Category Archives: Hanoverian Royals

Philip Christoph von Königsmarck, Lover of Sophia Dorothea of Celle, Electoral Princess of Hanover

by Susan Flantzer  © Unofficial Royalty 2020

Philip Christoph von Königsmarck; Credit – Wikipedia

Count Philip Christoph von Königsmarck, the lover of Sophia Dorothea of Celle, Electoral Princess of Hanover (the wife of the future King George I of Great Britain and the mother of King George II of Great Britain) disappeared from the Leineschloss in the Electorate of Hanover, now in the German state of Lower Saxony, and was never seen again. Born on March 4, 1665, in Stade, then part of the Swedish province of Bremen-Verden-Wildeshausen, now in Lower Saxony, Germany, Philip Christoph was the second of the two sons and the youngest of the four children of Count Kurt Christoph von Königsmarck and Maria Christina von Wrangel. Despite their German name and coming from an old Brandenburg noble family, the family considered themselves Swedish.

Philip Christoph had three siblings:

Philip Christoph’s father Count Kurt Christoph von Königsmarck was a Major General in the Swedish Army and served as Deputy Governor of the Swedish possessions in Germany. In 1671, he left the Swedish Army to serve in the army of Willem III, Prince of Orange (the future King William III of England), and took part in the Dutch campaign against the French. On October 10, 1673, when Philip Christoph was eight-years-old, his father was killed at the age of 39 at the Siege of Bonn by friendly fire from an accidental cannon shot.

Philip Christoph von Königsmarck at an early age; Credit – Wikipedia

During his childhood, Philip Christoph served as a page at the court of Georg Wilhelm, Prince of Celle. Celle was a small principality, now in Lower Saxony, Germany. There he became friends with Princess Sophia Dorothea of Celle, Georg Wilhelm’s only child, who was a year younger than Philip Christoph. At the age of 16, Sophia Dorothea was married to her first cousin, 22-year-old Georg Ludwig, Electoral Prince of Hanover and Hereditary Prince of Brunswick-Lüneburg, the eldest son of Ernst August, Elector of Hanover, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg and Sophia of the Palatinate, commonly referred to as Electress Sophia of Hanover. Electress Sophia of Hanover’s mother was Elizabeth Stuart, the second child and eldest daughter of King James VI of Scotland/King James I of England. It was through this descent and the exclusion of Catholics from the British throne, that Sophia Dorothea’s husband Georg Ludwig became King George I of Great Britain when Queen Anne, the last ruler of the House of Stuart, died. However, Sophia Dorothea of Celle was never Queen of Great Britain but she is an ancestor of the British Royal family (and other European royal families) through her son King George II of Great Britain.

After spending some time wandering through Europe, Philip Christoph found himself a wealthy man as the heir of his uncle and elder brother who had both died in battle. In 1688, Philip Christoph went to Hanover where he entered into the service of Sophia Dorothea’s father-in-law Ernst August, Elector of Hanover, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg. He took part in a campaign against France and became colonel of Ernst August’s bodyguard. Philip Christoph was regularly present at social events at the court of Hanover.

Sophia Dorothea, Electoral Princess of Hanover in 1686; Credit – Wikipedia

The marriage of Sophia Dorothea and Georg Ludwig (called George hereafter) was happy at first, but soon both George and Sophia Dorothea found affection elsewhere. George fell in love with one of his mother’s ladies-in-waiting, Melusine von der Schulenburg, and Sophia Dorothea fell in love with her childhood friend Philip Christoph von Königsmarck. Their affair started around March 1692. Despite warnings, from her mother and friends, Sophia Dorothea and Philip Christoph wrote letters to each other, met secretly, and planned to escape Hanover together. In 1694, Countess Clara Elisabeth von Platen, the mistress of Ernst August, Elector of Hanover, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg, tried to marry her daughter to Philip Christoph Königsmark but he declined. Because of this insult by Königsmark, Clara Elisabeth revealed his affair with Sophia Dorothea to Elector Ernst August.

On the morning of July 2, 1694, after a meeting with Sophia Dorothea, 29-year-old Philip Christoph von Königsmarck disappeared from the Leineschloss in Hanover and was never seen again. It was widely believed he was secretly murdered that same day. Officially, Philip Christoph von Königsmarck is still a missing person. His disappearance became a state affair and news of his disappearance spread throughout the royal courts of Europe and the general public. Bones were found at Leineschloss Castle during a 2016 renovation project, however, tests proved that some of the bones were from animals and the human bones came from at least five different skeletons. None of the remains have been proven to belong to Philip Christoph von Königsmarck.

Sophia Dorothea with her two children; Credit – Wikipedia

On December 28, 1694, a tribunal of judges and Lutheran Church officials declared the marriage of George and Sophia Dorothea dissolved on the grounds of Sophia Dorothea’s desertion. Meanwhile, 28-year-old Sophia Dorothea had been moved to the Castle of Ahlden in her father’s Principality of Celle. She hoped to be reunited with Königsmarck, whose disappearance had not been made known to her. Finally, Sophia Dorothea was told about the terms of the marriage dissolution. Because she was considered the guilty party, she was not allowed to remarry, would never again see her two children (the 11-year-old future King George II of Great Britain and the 7-year-old future Queen Sophia Dorothea in Prussia, wife of King Friedrich Wilhelm I in Prussia), and would be kept as a prisoner at the Castle of Ahlden for the remainder of her life. The Castle of Ahlden had a guard unit of 40 soldiers with five to ten of them guarding the castle around the clock. Sophia Dorothea had a household consisting of two maids of honor, several maids, and other staff for the household and kitchen, who were all chosen for their loyalty to Hanover.

Castle of Ahlden; Credit – Wikipedia

Although Sophia Dorothea spent 32 years in captivity, she received an income that allowed her to live in the style of a princess and she was able to go for drives in her coach with an escort. Her father refused to visit her but her mother did make visits, and unsuccessfully tried to obtain her release by asking Queen Anne of Great Britain for help. Sophia Dorothea apparently drowned her sorrows in the pleasure of eating, and became quite obese, increasingly suffering from fevers and indigestion. She suffered a stroke in August 1726 and never again left her bed. Sophia Dorothea refused medical attention and food, and died on November 13, 1726, at the age of 60. Her former husband, now King George I of Great Britain, would not allow mourning at the British court and was furious when he learned that his daughter had ordered court mourning in Prussia.

Because the guards at the Castle of Ahlden had no funeral or burial instructions, Sophia Dorothea’s remains were placed in a lead coffin and stored in the castle cellar. In January 1727, orders came from London to bury the remains without any ceremony in the cemetery of Ahlden. However, this was impossible because of weeks of heavy rains and the coffin remained in the castle cellar. Finally, in May 1727, Sophia Dorothea was buried in the middle of the night beside her parents at the Stadtkirche St. Marien (link in German) in Celle. Her former husband King George I died four weeks later after receiving a deathbed letter from Sophia Dorothea cursing him, and their son acceded to the British throne as King George II.

This article is the intellectual property of Unofficial Royalty and is NOT TO BE COPIED, EDITED, OR POSTED IN ANY FORM ON ANOTHER WEBSITE under any circumstances. It is permissible to use a link that directs to Unofficial Royalty.

Works Cited

  • De.wikipedia.org. 2020. Kurt Christoph Von Königsmarck. [online] Available at: <https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kurt_Christoph_von_K%C3%B6nigsmarck> [Accessed 9 May 2020].
  • De.wikipedia.org. 2020. Philipp Christoph Von Königsmarck. [online] Available at: <https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Philipp_Christoph_von_K%C3%B6nigsmarck> [Accessed 9 May 2020].
  • En.wikipedia.org. 2020. Philip Christoph Von Königsmarck. [online] Available at: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Philip_Christoph_von_K%C3%B6nigsmarck> [Accessed 9 May 2020].
  • Flantzer, Susan, 2015. Sophia Dorothea Of Celle, Electoral Princess Of Hanover. [online] Unofficial Royalty. Available at: <https://www.unofficialroyalty.com/sophia-dorothea-of-celle-electoral-princess-of-hanover/> [Accessed 9 May 2020].
  • Sv.wikipedia.org. 2020. Philip Christoph Königsmarck. [online] Available at: <https://sv.wikipedia.org/wiki/Philip_Christoph_K%C3%B6nigsmarck> [Accessed 9 May 2020].
  • Van der Kiste, John, 2013. The Georgian Princesses. New York: History Press.

