The Naundorff Case: Final Words

Image via Wikipedia

Naundorff decided to start legal proceedings against “Madame Royale”, his “sister”, who did not want to recognise him as her brother, the son of Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette, beheaded during the French Revolution, the one and only true Crown Prince of France. He informed the “civilian” French king Louis-Philippe of his intention. Louis-Philippe ordered to find, no matter what, a German father for the pretender, but this turned out to be impossible. To the contrary, there were so many indications that led Louis-Philippe in an unwanted direction, whereby all further enquiries were halted.

On 13 June 1836, Naundorff challenged the duke and duchess of Angoulême and Charles X in front of the Seine tribunal. Two days later he was arrested and the state seized his papers. Naundorffwas deported from France and the “false” crown prince of France went into exile in England. The prophet Thomas Martinhad recognised Naundorff as the king that he had previously encountered in a vision. One year later, Martin was dead, but now Naundorff was visited by prophetic visions. The dead Martin appeared in Naundorff’s kitchen and called to him: “Do not touch me, son of Louis XVI, because it is of you that I was murdered!”

Naundorff was also able to pull off a number of miraculous healings, which meant that in 1838 he felt he had the right to create a new religion, of which he himself would be the Prince-Protector.

Still in 1838, Naundorff founded an association that had to serve the “Louis XVII cause”. Naundorff predicted to the members of his organisation that he would ascend the throne on 31 December 1839.  When his prediction failed to materialise, Naundorff founded the High Council of the Catholic and Evangelical Church, but this High Council did not bring solace. Meanwhile, his family grew in size: Karl Wilhelm Naundorff had now fathered nine heirs.