Sad comedy in Regensburg: How they try to make a scandal out of Princess Gloria von Thurn und Taxis

So now Gloria von Thurn und Taxis. The princess, who is never at a loss for clear words, has been accused of "right-wing conservative radicalisation" for "years". This was recently stated in a letter written by 100 so-called cultural workers calling for a boycott of the Regensburg Castle Festival.

A farce pitting culture against culture? For that you have to know: The festival is not a small elitist chamber music evening at the invitation of the lady of the castle. It is a ten-day mega-event that has been taking place in the inner courtyard and park of St. Emmeram's Castle for 20 years. A highlight in high summer with international stars of the classical and pop music scene. Important for the region, which lies somewhat in the shadow of the metropolis iof Munich. Up to 30,000 people are expected to liven up the little town, fill the restaurants and stay in local hotels.

Princess Gloria von Thurn und Taxis is patron of the festival and owner of the venue. Her opinion may often be sought in the media, but at the concert series others are in the spotlight. This July it will be Eros Ramazotti, Simply Red and the band Earth, Wind & Fire, among others.

Nevertheless, the accusations are explicitly directed against Princess Gloria and are as follows: she took part in a rally with an AfD candidate for the state parliament. She also trivialised sexual abuse by clergy and climate change.

The initiator of the letter is Jonas Höschl, a photographer and conceptual artist from Regensburg.

In an interview he said, "You can't close your eyes to such an extreme right-wing, closed world view."

However, he also uses the word "right-wing" very often in other contexts. On the website of the "Festival of Photographic Images" there is a video where Höschl talks about his impressions as a refugee aid worker on Lesbos in 2016 and about his art, which was inspired by this: "The photos (converted into woodcuts) were designed to polarise, yes, even with such `right-wing imagery ... that they just deal with how such `new right-wingers in Germany and Europe try to instrumentalise such topics for themselves." Höchl does not fail to mention that he had an "activist interest" in going to the camp and "exerting pressure".

For another exhibition at the Kunstmuseum Heidenheim in spring 2022, Höschl developed a sound file that "unites the slogans of conspiracy theorists and right-wingers into a tapestry of sound in the exhibition space and thus makes the dangerous content tangible ..."

For Jonas Höschl and his fellow campaigners, 63-year-old Gloria TuT is also a right-winger.

What they criticise about her, however, only reflects an alleged side of this very multifaceted personality. For the princess herself is considered very art-loving and already worked in galleries as a teenager. In St. Emmeram - with around 500 rooms and 21,000 square metres of space larger than Buckingham Palace in London - not only the usual ancestral paintings hang, but also modern, entertaining works. The princess appreciates artists like Thomas Ruff, Takashi Murakami, Jeppe Hein. She also collects.

On the one hand, she is known as boisterous and unconventional - once, on the occasion of her 30th birthday, she sent out a sung invitation, the cover was by Keith Hearing. She rattled across the castle courtyards on her motorbike, and on motorways Gloria cultivated a fast driving style. And to the FAZ magazine she answered the question "What would you like to be?": "An elephant in a china shop."

On the other hand, the Princess never makes a secret of her Catholic convictions: she is an opponent of abortion, which she also expresses publicly time and again.

Such apparent contradictions do not bring many people together; it may seem provocative. In addition to Höschl and Co, the DGB Youth of the Upper Palatinate also attacks the princess, calls her a "riot noodle" and lists her "weird statements" on the site "thurn-und-toxisch.de". There you can read statements by her such as: "The only two people in the world who give us clarity today are Donald Trump and Gerhard Ludwig Müller."

The city of Regensburg has now also distanced itself from the statements of the prominent patron in an interview with the newspaper "WELT". According to a spokesperson, the city stands for "diversity and openness" and the Schlossfestspiele is not a municipal event. "Regensburg stands for simplicity and consternation," one reader counters, and another writes: "The black man just likes to snack" (A reference to comments made by the Princess on AIDs in Africa) - "forever cult! A good woman!".

And what does the Princess herself say about the excitement surrounding her and the summer event? The "Süddeutsche Zeitung" quotes her as saying: "A society that claims to be diverse and tolerant should also tolerate the free expression of opinions by people who do not reflect its own.

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