The German House of Hohenzollern had lately received one piece of good news after another. First, Bulgaria supported the former Romanian royal house in succeeding to the throne of East Prussia; then the British supported Wilhelm II's succession to the throne of the Rhine Kingdom.
Both Wilhelm II and Romania's late King Carol I belonged to the German House of Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen, while the other major direct branch of the House of Hohenzollern—the Hechingen Branch—had already died out in 1869.
Because of the great influenza pandemic, the founding of both the Rhine Kingdom and East Prussia had been delayed. Of course, this was also tied to the House of Hohenzollern's prolonged inability to settle on candidates for the thrones.
European kings of this era all cared about their dignity. Their heads could be severed and their blood could flow, but their face could not be lost!
That was the present state of the House of Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen. As losers, Wilhelm II and Romania's Ferdinand I had both declared that they refused the crowns being handed to them!
It had been the same in history. Wilhelm II had wanted restoration on one hand, yet had been unwilling to cast aside his dignity on the other. In the end, he missed the best opportunity for restoration and allowed Hitler to come to power.
Wilhelm II was still all right—he had sons to take his place. But Ferdinand of the House of Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen had a problem. His son was a constant source of trouble. The historically renowned "Carol II" had already fallen into utter disgrace.
His reputation for "loving beauties, not kingdoms" had surpassed even that of the romantic King Edward VIII. Even in the final days before Romania's downfall, this crown prince had been busy courting women.
Of course, courting women alone would have