Author Archives: Susan

Princess Sophie of Prussia, Queen of Greece

by Susan Flantzer  © Unofficial Royalty 2015

Princess Sophie of Prussia, Queen of Greece; Credit – Wikipedia

A granddaughter of Queen Victoria, Sophie Dorothea Ulrike Alice was born a Princess of Prussia at the Neues Palais in Potsdam, Kingdom of Prussia (now in Brandenburg, Germany) on June 14, 1870. Sophie was the seventh of the eight children of Friedrich III, German Emperor and Victoria, Princess Royal (Vicky). Her mother was particularly close to her three youngest daughters and called them “my three sweet girls.” Sophie had four brothers and three sisters.

Sophie around 15 years old; Photo Credit – Wikipedia

Sophie grew up at her parents’ two residences, Neues Palais in Potsdam and Kronprinzenpalais in Berlin, both in the Kingdom of Prussia and now in Brandenburg, Germany. As her mother was English, Sophie was raised with a love of all things English and frequently visited her grandmother Queen Victoria. On one of these visits Sophie became acquainted with Crown Prince Constantine of Greece, known as Tino. During the summer of 1887, many European royals were in England to celebrate Queen Victoria’s Golden Jubilee. Queen Victoria observed a relationship developing between her granddaughter Sophie and Constantine and was pleased.  Constantine was not very bright, but as Queen Victoria wrote to Sophie’s mother, “a good heart and a good character…go far beyond cleverness.”

The couple became engaged shortly after Sophie’s father died in 1888. Despite having the approval of Queen Victoria and her eldest brother Wilhelm, now the German Emperor, Sophie did not have the wholehearted agreement of her mother. Vicky dreaded sending Sophie so far away, and she thought the stability of the Greek throne was uncertain and the country underdeveloped. Nevertheless, Sophie and Constantine married on October 27, 1889, in Athens, Greece. They had a Greek Orthodox service at the Metropolitan Cathedral of the Annunciation and then a Lutheran service in the private chapel of King George I of Greece.  Constantine’s father had been Prince William of Denmark before he was elected King by the Greek National Assembly, and had retained his Lutheran faith.

Engagement Photo 1889; Photo Credit – Wikipedia

Sophie and Constantine had six children and there was a twenty-three-year age gap between their eldest child and youngest child. The Greek, Romanian, Serbian, and Spanish Royal Families descend from their marriage. Sophie’s granddaughter Princess Sophia of Greece via her son King Paul of Greece was named after her. Sophia married King Juan Carlos of Spain and her name was changed to the more Spanish, Sofia. Queen Sofia of Spain’s younger granddaughter via her son King Felipe VI of Spain is also named Sofia.

Sophie and Constantine’s children:

Photo circa 1910, Top left: Constantine holding Irene, Top right: the future George II, Left: Sophia, Center: Helen, Right: the future Alexander I, Front: the future Paul I, Katherine is not yet born; Photo Credit – Wikipedia

In 1890, Sophie decided to convert to the Greek Orthodox faith. She was summoned by Augusta (known as Dona), the wife of her brother, Wilhelm II, German Emperor, who told Sophie that not only would Wilhelm find her conversion unacceptable, but she would be barred from Germany and her soul would end up in hell. Sophie replied what she did was her own business. Augusta became hysterical and gave birth to a premature son Prince Joachim. After the birth, Wilhelm wrote to his mother saying that if baby Joachim had died, Sophie would have murdered him. On the advice of her mother, Sophie ignored her brother, and gradually, the relationship between the siblings returned to normal.

While Crown Princess and later as Queen, Sophie cared intensely about healthcare, hygiene improvements, the school system, and the creation of employment opportunities for women through the promotion of arts and crafts. On March 18, 1913, Constantine’s father King George I was assassinated and Constantine acceded to the Greek throne as King Constantine I.