Sophie Charlotte of Hanover, Queen in Prussia

by Scott Mehl  © Unofficial Royalty 2019

Sophie Charlotte of Hanover

Sophie Charlotte of Hanover was the second wife of King Friedrich I in Prussia, and the first Queen in Prussia. She was born at Iburg Castle in Osnabrück, Electorate of Brunswick-Lüneburg, later in the Electorate of Hanover, now in Lower Saxony, Germany, on October 30, 1668, the only daughter of Ernst August, Elector of Brunswick-Lüneburg and Sophia of the Palatinate. Her mother was named heiress-presumptive the British throne under the Act of Settlement 1701, and it would be Sophie Charlotte’s eldest brother who would become King George I of Great Britain in 1714. She had six brothers:

Raised initially at Iburg Castle, the family moved to Osnabrück Castle in 1673 and later to Hanover in 1679. Given a well-rounded education, she was proposed as a potential bride for Louis, the Grand Dauphin of France, son of King Louis XIV, and then even considered as a bride for the King himself following the death of his wife in 1683. Neither of these alliances panned out.

Friedrich I, King in Prussia. source: Wikipedia

Instead, on October 8, 1684, she married Friedrich of Hohenzollern, the future King Friedrich I in Prussia. He was the son of Friedrich Wilhelm, Elector of Brandenburg and Luise Henriette of Orange-Nassau. Friedrich had been widowed in 1683 and had one young daughter. Sophie Charlotte and Friedrich had two sons:

Upon marriage, Sophie Charlotte became Electress of Brandenburg, and would later become the first Queen in Prussia in 1701. The marriage – arranged purely for political purposes – was not a happy one. Several years after having given birth to her children, Sophie Charlotte retired to private life. In 1696, she had received an estate – Lietzow – just outside of Berlin, and soon began construction on a summer residence. The new home – called Lietzenburg – was completed and inaugurated in July 1699, and became Sophie Charlotte’s primary residence. Here, she lived separately from her husband and maintained her own court. After her husband became King in Prussia in 1701, the residence was expanded, with new wings and courtyards, becoming the palace that exists today. Following Sophie Charlotte’s death, her husband renamed the palace in her honor – Charlottenburg Palace.

Charlottenburg Palace. source: Wikipedia

At Lietzenburg, the Electress – and then Queen – indulged in her love of the arts, philosophy, and theology. She surrounded herself with some of the leading minds of the day, including Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz, a prominent German mathematician and philosopher, who she had known since her childhood. With Leibniz, she was instrumental in the founding of the Prussian Academy of Sciences.

Sadly, at just 36 years of age, Sophie Charlotte died of pneumonia on January 21, 1705, while visiting her mother in the Electorate of Hanover. She was buried in the crypt at the Berlin Cathedral in Berlin, Kingdom of Prussia, now in Brandenburg, Germany.

This article is the intellectual property of Unofficial Royalty and is NOT TO BE COPIED, EDITED, OR POSTED IN ANY FORM ON ANOTHER WEBSITE under any circumstances. It is permissible to use a link that directs to Unofficial Royalty.

Prussia Resources at Unofficial Royalty

Ernst August II, Crown Prince of Hanover

by Scott Mehl
© Unofficial Royalty 2019

Ernst August II, Crown Prince of Hanover

Ernst August was the last Crown Prince of Hanover, as well as the last to hold the Dukedoms of Cumberland and Teviotdale in the United Kingdom. He was born Prince Ernst August Wilhelm Adolf Georg Friedrich on September 21, 1845, in Hanover, Kingdom of Hanover, now in Lower Saxony, Germany. He was the only son of King Georg V of Hanover and Princess Marie of Saxe-Altenburg. He had two younger sisters:

Ernst August became Crown Prince upon his father’s accession in November 1851. However, in 1866, Hanover was annexed by the Kingdom of Prussia after having sided against Prussia in the Austro-Prussian War. The family went into exile in Austria but spent much of their time in Paris.

Princess Thyra of Denmark, c1871. source: Wikipedia

On December 21, 1878, Ernst August married Princess Thyra of Denmark at Christiansborg Palace in Copenhagen. She was the daughter of King Christian IX of Denmark and Princess Luise of Hesse-Kassel. The couple had first met while Ernst August was visiting his second cousin, The Prince of Wales (later King Edward VII of the United Kingdom) at Sandringham in Norfolk, England in 1875. Princess Thyra was the sister of Edward’s wife, Alexandra. Ernst August and Thyra had six children:

Ernst August with his wife and children, 1888. source: Wikipedia

In 1868, two years after Hanover had been annexed by the Kingdom of Prussia, Ernst August’s parents and their family moved to Gmunden, Austria. They took up residence at Villa Redtenbacher, which they later purchased. It would be his parents’ home until his father’s death in 1878, and later became known as the Queen’s Villa, as Queen Marie remained there until her own death in 1907.

Queen’s Villa in Gmunden. photo: Von Lars Staffanski – Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=32046268

Upon his father’s death in June 1878, Ernst August inherited his titles, becoming the 3rd Duke of Cumberland and Teviotdale, and Earl of Armagh in the United Kingdom, as well as head of the House of Hanover. He was also made a Knight of the Order of the Garter by Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom, his father’s first cousin. Like his father before him, he continued to claim his right to the Hanoverian throne, which caused friction with Prussia. This was such a big issue that when he became the rightful successor to the Duchy of Brunswick upon the death of his cousin, Wilhelm, the Kingdom of Prussia refused to allow him to ascend the ducal throne. Instead, they appointed Prince Albrecht of Prussia to serve as Regent for the duchy.

After succeeding his father, Ernst August purchased a large amount of land near the Villa, and in 1882, began construction on a new castle in Gmunden, Austria. Completed four years later, he named it Schloss Cumberland (link in German), in honor of his British title. Schloss Cumberland would become Ernst August’s primary residence for the rest of his life.

Reconciliation with Prussia finally came in 1913. Ernst August’s son, also named Ernst August, became engaged to Princess Viktoria Luise of Prussia, the only daughter of the German Emperor. In the days leading up to the wedding, Ernst August renounced his rights to the Duchy of Brunswick in favor of his son, who took his place as Duke of Brunswick.

World War I saw the end of what had always been a close relationship with his British relatives. He was removed from the roll of the Order of the Garter in 1915, and in 1917 was stripped of his title of Prince of the United Kingdom. Lastly, as a result of the Titles Deprivation Act, in 1919 he was stripped of his British peerages for “bearing arms against Great Britain.” The titles – Duke of Cumberland and Teviotdale – remain in abeyance, and his direct descendants could petition to have them restored. To date, no such petition has been made.

Schloss Cumberland. photo: Stague49 – Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=67974426

The former Crown Prince spent his remaining years at Schloss Cumberland in Gmunden, Austria where he died on November 14, 1923, after suffering a stroke. He is buried in the mausoleum at the Schloss, alongside his wife and mother.

This article is the intellectual property of Unofficial Royalty and is NOT TO BE COPIED, EDITED, OR POSTED IN ANY FORM ON ANOTHER WEBSITE under any circumstances. It is permissible to use a link that directs to Unofficial Royalty.

Prince Ernst August V of Hanover

by Susan Flantzer  © Unofficial Royalty 2019

Credit – www.tatler.com

Duchy of Brunswick: The Principality of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel was a subdivision of the Duchy of Brunswick-Lüneburg. After the dissolution of the Holy Roman Empire, the Congress of Vienna turned Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel into an independent country called the Duchy of Brunswick in 1815. Ernst August III, the last Duke of Brunswick was forced to abdicate on November 8, 1918, as the German Empire came to an end. Today the land that encompassed the Duchy of Brunswick is in the German state of  Lower Saxony. Since 1866, the senior heir of the House of Hanover has been the pretender to the throne of the Kingdom of Hanover.

