The nemesis of the Coburg children were the dark forces of Dr. Rolfs, appointed tutor to young Alfred when the boy was nine years of age, and the girl's governess, Fraulein von Truchsess. Dr. Rolf was a German academic who personified German Kultur at its worst, arrogant, masterful, laying down the law with intolerance and tyranny. Young Alfred was placed completely in the doctor's charge in 1883. Dr. Rolfs wormed his way into the confidence of Marie Alexandrovna playing on her anti-British sentiments and encouraging her passion for things German. He dazzled the duchess with his erudition and culture. Since the duke had by that time pretty much abandoned the family affairs to his wife and withdrawn into his world of drink, women, hunting and travel. He found life in provincial Coburg interesting, but only in small doses. After a few weeks he got bored and headed off. As his sisters would remember him, young Alfred was "eager, blundering, a little swaggering, always getting into trouble, always being scolded", but was also tender towards others and with a heart of gold. Dr. Rolfs however was determined to master the boy, and daily subjected him to abuse by ridiculing his efforts, making the boy feel foolish and small. The doctor started out to systematically destroy Alfred's self-confidence and self-esteem.
Allied with the doctor, and soon to be married to him, was the governess of the girls. Fraulein von Truchsess.
She came from an improvished aristocratic family. She too wormed her way into the confidence of the duchess by playing on her dislike of things English. She was clever and intelligent and easily manipulated the duchess's emotions. Soon, she and Dr. Rolfs had reached the point where their word was law, their advice not questioned and the insinuations listened to without discussion. They graduated from being just a tutor and governess to taking over completely the running of the grand ducal household, and dominated the children's lives.
The duke was an absentee father. The duchess travelled to Russia several times a year, and to the Riveiera. Dr. Rolf and the Fraulein were left in total control.
Ducky rebelled. One evening, Ducky and her sisters were at the dinning table, Dr. Rolfs at one end in the duke's chair and Fraulein sitting in the duchess's place. The doctor ordered a large silver cup filled with flowers removed from the center of the table as it blocked the view of Fraulein. Ducky burst out in protest.
She loudly announced that the cup was where the duchess had placed it and that is where it was to remain.
Dr. Rolfs stuttered and tried to joke about it but Ducky refused to retreat. Dr. Rolf threw down his napkin and shouted "Well, it is either I or the pot." Ducky put out her hands around the silver cup and cooly remarked: "We prefer the pot." Dr. Rolfs retreated from the room, leaving a stunned Fraulein to eat in silence.
When he turned a teenager, young Alfred, was like all good German princes, sent off to became an army officer. He went to the cadet schools in Berlin and fell into the hedonistic life of the young, bored, aristocratic officers of the Prussian army. He may well have contracted a sexually transmitted disease. It was common. It may well have been syphillis. But I doubt that would have killed him by itself. Tertiary syphillis takes a good many years to develop to the stage where it kills. He was only 25 when he died. To have tertiary syphillis he would almost have to have contracted it before he reached puberty. Likely the disease he had was some sort of disease that attacked the nervous system. His sisters write that in the end he was kept in a darkened room. He was pale and emaciated. He could not recognize them, and "often does not know what he says, poor boy." Like all mysterious deaths that are hushed up, there is controversy over whether he did try to shoot himself, or whether it was something else.
