Dearest Vicky, Darling Fritz (32 page)

When Vicky was not sitting talking with him or renewing ice bandages around his throat she forced herself to read the papers, having made him promise that he would not look at them first. Almost without exception they made unpleasant reading, and in particular the attacks on Mackenzie made her seethe with anger. Whatever his faults, notably pride which prevented him from admitting that he might have been wrong, he certainly knew how to handle them with sensitivity.

Moreover she suspected that the clique at Berlin were doing their best to see that Willy would succeed his grandfather on the throne. Wilhelm was tactless enough to raise the question of abdication to his father’s face at San Remo, and Fritz was so furious that even an alarmed Vicky felt it necessary to remind them that despite everything Wilhelm was their son.
³⁰
In a conversation with Herbert Bismarck in mid-November, General von Albedyll said the Crown Princess was responsible for giving a falsely hopeful portrait of her husband’s condition as she wanted to propagate the legend that he was capable of ascending the throne and ruling, so she would be able to rule herself. The Crown Prince was at her mercy, and even if he wanted to renounce his claim to the throne she would never let him; the situation would be tantamount to takeover by a foreign power, namely Great Britain. Such arguments were rebutted by Chancellor Bismarck, who reiterated that on the death of the present Emperor his son and heir would succeed him, whether he was ill or not, and whether he would be able to perform his duties or not would be decided according to certain articles in the Prussian constitution.
³¹

That the Chancellor fervently wanted the Crown Prince to succeed his father was beyond doubt, for personal as well as constitutional reasons. Prince Wilhelm, he told his associates, was a hothead incapable of holding his tongue, who let himself be swayed by flatterers, and could lead Germany into a war without realizing or wanting it.
³²
It was vital that his father should have a chance to rule, so the young man would have a chance to settle down and learn. For once he and the Crown Princess were in complete agree-ment. As Chancellor he was furious with Waldersee and his obsession with a preventive war policy, in which he had influenced and was wholeheartedly supported by Wilhelm. Waldersee and his acolytes seemed convinced that Russia and France were planning a pre-emptive strike on Germany early the next year, and said it was necessary for Germany and Austria to be prepared, if not to declare war themselves first. By mid-December Bismarck was angrily threatening to resign if Waldersee continued to agitate for war.

In view of the Kaiser’s increasing frailty, and in his son’s absence, it was vital to appoint Wilhelm as his representative. On 15 November he was granted authority, should the Kaiser become incapable, to sign state papers on his behalf. Basically it was a reasonable idea; by now the old man was so senile that he could barely sign his own name. But it would have been only common courtesy to consult Fritz first, not to let him hear of it as a
fait accompli
. He was already convinced that Wilhelm could not wait for him to die, and was behaving as if he was Crown Prince already. On 19 November an official document confirming Prince Wilhelm’s appointment as
Stellvertreter des Kaisers
(‘deputy Emperor’) and duties, signed by Bismarck, had been delivered at San Remo, but Vicky hoped that by playing for time she could wait for a more opportune moment to break it to him. She asked Radolinski to put it in safe keeping, as she had nowhere secure for it, and when he begged her to inform the Crown Prince of it she refused, saying it would anger him too much.

Two days later Henry arrived with a letter from Wilhelm, triumphantly informing him of the order. Fritz was furious; he would not let them act as if he was already dead, and insisted he would go straight back to Berlin and confront his father, son and the Chancellor regardless of the consequences. When he asked Vicky about Bismarck’s original letter she panicked, denying that she had ever received one. In desperation she asked Radolinski to hand it to him and take the blame. Later Radolinski told Henry of the incident, only to be told in no uncertain terms that as a senior member of the household it was his duty not to withhold any such letters to the Crown Prince, and overrule the Crown Princess if necessary.