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Prince Ernst August (V) of Hanover is the current pretender to the thrones of the Kingdom of Hanover and the Duchy of Brunswick. Born on February 26, 1954, in Hanover, Lower Saxony, then in West Germany, now in Germany, he is the second of the six children and the eldest of the three sons of Ernst August (IV), Hereditary Prince of Brunswick, Prince of Hanover, the son of Ernst August (III), Duke of Brunswick and Princess Viktoria Luise of Prussia, the only daughter of Wilhelm II, German Emperor, and his first wife Princess Ortrud of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glücksburg. At his christening, he was given a long string of names: Ernst August Albert Paul Otto Rupprecht Oskar Berthold Friedrich Ferdinand Christian Ludwig.

Ernst August has five siblings:

Ernst August (V), the tallest boy, with his parents and siblings; Credit – https://www.welfenbund.de/

Ernst August is among the senior male-line descendants of King George III of the United Kingdom. This line is directly descended from George III’s son, Ernest Augustus, Duke of Cumberland, who became King of Hanover due to the Salic Law which forbade female succession following the death of his brother King William IV and the accession of Queen Victoria. (George III → Ernest Augustus (I), Duke of Cumberland, King of Hanover → George V, King of Hanover → Ernst August (II), Duke of Cumberland (married Princess Thyra of Denmark, daughter of King Christian IX) → Ernst August (III), Duke of Brunswick (married Viktoria Luise, only daughter of Wilhelm II, German Emperor) → Ernst August (IV), Hereditary Prince of Brunswick → Ernst August (V), Prince of Hanover)

He is also a great-great-great-grandson of Queen Victoria via his father (Queen Victoria → Victoria, Princess Royal → Wilhelm II, German Emperor → Viktoria Luise of Prussia → Ernst August (IV), Hereditary Prince of Brunswick→ Ernst August (V), Prince of Hanover) and a great-great-grandson of King Christian IX of Denmark via his father (King Christian IX → Thyra of Denmark → Ernst August (III), Duke of Brunswick → Ernst August (IV), Hereditary Prince of Brunswick → Ernst August (V), Prince of Hanover).

Ernst August (V)’s father was the brother of Frederica of Hanover who married King Paul I of Greece. Therefore, Ernst August (V) is the first cousin of Frederica and Paul’s children: King Constantine II of Greece, Queen Sofia of Spain, and Princess Irene of Greece. Ernst August (V)’s paternal uncle Prince Georg Wilhelm of Hanover married Princess Sophie of Greece, a sister of Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh.

On June 17, 1914, King George V of the United Kingdom, who was the first cousin of Ernst August (V’s) grandfather Ernst August (III), Duke of Brunswick via their mothers and third cousins via their fathers, issued a Letters Patent granting the children of the Duke of Brunswick the style Highness and declaring that they would be Prince or Princess of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. The Letters Patent clearly state the style and title were only for the children of Ernst August (III), Duke of Brunswick.

On November 8, 1918, at the end of World War I, Ernst August (V)’s grandfather was forced to abdicate his throne as reigning Duke of Brunswick. In 1919, German royalty and nobility lost their privileges in Germany. Thereafter, hereditary titles could only be used legally as part of surnames. In 1931, Ernst August (III), Duke of Brunswick declared that his descendants, as descendants of King George III, would continue to use British HRH Prince/Princess. However, legally they are not British HRH Prince/Princess. All titles used by the family are used in pretense.

As the senior male descendant of George III’s son, Ernest Augustus, Duke of Cumberland, Ernst’s August (V)’s grandfather, the former Duke of Brunswick, also held the British peerage titles Duke of Cumberland, Duke of Teviotdale, and Earl of Armagh. In 1917, the British Parliament passed the Titles Deprivation Act 1917 which allowed the Privy Council to investigate “any persons enjoying any dignity or title as a peer or British prince who have, during the present war, borne arms against His Majesty or His Allies, or who have adhered to His Majesty’s enemies.” Under the terms of that act, an Order in Council on March 28, 1919, formally removed the former Duke of Brunswick’s British peerages, Duke of Cumberland, Duke of Teviotdale, and Earl of Armagh. The former Duke of Brunswick and his children also lost their titles of Prince and Princess of the United Kingdom and the styles Royal Highness and Highness. According to the Titles Deprivation Act, the male heirs of Ernst August, former Duke of Brunswick have the right to ask the British Crown to reinstate their British peerage titles but no descendant has ever done so. Currently, Ernst August (V) is the male heir of these British peerages.

Ernst August (V) attended schools in West Germany until the age of fifteen when his motorcycle driving license was revoked due to an accident. Shortly afterward, he was sent to England where he attended the Box Hill School in Surrey. Ernst August (V) discovered that he was interested in agriculture which he studied in Canada and then at the Royal Agricultural University in Cirencester, England. Afterward, he worked as a businessman and producer of animal documentary films.

Ernst August and Chantal on their wedding day; Credit – https://www.pinterest.com/pin/314970567684403672/?lp=true 

In 1980, Ernst August (V) became engaged to Chantal Hochuli, the daughter of Johann Gustav Hochuli, a Swiss millionaire from his family’s chocolate company and architect, and Rosemarie Lembeck. Ernst August’s father was initially opposed to the marriage because of Chantal’s less-than-royal ancestry. However, he eventually changed his mind and modified the House of Hanover’s dynastic laws so that the marriage could take place. The couple was married on August 28, 1981, in a civil ceremony in Pattensen, Germany. A religious ceremony was held on August 30, 1981, at Marienburg Castle, also in Pattensen, Germany.

Ernst August and Chantal had two sons:

Prince Ernst August (VI) of Hanover and his wife; By Foto: Axel Hindemith, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=60789603

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Prince Christian of Hanover and his wife

In 1987, Ernst August (V)’s father died and he became Head of the House of Hanover and pretender to the thrones of the Kingdom of Hanover and the Duchy of Brunswick.

Caroline and Ernst on their wedding day; Credit – https://www.pinterest.com/pin/30399366205165248/?lp=true

In 1996, rumors began to emerge that romantically linked Ernst August (V) to Princess Caroline of Monaco, a long-time friend. Ernst August and Caroline had been seen together in the Far East, in New York, and in London. On October 23, 1997, Ernst August and his wife Chantal were divorced. On January 23, 1999, in a civil ceremony in Monaco, Ernst August married Caroline who was pregnant with their child. It was the third marriage for Caroline.

The couple had one daughter:

While initially very happy, the couple, still legally married, now leads separate lives. Caroline and her daughter Alexandra live primarily in Monaco, while her husband remains at his homes in Germany.

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Princess Alexandra of Hanover

Over the years, Ernst August (V) has had several controversial incidents. In 2000, he was photographed urinating on the Turkish Pavilion at Expo 2000 in Hanover, Germany causing a diplomatic incident when the Turkish embassy accused him of insulting the Turkish people. In 2004, he was convicted of aggravated assault and causing grievous bodily harm after beating a German man in a nightclub in Kenya.

In 2004, Ernst August (V) signed over to his elder son Ernst August (VI ) his German property, including Marienburg Castle, Calenberg Castle, the Princely House at Herrenhausen Gardens and some forests near Blankenburg Castle. Since then, the younger Ernst August has taken over many representative tasks on behalf of his father. Ernst August (V) initially remained in charge of the family assets in Austria. However, in 2013, due to negligence, he was removed as chairman of a family foundation based in Liechtenstein which holds the properties near Gmunden, Austria, the Hanovers’ main residence in exile after 1866 when their Kingdom of Hanover was annexed by Prussia. His elder son Ernst August (VI) was made the chairman of the family foundation. Due to disputes over the family assets, Ernst August (V) declared his intention to withhold consent for his elder son’s marriage which he did not attend.

