Visit by Emperor Karl I of Austria-Hungary
Wilhelm II
Emperor [Kaiser] of Germany & King of Prussia
Menu dated 3 April 1917
Luncheon at the Homburg vor de Hohe Palace hosted by Their Imperial and Royal Majesties Kaiser Wilhelm II and Kaiserin Auguste-Viktoria of Germany and Prussia for a visit by Their Imperial and Apostolic Majesties Kaiser Charles I and Kaiserin Zita of Austria-Hungary
Five months before this lunch, in the middle of World War I, the Kaiser lost one of his key allies when the Emperor of Austria-Hungary, Franz Joseph I, passed away at the ripe old age of 86. He was replaced by Emperor Charles I who took the throne at the youthful age of just 29.
Charles I’s wife, Empress Zita, was keen to make the acquaintance of her counterpart the Empress of Germany; and so this luncheon was planned at the Homburg vor de Hohe Palace.
When the elaborate dining arrangements were being made, the two Emperors and Empresses would have had no idea that their little get together would turn into a military crisis lunch with the direction of World War I being turned on its head.
Just one day earlier the President of the United States, Woodrow Wilson, announced that America would enter the war on the side of Britain and its allies. It was the turning point for the worst for both Germany and Austria-Hungary. By the end of the following year, both men would be living in exile with their once proud Empires turned into fledgling Republics.
Menu
Maronensuppe
Chestnut soup
Rheinlachs
Rhine River Salmon
Fasanan, Fruchte, Salat
Roast pheasants, fruit, salad
Jungenspargel
Baby asparagus
Pfirsiche nach Cardinal
Poached peaches with cassis (blackcurrant liqueur)
Kasestangen
Cheese-sticks
Nachtisce
Dessert
