Scientists challenge the old theory of a royal conspiracy

A long-running conspiracy theory about the identity of the mysterious teenager some called the “lost” royal prince has been debunked, an investigation reports.

The latest research—based on a new genetic analysis—sheds light on “one of the most mysterious puzzles in German history,” the authors wrote in the paper.

“I like when DNA can be revealed in a historical mystery,” Turi King, one of the study’s authors and director of the Milner Center for Evolution at the University of Bath in the United Kingdom, said. Newsweek.

The educational institutions were founded on Kaspar Hauser, a young man who appeared “from nothing” in the city of Nuremberg, Bavaria, southern Germany, on May 26, 1828. He is estimated to have been 16 years old, he seemed unable to walk. and he could not speak.

Hauser was carrying a letter from an anonymous author who claimed to have captured the youth in 1812 and kept him completely alone.

Although he could not answer the questions asked by the police, he was able to write the name “Kaspar Hauser” in clearly legible letters, although he did not seem to know its meaning. Although it was clearly not his real name, the young man continued to use it.

In the following months, several dignitaries took care of him. Before long, his ability to move his body improved—although he remained very weak—as well as his ability to speak. But he continued to speak in a childish manner for some time. The suspicion arose that he was completely neglected from an early age.

According to the young man’s account, he was kept in a small, dark hole where he had never seen another person for as long as he could remember. His food was only bread and water, which was given to him by someone he did not see. At one point, it was believed that a man appeared and took Hauser on a journey to Nuremberg, where he left him.

The young man’s story drew criticism from different quarters, some questioned him about his imprisonment, believing that he was a liar. Despite these criticisms, or perhaps because of them, Hauser’s story—which appeared in German newspapers—captured public interest, and he became a celebrity.

More than a year after Hauser’s unexplained appearance, another strange event occurred: He was found lying in a pool of his own blood in the basement of a Nuremberg house. by Georg Friedrich Daumer—a teacher, poet and philosopher who was one of those people who was a teacher, poet and philosopher. he took care of the youth of the village.

His forehead showed a 2-centimeter-long wound that appeared to have been made by a sharp instrument—attempted murder in the eyes of his supporters. His critics say the accident was self-inflicted, Hauser’s goal to boost his declining public attention.

Although the young man recovered quickly, this incident heralded a major and unexpected change in his life. Ludwig I—the king of Bavaria at the time—ordered that Hauser should be guarded day and night by the police.

This gave rise to speculation that Hauser was not just a neglected youth but a politically important figure, perhaps of noble origin. A conspiracy theory emerged suggesting that he was a captured prince of the Grand Duchy of Baden, a once independent state in what is now southwestern Germany. This popular explanation is known as the “prince theory.”

“The identity and origins of Kaspar Hauser have been the subject of intense research and debate for nearly 200 years. Apart from the idea that he was simply a liar and a fraud, the most enduring theory that he was the hereditary prince of Baden who was born on September 29, 1812, and who died (officially) only 18 years old—even before he was given a name.” said Walther Parson, lead author of the study, with the Institute of Legal Medicine, Medical University of Innsbruck, Austria.

According to this theory, the prince could be the son of Grand Duke Carl of Baden. The theory is that Hauser was kidnapped and transferred as a newborn from his father’s house by a surrogate for the sick son of one of his employees. His goal was to pave the way to the throne for a different dynasty.

The replacement child died soon after and was buried as a prince, while the real prince lived in secret, later becoming Kasper Hauser, the theory goes.

Over the past 28 years, various genetic analyzes have been carried out to clarify Kaspar Hauser’s origins. But these have produced conflicting results.

In the latest study, which has been accepted for publication in the journal ScienceParson and his colleagues present the results of new DNA analyzes of hair samples assigned to Hauser that they say resolve the debate over whether he has royal origins.

The team analyzed traces of mitochondrial DNA, which is passed down through the maternal line. This mtDNA clearly deviated from the Baden lineage, the study found. So the results disprove the mother’s relationship with the House of Baden, after all, the prevalent “prince theory,” said Parson.

However, the true identity of Hauser-who died only five and a half years after his mysterious appearance by murder (as his supporters say) or self-harm (as his critics they say) -still a mystery.

“Now we know that Kaspar Hauser was not the prince of Baden. But we don’t know (yet) who he was,” Parson said. Newsweek. “However, we emphasize that this result should not be misunderstood as proof of a competing ‘conspiracy theory’ because even if Kaspar Hauser was not a prince, he would still have been a victim of crime.”

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