Ernst August (V) at the wedding of his son Christian, 2018; Credit – www.zimbio.com

Ernst August (V) also has had several health issues. On April 3, 2005, he was admitted to the hospital with acute pancreatitis. The next day, he fell into a coma, two days before the death of his father-in-law Rainier III, Prince of Monaco. A few days later, he was no longer in a coma but remained in intensive care. Ernst August (V) was hospitalized again in 2011, 2017, and 2018 for problems related to alcohol. The incident in 2018 occurred during the wedding celebrations of his son Christian in Lima, Peru. During the celebrations, Ernst August (V) lost consciousness because he drank too much and had to be admitted to a hospital where he was placed in a medically induced coma. After two weeks in the hospital, he was transferred to a clinic in Austria. In February 2019, he had another serious health issue. He was taken to the hospital by helicopter and needed emergency surgery for a ruptured duodenal ulcer. A week later, doctors discovered that Ernst August (V) had throat cancer. Because of the poor state of his health, doctors treated the tumor with cryotherapy.

In July 2020, it was reported that Ernst August (V) was temporarily taken to a psychiatric facility. He reportedly called police saying he needed immediate help. When the police arrived, Ernst August (V) was extremely aggressive and attacked them physically.

This article is the intellectual property of Unofficial Royalty and is NOT TO BE COPIED, EDITED, OR POSTED IN ANY FORM ON ANOTHER WEBSITE under any circumstances. It is permissible to use a link that directs to Unofficial Royalty.

Works Cited

  • bild.de. (2019). Krebs-Schock: Tumor im Hals bei Ernst August von Hannover. [online] Available at: https://www.bild.de/unterhaltung/leute/leute/krebs-schock-tumor-im-hals-bei-ernst-august-von-hannover-60112354.bild.html [Accessed 22 Mar. 2019].
  • En.wikipedia.org. (2019). Prince Ernst August of Hanover (born 1954). [online] Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prince_Ernst_August_of_Hanover_(born_1954) [Accessed 22 Mar. 2019].
  • Es.wikipedia.org. (2019). Ernesto Augusto de Hannover (1954). [online] Available at: https://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ernesto_Augusto_de_Hannover_(1954) [Accessed 22 Mar. 2019].
  • Flantzer, S. (2019). Ernst August (IV), Hereditary Prince of Brunswick, Prince of Hanover. [online] Unofficial Royalty. Available at: https://www.unofficialroyalty.com/ernst-august-iv-hereditary-prince-of-brunswick-prince-of-hanover/ [Accessed 22 Mar. 2019].
  • It.wikipedia.org. (2019). Ernesto Augusto di Hannover (1954). [online] Available at: https://it.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ernesto_Augusto_di_Hannover_(1954) [Accessed 22 Mar. 2019].
  • Madame Figaro. (2017). Le mari de Caroline de Monaco s’oppose au mariage de son fils. [online] Available at: http://madame.lefigaro.fr/celebrites/ernst-august-de-hanovre-le-mari-de-caroline-de-monaco-soppose-au-mariage-de-son-fils-avec-la-russe-ekaterina-malysheva-030717-133081 [Accessed 22 Mar. 2019].
  • País, E. (2019). Ernesto de Hannover, operado de urgencia por un problema de páncreas. [online] EL PAÍS. Available at: https://elpais.com/elpais/2019/02/06/gente/1549451643_943505.html [Accessed 22 Mar. 2019].

Ernst August IV, Hereditary Prince of Brunswick, Prince of Hanover

by Susan Flantzer © Unofficial Royalty 2019

Ernst August in the 1930s; Credit – Wikipedia

Duchy of Brunswick: The Principality of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel was a subdivision of the Duchy of Brunswick-Lüneburg. After the dissolution of the Holy Roman Empire, the Congress of Vienna turned Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel into an independent country called the Duchy of Brunswick in 1815. Ernst August III, the last Duke of Brunswick was forced to abdicate on November 8, 1918, as the German Empire came to an end. Today the land that encompassed the Duchy of Brunswick is in the German state of  Lower Saxony. Since 1866, the senior heir of the House of Hanover has been the pretender to the throne of the Kingdom of Hanover.

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The second of the five children and the eldest of the three sons of Ernst August (III), Duke of Brunswick and Princess Viktoria Luise of Prussia, the only daughter of Wilhelm II, German Emperor and King of Prussia, Ernst August was born on March 18, 1914, in Brunswick in the Duchy of Brunswick now in Lower Saxony, Germany. As his father was the reigning Duke of Brunswick, Ernst August (IV) was styled His Royal Highness The Hereditary Prince of Brunswick at birth.

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Ernst August (IV)’s parents

Ernst August (IV) was among the senior male-line descendants of King George III of the United Kingdom. This line is descended from George III’s son, Ernest Augustus, Duke of Cumberland, who became King of Hanover (due to the Salic Law which forbade female succession) following the death of his brother King William IV and the accession of Queen Victoria. (George III → Ernest Augustus (I), Duke of Cumberland, King of Hanover → George V, King of Hanover → Ernst August (II), Duke of Cumberland (married Princess Thyra of Denmark, sister of Queen Alexandra of UK, Empress Marie Feodorovna of Russia and King George I of Greece) → Ernst August (III), Duke of Brunswick (married Viktoria Luise, only daughter of Kaiser Wilhelm II) → Ernst August (IV), Hereditary Prince of Brunswick).

He was also a great-great-grandson of Queen Victoria via his mother (Queen Victoria → Victoria, Princess Royal → Wilhelm, German Emperor →  Viktoria Luise of Prussia → Ernst August (IV), Hereditary Prince of Brunswick) and a great-grandson of King Christian IX of Denmark via his father (King Christian IX → Thyra of Denmark → Ernst August, Duke of Brunswick → Ernst August (IV), Hereditary Prince of Brunswick).

On June 17, 1914, King George V of the United Kingdom, who was the first cousin of Ernst August (III), Duke of Brunswick via their mothers and third cousins via their fathers, issued a Letters Patent granting the children of the Duke of Brunswick the style Highness and declaring that they would be Prince or Princess of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland.

Ernst August’s christening at Brunswick Cathedral in May 1914 was perhaps the last great gathering of European royalty before the start of World War I in August 1914. Christened with the names Ernst August Georg Wilhelm Christian Ludwig Franz Joseph Nikolaus Oskar, the infant prince had a long list of illustrious royal godparents, some of whom would be on opposite sides in the upcoming war:

Ernst August (IV) with his mother in 1914; Credit – Wikipedia

Ernst August (IV) had three brothers and one sister:

Ernst August on the right with his parents and his brother Georg Wilhelm in 1916; Credit – Wikipedia

On November 8, 1918, at the end of World War I, Ernst August’s father was forced to abdicate his throne as reigning Duke of Brunswick. The Duke of Brunswick had been appointed a Knight of the Order of the Garter by Queen Victoria in 1878 but he had been struck off the roll of the Order of the Garter in 1915 by his first cousin King George V of the United Kingdom along with six other Austrian or German royals. Further action was taken against him after the British Parliament passed the Titles Deprivation Act 1917 which allowed the Privy Council to investigate “any persons enjoying any dignity or title as a peer or British prince who have, during the present war, borne arms against His Majesty or His Allies, or who have adhered to His Majesty’s enemies.” Under the terms of that act, an Order in Council on March 28, 1919, formally removed the former Duke of Brunswick’s British peerages, Duke of Cumberland, Duke of Teviotdale, and Earl of Armagh. The former Duke of Brunswick and his children also lost their titles of Prince and Princess of the United Kingdom and the styles Royal Highness and Highness. According to the Titles Deprivation Act, the male heirs of Ernst August, former Duke of Brunswick have the right to ask the British Crown to reinstate their British peerage titles but no descendant has ever done so.