At first, Constantine was a popular king because of his success in the war against Turkey and Bulgaria. At the outbreak of World War I in August 1914, Greece remained a neutral nation. However, Greece had signed a treaty with Serbia in 1913 obliging Greece to come to Serbia’s aid if attacked by Bulgaria. Bulgaria did attack Serbia, disagreements arose between King Constantine and the Greek Prime Minister, the King was accused of pro-German sentiments, and he was forced to abdicate in 1917. Constantine, Sophie, and their family went into exile in Switzerland.

Crown Prince George, was also suspected of collaborating with the Germans, so it was the second son Alexander, who succeeded his father on the throne. In 1920, Alexander died of blood poisoning as a result of a monkey bite, and the third son Paul was asked to take over the throne. After Paul declined, Constantine was brought back after a change of government and a referendum allowing his return from exile. Constantine was welcomed enthusiastically by the Greek people but the enthusiasm did not last long. After a defeat in a war against Turkey in 1922, Constantine was forced to abdicate a second time and again go into exile. The crown went to his eldest son George, who reigned until 1925 when he was forced to abdicate. He was restored to the throne in 1936 and reigned until his death in 1947 when his younger brother Paul became king. Thus, all three sons of Sophie became Kings of Greece. Constantine died in 1923 in Palermo, Italy from a brain hemorrhage at the age of 54.

Greek royal family in 1921, From left: Princess Irene, Queen Sophia, King Constantine I of Greece, Princess Helen (later Queen of Romania), Carol, Crown Prince of Romania (Carol II), and Prince Paul of Greece (Paul I); Photo Credit – Wikipedia

Sophie spent her last years at her villa in Florence, Italy. She died at the age of 61, on January 13, 1932, in Frankfurt am Main, Germany, where she had been undergoing treatment for cancer. Sophie was buried alongside her husband in the Greek Orthodox Church in Florence, Italy. In November of 1936, after the restoration of the monarchy, the remains of Sophie and Constantine were transferred to Greece and buried in the mausoleum at the Royal Cemetery at Tatoi Palace near Athens, Greece.

Tomb of Queen Sophie; Photo Credit – Wikipedia

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.

Greece Resources at Unofficial Royalty

Richard III: Lost and Found

by Susan Flantzer © Unofficial Royalty 2015

Stained glass window in St James Church in Sutton Cheney, England, where it is believed Richard III (left) attended his last Mass before facing Henry VII (right) in the Battle of Bosworth Field; Credit – Wikipedia

On August 22, 1485, at the Battle of Bosworth Field, the last significant battle of the Wars of the Roses, the last king of the House of York and the Plantagenet dynasty, 32-year-old King Richard III of England, lost his life and his crown. The battle was a decisive victory for the House of Lancaster, whose leader, Henry Tudor, Earl of Richmond, became the first monarch of the House of Tudor.

Richard had entered the battle as a seasoned soldier, wearing a battle crown on atop his helmet. During the battle, he saw an opportunity to strike directly at Henry Tudor and his personal guard, and sped off on his horse. After managing to kill Henry Tudor’s standard-bearer, Richard saw something he had not expected. Sir William Stanley changed sides. Instead of supporting Richard and the Yorkists, Stanley attacked them, helping to secure a victory for Henry Tudor and the Lancastrians.

“Bosworth Field – Clash” by Jappalang – Base map:1933 Ordnance Survey maps of Leicester, 50-year Crown copyrights have expired Terran details based on:Features modified according to File:John Pridden’s map of the Battle of Bosworth Field.jpgDeployment and movements based on:Gravett, Christopher (1999) Bosworth 1485: Last Charge of the Plantagenets, Campaign, 66, Oxford: Osprey Publishing, p. p. 47 Retrieved on 16 March 2009. ISBN: 1-85532-863-1.English Heritage Battlefield Report: Bosworth Field 1471 (PDF). English Heritage (1995). Retrieved on 2009-04-10.. Licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons – http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Bosworth_Field_-_Clash.svg#mediaviewer/File:Bosworth_Field_-_Clash.svg