Now that all hope of peace and quiet had gone for good, they could at least seek solace from a succession of family and friends who put in an appearance. Baron Roggenbach helped to keep Fritz’s spirits up as he talked with reserved optimism on the future of Germany as a constitutional power while he played chess or backgammon with the heir to the throne. Much as he believed in the superiority of German medical skill and privately distrusted Mackenzie, he had to admit that the Scot had behaved honourably and straightforwardly.
³²
The Grand Duke and Duchess of Baden, the Prince of Wales, the Duke of Edinburgh, and their sister Louise, Marchioness of Lorne, all visited at various times. So did Lady Ponsonby, who arrived at the villa early in December to find him up and about, with a deceptively fresh colour and good appetite. Reluctantly she asked not to be seated next to him at evening dinner, as she could not prevent him talking; ‘if one tries to avoid this by talking oneself, then he will answer. If one is silent, then he will begin the conversation.’ In front of others he tried and often succeeded in giving an impression of good health, but she could see that this was not the case. A few days later, he picked up a paper and read a gloomy report on his health, listlessly pointing it out to Vicky, asking why they had to take every ray of hope away. Trying to sound cheerful she told him not to take any notice, then she went into the adjoining room with Lady Ponsonby and broke down completely.
³³

Even Radolinski, who was not well-disposed towards the Crown Princess, found himself moved by her valiant efforts and courage, and he admitted to feeling ‘terribly sorry for the poor woman,’ to Baron Holstein. She kept up his morale, ‘but when she is alone she gives way to tears. Only she should not smile so much in public. It does her harm and one cannot help thinking that she does not feel deeply. Which is not so. She is absolutely resolved that he will eventually ascend to the throne. After waiting so long the poor man must have this satisfaction at least, and I will do all I can in the way of nursing and care to ensure that he survives to see that day and afterwards to remain on the throne as long as possible.’
³⁴

Fritz was deeply touched by the sympathy shown him from the outside world. Soon after the crucial diagnosis the
Reichstag
sent him a telegram wishing him well, and Sunday 27 November was chosen as a day of prayer for him in every English chaplaincy throughout Germany. A visiting British clergyman, Bishop Wilkinson, preached a sermon at Berlin on the divine cure of the nobleman’s son at Capernaum. A deaf-mute offered to have his own sound larynx removed and inserted in his Crown Prince’s throat. ‘Infallible remedies’ were sent by well-wishers to the villa; whisky and oatmeal from the Scottish Highlands, ground oyster shells from England, a bag of live worms from the United States, and carbolic acid from France, to say nothing of medicines, ointments, and bottles of mineral water. From his letters, particularly one to Queen Victoria, it was evident that Fritz, like Vicky, placed ‘unwavering trust’ in Mackenzie’s optimistic diagnosis, and ‘more stock in his words in November than in those of the [German] doctors who had been called in for consultation’.
³⁵
He was well aware that he would not make a full recovery, but the doctors had told him that the disease might be held at bay for a couple of years if not more. ‘In no way do I despair, and hope, even if only after long and careful treatment, I shall be able to dedicate all my energies to my country as before.’
³⁶

In December Mackenzie was recalled from London by a telegram informing him of a sudden increase in the growth. He hurried out to San Remo, examined the throat and announced that he could discover no dangerous symptoms present, and though there was a small new growth on the left vocal cord, the general appearance of the larynx was much better than it had been the previous month. Over Christmas and the New Year Fritz appeared to rally, and under the circumstances everyone worked hard to try and create as cheerful and festive an atmosphere as possible. They had two trees, one obtained locally and the other sent by German farmers from the Black Forest to give him a breath of German air. Willy, Dona and their children stayed at Berlin, but the rest of the family joined them. Ditta, Bernhard and their eight-year-old daughter Feodora came, as did Henry, who thought his father was recovering and sent reports to Queen Victoria assuring her that he was in good spirits and looked well. Fritz wrote to Willy that if his condition continued to improve, he still hoped ‘to be fit and well again.’
³⁷

At 8 p.m. on Christmas Eve the household gathered in the large room opening onto the balcony, to be joined by Lady Ponsonby and her daughters, and the Italian Ambassador at Berlin, Count Launay. Fritz and Vicky then appeared arm-in-arm, the folding doors opened, and the room was flooded with light as the guests gazed wide-eyed at both gaily-decorated fir trees, ingeniously placed in a setting of roses, camellias, violets, geraniums and lilies all freshly gathered from the gardens. Every guest and servant had been remembered and Fritz took his part in leading them to the tables heaped with presents in the centre of the room. No trouble was too much for those who had so loyally stood by him. In the morning they attended divine service, and in the afternoon a party of schoolchildren assembled in front of the villa to sing carols; deeply moved at the sound, he walked out onto the terrace to thank them.