In 1919, German royalty and nobility lost their privileges in Germany. Thereafter, hereditary titles could only be used legally as part of surnames. In 1931, Ernst August (III), Duke of Brunswick declared that his descendants, as descendants of King George III, would continue to use British HRH Prince/Princess. However, legally they are not British HRH Prince/Princess. All titles used by the family are used in pretense.

Cumberland Castle; Credit – By Pepito Tey – Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0 at, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=22858180

After World War I, the Hanover family first took refuge at Cumberland Castle (link in German), their home in Gmunden, Austria. Once the situation in Germany calmed down, they were able to return to Germany, claim the bulk of their fortune, and retain ownership of Blankenburg Castle and Marienburg Castle.

First educated with his family in Austria and Germany, Ernst August attended the Gymnasium (secondary school) in Hamelin in Lower Saxony, Germany along with his brother Georg Wilhelm. The brothers lived with one of their teachers, Dr. Oppermann. Ernst August then attended the Schule Schloss Salem established by the educator Kurt Hahn with the support of Prince Maximilian of Baden (one of Ernst August’s godparents). Later, under the Nazi regime, Hahn, who was Jewish, left Germany for Scotland where he founded the Gordonstoun School, later attended by Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh (who previously also attended Schule Schloss Salem) and his three sons.  After his secondary education was completed, Ernst August went to England where he studied at Oxford University. Returning to Germany, he attended the University of Göttingen and received a Doctorate of Jurisprudence (law) in 1937.

During World War II, Ernst August (IV) served as an officer in the 4th Panzers Group under the command of General Erich Hoepner.  In 1944, Ernst August (IV) and most other former German princes were expelled from the army by Adolf Hitler. Ernst August’s former commander General Hoepner was a participant in the unsuccessful July 20, 1944 plot to assassinate Hitler and was hanged on August 8, 1944. Ernst August (IV) was arrested by the Gestapo who suspected him, wrongly, of being involved in the plot. He was imprisoned for a few weeks and then released.

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Wedding of Ernst August (IV) and Ortrud

On August 31, 1951, at Marienburg Castle in Hanover, Germany, Ernst August (IV) married Princess Ortrud of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glücksburg, daughter of Prince Albrecht of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glücksburg and his second wife Princess Hertha of Ysenburg and Büdingen. Ortrud’s parents had been close friends of Ernst August’s grandfather Wilhelm II, German Emperor. A religious ceremony was held on September 5, 1951, in the Marktkirche in Hanover, followed by a reception in the Gallery Building at Herrenhausen Gardens, the only part of the House of Hanover’s former summer palace still intact, as the palace itself had been destroyed during World War II. The marriage was considered an equal marriage, in accordance with the laws of the House of Hanover, allowing Ernst August (IV) to inherit the property and titles of his family.

Ernst August (IV), Ortrud, and their six children; Credit – https://www.welfenbund.de/

Ernst August and Ortrud had six children:

In 1953, Ernst August (IV)’s father died and he became Head of the House of Hanover and pretender to the thrones of Hanover and Brunswick.

The Sophia Naturalization Act 1705 provided that all the children and descendants of Electress Sophia of Hanover, with the exception of Roman Catholics, shall be naturalized as British citizens. The Act was repealed by the British Nationality Act 1948 but it was stipulated that any non-Catholic descendant of Electress Sophia of Hanover who had already been born when the repealing statute was enacted in 1949 could claim British citizenship. In 1957, Ernest August (IV), a descendant of Electress Sophia, successfully sought a declaration that he was a British citizen under the 1705 and 1948 Acts. No other family members became British citizens at that time and the citizenship did not extend to any descendants of Ernst August (IV), Hereditary Prince of Brunswick, who were all born after 1949.

In 1961, Ernst August (IV) sold his remaining properties at Herrenhausen Gardens except for the Princely House, a small palace built in 1720 by King George I of Great Britain. Marienburg Castle was turned into a museum in 1954 and Ernst August (IV) moved to the nearby Calenberg Castle. This move caused a serious disagreement with his mother who had to move out of the castle. Ernst August (IV) also sold Cumberland Castle at Gmunden, Austria to the state of Upper Austria in 1979. However, the family foundation based in Liechtenstein kept forests, a game park, a hunting lodge, and other properties at Gmunden. The family property is now managed by Ernst August (IV)’s grandson Ernst August (VI) after his father Ernst August (V) transferred the property to him in November 2018.

Countess Monika zu Solms-Laubach, Ernst August’s second wife; Credit – By Source (WP:NFCC#4), Fair use, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=60077233

On February 6, 1980, Ernst August (IV)’s first wife Ortrud died at the age of 54. She was buried at Marienburg Castle. Ernst August (IV) married for a second time to Countess Monika zu Solms-Laubach. The couple was married in a civil ceremony on July 16, 1981, and then in a religious ceremony the next day.

Ernst August (IV); Credit – https://www.geni.com/

On December 9, 1987, Ernst August (IV), the former Hereditary Prince of Brunswick and Prince of Hanover, died at Calenberg Castle in Schulenburg in Lower Saxony, Germany at the age of 73. He was buried next to his first wife at Marienburg Castle. His second wife Monika survived him by nearly 28 years, dying on June 4, 2015, at the age of 85, and was buried in her birthplace, Laubach in Hesse, Germany.

Marienburg Castle where Ernst August is buried; Credit – By Ralf Claus – Ralf Claus, CC BY-SA 3.0 de, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=43012866

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Works Cited

  • En.wikipedia.org. (2019). Prince Ernest Augustus of Hanover (1914–1987). [online] Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prince_Ernest_Augustus_of_Hanover_(1914%E2%80%931987) [Accessed 21 Mar. 2019].
  • Fr.wikipedia.org. (2019). Ernest-Auguste de Hanovre (1914-1987). [online] Available at: https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ernest-Auguste_de_Hanovre_(1914-1987) [Accessed 21 Mar. 2019].
  • HRH Viktoria Luise, Princess of Prussia. (1977). The Kaiser’s Daughter. Englewood Cliffs: Prentice-Hall, Inc.
  • Mehl, S. (2018). Ernst August III of Hanover, Duke of Brunswick. [online] Unofficial Royalty. Available at: https://www.unofficialroyalty.com/ernst-august-iii-of-hanover-duke-of-brunswick/ [Accessed 21 Mar. 2019].
  • Mehl, S. (2018). Viktoria Luise of Prussia, Princess of Hanover, Duchess of Brunswick. [online] Unofficial Royalty. Available at: https://www.unofficialroyalty.com/viktoria-luise-of-prussia-princess-of-hanover-duchess-of-brunswick/ [Accessed 21 Mar. 2019].
  • Petropoulos, J. (2009). Royals and the Reich. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Viktoria Luise of Prussia, Princess of Hanover, Duchess of Brunswick

by Scott Mehl  © Unofficial Royalty 2018

Viktoria Luise, c1918. source: Wikipedia

Viktoria Luise of Prussia, Princess of Hanover, Duchess of Brunswick

Princess Viktoria Luise Adelheid Mathilde Charlotte of Prussia was the last Duchess of Brunswick through her marriage to Prince Ernst August of Hanover, Duke of Brunswick. She was born on September 13, 1892, at the Marble Palace in Potsdam, Kingdom of Prussia, now in the German state of Brandenburg, the youngest child and only daughter of Wilhelm II, German Emperor, King of Prussia and Princess Augusta Viktoria of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Augustenburg. Viktoria Luise had six older brothers:

Viktoria Luise with her parents and siblings, c1896. source: Wikipedia

The young princess was christened on October 22, 1892, and named for her great-grandmother – Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom, and her great-great-grandmother – Queen Luise of Prussia. As the youngest child and only daughter, she was her father’s favorite and could do no wrong in his eyes. She was educated privately at home, studying religion and music, as well as developing a love of athletic pursuits. From a young age, she became an accomplished hunter and rider. In 1900, the Hamburg-American Line named a ship in her honor. The Prinzessin Viktoria Luise would be the world’s first cruise ship.