Richard was overwhelmed by Stanley’s soldiers, and at some point, he took off or lost his helmet. Polydore Vergil, Henry Tudor’s official historian, wrote that “King Richard, alone, was killed fighting manfully in the thickest press of his enemies.” According to Welsh poet Guto’r Glyn, the leading Welsh Lancastrian Rhys ap Thomas, or one of his men, killed the king, writing that he “killed the boar, shaved his head.” After the battle, Henry Tudor’s men were yelling, “God save King Henry!”  Inspired by this, Thomas Stanley, 1st Earl of Debry who was married to the new king’s mother, found Richard’s battle crown and placed it on the head of his stepson, saying, “Sir, I make you King of England.”

Finding Richard’s crown after the battle, Lord Stanley hands it to Henry, Credit – Wikipedia

Richard’s body was stripped of its armor and carried naked across a packhorse to Greyfriars Abbey, a Franciscan abbey in Leicester, England. There, the public was allowed to view the body for two days to prove that Richard was dead, and the remains were then buried at the abbey church. Several years later, King Henry VII paid a sum of money to the abbey to provide a tomb for Richard. During the Dissolution of the Monasteries, during the reign of King Henry VIII, the abbey church in Leicester, along with Richard’s burial place, was destroyed.

Richard III and his nephew Edward V were the only English monarchs since the Norman Conquest in 1066 whose remains did not have an acknowledged burial place. There were stories that when the abbey church was destroyed, Richard’s bones were dug up and thrown into the River Soar, which flows through Leicester. Another story said his coffin was used as a horse trough and that eventually the trough was broken up and used to make the steps to the cellar of the White Horse Inn.

The abbey’s site was eventually acquired by Robert Herrick (1540 -1618), a mayor of Leicester, who built a mansion and gardens there. Although the abbey church and Richard’s grave were gone, it appears that it was local knowledge where Richard had been buried. Herrick had a monument erected with an inscription, “Here lies the Body of Richard III, Some Time King of England.” There is evidence that the monument was standing in 1612, but it had disappeared by 1844.

Over the years, the site changed ownership and several buildings were built there, including a boys’ school and a bank. In 1915, the Leicestershire County Council acquired part of the site and built new offices there. The county council moved out in 1965 when Leicestershire’s new County Hall was opened, and the Leicester City Council moved in. The rest of the site, where Herrick’s garden had once been, had been turned into a staff parking lot in 1944. In 2007, when a building on the site was demolished, archaeologists did an excavation to see if any traces of Greyfriars Abbey could be found. The excavation turned up little besides the fragment of a post-medieval stone coffin, and the results suggested that the remains of the Greyfriars Abbey were further west than had been thought.

Finding the remains of Richard III had always been an interest of the Richard III Society.  In 1975, an article published in the society’s journal suggested that Richard’s remains were buried under the Leicester City Council’s parking lot (car park). Two historians, David Baldwin in 1986 and John Ashdown-Hill in 2005, also suggested the claim about the parking lot could prove true. Philippa Langley, the secretary of the Scottish Branch of the Richard III Society, became convinced that the parking lot needed to be investigated while doing research for a screenplay about Richard in 2005. In 2008, writer Annette Carson independently came to the conclusion that Richard’s body probably lay under the parking lot in her book Richard III: The Maligned King. Langley, Carson, and Ashdown-Hill teamed up with two Richard III Society members, Dr. David Johnson and his wife Wendy, to form a project Looking for Richard: In Search of a King. Eventually, the project gained the backing of the Leicester City Council, Leicester Promotions (responsible for tourist marketing), the University of Leicester, Leicester Cathedral, Darlow Smithson Productions (responsible for the planned TV show), and the Richard III Society. The University of Leicester Archaeological Services agreed to do the archaeological excavations.

