Without going in to the details of the 'scandalous' behaviour of Ludwig Viktor we know that the man approached by him slapped him forcefully on the face. Everyone knew what sort of things were likely to go on at times in the baths but to have a member of the Imperial household involved in a public brawl was simply not acceptable and led to the disappearance 'for health reasons' of the Archduke.
FWIW the story of Andrew MB reminds me somewhat of the downfall and exile of the Archduke Ludwig Viktor,the youngest brother of the Emperor Franz Joseph of Austria-Hungary.As a young man he was interested in the arts,although he did have a number of military titles. Again as a young man he was seen as witty and charming and full of, at times ,malicious gossip.
This came abruptly to an end one day when he made an unsuitable advance towards an other man in a public bathhouse.
The monarchy could not accept this public humiliation and so Ludwig Viktor was sent to take a cure at Meran in Tirol. After that he was exiled to his residence at Schloss Klessheim near Salzburg and never again took part in public life.
Like the suicide of the Emperor's son at Mayerling nothing was ever said publicly about the real reason why Ludwig Viktor was banished. He did however outlive his brother,the Emperor and outlive the fall of the monarchy,dying early in 1919. There was no burial in the Habsburg crypt of the Kapuziner church in Vienna. He lies at rest in the small local cemetery near Schloss Klessheim.
A closer parallel is perhaps the former king Juan Carlos of Spain who about a decade ago was forced from his throne by various scandals ( sexual improriety, dodgy financial affairs and other stuff). He was cut off by his son, the present King Felipe and fled to exile in the middle east.
By the coincidence the former king has just published a memoir of the ' I may have made some poor judgements, but look how appallingly I've been treated by my country, I'm the most wronged person in history ' type. I suppose we have that to look forward to from AMW
One of the challenges for former celebrities/ political figures is that they do not realize when they've been given a good deal. Juan Carlos was ushered out the door by his family when the alternative was deposition and likely political violence. AMW is being rusticated/internal exile when he could have been shipped off to the tender mercies of a state court in NY and the facilities afforded occupants of a detention cell (while a succesful prosecution was unlikely, the cost and discomfort would have been memorable).
With a bit of counselling as well as education in self-examination, he might come out of this a better human being.
Apropos of the archduke, there is a quite a list of German and Italian princes being given small country estates to live out their lives far away from noticeable temptation. Even into the Victorian period, monasteries were deemed to be suitable destinations (and in at least one case, a rural diocese). Some shipmates might feel that monasteries were not the best place for those susceptible to distraction.
Andrew was not particularly popular among locals in Lakefield after his time studying there; I moved to the village ten years after he left and lived in the area until three years ago.
He was snobbish, entitled and thumbed his nose at laws that applied to everyone else (see underage drinking).
He was snobbish, entitled and thumbed his nose at laws that applied to everyone else (see underage drinking).
I will say that, in mid-1980s Alberta(ie. when there was more consciousness about health and safety than in the mid-1970s), underaged drinking was still a pretty tolerated activity, lotsa high-school parties with kids getting sloshed and the parents presumably not caring or being willfully ignorant.
Maybe things in Ontario were different, or Andrew was doing it in open defiance of lawful authority?
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A closer parallel is perhaps the former king Juan Carlos of Spain who about a decade ago was forced from his throne by various scandals ( sexual improriety, dodgy financial affairs and other stuff). He was cut off by his son, the present King Felipe and fled to exile in the middle east.
By the coincidence the former king has just published a memoir of the ' I may have made some poor judgements, but look how appallingly I've been treated by my country, I'm the most wronged person in history ' type. I suppose we have that to look forward to from AMW
With a bit of counselling as well as education in self-examination, he might come out of this a better human being.
Apropos of the archduke, there is a quite a list of German and Italian princes being given small country estates to live out their lives far away from noticeable temptation. Even into the Victorian period, monasteries were deemed to be suitable destinations (and in at least one case, a rural diocese). Some shipmates might feel that monasteries were not the best place for those susceptible to distraction.
He was snobbish, entitled and thumbed his nose at laws that applied to everyone else (see underage drinking).
He wasn't remembered fondly. He never changed.
https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2025/nov/06/andrew-hrh-style-prince-title-officially-removed-king-charles
I don't think there's any difference from what was previously reported, but presumably it takes a while to ensure that the paperwork is correct.
I will say that, in mid-1980s Alberta(ie. when there was more consciousness about health and safety than in the mid-1970s), underaged drinking was still a pretty tolerated activity, lotsa high-school parties with kids getting sloshed and the parents presumably not caring or being willfully ignorant.
Maybe things in Ontario were different, or Andrew was doing it in open defiance of lawful authority?