Friday, April 25, 2014

Karl warned about wife's relatives



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April 25, 1918

The Berliner Tageblatt has published the following dispatch from Vienna:

"The members of the Imperial House of Austria met at the Archduke's palace and decided through him to point out to the Emperor the prejudicial consequences which the activities of members of the House of Bourbon residing abroad might have for the interests of the House of  Habsburg-Lorraine."

The New York Times, which also published the dispatch, noted that the complaint of the members of the Habsburg family is directed toward Prince Situs of Bourbon-Parma, the brother of Empress Zita.

Prince Sixtus, an officer in the Belgian army, was the recipient of a letter from Emperor Karl, written on March 31, 1917, where the emperor "made peace suggestions  for unofficial submissions of France and Great Britain."

The text of the letter was made public earlier this month by the French Government, which alluded to "France's just claims regarding Alsace-Lorraine," which Karl apparently offered to support.

The publication of this letter has led to the frustration of Austrian statesmen trying to explain and deny "to heal Germany's injured feelings."

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