“Greyfriars, Leicester site” by Hel-hama – Own work, based on work of Robin Leicester (Base map OS OpenData VectorMap District. Greyfriars perimeter from Billson, C. J., 1920, Medieval Leicester, facing p. 1. Edgar Backus, Leicester (Archive.org). Greyfriars Church details, University of Leicester Plan of the 2012 Archaeological dig, Mail Online, 12 Sept 2012) This vector image was created with Inkscape. Licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons – http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Greyfriars,_Leicester_site.svg#mediaviewer/File:Greyfriars,_Leicester_site.svg

The excavations began on August 25, 2012, and on that day, two human leg bones were discovered. Over the next several days, evidence of medieval walls and rooms was uncovered, allowing the archaeologists to determine the area of the abbey. It soon became clear that the leg bones found on the first day lay inside the east part of the church, possibly the choir, where Richard was said to have been buried. Further investigation in the area where the leg bones were found revealed more remains: the skull was found in an unusual propped-up position, consistent with the body being put into a grave that was slightly too small; the spine was curved in an S-shape; the hands were in an unusual position, crossed over the right hip, suggesting they were tied together at the time of burial. No evidence of a coffin or shroud was found, and the skeleton’s position suggested that the body had been dumped into the grave.

On September 12, 2012, the archaeological team announced that the human remains could possibly be those of Richard III. Evidence of such a possibility included:

  • The body was an adult male
  • It was buried under the choir of the church
  • Severe scoliosis of the spine, possibly making one shoulder higher than the other
  • There were severe injuries to the skull

 

“Richard III burial site” by Chris Tweed – Flickr: richard iii trench 1 richard iii burial site 02. Licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0 via Wikimedia Commons – http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Richard_III_burial_site.jpg#mediaviewer/File:Richard_III_burial_site.jpg

Now the scientists set to work on the remains. The DNA from Michael Ibsen, a direct descendant of Richard’s sister Anne of York, and an unnamed direct maternal line descendant matched the mitochondrial DNA extracted from the remains.

The bones were examined, and the following discoveries were made:

  • The base of the back of the skull had been completely cut away by a bladed weapon, which would have exposed the brain
  • Another bladed weapon had been thrust through the right side of the skull to impact the inside of the left side through the brain
  • A blow from a pointed weapon had penetrated the crown of the head
  • Bladed weapons had clipped the skull and sheared off layers of bone, without penetrating it
  • Holes in the skull and lower jaw were found to be consistent with dagger wounds to the chin and cheek.
  • One of the right ribs and the pelvis had been cut by a sharp implement
  • No evidence of the withered arm that afflicted the character in William Shakespeare’s play Richard III
  • Severe curvature of the spine was attributed to adolescent-onset scoliosis
  • The bones are those of a male with an age range estimation of 30–34; Richard was 32 when he died

 

On February 4, 2013, the University of Leicester confirmed that the remains were those of King Richard III.

The remains of Richard III were reburied at Leicester Cathedral on March 26, 2015. Three members of the Royal Family, The Countess of Wessex (now The Duchess of Edinburgh) and The Duke and Duchess of Gloucester, attended the reburial. It was fitting that the Duke of Gloucester attended the reburial as his name is also Richard, and Richard III was also a Duke of Gloucester. The Duke of Gloucester is Patron of The Richard III Society.

 

Tomb of Richard III, Leicester Cathedral by RobinLeicester – Own work. Licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0 via Commons – https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Tomb_of_Richard_III,_Leicester_Cathedral.jpg#/media/File:Tomb_of_Richard_III,_Leicester_Cathedral.jpg

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.

There are lots of resources and more information at:

Works Cited

  • “Battle of Bosworth Field.” Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation. Web. 7 Mar. 2015. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Bosworth_Field>.
  • “Exhumation of Richard III of England.” Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation. Web. 7 Mar. 2015. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Exhumation_of_Richard_III_of_England>.
  • “Greyfriars, Leicester.” Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation. Web. 7 Mar. 2015. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greyfriars,_Leicester>.
  • Jones, Dan. The Wars of the Roses: The Fall of the Plantagenets and the Rise of the Tudors. Print.
  • Lisle, Leanda. Tudor: Passion, Manipulation, Murder: The Story of England’s Most Notorious Royal Family. Print.
  • “Richard III of England.” Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation. Web. 7 Mar. 2015. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_III_of_England>.
  • Ross, Charles Derek. Richard III. Berkeley: U of California, 1981. Print.
  • “The Discovery of Richard III.” By the University of Leicester. Web. 8 Mar. 2015. <http://www.le.ac.uk/richardiii/>.
  • Williamson, David. Brewer’s British Royalty. London: Cassell, 1996. Print.

