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James Mason | all galleries >> Galleries >> Hrvatska - Croatia > Otto von Habsburg
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James Mason

Otto von Habsburg

Zagreb, Croatia

This gentleman is heir to the Austro-Hungarian throne and the nephew of the man whose assassination in Sarajevo in 1914 ignited World War I. He spoke at the European Union in Zagreb and had plenty to say about the war with Serbia which was underway at the time. He is articulate and intelligent and speaks well in a number of languages. A British reporter asked him if he would like his son to be king of Austria and he gave a great answer. "Because of my name, I am often asked this question, usually by a reporter from one of the British tabloids. I know the king of every European country and I can tell you that is the worst job a man can have. As a member of the European Parliament, if I think a man is an idiot I can tell him he's an idiot. But when a king is confronted with an idiot, he has to just sit there and smile."

Nikon F3 ,28mm f2 Nikkor

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Guest 13-Feb-2008 17:21
He is a big friend of Croatians..One of the last honest Europeans who knows history very well,not like some"new"Europeans.During centuries Croatians,like part of ex Austrian empire
were frontier guards of Europe and Austrian empire,in the time of Turkish invasion.Turks were in the most countries of south east Europe,but they were stopped in Croatia.What happened to his family after WW one is really tragic.They stayed without any rights in their own country,and were forced to live in exile.But they succeed in spite of everything.