Prince Ernst August of Hanover, Duke of Brunswick. source: Wikipedia

Viktoria Luise met her future husband in 1912 when he came to Berlin to personally thank the Emperor for sending two of his sons to the funeral of Ernst August’s brother. While there, the couple met and quickly fell in love. However, there was political tension between Prussia and Hanover, as Ernst August’s father, also named Ernst August, Duke of Cumberland, refused to relinquish his claims to the Hanoverian throne. For this reason, the Emperor had not allowed him to succeed to the Duchy of Brunswick, to which he was also the rightful heir. Finally, after months of negotiations, a compromise was reached which would allow Viktoria Luise and Ernst August to marry. The Duke of Cumberland renounced his rights to the throne of Hanover for himself and his heirs. He also ceded his rights to the Duchy of Brunswick, which allowed the younger Ernst August to become reigning Duke. After all of these negotiations, Viktoria Luise and Ernst August were engaged on February 11, 1913.

Their wedding was held in Berlin, Kingdom of Prussia, now in the German state of Brandenburg, on May 24, 1913, and was one of the largest gatherings of royalty in Germany since the establishment of the German Empire in 1871. It would also be one of the last large social events before World War I, attended by 1,200 guests, including the British King and Queen and the Russian Emperor and Empress. Six months later, Ernst August was formally created Duke of Brunswick. He and Viktoria Luise took up residence in Brunswick, where they had five children:

Viktoria Luise and Ernst August, c1918. source: Wikipedia

Viktoria Luise’s husband was forced to abdicate on November 8, 1918, when the monarchies in Germany were abolished. The following year, he also lost his British title as a Prince of the United Kingdom under the Titles Deprivation Act. 1918 also saw the abdication of Viktoria Luise’s father, who lived the rest of his life in exile at Huis Doorn in Doorn, Netherlands. The couple lived at several of their estates, including Blankenburg Castle, in the German state of Saxony-Anhalt, where Viktoria Luise continued her support of philanthropic causes, promoted restoration projects for several of the old palaces, and indulged in her love of horses and hunting. When Blankenburg was expropriated by the Soviets in 1945, Viktoria Luise and her family were forced to flee. Under orders of her second cousin, King George VI of the United Kingdom, British army troops were sent to Blankenburg to transport all of their belongings to Marienburg Castle in Hanover, Lower Saxony, Germany, the couple’s privately owned property, where they lived for the next eight years.

Viktoria Luise was widowed in 1953, and the following year her son turned Marienburg Castle into a museum, uprooting Viktoria Luise and causing a rift between mother and son. The relationship became further strained over their disagreement on her appanage and public role. Her son wanted her to retire quietly, but Viktoria Luise had no intention of that! He offered her several residences, but instead she moved to the Riddagshausen district of Brunswick, moving into a home provided to her by a group called the Brunswick Circle of Friends. With the support of this group, she continued to be involved in her charitable works and maintained her position in society. After living many years in Brunswick, her health began to fail in the fall of 1980, and she moved to the Friederikestift, a hospital in Hanover.

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The Dowager Duchess of Brunswick died in Hanover, Germany on December 11, 1980, at the age of 88. She was the last surviving child of Wilhelm II, having outlived her siblings by over 22 years. Viktoria Luise is buried beside her husband, in front of the Royal Mausoleum in the Berggarten at Herrenhausen Gardens in Hanover, Germany.

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Brunswick Resources at Unofficial Royalty

Ernst August III of Hanover, Duke of Brunswick

by Scott Mehl  © Unofficial Royalty 2018

Duchy of Brunswick: The Principality of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel was a subdivision of the Duchy of Brunswick-Lüneburg. After the dissolution of the Holy Roman Empire, the Congress of Vienna turned Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel into an independent country called the Duchy of Brunswick in 1815. Ernst August III, the last Duke of Brunswick was forced to abdicate on November 8, 1918, as the German Empire came to an end. Today the land that encompassed the Duchy of Brunswick is in the German state of  Lower Saxony. Since 1866, the senior heir of the House of Hanover has been the pretender to the throne of the Kingdom of Hanover.

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photo: By Dora Tarnke, Braunschweig – Original publication: Published as a print in Europe.Immediate source: Private Collection – Wartenberg Trust, PD-US, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=36382755

Ernst August III of Hanover, Duke of Brunswick

Ernst August of Hanover was the last reigning Duke of Brunswick and the pretender to the throne of Hanover. He was born Prince Ernst August Christian Georg on November 17, 1887, in Penzig, Austria, the youngest child of Ernst August II, Crown Prince of Hanover and Princess Thyra of Denmark. He had five siblings:

Ernst August’s father was heir to the Duchy of Brunswick and should have succeeded as Duke following the death of the reigning Duke of Brunswick in 1884. However, in 1866, Hanover had been annexed by Prussia, and the Crown Prince refused to renounce his claim to the throne. The German Chancellor, Otto von Bismark, persuaded the Federal Council to decree that it would not be in the interests of Germany for the Crown Prince to gain the throne of Brunswick, and instead installed a Regent, Prince Albrecht of Prussia. The regency continued after Albrecht’s death in 1906, with Duke Johann Albrecht of Mecklenburg-Schwerin named as his successor.

The situation severely strained the relationship between the Hanovers and the German Emperor. However, this would change in 1912, when Ernst August’s eldest brother, Georg, was killed in a car crash. Wilhelm II, German Emperor, King of Prussia sent condolences to the Crown Prince, who in turn sent his youngest and only surviving son Ernst August, to Berlin to personally thank the Emperor. While there, Ernst August met, and quickly fell in love with, the Emperor’s only daughter, Princess Viktoria Luise.

Princess Viktoria Luise of Prussia

Ernst August and Viktoria Luise became engaged on February 11, 1913. At that time, Ernst August took an oath of loyalty to the Emperor and was commissioned as a cavalry officer and company commander in the Zieten-Hussars, a Prussian Army regiment that had previously included his grandfather and great-grandfather as Colonels. With the Emperor’s blessing and the required consent from the British King George V, the couple was married in Berlin, Kingdom of Prussia, now in the German state of Hanover, on May 24, 1913. The wedding was one of the last large gatherings of European royalty before World War I began the following year, attended by 1,200 guests including numerous reigning monarchs. Ernst August and Viktoria Luise had five children:

Ernst August, Duke of Brunswick, c1916.  photo: By Gustav Rienäcker  Own work, Medvedev, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=33646335

Just over five months after the wedding, Ernst August’s father renounced his claim to the Duchy of Brunswick, in favor of his son. The Federal Council voted to allow the younger Ernst August to become reigning Duke, which he did on November 1, 1913. His reign, however, would be rather short-lived. He was forced to abdicate on November 8, 1918, as the German Empire came to an end.

Following his father’s death in 1923, Ernst August became head of the House of Hanover. However, he was unable to inherit his father’s Dukedom of Cumberland, as that title had been suspended by the British government under the Titles Deprivation Act of 1917. Ernst August and his family were able to remain in Hanover, and lived his remaining years at his various properties, including Cumberland Castle (link in German) in Gmunden, Austria, Marienburg Castle in Hanover, and Blankenburg Castle in Harz.

Graves of Ernst August and Viktoria Luise, in front of the Mausoleum. photo: By Vivimeri – Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=16765011

Ernst August III of Hanover, the last Duke of Brunswick, died at Marienburg Castle in Hanover, Germany on January 30, 1953. He and his wife are buried in front of the Mausoleum (link in German) in Herrenhausen Gardens.

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Brunswick Resources at Unofficial Royalty

Alexandra of Hanover and Cumberland, Grand Duchess of Mecklenburg-Schwerin

by Scott Mehl  © Unofficial Royalty 2018

Alexandra of Hanover and Cumberland, Grand Duchess of Mecklenburg-Schwerin

Alexandra of Hanover and Cumberland was the last Grand Duchess of Mecklenburg-Schwerin, as the wife of Grand Duke Friedrich Franz IV. Princess Alexandra Luise Marie Olga Elisabeth Therese Vera was born at Schloss Ort in Gmunden, Austria on September 29, 1882, the daughter of Ernst August, Crown Prince of Hanover and Princess Thyra of Denmark.