King Richard III of England

by Susan Flantzer © Unofficial Royalty 2015

King Richard III of England; Credit – Wikipedia

King Richard III of England was born at Fotheringhay Castle in Northamptonshire, England, on October 2, 1452. He was the twelfth of the thirteen children of Richard of York, 3rd Duke of York and Cecily Neville, both great-grandchildren of King Edward III of England. Richard’s birthplace, Fotheringhay Castle, was the last place Mary, Queen of Scots was imprisoned, and it was the site of her execution. The castle fell into disrepair and was demolished in 1635.

Richard’s father was the Yorkist leader during the Wars of the Roses until his death. In 1399, Henry of Bolingbroke, the eldest son of John of Gaunt who was the third surviving son of King Edward III, overthrew his cousin King Richard II and assumed the throne as King Henry IV. Henry IV’s reigning house was the House of Lancaster as his father was Duke of Lancaster and Henry assumed the title upon his father’s death. Henry IV’s eldest son King Henry V retained the throne, but he died when his only child King Henry VI was only nine months old. Henry VI’s right to the crown was challenged by Richard, 3rd Duke of York, who could claim descent from Edward III’s second and fourth surviving sons, Lionel of Antwerp, 1st Duke of Clarence and Edmund of Langley, 1st Duke of York.

During the early reign of King Henry VI, Richard, 3rd Duke of York held several important offices and quarreled with the Lancastrians at court. In 1448, he assumed the surname Plantagenet and then assumed the leadership of the Yorkist faction in 1450. The first battle in the long dynastic struggle called the Wars of the Roses was the First Battle of St. Albans in 1455 when the future King Richard III was not yet three years old. Richard, 3rd Duke of York and his second surviving son Edmund, Earl of Rutland were killed on December 30, 1460, at the Battle of Wakefield. Within a few weeks of Richard of York’s death, his eldest surviving son became King Edward IV, establishing the House of York on the throne following a decisive victory over the Lancastrians at the Battle of Towton. Edward IV was overthrown by the Lancastrians in 1470, and Henry VI once again assumed the throne. His second reign was short, and in 1471, Edward IV was once again king.

This was the atmosphere in which the future King Richard III spent his childhood. At his birth in 1452, no one could have predicted that 31 years later, Richard would be King of England. Richard had twelve siblings, and a number of them did not survive childhood.

As was customary at the time, Richard was sent to a noble’s household, Middleham Castle in Yorkshire, the home of Richard Neville, 16th Earl of Warwick, for his education and training as a knight. Neville, known as Warwick the Kingmaker during the Wars of the Roses, was Richard’s first cousin. At Middleham Castle, Richard became acquainted with the Earl of Warwick’s younger daughter Lady Anne Neville, who would become his wife.

On November 1, 1461, Richard was created Duke of Gloucester by his brother King Edward IV. Richard was a loyal and loving brother and fought bravely in the later battles of the Wars of the Roses in support of his brother. In 1470, when King Edward IV was overthrown and Henry VI once again assumed the throne, Edward and Richard fled to Burgundy, where they knew they would be welcomed by their sister Margaret, the wife of Charles the Bold, Duke of Burgundy. The Duke of Burgundy provided funds and troops to Edward to enable him to launch an invasion of England in 1471. Although only eighteen years old, Richard played crucial roles in the Battle of Barnet and the Battle of Tewkesbury, which resulted in Edward’s restoration to the throne in the spring of 1471.

