German prince kicked out of home after attacks on police, caretakers

Vienna (dpa) – A great-grandson of the last German emperor got 10 months of probation – and lost the right to live in his familial home – after a court on Tuesday found him guilty of attacking police officers and the building’s caretakers while intoxicated.

The verdict came after hours of testimony by police officers and caretakers, who spoke about a series of incidents in 2020 during which Prince Ernst August of Hanover – whom the judge pointedly only referred to as Mr Hanover during the proceedings – assaulted them with any objects that came to hand, including a knife sharpener.

He was reportedly under the influence of alcohol and medication during at least one such incident.

“I take responsibility, regret the events entirely and am prepared to make good for the damages,” said the prince, 67, the distant relative of Kaiser Wilhelm II. He had potentially faced three years in prison.

However, he still seemed shocked when the judge ruled that he could not reside at his Almtal hunting lodge for the next three years for the safety of the caretaker family that lives there.

“Impossible” and “inconceivable,” said the prince after the seven-hour trial, noting that he had lived at the site for 50 years.

The verdict can be appealed.

Police officers who responded to the disturbances said they were attacked by the prince and then told that he would hire mercenaries to track them down and kill their families.

One officer said the prince threatened her weeks after an encounter, brandishing a baseball bat inside a car and indicating he intended to bash in the officer’s head.

The officer said that the prince also placed calls to her at police headquarters, leading her to worry about her family’s safety.

Defence attorneys said Hanover was acting irrationally at the time as he was recovering from cancer for surgery and was in the middle of a dispute with his son.