Bismarck's Counterattack
On the tenth of June, 1886, King Ludwig II of Bavaria was forcibly deposed on the grounds of mental illness. The news sent a tremor through the entire German Empire.
People argued the matter endlessly, but no one could interfere in the internal affairs of Bavaria, the second most powerful constituent kingdom of the German Empire. The Bavarian cabinet and royal house moved swiftly to settle the affair before any real controversy could take root.
On the thirteenth of June, Ludwig II was found dead under mysterious circumstances in Lake Starnberg.
"Now that there's no one left to raise an objection, we shouldn't have a problem, should we?"
The House of Wittelsbach arranged matters so that the throne passed to his younger brother Otto, with their uncle Luitpold serving as regent.
"We'll keep it this way in name only, I think."
Before long, word spread beyond the palace walls that Otto was mentally ill and that Luitpold held the real power. Those with a sharp eye for politics understood at once.
Ludwig II's deposition was a palace coup orchestrated by Prince Luitpold. Not content with branding a perfectly sane man as mad and driving him from the throne, they went so far as to kill him.
Of course, there was no evidence for this inference. And no one was bold enough to confront the second most powerful kingdom in the German Empire on the strength of mere speculation.
At any rate, the affair startled Victoria, Princess Royal.
"Valdi, the Bavarian throne really has changed hands."
"My information has always been accurate."
"Yes. It certainly has."
Victoria believed she had reaped a considerable advantage this time, thanks to her son. While mother and son discussed the matter with considerable satisfaction, the Chancellor's residence was in a state of shock.
"How can the King of Bavaria be replaced so easily? A forced abdication?"
Bismarck and his advisors made no effort to hide their grave expressions. Otto sat on the throne in name, but he was mentally ill and incapable of governing. The true sovereign of Bavaria, therefore, was Luitpold — and the man who would succeed him was Ludwig III, none other than Prince Ruprecht's father.
Bismarck was stunned to realize that a marriage he had dismissed as a union with a mere cadet branch had, overnight, become a powerful dynastic alliance between two royal houses of the first rank. If things stood this way, Bavaria — which he had long suppressed — might seize the Hohenzollern connection and turn on him.
And that isn't even the only problem.
The marriage could also serve as a bridge, allowing the conservative Bavarian court to join forces with the Crown Princess, the foremost champion of liberalism. Should Bavaria and the liberals form a political alliance under an anti-Bismarck banner, the resulting configuration would be a headache of the first order.
"Your Excellency, perhaps we ought to cooperate with His Imperial Highness Prince Wilhelm on this matter?"
Bismarck indicated his agreement.
"Convey to His Imperial Highness that I regard this situation with the gravest concern."
"Yes, Your Excellency."
Bismarck did not reach out to Prince Wilhelm alone. He also needled the Conservative Party, warning them that Bavaria must not be given an opportunity to distinguish itself in imperial politics.
"The marriage of Princess Sophie and Prince Ruprecht is absolutely unacceptable. Bavaria is already strong. If it grows any stronger, the tail will wag the dog."
"But what can we do? The wedding date has already been set."
That was the difficulty. After much deliberation, Bismarck decided to try moving Wilhelm I.
The aged Kaiser listened as Bismarck argued that a princess's happiness could be sacrificed for the good of Germany, and fell into thought.
I did the same in my youth. I had to sacrifice my own love for the sake of the state.
On one side stood the nation; on the other, his granddaughter's happiness. Wilhelm I's own life had already taught him which of the two carried greater weight. And yet he could not decide rashly. The other party was the heir to Bavaria. Breaking an engagement without cause could open a rift within the Empire — and a wounded pride could not be mended, no matter how generous the compensation.
Wilhelm I chose to defer his decision for the time being. Bismarck, for his part, could not force his views upon the old Kaiser. Threatening resignation to extract a decision had already been used once or twice too often. If he invoked resignation over a matter such as this, the old Wilhelm's trust would surely run dry.
News that Bismarck had visited the Kaiser reached the Crown Prince's palace before long. Waldemar, learning that Bismarck had tried to move the aged Kaiser, felt a stir of unease.
The Kaiser. That's right — Bismarck still has the Kaiser.
Waldemar went to his mother at once and asked her to take action. Victoria had already been of the same mind. She pressed her husband until he agreed to confront the old Kaiser directly.
