Why did Rudolf Hess fly to Scotland in 1941? Any connection to Nazi sympathizers among UK royalty?

[Boojatta]

The main possibilities that come to mind are:

1. Hess was simply very impulsive and misjudged the situation.

2. A deal was in the making, but politically influential people in the UK changed their plans. This might help explain why Hess was imprisoned for so long, and why his story remains mysterious.

3. Hess was tricked. Someone very influential wanted Hess to no longer have any authority in the Nazi regime.

What other possibilities can you think of?

[jberryhill]

1. Haggis cravings

Those can be pretty fierce.

[zappaman]

2. Yes, n/t

[tjwmason]

3. Basically 1.

There was some division within the British political establishment about the country's ability to continue the war when fighting alone. Remember that London and other major cities had had massive bombing campaigns against them, food was significantly rationed as imports were constantly threatened by the U-boats in the Atlantic, there was still massive anti-war feeling generally arising from the memory of the First World War, and German invasion was a distinct possibility. Remember too that the full horrors of the Nazi regime were not widely known until later.

In such circumstances it was only natural for some to think that the country shouldn't kill itself for the benefit of some foreign countries; especially if the German regime would have left the British Empire (still a major factor in many minds at the time) alone.

Hess appears to have misread the potential influence of the different groups within the political establishment.

[Remember Me]

4. Well, there's Prince Harry !!

Joke, kiinda.

But didn't the Duke of Windsor have ties with the Nazis?

Edited to add: Oh, my, yes. See the Wikipedia entry for him, under WWII http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edward_VIII