Another young couple belonging to the Court of Berlin are Prince and Princess William of Hohenzollern.  The princess is a daughter of the Sicilian branch of the house of Bourbon, while her husband is the eldest son of that Leopold of Hohenzollern, on account of whose election to the throne of Spain in 1870, France embarked upon her disastrous war with Germany.  Young Prince William of Hohenzollern, it may be added, figured for a time as Crown Prince of Roumania, and as heir to the throne of his uncle, King Charles; but after living for some time at Bucharest, he came to the conclusion that life in Roumania as crown prince was infinitely less agreeable than that of a scion of the house of Hohenzollern at Berlin, so he renounced his rights to the Roumanian throne, and came back to Berlin to live.

His younger brother, Charles of Hohenzollern, divides his time between Berlin and Potsdam; he is married to Princess Josephine of Belgium, daughter of that Count of Flanders, who is brother and next heir to King Leopold.  Besides these, there are Prince and Princess Albert of Saxe-Altenburg, and several other young couples belonging to the junior sovereign houses of the German empire, who prefer to make their home at Berlin, and at Potsdam, rather than in the smaller and infinitely less brilliant capitals of their respective countries.  Moreover, it has now become the fashion among the various non-Prussian rulers of the German Confederation, to send the junior members of their families—­the young men—­to Berlin for a time, in order to complete their military education under the eyes of the kaiser, and to be in touch with that general staff which is virtually the Supreme Council of War of the German army.

It is for this reason that Prince Louis of Bavaria, although he notoriously dislikes the kaiser and resents his assumption of superiority, claiming that the members of the Wittelsbach family are not the vassals, but the allies of the emperor, nevertheless has sent first his eldest son, and then each of his younger ones in turn, to spend a year or two at the Court of Berlin, under the immediate direction and eye of the kaiser.  Prince Louis was particularly anxious that his eldest son, Rupert, as future King of Bavaria, should get in touch with the emperor, and become thoroughly acquainted, not only with Prussian methods, but also with the leading statesmen and generals, and with the trend of political aims and aspirations at Berlin.  The example of Prince Louis has been followed by all the other petty German sovereigns, so that there are always about a score of non-Prussian but German young princes of the blood, giving life and gayety to the Courts of Berlin, and Potsdam, and taking a leading part in Berlin society.

Among the princes there is none, however, who possesses so striking an individuality as William’s only brother, Henry.  His assignment to the command of the German naval forces in the far Orient a couple of years ago, created much comment and speculation, being construed by many, both in Germany and abroad, as a banishment resulting from the kaiser’s jealousy and dislike of the very popular Sailor Prince.  I do not believe for one moment that this supposed jealousy exists, although everything that can possibly be conceived has been done, unintentionally and intentionally, to create it, in a manner which I will describe a little further on.