The Crown Prince and Princess threw everything they had into the effort. They not only pleaded with the Kaiser themselves, but even went to Empress Augusta — with whom their relations were far from warm — and begged for her support with every appearance of humility.
The old Kaiser received the Crown Prince and Princess's request with cold indifference. But when Empress Augusta, who had spent a lifetime at his side, asked him not to stand in the way of Sophie's marriage, he found he could not bring himself to speak.
"But that child's marriage could unsettle the Empire."
"I know you don't care for those children. But don't push them too far away. Friedrich is the heir who will inherit your legacy, after all."
Persuaded by Empress Augusta, the old Kaiser changed his mind.
"Very well. I promise I shall say nothing."
The old Kaiser kept his word. Confronted with the Kaiser's silence, Bismarck realized he could not resolve the matter through the Emperor.
"Then I have no choice. I'll have to work on public opinion."
Bismarck had a track record of manipulating public sentiment so thoroughly that even Napoleon III had been left unable to move. He mobilized newspapers in Berlin and Munich. Before long, a curious narrative began to circulate on both the Bavarian and Prussian sides.
They were careful, of course, not to touch the personal reputations of the princess and the prince. That was territory even Bismarck dared not trespass upon.
In Bavaria, public sentiment toward Sophie turned decidedly sour. Prussia was no different.
Waldemar watched the shift in public opinion and decided to intervene himself.
"How do you intend to handle this?"
"With a more refined method than theirs."
Waldemar decided first to create a talking point.
"Ah — in Prince Ruprecht's name, then?"
"Yes. Every morning, three carriages filled with flowers are to be sent to the Crown Prince's palace in the prince's name."
"I'll see it done."
The flower carriages Waldemar set in motion soon captured the attention of Germans everywhere.
"What on earth? Who's sending flowers on that scale?"
The procession of flower-laden carriages rolled conspicuously into the Crown Prince's palace.
"The coat of arms on the carriages was the Wittelsbach's. So Prince Ruprecht was sending flowers to Princess Sophie?"
People instinctively understood that this was Ruprecht's counterstroke against the rumors that had been circulating.
"If the prince loves the princess that much, well…"
The people of Berlin felt that all the Bavarian public opinion they had been spreading was suddenly meaningless. Of course, plenty of people still opposed the engagement. But in that it had prevented public opinion as a whole from tipping against the match, the result was far from negligible.
Waldemar took a different approach in Munich.
"If the Hohenzollern-Wittelsbach engagement is to be preserved, the prince must demonstrate an unshakable commitment to the marriage."
Ruprecht, sensing that his engagement to Sophie had entered delicate territory, promised his cooperation.
"I understand that Sophie has captured your heart, but public opinion at home is not favorable. Your grandfather has said that, considering what lies ahead, domestic sentiment cannot simply be ignored."
"Father, I will change public opinion myself."
Ruprecht persuaded those in his family who had begun to waver over the engagement.
"Then I shall give you time."
Ruprecht joined forces with Waldemar and intervened in the Munich newspapers.
"Print the story that Bismarck wants to sabotage Princess Sophie's marriage."
This was not a claim with any real evidence behind it. It was simply a story they had tacked on because the people of Munich disliked Bismarck. Waldemar also hired a number of men to spread an exaggerated tale through every beer hall: that if Ruprecht married Princess Sophie, Bavaria would be able to stand up to Bismarck.
The moment Bismarck's name entered the Munich information war, public opinion began to flip with startling speed.
In Munich, Bismarck was something close to an absolute evil. Merely positioning oneself on the opposite side of him was enough to harvest a positive image of any size one wished.
Bismarck was considerably surprised to see the situation reverse.
They flipped public opinion with a method that crude and unsophisticated?
He tried to do more, but the board had already tilted. No matter how he worked public opinion, there was a limit to how far he could move it.
Half isn't nearly enough.
The royal house was not so reckless as to break a settled betrothal unless the overwhelming majority of the public opposed it. Only after several failures did Bismarck fully grasp that a war of public opinion could not stop the princess's marriage.
"And Prince Wilhelm's side?"
"Having seen that His Majesty the Kaiser has abandoned any intervention, they have decided to withdraw from this affair."
Bismarck crumpled the newspaper in his hand.
"They won't win forever, Your Excellency."
"That remains to be seen."
The Chancellor sank into deep thought, mapping out in his mind the new political landscape that was about to take shape.
