Otto, Zita

Amid green meadows, but perched atop a small plateau lies the Capital City of Luxembourg, seat of that pastoral realm, the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, which dozes complacently between Belgium and Germany, populated by 200,000 sturdy folk of such mixed Teuto-Latin strain that they remind one of that fabulous being, the "typical American."* Thither, to the City and State of Luxembourg, there came last week the Archduke Otto of Habsburg, 15, claimant to the Hungarian throne (TIME, Jan. 24). With him arrived his mother, Zita, one-time Hungarian Queen and Austrian Empress. They came from the little fishing village at Lequeitio, Spain, where Prince Otto has grown up in exile, tutored by monks, supported by King Alfonso XIII of Spain and the contributions of loyal Austro-Hungarian nobles. As Otto's impoverished little suite descended at the Luxembourg station, they were met by a half dozen open landeaux, bearing the arms of Luxembourg. Whips cracked, the landeaux rattled merrily down a long avenue and over a viaduct, picked their way through cobbled, streets, drew up before the withered wooden Palace. Straightway "Little Otto," a chubby sapling in a Byronic collar, handsome, frank of feature, stood bowing before Her Grand Ducal Highness, Princess Charlotte of Luxembourg, and the Prince Consort, Felix of Bourbon-Parma. Though newsgatherers did not penetrate the inflexible reserve of the Grand Ducal Court, it became known that Prince Otto and his mother expected to remain only briefly at Luxembourg, and it was believed that they would shortly be permitted to return to Hungary-- a return ardently desired by Hungarians but hitherto prevented by the Great Powers.

*Luxembourg has been successively dominated by Romans, Franks, Germans, Burgundians, Spaniards, French, Netherlanders, Prussians, Belgians.