One of my detractors has advised “go back to the source and go back to the original documents is what I say!” (below)

Indeed! Many conspiracy theorists have alleged over the decades in dozens of books (or perhaps hundreds of books) that Saunière had links to the Habsburgs based on a letter in his possession from the Banque Fritz Dörge of Budapest – that had nothing to do with the Habsburgs but with the Royal Hungarian Lottery!

Take for example Jean-Luc Robin’s book Saunière’s Secret (2007), page 67, where it reproduces the envelope in question with the following caption:

“A pile of these envelopes was found among Saunière’s papers. Why should the abbé have carried on a regular correspondence with a bank in Budapest, capital of the Habsbourgs?” (Page 68 in Rennes-le-Château, le secret de Saunière, original French edition, 2005).

Jean-Luc Robin did not inform his readers that the envelope in question was to do with the Hugarian Lottery. Shame on Jean-Luc Robin, who obviously had his agenda!

My detractor got the facts wrong about Banque Petitjean – now they have got the facts wrong about Banque Fritz Dörge of Budapest.

By the way, the link to the Delcamp website was just to show another example how famous the Banque Fritz Dörge of Budapest was in running the Hungarian lottery.

I did not state anywhere that this was a “personal” letter to Saunière – although it could have been a reply to him, since it was handwritten.