Alma Vetsera Hayne Explained

Alma Vetsera Hayne (1890–1919) was a New York City socialite who passed herself off as the daughter of Rudolf, Crown Prince of Austria and Baroness Mary Vetsera and called herself Princess Vetsera of Austria. She claimed her son, Charles Rudolph Spurway Hayne (1899-1983), was heir to the Austro-Hungarian throne.

Biography

Her first husband was George Osborne Hayne (1875-1950). She married Donald Shields Andrews (1894-1930) on April 24, 1915.^{[1] [2] [3]} She married Sebastian Cedric Samuel Steane in London on 30 August 1919.She took her own life with poison on 12 November 1919 after attending the second victory ball for the end of World War I.

Shields Andrews, an inorganic chemist, would take his own life with poison in 1930 in Fair Haven, New Jersey. He had been working on a process to make synthetic gemstones.^[4]

Notes and References

1. News: Friends Are Told Mrs. Hayne Is Yale Senior's Bride . . April 27, 1915 . 2011-03-13 .
2. News: Andrews Returns Alone. Yale Man Leaves Bride of April Romance in Liverpool . He married Alma V. Hayne at Mamaroneek, N. Y., on April 24, against the wishes of his parents ... . The New York Times . April 27, 1915 . 2011-03-13 .
3. News: Mrs. Andrews Says 'I'll Nurse Soldiers'. 'Through with Donald Forever' Self-Styled Habsburg Princess Adds. But Won't Get A Divorce. Hospital Denies Sending Her to "Tend Wounded British at the Front in Poland." . Through the medium of a news agency Mrs. Donald Shields Andrews, formerly the wife of George Osborn Hayne, who said she was a daughter of Crown Prince Rudolph of Austria-Hungary, notified the newspapers last evening that she was sailing this Wednesday on the New Amsterdam for "the British battle front" to nurse soldiers. . The New York Times . January 16, 1916 . 2011-03-14 .
4. News: Famous Eloper Dies of Poison. Yale Man Dies Same Way as His Princess Wife . . June 12, 1930 . 2011-03-14 .