That Time Hitler Tried to Fix Up the Prince of Wales

There’s a reason “dictator” and “matchmaker” are two separate career paths.

In 1913, Princess Viktoria Luise of Prussia — the kaiser’s only daughter — married Prince Ernst August of Hanover. The sovereigns of Great Britain, Russia, and Greece descended on Berlin to celebrate. Britain’s Queen Mary cried at the ceremony, and the bride danced with Tsar Nicholas II of Russia at the banquet that night.

It was the last big royal shindig before World War I.

And it was definitely an occasion to celebrate — Viktoria Luise had chosen Ernst August for love, bringing the enmity between their formerly warring families (closer) to an end.

But before she met him, there had been chatter that she might be a good match for someone else entirely…

“So Terribly Young”

Two years earlier, Viktoria Luise had gone with her parents on a state visit to England. The British press speculated that it was because her parents were looking for suitors. Although the German and British royal families were closely related, their countries had drifted apart due to incompatible squad goals (a fierce naval rivalry and a difference of opinion on which European countries made the best allies, among other things).