# Are there still German monarchists? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [April 17, 2009, 8:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-still-german-monarchists/493466 "2009-04-17T20:31:05Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 5\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2009, 8:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-still-german-monarchists/493466/1 "2009-04-17T20:31:05Z")
I was looking at the wiki article on [Kaiser Wilhelm II](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_II,_German_Emperor#Death), and it mentions that there are still German monarchists: > [@](#): > > He was buried in a mausoleum in the grounds of Huis Doorn, which has since become a place of pilgrimage for German monarchists. To this day, small but enthusiastic numbers of German monarchists gather at Huis Doorn every year on the anniversary of his death to pay their homage to the last German Emperor. My reaction was “Really?!?” Are there still German monarchists, pining for the restoration of the Kaiser? and who would be the Kaiser that they want? One of Wilhelm’s descendants? ---
**Author:** ![alphaboi867](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alphaboi867/32/3898_2.png) [@alphaboi867](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/alphaboi867)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2009, 9:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-still-german-monarchists/493466/2 "2009-04-17T21:05:11Z")
> [@Northern\_Piper](#): > > …who would be the Kaiser that they want? One of Wilhelm’s descendants? Yes, presumably it would be the pretender to the German throne, [Prince Georg Friedrich of Prussia](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Georg_Friedrich,_Prince_of_Prussia), assuming he’s willing. ---
**Author:** ![Arkcon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/96bed5/32.png) [@Arkcon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Arkcon)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2009, 9:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-still-german-monarchists/493466/3 "2009-04-17T21:43:17Z")
Check out the Wikipedia article on royal pretenders. There’s one for every European kingdom, some that are very stable republics, some that don’t even exist, often multiple ones of different lineages for the same throne – like Jacobites for the British throne, or hypothetical ones for presumable bastards, like, again the British throne. My favorite, of the dozens of people who (could possibly) claim the Kingdom of Jerusalem, is the heir to the Guinness fortune, an ancestor having purchased the right to the title. I mean, that’s too funny, between the debate between Hamas, the PLO, and Israel, everyone leaves out a dozen European nobles, and a beer manufacturer heir. > **[Pretender](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pretender)** > > A pretender is someone who claims to be the rightful ruler of a country although not recognized as such by the current government. The term is often used to suggest that a claim is not legitimate. The word may refer to a former monarch or a descendant of a deposed monarchy,\[citation needed\] although this type of claimant is also referred to as a head of a house. > Queen Anne popularized this word, using it to refer to her Roman Catholic half-brother James Francis Edward Stuart, the Jacobite heir, ... ---
**Author:** ![Mops](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mops/32/16494_2.png) [@Mops](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mops)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2009, 10:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-still-german-monarchists/493466/4 "2009-04-17T22:07:17Z")
According to the German-language Wikipedia the largest German monarchist association, _Tradition und Leben e.V._, has about 170 members. ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2009, 4:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-still-german-monarchists/493466/5 "2009-04-18T04:01:16Z")
Looks like the guy they want to place on the Throne of the Fourth Reich isn’t interested: [I don't envy Royal Family, says heir to German throne](http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/germany/1366336/I-dont-envy-Royal-Family-says-heir-to-German-throne.html)