Mensdorff, the Austrian Ambassador, had long enjoyed an intimacy with the British royal family.
Indeed he was a distant relative of King George, for he was a member of the family of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha, a fact which was emphasized by his physical resemblance to Prince Albert, the consort of Queen Victoria.
Mensdorff was not a robust man, physically or mentally, and he showed his consternation at the impending war in most unrestrained and even unmanly fashion.

As his government directed him to turn the Austrian Embassy over to the American Ambassador, it was necessary for Page to call and arrange the details.

The interview, as Page's letter indicates, was little less than a paroxysm of grief on the Austrian's part.

He denounced Germany and the Kaiser; he paraded up and down the room wringing his hands; he could be pacified only by suggestions from the American that perhaps something might happen to keep Austria out of the war.

The whole atmosphere of the Austrian Embassy radiated this same feeling.