“Ah my good fellow Holmes, I would have a word with you”, he began, “Oh, but I see you do not instantly recognize me in this humble appearance. I am of course Duke Cassel-Felstein, many years older than when we met last.” “Come in, come in your Majesty,” I beckoned him as I step back to open the door wider and welcome him in with a sweep of my hand. He turned and waved the cab on. It was simple and had no royal emblems that would indicate who owned the carriage. “Come into my study,” I led the way and offered him the best of my two visitor chairs, pulling off a stack of research books and papers. “Glad to see the years have gone well with you.” I noticed that he had kept in shape even though the hair was receding and silver. “What is it that I can do for your Majesty, although you must know that I have been retired some 4 years now.” “Yah, this I know,” he had sat down and made himself comfortable. I had not offered drink or tobacco since I was unsure if this was considered a cordial visit between unequal social levels, or a business interview. “To you, I have a troubling matter to convey.” He spoke in lowered tones that hinted at a desire to keep this between us two. “Your servants are not around, and I will tell you what is wrong, and you can direct me to who I can trust and whom I can burden with this discretely in official government apartments. I know you have contacts through your brother, even though he, like you, has retired.” “This is not a personal matter, such as when you help me when I was getting married.” “Which reminds me, Irene Norton told me to send her best regards if I had the chance to ever talk to you again. You were of course correct in that she has not, shall we say inconvenienced me in any way by attempting to contact me. No, rather we had by chance run into each other in the Casino of Monte Carlo while with my wife I was on vacation. My wife would have been suspicious of so a charming and beautiful lady who apparently was familiar with me from my Bachelor days, but Irene held onto her husband so closely, it was apparent there could be no other.” “Thank you for relaying that message, your Majesty. I myself have always kept high regard for the Lady,” I responded. “Now, pray continue with your concern.” “Yah, well I continue. There is much intrigue in Europe. This is not always visible, but to those playing the game of high international diplomacy, it is very real. “It is increased tensions amongst the Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, the French Third Republic and the Russian Empire on one side and Prussia, Germany and Austria-Hungary on the other. “With German Unification under the leadership of the great Otto von Bismarck, the new unified German state has become a great European power. Over ten years ago in 1896, Kaiser Wilhelm II announced that Germany was going to become a world power, setting the foundation for a major shift our German policies. Our new policies are those of Machtpolitik, you would say politics with power, an iron fist and Weltpolitik, you would say world policy. This is a more aggressive policy than our former ‘Realpolitik’. It is harshly practical without any sentimental illusions. “I am cousin to Kaiser Wilhelm II. He has entertained me many times at his various estates. We have had long talks about the glory of Prussia and Germany. He had inherited from his mother a love of the British Royal Navy. He once confided to me that his dream was to have a "fleet of my own someday", like the British. The power and majesty of your fleet was truly inspiring, Heir Holmes. William's frustration over his own fleet's poor showing at the Fleet Review at his grandmother Queen Victoria's Diamond Jubilee celebrations, shamed him to begin construction of a fleet to rival that of his British cousins. Nothing William II has done has been of more influence to our politics than his decision to pursue this policy of massive naval construction. We of Germany and Prussia have made public our ambitions to rival the United Kingdom's navy and to buildup our military. The Kaiser is building his High Seas Fleet, a navy which will rival, or even exceed, the United Kingdom's Royal Navy in strength.” His voice lifted with pride at this proclamation. “However, there are political and economic struggles within the German Empire. The constitution of the German Empire is