In the chaotic landscape of Weimar Germany, former aristocrats were desperate to relive the glory days of the Hohenzollern monarchy. Enter Harry Domela, a penniless Baltic German veteran and former dishwasher. Arriving in Heidelberg in 1926, Domela began dropping subtle hints that he was living incognito under an assumed name.
Hotel staff and local monarchists quickly jumped to the conclusion that he was Prince Wilhelm of Prussia, grandson of the deposed Kaiser Wilhelm II. Rather than correct them, Domela fully embraced the charade. For weeks, he traveled through Thuringia and Saxony, feted by nobility, wealthy industrialists, and right-wing politicians.
Local elites competed for the honor of hosting His Royal Highness, plying him with lavish dinners, free luxury suites, and loans of cash. Domela acted the part with quiet dignity, occasionally lamenting his fake exile to heighten the romance of his story. The hoax unraveled when genuine royal acquaintances raised suspicions, prompting Domela to flee toward France.
He was arrested in Cologne in December 1926. Surprisingly, public reaction was largely sympathetic; many Germans found humor in how easily pompous aristocrats had been duped by a homeless veteran. Domela capitalized on his infamy while in prison by writing a bestselling autobiography titled A Sham Prince, which was later adapted into a movie and a play.