On July 12, 1472, Richard married Anne Neville. Anne’s father, Richard Neville, 16th Earl of Warwick, the Kingmaker, had switched his allegiance from the House of York to the House of Lancaster, and he had arranged for Anne to marry King Henry VI’s only child, Edward of Westminster, Prince of Wales to seal his allegiance with the Lancasters. Edward died at the Battle of Tewkesbury on May 4, 1471, while Warwick died at the Battle of Barnet on April 14, 1471. Anne’s elder sister Isabella had married Richard’s brother George, Duke of Clarence, three years earlier. These marriages caused a rift between the two brothers because George wanted all of Warwick’s estate for himself. Richard and Anne had one child, Edward of Middleham, born about December 1473 at Middleham Castle. Edward was a sickly child and spent most of his time at Middleham Castle.

Stained glass window of Richard and Anne Neville in Cardiff Castle; Credit – Wikipedia

On April 9, 1483, King Edward IV died and his twelve-year-old son succeeded him as King Edward V. Richard was named Lord Protector of his young nephew and moved to keep the Woodvilles, the family of Edward IV’s widow Elizabeth Woodville, from exercising power. The Queen sought to gain political power for her family by appointing family members to key positions and rushing the coronation of her young son. The new king was accompanied to London by his maternal uncle Anthony Woodville, 2nd Earl Rivers and his half-brother Sir Richard Grey. Rivers and Grey were accused of planning to assassinate Richard, arrested, and taken to Pontefract Castle, where they were later executed without trial. Richard then proceeded with the new king to London, where Edward V was presented to the Lord Mayor of London. For their safety, King Edward V and his nine-year-old brother Richard, Duke of York, were sent to the Tower of London.

William Hastings, 1st Baron Hastings had been a key figure in checking the power plays of the Woodvilles. However, things changed dramatically on June 13, 1483, during a council meeting at the Tower of London. Richard, supported by Henry Stafford, 2nd Duke of Buckingham, accused Hastings and other council members of having conspired with the Woodvilles to kill him. The other alleged conspirators were imprisoned, but Hastings was immediately beheaded in the courtyard.

On June 22, 1483, a sermon was preached at St. Paul’s Cross in London declaring Edward IV’s marriage to Elizabeth Woodville invalid and his children illegitimate. This information apparently came from Robert Stillington, the Bishop of Bath and Wells, who claimed a legal pre-contract of marriage to Eleanor Butler, invalidating the king’s later marriage to Elizabeth Woodville. The citizens of London presented Richard with a petition urging him to assume the throne, and he was proclaimed king on June 26, 1483. Richard and his wife Anne were crowned in Westminster Abbey on July 6, 1483, and their son was created Prince of Wales. In January 1484, Parliament issued the Titulus Regius, a statute proclaiming Richard the rightful king

Contemporary illumination of Richard III, his queen Anne Neville, and their son Edward the Prince of Wales; Credit – Wikipedia

After Richard III’s accession, his nephews Edward and Richard were gradually seen less and less within the Tower of London. By the end of the summer of 1483, they had disappeared from public view altogether. Their fate remains unknown, and various theories promote their uncle Richard III, Henry Stafford, 2nd Duke of Buckingham, and King Henry VII as ordering their murders. Bones belonging to two children were discovered in 1674 by workmen rebuilding a stairway in the Tower of London. On the orders of King Charles II, these remains were placed in an urn in Westminster Abbey. The bones were re-examined in 1933, and by measuring certain bones and teeth, it was concluded that the bones belonged to two children around the correct ages for the princes, but no positive identification was made. No further scientific examination has been conducted on the bones, which remain in Westminster Abbey, and DNA analysis has not been attempted.

On April 9, 1484, Richard’s son Edward of Middleham died at the age of 10. His burial site is unknown. Richard’s wife Anne Neville died on March 16, 1485, probably from tuberculosis. She was buried in Westminster Abbey, in an unmarked grave to the right of the High Altar, next to the door to Edward the Confessor’s Chapel. Richard did not survive her long. He lost his life and his crown at the Battle of Bosworth Field on August 22, 1485. On that day, Henry Tudor, the Lancastrian leader, became the first monarch of the House of Tudor, King Henry VII. The first Parliament of King Henry VII’s reign repealed the Titulus Regius, the statute proclaiming Richard the rightful king. Henry VII ordered his subjects to destroy all copies of it and all related documents.