Alexandra (standing, front-right) with her parents and siblings, c1888

Alexandra had five siblings:

Alexandra and Franz Friedrich following their wedding

On July 7, 1904, at Schloss Cumberland (link in German) in Gmunden, Austria, Alexandra married Friedrich Franz IV, Grand Duke of Mecklenburg-Schwerin. They went on to have five children:

Because of the death of her daughter Olga at just six weeks old, Grand Duchess Alexandra worked to improve medical care for children in the Grand Duchy. She established the Olga Foundation, which raised money for education and training for nurses and midwives.

Following her husband’s abdication on November 14, 1918, the family was forced to leave the Grand Duchy. They traveled to Denmark at the invitation of Queen Alexandrine, Friedrich Franz’s sister, and stayed for a year at Sorgenfri Palace. The following year, they were permitted to return to Mecklenburg and recovered several of their properties. For the next two years, they lived at the Gelbensande hunting lodge (link in German) before returning to Ludwigslust Palace in 1921. They also began spending their summers at the Alexandrinen Cottage (link in German) in Heiligendamm.

Glücksburg Castle. photo: By Wolfgang Pehlemann – Own work, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=21693722

At the end of World War II, with the Red Army approaching Mecklenburg, the family was again forced to flee in 1945. Intending to return to Denmark, they traveled to Glücksburg Castle, in Glücksburg, Schleswig-Holstein, Germany, the home of their youngest daughter. While there, the Grand Duke died. The Dowager Grand Duchess Alexandra also died there, on August 30, 1963, having survived her husband by nearly 18 years. She is buried beside him in the New Cemetery in Glücksburg.

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Mecklenburg-Schwerin Resources at Unofficial Royalty

Princess Sophie of Greece and Denmark, Princess of Hesse, Princess of Hanover

by Scott Mehl © Unofficial Royalty 2017

Sophie of Greece and Denmark in 1955, with her daughter Friederike. Photo source: Daily Mail

Princess Sophie of Greece and Denmark, Princess of Hesse, Princess of Hanover

Princess Sophie of Greece and Denmark was the third daughter of Prince Andreas of Greece and Denmark and Princess Alice of Battenberg. Known in the family as “Tiny”, she was born on June 26, 1914, at Mon Repos on the isle of Corfu, Greece. She had four siblings:

Because of the unstable political situation in Greece, Sophie spent several years living in Switzerland, d later settled in France in the early 1920s. However, the family was soon pulled apart. Her mother suffered a nervous breakdown and was institutionalized in 1930, and her father had basically given up on his marriage and spent most of his time with a mistress on the French Riviera. So it was no surprise when Sophie, at just 16 years old, became engaged to be married. She would be the first of the sisters to marry, but the others followed within the following year. On December 15, 1930, at Schloss Friedrichshof in Kronberg, Germany, Sophie married Prince Christoph of Hesse, in both Greek Orthodox and Lutheran ceremonies. He was the son of Prince Friedrich Karl of Hesse and Princess Margarete of Prussia, a granddaughter of Queen Victoria. Sophie and Christoph were second cousins once removed through their mutual descent from Queen Victoria. They had five children:

  • Princess Christina of Hesse (1933-2011) – married (1) Prince Andrej of Yugoslavia, had issue; (2) Robert van Eyck, had issue
  • Princess Dorothea of Hesse (born 1934) – married Prince Friedrich Karl of Windisch-Grätz, had issue
  • Prince Karl of Hesse (1937-2022) – married Countess Yvonne Szapáry von Muraszombath, Széchysziget and Szapár, had issue
  • Prince Rainer of Hesse (born 1939) – unmarried
  • Princess Clarissa of Hesse (born 1944) – married Jean-Claude Derrin (div), had issue

Sophie and Christoph lived in Berlin, Germany where he worked in an insurance company, as well as serving as a reserve officer in the Luftwaffe, the German air force. At the outbreak of World War II, Christoph entered active service, serving as a navigator in a bomb squadron, and later transferred to a fighter squadron in Tunisia and Sicily. In October 1943, Hitler recalled all the German princes from active service. Christoph was en route back to Germany when his plane crashed on October 7, 1943, and he was killed.

Meanwhile, Sophie and her five children had been living with her mother-in-law at Schloss Friedrichshof. She was also raising the four children of her brother-in-law, Prince Philip of Hesse, who had been imprisoned in 1943. Forced to leave Friedrichshof when the American troops arrived, Sophie and her family moved to Schloss Wolfsgarten, home of the family of the former Grand Dukes of Hesse and by Rhine.

Sophie married a second time on April 23, 1946, in Salem, Baden-Württemberg, Germany. Her husband was Prince Georg Wilhelm of Hanover, the son of Ernst August III, Duke of Brunswick, a descendant of King George III through his son Ernest Augustus, King of Hanover and Duke of Cumberland, and Princess Viktoria Luise of Prussia, the only daughter of Wilhelm II, German Emperor. Sophie and Georg Wilhelm were second cousins. This marriage is the only known case where the British sovereign withheld permission to marry, under the Royal Marriages Act of 1772. Although Germany and Britain were at war, the groom’s father still requested consent from King George VI. The King wished to let them know that it would be inappropriate to give his consent due to the war but the British government would not allow it. Therefore, the request went unanswered, meaning that the marriage was not recognized under British law. Sophie and Georg had three children:

Throughout her life, Sophie was very close to her brother, The Duke of Edinburgh. Although not invited to Philip’s wedding because of her German ties, Sophie and her husband paid a private visit shortly after the wedding, spending time with Philip and Elizabeth at Birkhall in Scotland. Six years later, Sophie, her surviving sisters, and their families were all in attendance for Elizabeth’s coronation. The families visited often, and Sophie was a regular guest at the Windsor Royal Horse Show each year, as well as most private family events. In 1964, she was named as one of the godparents for Philip’s youngest son, Prince Edward. In 1994, Sophie and Philip traveled to Jerusalem, where their mother was posthumously honored as Righteous Among the Nations for her efforts to help Jewish families during the war.

Sophie and Philip in Jerusalem, 1994.

In her later years, Sophie lived in Schliersee, near Munich, Germany with her husband. She also regularly visited Princess Margaret of Hesse and by Rhine (the wife of Prince Ludwig) who was among her closest friends. In the summer of 2001, with her health failing, Sophie moved to a nursing home in Munich, where she later died on November 24, 2001. She was buried in the cemetery in Schliersee, and a memorial service was held two months later at Schloss Wolfsgarten, attended by The Duke of Edinburgh.

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Friederike of Mecklenburg-Strelitz, Queen of Hanover, Duchess of Cumberland

by Scott Mehl  © Unofficial Royalty 2016

Credit – Wikipedia

Friederike of Mecklenburg-Strelitz was the wife of her first cousin King Ernst August I of Hanover. Through her two previous marriages, she was also a Princess of Prussia and a Princess of Solms-Braunfels. She was born on March 3, 1778, at the Altes Palais in Hanover,  Electorate of Hanover, now in the German state of Lower Saxony, where her father – the future Carl II, Grand Duke of Mecklenburg-Strelitz – was serving as Governor of Hanover for his brother-in-law, King George III of the United Kingdom who was also the Elector of Hanover. Her mother was Princess Friederike of Hesse-Darmstadt.

