European Stars And Stripes (Newspaper) - April 13, 1987, Darmstadt, Hesse No room at the Palace the great pretender has no throne by Steve Holland untied press International he Man who would to King or Franco runs a Homo of old people in Chan Lilly and has no fusions about Ever living Al Versailles Palace Honri d Orleans 78, the count of Paris and loading pretender to the French throne strides through the Home nol in lowing robot and Crown but in Lurt Lonick and Slacks greeting his charges about 180 elderly men and women with a benevolent smile and warm handshake i know Aii the Kings and Queens of e Europe Honri said we Are related More or less closely. They treat me like a member of the family. The Young ones treat me like an thin Gray haired Blue eyed and mustachioed Honri looks like a typical French businessman bul he is the direct descendant of Hugh Copal an illiterate. Bearded Man who in the year 937 was crowned King of France which then was composed of pans and a narrow southerly strip of land. Celebrations this year marking the 1,000th anniversary of the founding of France dating from when Capet became King have relic used attention on France s monarchy. It is nearly 200 years since the absolute monarchy ended with the beheading of Louis Xvi and his Queen Marie Antoinette at the end of a French revolution there Are diehard royalists various royalist organizations claim thousands of members bul there is no widespread support for a return to even a figurehead monarchy. A barometer of support i came in 1974 when Bertrand Reno uvin head of a group called maw royalist action ran for president and won 43,000 Voles or 0. 57 percent. Henri Ihus sees himself As a sort of elder statesman and does t believe his role will Ever be extended beyond that of pretender. I go to Versailles Olen. But i be Nevar thought cd living there the count said in an interview at Chantilly a town 25 Miles North of Paris where he fives and operates his Home for the elderly. The French still have a sensitivity Lor foreign monarchies. They Are ready to cry Henri d Orleana with daughter princes Chanta before her 18ts wedding. A Puld Long live the King or Long live Iho Queen when they re talking about England or Belgium. But to transform France into a monarchy seems to them unthinkable he said. Henri in any event is not the Only pretender to the non existent throne. His main rival is a spaniard Alphonse so Duke of Anjou and Cadiz head of the Spanish Branch of the divided Bourbon Amity. They be been arguing about it since 1830 when Paris powerful Middle class helped Force the abdication of figurehead King Charles x and put the Duke of Orleans onto the throne As King Louis Philippe the count of Paris great Grandfather. Alphonse s supporters contend he is More legitimate since his Branch of the family is oldest. Henri s supporters say France could never have a Spanish King. Henri d Orleans believes the current French president has evolved info Royalty living in the posh Elysee Palace near where Louis was beheaded driving Aboul in chauffeur driven Lunos meeting foreign Heads of state and commanding a huge army. Henri nonetheless is continuing the line of succession in his family in Hopes that if France does one Day become a kingdom again. It Wil be a King from his family. Alt that i want to do is to persuade the pro onto to think Aboul it Honri said 1 in nol tolling them thai the monarchy is for tomorrow i m saying that Tho monarchical system has its the count has been Active in politics Lor so years even while he was in exile in Morocco due to a Napoleonic Law thai forbade members of the former Royal family to live in France. It was repealed in 1950 and he has lived in France Ever since. His politics change depending on who s in Power. Long after Charles a. Gaulle was dead and burled Henri said de Gaulle wanted him to become the next president. Unfortunately this could never be proved. Now he makes a Point of saying he and socialist president Francois Mitterrand Are Good friends. Mitterrand has Good sense and is an exceptional tactician. He Learned Tram de Gaulle How to say yes and no Al the same time. I prefer whoever Best defends the interests of France he said. Whether they re from fight or left makes no nol everyone to Henri s family is As serious about being pseudo royalists. Take Lor instance his eldest son Henri the count of Clermont. Ii seems Henri remarried Wil foul having received an annulment of his Lisl marriage from the Catholic Church. The count disinherited his son telling him he was no longer next in the line of succession and appointed his grandson Jean 89 Rte i in line. It did t matter that the count of Paris has been separated for years from his wife the countess of Paris. The count of Clermont responded that his father had no right to disinherit him and pointed to medieval French Kings who remarried without an annulment from Rome. The family Lead has been going on for More than two years. He s nol interested in polities Henri d Orleans said of his son. He did 1 want to accept my experience or advice or anything. My grandson is interested he s studying philosophy at the sorbonne has the capabilities and has Good sense. I am trying to prepare him in two ways the first intellectually and the second morally spiritually religiously and Erma Bombeck i used to work on a morning newspaper and something strange happened after Midnight. Tho phones would Light up will questions from people who could not live through the night without the answers. How Many times did babe Ruth strike out who was Woodrow Wilson s vice president do centipedes have Back problems what was the name of the Lone Ranger s horse there s 20 Bucks Riding on the t used to wonder what happened to All those inquisitive minds. Then i began writing a column and i know. These Are burning questions that Are still waking readers up at night. Why is it that the Magazine that was so irresistible in the dentist s office that you fell compelled to steam becomes totally uninteresting once you have subscribed to it who in their infinite Wisdom decreed that Little league uniforms be White certainly nol a Mother Page 16 the stars and stripes Why is it easier to buy a gun than to get a Check cashed do you remember the Days when we paid Good Money for starch to stiffen our clothes and nowadays we pay Money for stuff to soiled our clothes Why is in when your Mother in Law Dies your husband is on a fishing trip in a remole place in Canada How come anything you buy Mil go on sate next week Why is it when you want a Nice souvenir you find a great Shell in a gift shop to which some Yoyo has affixed with glue a 10-cent thermometer and some Lowers thai Are not indigenous to oceanic environment How come agencies everywhere Are trying to curb juvenile pregnancies but television is showing them How to do it i never see mrs Olson anymore. Too much calf me monday april 13,1967 when turnstiles Are made does anyone bother to measure the average Heights and parts of the human body who was the Loof who came up with the Long leg Girdle the same week they came out with the miniskirt How Many accidents a year Are caused by motorists who Are temporarily blinded by sneezing readers readers these Tittle things Are so insignificant in the course of the universe. For some things there Are no answers. One must Lake things As they Are and know that mysteries will always be with us. The real question we should be asking ourselves s Why does Dan rather have people visiting his newscast when he is on the air. Handing him papers to read and phones to answer it Hen he has a show to do what could be that important 14 lot Pagoto Tim i s
