| Wilhelm von Ormstein | |
|---|---|
 | |
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Real Name |
Wilhelm Gottsreich Sigismond von Ormstein |
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First Appearance |
A Scandal in Bohemia (June 25, 1891) in the July issue of The Strand Magazine |
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Created by |
Sir Arthur Conan Doyle |
Origin[]
King Wilhelm Gottsreich Sigismond von Ormstein was Grand Duke of Cassel-Felstein and hereditary king of Bohemia in 1888. He employed the skills Sherlock Holmes in A Scandal in Bohemia in order to hunt down a picture which could potentially disrupt a rather sensitive marriage. The picture was one of him and Irene Adler, the former Prima Donna at the Imperial Opera in Warsaw whom he had met in five years previously, and with whom he had had a brief affair. Adler was threatening to send it to his bride-to-be, Princess Clotilde Lothman von Saxe-Meningen of Scandinavia, which would destroy the marriage and possibly damage international relations.
The next morning, a disguised Holmes follows Adler and lawyer Godfrey Norton to a nearby church, where he is unexpectedly asked to be a witness to their wedding. Shortly afterwards, Holmes and Watson not only convince Adler to let Holmes into her home under a disguise, but fake a fire within her home leading her to reveal where the photo was hidden. That night after slipping away from Adler's home, Holmes and Watson request that the King arrive at Adler's home in the morning.
When Holmes, Watson, and the King arrive at Adler's house the next morning to retrieve the photograph, her elderly maidservant informs them Adler had left the country via train earlier that morning. Holmes goes to the photograph's hiding spot, finding a photo of Irene Adler in an evening dress and a letter addressed to him. In the letter, Adler tells Holmes she has left England with Norton and promises she will not compromise the King. Holmes had then asked for and received this photo from the King, as payment for his work on the case.
According to His Last Bow, King Wilhelm died sometime before August 2, 1914.
Public Domain Appearances[]
All published appearances of Wilhelm von Ormstein from before January 1, 1930 are public domain in the US.
Some notable appearances are listed below:
Public Domain Literary Appearances[]
- The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes (1892)
- A Scandal in Bohemia (1891)
- His Last Bow: Some Reminiscences of Sherlock Holmes (1917)