeted by a medieval gate overgrown with ivy. Inside, carpeted stone and oak stairwells dominated the first floor. Throughout the castle were numerous reminders of Charles I, from photographs and paintings to trinkets he had owned.

  Shortly after the family settled in at Hams, they were informed that the monarchy in Spain had been overthrown. King Alfonso, Queen Ena, and their family escaped into exile in Paris. As soon as she heard the news, the empress “penned a touching note, assuring her former hosts of a warm welcome as well as a share in what scant means she possessed” should they join them at Hams Castle.1293 This sad reminder of the fickle lives of royalty had been preceded by a bittersweet family milestone for the Habsburgs. On November 20, 1930, Otto turned eighteen. Since he had now reached his age of majority, he was declared the formal head of the House of Habsburg. For the many royals in exile, Otto was now the physical embodiment of all their hopes for a restoration. He and his mother agreed, however, that until he completed his studies at Louvain, the empress would continue to oversee dynastic affairs.

  A few days after Otto’s birthday, the first momentous gathering of the Habsburg dynasty in exile took place. In the Grand Salon at Hams Castle, Empress Zita—wearing only the glittering diamond-studded brooch of the Star Cross Order to enliven her widow’s dress—declared in front of more than eighty archdukes, archduchesses, princes, and nobles assembled that, in keeping with the late emperor’s last wishes, Otto has “in his own right” become “sovereign and head of the reigning house.”1294 Empress Zita then knelt before her son and kissed his hand. She then affixed her signature to the official proclamation, followed by her son Robert, the emperor’s brother Max, and her mother-in-law, the Archduchess Maria Josepha. A delegation led by Stefan Rakovsky even arrived from Hungary to sign the proclamation on behalf of his country’s royalist community.

  During her years in exile, Empress Zita never completely lost hope that the monarchy would someday be restored in Austria, though she naturally believed that Otto would take on the mantle of emperor. By the mid-1930s, disillusionment against the republic in Austria was running high, leading many to wonder whether a restoration was imminent. Zita’s brother Sixtus met with King Alfonso XIII in June 1933. In a letter to the empress, Sixtus conveyed the message Alfonso had given him upon returning from Austria: “Vienna feels it stands on the threshold of the restoration.”1295 Optimism about a possible Habsburg restoration progressed so far that Zita’s supporters planned to bring Otto to London to meet King George and Queen Mary in the hopes of securing British support. The plan, devised mostly by Sixtus and King Alfonso, had Otto accompanying the king on his private visit to England that year. Alfonso wrote to Zita himself, saying he planned “to present Otto to King George V and to various people in power as well as organise a military tour of arsenals and barracks.” Encouraged by the idea, Zita quickly sent off a letter to King George on June 22. She asked if he felt Alfonso’s invitation to bring Otto to London “would be acceptable,” which would make her “happy if he could be received at court.” To avoid arousing any negative public opinion in England, she assured the king that Otto would travel incognito as the Duke de Bar. She signed herself, “Your Majesty’s very affectionate sister and cousin.”1296

  Although King Alfonso assured Zita that George and Mary thought the idea of Otto’s visiting their court was “magnificent,” it did not take long for the king’s government to voice concerns about having a deposed imperial heir being received at Buckingham Palace. Sir Clive Wigram, George’s private secretary, wrote a candid letter to Sir Robert Vansittart, the permanent undersecretary at the Foreign Office, about the problems that could arise if Otto were to visit. “I fancy,” he wrote at the end of the letter, “that King Alfonso was under the impression that he could bring the Duc de Bar to this country absolutely privately, but this, of course, would be impossible as to all intents and purposes he [Ott
o] is a pretender.”1297

  Once again, King George V was forced to bow to the pressure being placed upon him by his government. In the same way that he withdrew the offer of asylum for the Romanovs in 1918, so too did he retract, albeit politely, his support for Otto’s being received at court. In a letter dated June 29, the king explained to Zita the difficult position he was in:

  It would have been a pleasure to the Queen and Myself to have met the Archduke Otto but I am advised that if he were to visit England in the existing unsettled condition of Central Europe, his presence in this country would inevitably give rise to speculation and rumour which would be embarrassing not only to my government, but possibly also to you and your son …1298

  Although George showed Zita the utmost courtesy by addressing her as “Her Imperial Majesty, the Empress Zita,”1299 it was now clear that if the Habsburgs wanted foreign support for a restoration bid, they would have to look elsewhere.