Dear Mister Knodt I did not know nearer, but saw and listened him sometimes speaking about the Grand Duke, alltimes with commanding respect. Knodt was the son of a very conservative lutheran pastor and conservative himself. He sure knew all the rumor, gossip and more or less half-truth „wild stories“, which where told in Darmstadt in former times about Ernst Ludwig; but he was to much gentleman for telling something clearly and i am very skeptic, what he really knew substantial about Ernst Ludwigs sexual preferences.
I'm aware of Dr Knodt's background and fully respect his decision not to address Ernst Ludwig's sexual preferences or marital problems in his book. Although we may never know what he knew and what he suspected, while working at the Hessisches Staatsarchiv in Darmstadt, he may have come across a specific item including explicit statements that remove any doubts. There is evidence that the rumors and gossip were more than just that and had elements of truth in them and that Ernst Ludwig himself contributed to his marital problems.
But why do you think: „English was not his native language“ ? It was Ernst Ludwigs mother tongue and I guess, he also spoke English with Victoria Melita usulally. The letters and postcards from India he wrote to his daughter are in English language.
Sure! Ernst Ludwig conversed and wrote in English with several of his relatives, but his father's language was German. He was also grand duke of a German state and, as a consequence, must have spoken German with dozens and dozens of people every day and have read and written all kinds of official documents in German every day. And he wrote his poetry in German, not in English, if I'm not mistaken. This German background shows in his letter of 26 September/9 October 1905; his command of the German language must have been considerably better than the command of the English language he showed in this letter.
Guess, the letter Ernst Ludwig wrote to Nicholas on 26 September/9 October 1905 mostly was an information for reliability, because the Grand Duke had some experience with motor-cars and car-demolishing. Also he knew that there always was danger for the tsar by assassin, so he gave safety-advices as a good friend, and probaply tried to sell one or more hessian Opel-Cars to the tsar. Even Ernst Ludwigs suggestion for publishing more private information about the daily life and the activities of the emperors family for general welfare reflects Ernst Ludwigs interest, to change the image of the tsaristic family and to bring them nearer to the people. It is sure an informal and quick written letter and reflects Ernst Ludwigs sorrow and thoughtfulness for the well-being of his relatives.
I'm aware of the fact that the Grand Duke's advice was meant well, but that doesn't alter the fact that this particular letter strikes me as rather simple anyway. It's probably a combination of Ernst Ludwig's wording and the contents of his advice that creates this impression.
Ernst Ludwig was stating the obvious when he suggested that the Tsar buy at least two different cars for security reasons. As security was such an issue at the Russian court, one would think that this thought had already occurred to those involved.
And although his remarks about legislation on foreign investments in Russia make sense, they do make me wonder whether the Tsar and his ministers hadn't already considered his arguments and hadn't already made some cost-benefit analyses.
It's off topic, but I was surprised that, according to Ernst Ludwig, Hesse saw its 'income' increase by 10% from 1875 to 1905, i.e. in 30 years. Ernst Ludwig does not specify the method used to calculate this income - does he refer to gross national product? A 10% increase in 30 years seems to suggest a rather low economic growth rate, when compared to historical GNP data for my own country or for the US or Tsarist Russia in that same era.
