Cheated of his Birthright? The story of Kaspar Hauser

May 1828 a youth who could not say who he was appears in Nuremberg, with him is a note instructing whoever to deliver the boy to the Commander of the 4th Troop of the 6th light Cavalry Division.

Was Kaspar Hauser robbed of his birthright as the crown prince of Baden? Was he actually born in the palace at Karlsruhe?

Or was he just a child savage, drifting from person to person whomever would be kind enough to care for him? Was he reared in isolation away from everyone else with only a small toy horse to play with?

On May 26, 1828, a teenage boy appeared in the streets of Nuremberg, Germany. He would barely talk, but he carried a letter with him addressed to the captain of the 4th squadron of the 6th cavalry regiment, Captain von Wessenig. It was dated "From the Bavarian border / The place is not named [sic] / 1828". The anonymous author said that the boy was given into his custody, as an infant, on the 7th October 1812, and that he had instructed him in reading, writing, and the Christian religion but had never let him "take a single step out of my house". The letter stated that the boy would now like to be a cavalryman; thus, the captain should take him in or hang him. There was another short letter enclosed, purporting to be from his mother to his prior caretaker. This letter was found to have been written by the same hand as the other one. It stated that he was born on April 30, 1812, and that his father, a cavalryman of the 6th regiment, was dead.

Shoemaker Weickmann took the boy to the house of Captain von Wessenig, where he would only repeat, "I want to be a cavalryman, as my father was," and "Horse! Horse!" Further demands elicited only tears, or the obstinate proclamation of "Don't know". He was taken to a police station, where he would write a name: Kaspar Hauser. He showed that he was familiar with money, could say some prayers, and read a bit, but he answered few questions, and his vocabulary appeared to be quite limited.[1]

Source: Wiki

Even stranger is the later murder attempt by a masked man and the final murder of Kaspar Hauser by an unknown assailant. Was this a case of European intrigue in the royal house? Was it a bid to place someone else on the throne?