Hohenzollern impostors are individuals who falsely claimed to be members of the royal House of Hohenzollern, the imperial family of Germany prior to 1918. There have been numerous individuals who claimed to be members of the House of Hohenzollern, many of whom assumed various false titles of nobility or royalty.
Fosse case in Norway
In 2012, an entire Norwegian family named Fosse changed their legal surname from the original Fosse to Hohenzollern, and claimed in several Norwegian newspapers to be descendants of Wilhelm II, German Emperor. The family presented a purported letter from Juan Carlos I of Spain, that allegedly recognized them as members of the House of Hohenzollern and as "children of Prussia."
The family alleged that their ancestor Anders Elias Fosse (born 10 April 1906, died 1 April 1983), who grew up in poverty in Bergen and had a criminal past, was the illegitimate son of Emperor Wilhelm and a Norwegian maid. Family members also assumed titles and styles such as Prince and Princess of Prussia and Royal Highness, and family members travelled to Huis Doorn to meet with German monarchists and gave speeches at the site of the grave of the Emperor. The family also established a website about "the Imperial House of Fosse-Hohenzollern."
In late 2013, the House of Hohenzollern officially stated that the Fosse family's claims were false, stating that the House of Hohenzollern had enquired about the alleged letter from the Spanish king and received confirmation from the Spanish Royal Family that the letter was a fabrication. Historians pointed out that the Emperor did not even visit Norway in the year before Fosse's birth.
Following severe criticism from Norwegian genealogists, some family members agreed to take a DNA test to prove their claims, and in December 2013, a DNA test confirmed that the family's ancestor Anders Elias Fosse, alleged by the family to be the son of the Emperor, was in fact descended from his legal parents, the poor deaf-mute couple Elias Fosse and Karen Kristoffersdatter, and not from the Emperor. State archivist Yngve Nedrebø at the State Archives of Norway said it was "embarrassing" that the authorities had permitted the Fosse family to adopt the name "Hohenzollern," and the House of Hohenzollern announced their intention to contact the Norwegian embassy to protest against the abuse of their name.
Norway's largest newspaper Aftenposten published a feature on the case in 2014 titled "The Emperor's New Children," a pun on The Emperor's New Clothes.