Telegram from the Empress

‘One of the first telegrams was from the Empress, I hold it in my hand and read it again, the motherly warmth in it does me good. Berlin, Bellevue Palace, 24 April ‘So often, at every news of your son’s victory, I have trembled for his life, which he had consecrated to the King and Fatherland. And now God has seen to it that your pride and the pride of us all must end his heroic career. Your son still stands before my eyes, in his modesty and with his simple descriptions, when I had the pleasure of greeting him in May last year. I could not deny myself the pleasure of seeing him take to the skies from the aerodrome. May the Lord be with you and yours in your great sorrow. I hope that the condition of your second son is satisfactory. Auguste Viktoria.”’