Under Difficult Circumstances

In summer, in Cologne, the air conditioning in the conference room of the Royal Palace was cranked to its highest setting, while the heavy oak doors remained shut. A meeting of senior court officials was underway.

His Majesty Rudolf's prolonged absence meant that all major decisions lacked a final authority to settle them. Every matter could only be pushed forward with difficulty and caution among the senior ministers, and most were handled by digging through old records for precedents.

"Welcome to this conference room, our new Minister of Agriculture." Count Ranke, the Minister of the Interior, spoke with barely concealed weariness as he handed a finely printed letter of appointment to Theodore von Mainz.

Appointments to court positions had become quiet affairs. Gone were the grand ceremonies of days past, with their fanfares and throngs of guests. Now, the transfer of power was completed right there in that solemn conference room.

The previous Minister of Agriculture, Theodore's father—the respected Grand Duke of Mainz, Dalberg von Mainz—had retired for good after Frederick's marriage to Maria, handing his son both the burdens of the duchy and this largely honorary post, which carried more prestige than real authority.

A similar transfer of power had quietly taken place in the Duchy of Bayern. The aging Grand Duke Ludwig Wittelsbach had handed the duchy's affairs and the position of Minister of Foreign Affairs over to his heir, Reiner Wittelsbach.

Theodore accepted the glittering letter of appointment and slowly surveyed his somewhat sparse gathering of colleagues. A familiar, perfectly measured, formulaic smile appeared on his face.

He knew full well that traditional court meetings were mostly a formality. The Minister of Agriculture in particular spent most days consuming the tea and delicate pastries provided by the royal household.

Still, today there were matters of state to