Adelheid of Hohenlohe-Langenburg, Duchess of Schleswig-Holstein

by Scott Mehl  © Unofficial Royalty 2018

Adelheid of Hohenlohe-Langenburg, Duchess of Schleswig-Holstein

Princess Adelheid of Hohenlohe-Langenburg was the wife of Friedrich VIII, Duke of Schleswig-Holstein. She was born Princess Adelheid Victoria Amalie Louise Maria Konstanze on July 20, 1835, in Langenburg, Principality of Hohenlohe-Langenburg, now in Baden-Württemberg, Germany, the daughter of Ernst I, Prince of Hohenlohe-Langenburg and Princess Feodora of Leiningen, the elder half-sister of Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom. Adelheid had five siblings:

Adelheid with her mother, Princess Feodora. source: Wikipedia

In 1852, the newly throned French Emperor Napoléon III proposed to Adelheid, hoping that marriage to Queen Victoria’s niece would bring about a closer alliance with the United Kingdom. However, Queen Victoria was horrified by the idea and remained silent on the matter. Adelheid’s family understood that Victoria’s silence indicated her disapproval and declined the Emperor’s proposal. He went on to marry Eugénie de Montijo, who would later become a close friend of Queen Victoria and her family.

Friedrich VIII, Duke of Schleswig-Holstein

Four years later, in Langenburg on September 11, 1856, Adelheid married Friedrich of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Augustenburg, the future Friedrich VIII, Duke of Schleswig-Holstein. He was the son of Christian August II, Duke of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Augustenburg and Countess Louise Sophie of Danneskiold-Samsøe. They had seven children:

Some of Adelheid’s children, photographed c1869. (l-r) Caroline Mathilde, Auguste Viktoria, Luise Sophie and Ernst Günter. source: Wikipedia

In November 1863, Adelheid’s husband claimed his succession to the duchies of Schleswig and Holstein, following the death of the Danish King Frederik VII. The family moved to Kiel, but a few years later returned to Dolzig after the duchies were annexed by Prussia following the Austro-Prussian War. They alternated between Dolzig, Gotha, Schloss Primkenau in Silesia, and Schloss Gravenstein near Sonderburg (now known as Gråsten Palace). Schloss Gravenstein had been confiscated from Friedrich’s father in 1852 due to his part in the Schleswig-Holstein War. Following Prussia’s annexing of the duchies, the property was returned to Friedrich. Today, it is a summer residence of the Danish Royal Family.

Soon after her husband’s death in 1880, and her eldest daughter’s marriage in early 1881, Adelheid retired from public life, settling in Dresden, Kingdom of Saxony, now in the German state of Saxony, where she spent her time painting and enjoying the arts. She died on January 25, 1900, in Dresden and was buried in the Ducal Graveyard in Primkenau, Kingdom of Prussia, now in Przemków, Poland.

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