Friederike was christened on March 15, 1778, and given the names Friederike Caroline Sophie Alexandrine. She had nine siblings:

Friederike’s mother died in May 1782, just days after giving birth to her last child. The family left the Altes Palais and moved to Schloss Herrenhausen, also in Hanover, where Friederike and her siblings were raised by a governess, Frau von Wolzogen. Two years later, her father remarried to Princess Charlotte of Hesse-Darmstadt, his first wife’s younger sister. From this marriage, Friederike had one additional half-sibling:

In 1785, Friederike lost three of the people closest to her. In September, her elder sister, Charlotte, married the Duke of Saxe-Hildburghausen and moved away, taking Frau von Wolzogen with her. In December, her stepmother (and aunt) died a few weeks after giving birth to her only child. Her father gave up his position in Hanover and moved the family to Darmstadt, Landgraviate of Hesse-Darmstadt, now in the German state of Hesse, where the children were raised by their maternal grandmother, Princess Maria Luise of Hesse-Darmstadt. Her grandmother took charge of their education, ensuring that they learned to speak French, and received a strong religious education. She also ensured that they traveled extensively to other royal courts, and they attended the coronations of the Holy Roman Emperors Leopold II in 1790 and Franz II in 1792.

painted by Johann Friedrich August Tischbein. source: Wikipedia

Having left Darmstadt in 1792 to avoid the advancing French army, Friederike and her sister Luise returned to Darmstadt in March 1793. On the way back, they received an invitation to visit their mother’s cousin, the Landgrave of Hesse-Darmstadt, in Frankfurt, so that he could introduce them to King Friedrich Wilhelm II of Prussia, and more specifically, to his two sons. The sisters attended the theater in Frankfurt and were presented to the King, who found them quite charming. The following day, they were introduced to the King’s sons, Crown Prince Friedrich Wilhelm and Prince Ludwig. Relationships quickly developed, and just a month later, on April 24, 1793, the official engagements were announced. Luise was to marry the Crown Prince, while Friederike would marry Prince Ludwig. Always very close, Friederike and Luise were overjoyed that they would remain near to each other after their marriages.

Prince Ludwig of Prussia, painted by Edward Francis Cunningham. source: Wikipedia

After making their grand entrance into Berlin, the two marriages took place at the City Palace in Berlin, Kingdom of Prussia, now in the German state of Brandenburg. Friederike and Ludwig were married on December 26, 1793, just two days after her sister’s marriage. They took up residence at a townhouse in Berlin – just opposite the Crown Prince’s Palace – and had three children:

By Johann Gottfried Schadow – Till Niermann, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=4359214

It was in 1795 that sculptor Johann Gottfried Schadow began work on a statue of Friederike and her sister Luise. The statue, known as the Prinzessinnengruppe, is displayed in the Friedrichswerder Church in Berlin.

The marriage between Friederike and Ludwig was not very happy, with both of them allegedly having affairs. Rumors spread that Friederike was having an affair with her husband’s cousin, Prince Ludwig Ferdinand. And the marriage was not to be long-lasting. Prince Ludwig died of diphtheria on December 28, 1796, just two days after their third wedding anniversary. Just 18 years old, and widowed with three small children, Friederike was given an income and a residence, Schönhausen Palace, by her father-in-law.

Two years later, In 1798, Friederike accepted a proposal from Prince Adolphus of the United Kingdom, Duke of Cambridge, her first cousin. He was the seventh son of King George III of the United Kingdom and Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz, Friederike’s maternal aunt. However, King George III refused to consent to the marriage until the end of the war with the French revolutionaries. The couple continued their correspondence, both hoping that the war would soon end and they could marry.

However, Friederike was not very lonely. Despite her unofficial engagement to Adolphus, she soon found herself pregnant with the child of Prince Friedrich Wilhelm of Solms-Braunfels. He was the son of Ferdinand, 2nd Prince of Solms-Braunfels and Countess Sophie of Solms-Laubach. Friederike and Friedrich were quietly married in Berlin on December 10, 1798. The scandal caused a rift with her sister Luise, and enraged her aunt – and intended mother-in-law – Queen Charlotte of the United Kingdom. Friederike and Friedrich left the court in Berlin and moved to Ansbach, Kingdom of Prussia, now in the German state of Bavaria, where their first child was born two months later. Together they had six children:

  • Princess Caroline of Solms-Braunfels (born and died 1799)
  • Prince Wilhelm of Solms-Braunfels (1801–1868), married Countess Maria Anna Kinsky of Wchinitz and Tettau, had nine children
  • Princess Sophie of Solms-Braunfels (born and died 1803)
  • Princess Auguste Luise of Solms-Braunfels (1804–1865), married Prince Albert of Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt, had four children
  • Prince Friedrich of Solms-Braunfels (1807–1867), married Baroness Louise of Landsberg-Velen, had one child
  • Prince Carl of Solms-Braunfels (1812–1875), married (1) morganatically Louise Beyrich, had three children  (2) Princess Sophie of Loewenstein-Wertheim-Rosenberg, had five children

Within a few years of the marriage, the couple had drifted very far apart. Friedrich had resigned from his military posts, and Friederike had to support their family with her own resources. The marriage was so broken that her brother-in-law, the reigning Prince of Solms-Braunfels, advised Friederike, and gave his blessing, to divorce her husband. However, the couple remained married.

Prince Ernest Augustus, Duke of Cumberland, painting by George Dawe, c1828. source: Wikipedia

It was in 1813 that Friederike met the man who would become her third husband, Prince Ernest Augustus of the United Kingdom, Duke of Cumberland. Another first cousin, he was also the son of King George III of the United Kingdom and Friederike’s aunt Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz. Finding herself in love with her British cousin, Friederike asked for, and received, permission from the Prussian king to divorce her husband. But before proceedings could move forward, Prince Friedrich died suddenly on April 13, 1814. Many believed that Friederike had poisoned her husband, to avoid the public scandal of a divorce.

The Duke of Cumberland proposed, and Friederike accepted on the condition that her aunt, Queen Charlotte, gave her approval. The Queen did consent to the marriage, and the couple married on May 29, 1815, at the parish church in Neustrelitz, Grand Duchy of Mecklenburg-Strelitz, now in the German state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern.

After the wedding, her husband returned to London to try – unsuccessfully – to get an increase in his appanage from the British Parliament. Despite being turned down, he returned to Germany and brought Friederike back to London, where they were married in a Church of England ceremony at Carlton House on August 29, 1815. One very notable absentee at the wedding was Queen Charlotte. Despite having given her consent the previous year, the Queen issued a statement explaining why she should not receive her new daughter-in-law. She stated that she had received “information from many respectable quarters which induced her to accept the painful resolution upon which she has since acted”, and that her feelings toward the marriage had been “conveyed to her son, The Prince Regent, not only long before the marriage of the Duke of Cumberland was solemnized in Germany, but also before the formal sanction of the Crown was given.”

Despite this, the couple settled in London, taking up residence at St. James’s Palace, as well as a home in Kew. After several years, with the Duke still unable to get an increase in his appanage, the couple returned to Prussia, living primarily in Berlin. After two stillborn daughters, the couple had one son:

Following their son’s birth, the British Parliament finally increased the Duke’s allowance, to provide him with a suitable education. The family spent the next ten years living in Germany, not returning to Britain until August 1829.

By then, Queen Charlotte had died, and Friederike’s brother-in-law was on the throne as King George IV. For the first time, she was welcomed as a full member of the British Royal Family and returned to her homes at St. James’s Palace and Kew. The following year, upon the death of King George IV and the accession of King William IV, her husband became the heir-presumptive to the throne of Hanover, and second in line to the British throne). After an accident left their son blind, in October 1833 Friederike and her husband took their son to Germany to meet with doctors, hoping to be able to restore their son’s sight. She was still in Germany when King William IV died on June 20, 1837. He was succeeded by his niece, Victoria, as Queen of the United Kingdom. But because Hanover did not allow for female succession, Friederike’s husband succeeded him as King Ernst August I of Hanover, and Friederike became Queen.

Sadly, Friederike was only Queen for a little less than three years. In April 1841, she fell ill, and after several months, passed away at the Altes Palais in Hanover on June 29, 1841. Following her funeral, the Queen’s remains were placed in the vault of the Royal Chapel. After her husband’s death 10 years later, both of their coffins were placed in a mausoleum on the grounds Schloss Herrenhausen (now Herrenhausen Gardens).

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