Their political foes in Berlin, as well as some of the less sympathetic members of their household, maintained that the Crown Princess clung to the hope that her husband’s condition was curable as she simply could not accept that he was dying, or that she was motivated by political ambition as she still feared – despite assurances to the contrary – that an ailing Crown Prince would not be permitted to ascend the throne. Others thought she was making as light as possible of his illness in order to prevent her husband from losing heart and renouncing his place in the succession, or perhaps even contemplating suicide.
³⁸
Such verdicts take little account of the fact that, where the argument regarding preventing him from losing heart was concerned, this was no more than commonsense in the case of a wife who was so devoted to her husband. Only their most virulent enemies could have denied that, on a personal level, their marriage had been one of the happiest in the annals of nineteenth century European royalty.

In the first week of January 1888 his condition deteriorated again; a growth formed on the right of the larynx, he became feverish, had painful spasms of coughing, and slept badly. At one point he coughed up part of the growth, which was immediately sent to Virchow for diagnosis. It contained no evidence of malignancy, but he continued to feel wretched and depressed. By the end of the month Henry felt he was making a slow but sure recovery, writing to Willy that their father was going for good walks again and ‘seemed generally in good spirits.’ A few days later his next report was less reassuring; their father had ‘terrifying’ breathing difficulties and suffered incessant headaches. ‘What is astonishing is that he still eats and drinks well, and is otherwise quite interested in remaining active, though not to the same degree as before!’
³⁹

On the night of 8 February his condition swiftly worsened, and his breathing became so difficult that he was in danger of suffocation. An immediate tracheotomy was decided upon and performed that afternoon by Bergmann’s assistant Bramann, taking about ten minutes. Henry reported that it ‘afforded poor Papa great relief’, though it had been ‘a dreadful day, full of unrest and nervous agitation; when the operation was over we all breathed a sigh of relief!’
⁴⁰
Vicky had been waiting outside the room trembling violently, with Henry, Moretta and the widowed Grand Duke of Hesse comforting her. When it was over she was relieved to find him looking tolerably well and smiling bravely, although he could not speak, and the sound of breathing through the canula distressed her.

The doctors had predicted that he would feel much better for a while, but in vain. His condition for the next few days was miserable. He coughed persistently, had a high temperature and no appetite, could not sleep, and suffered from constant neuralgia-like pain in the face and teeth. To the doctors’ dismay he continued to cough up fresh blood through the canula. Still clinging to the belief that it was not cancer, Mackenzie and Vicky accused Bergmann and Bramann of handling the laryngoscope clumsily, and Mackenzie maintained that an obsolete instrument was largely responsible for the increased bleeding. He complained that the treatment of their patient was ‘entirely in the hands of the German doctors who are unwilling to receive suggestions from me. I only remain at the urgent desire of the Crown Princess.’
⁴¹
On 21 February the German doctors threatened to withdraw from the case, but Mackenzie’s canula resulted in little improvement, probably as the damage had already been done.

By now with understandable if pathetic optimism, Vicky was writing to her mother that Fritz was ‘turning the corner and beginning to mend’.
⁴²
Determined to vindicate their national honour, the German doctors could not resist the temptation to drag another colleague into the case, and on 26 February Professor Kussmaul arrived. He was not a laryngeal specialist and made an unconvincing attempt to examine Fritz’s throat, declared that the lungs were quite sound, and needed no other proof that cancer was present. When Vicky told Bergmann sharply that they just needed Mackenzie to adjust the tubes and treat the throat, he told her brutally that Fritz would never recover and could only rapidly worsen. To her request that he should wait a fortnight before returning, he agreed with ‘a pitying incredulous smile’.
⁴³