The site of Richard III’s remains remained a mystery for centuries. On September 12, 2012, an archaeological team announced that the human remains they found could be those of Richard III. DNA from Michael Ibsen, a direct descendant of Richard’s sister Anne of York, and an unnamed direct maternal line descendant matched the mitochondrial DNA extracted from the remains. On February 4, 2013, the University of Leicester confirmed that the remains were those of King Richard III. The remains of King Richard III were reburied at Leicester Cathedral on March 26, 2015.

For more information on Richard III’s death, the discovery of his remains, and his reburial at Leicester Cathedral, see Unofficial Royalty: Richard III – Lost and Found.

Tomb of King Richard III at Leicester Cathedral; By User:Isananni, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=42870716

England: House of York Resources at Unofficial Royalty

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Prince Adolf of Schaumburg-Lippe

by Susan Flantzer  © Unofficial Royalty 2015

 

Prince Adolf of Schaumburg-Lippe; Credit -Wikipedia

Prince Adolf of Schaumburg-Lippe was the first husband of Princess Viktoria of Prussia (Moretta), a granddaughter of Queen Victoria. He was born on July 20, 1859, at Schloss Bückeburg in Bückeburg, then the capital of the Principality of Schaumburg-Lippe, now in Lower Saxony, Germany. Adolf was the seventh child of the eight children of Adolf I, Prince of Schaumburg-Lippe and Princess Hermine of Waldeck and Pyrmont.

Prince Adolf had seven siblings:

In 1890, Prince Adolf met Princess Viktoria of Prussia, daughter of Friedrich III, German Emperor and Victoria, Princess Royal, during a visit to Princess Marie of Wied, the mother of Queen Elisabeth of Romania. On November 19, 1890, he married Viktoria, known as Moretta, in Berlin. After an extended honeymoon in Egypt and Greece, the couple took up residence in the Palais Schaumburg in Bonn. Moretta had a miscarriage early in the marriage and the couple remained childless.

Following the death of Woldemar, Prince of Lippe in 1895, Prince Adolf became the Regent for Woldemar’s successor and brother Alexander, Prince of Lippe who was mentally incapacitated. Adolf served as Regent until 1897 when Count Ernst of Lippe-Biesterfeld replaced him. Prince Adolf served in the Prussian Army and during World War I, he was the Deputy Commanding General of the 8th Corps in Bonn.

Prince Adolf died on July 9, 1916, in Bonn, Kingdom of Prussia, now in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany, and was buried in the family mausoleum (link in German) in the Bückeburg Palace Park in Bückeburg, Principality of Schaumburg-Lippe, now in Lower Saxony, 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.

Prince Sigismund of Prussia

by Susan Flantzer  © Unofficial Royalty 2015

Prince Sigismund of Prussia; Credit – Wikipedia

The first grandchild of Queen Victoria to die, Prince Sigismund of Prussia (Franz Friedrich Sigismund) was born on September 15, 1864, at the Neues Palais in Potsdam, Kingdom of Prussia, now in Brandenburg, Germany. He was the fourth of the eight children of Friedrich III, German Emperor and King of Prussia and Victoria, Princess Royal.

Sigismund had seven siblings:

Sigismund’s mother, known in the family as Vicky, felt a special closeness to her fourth child. Vicky’s first three children had difficulties, and she had always felt more intimate with her five younger children. The first three children were not allowed to be breastfed by their mother. On orders from their paternal grandmother Queen Augusta, they were fed by wet nurses. By the time Vicky had her fourth child, she had enough self-confidence to defy her mother-in-law and breastfeed Sigismund. Perhaps it was the experience of breastfeeding Sigismund that fostered that special closeness.

Two months after Sigismund’s birth, Vicky wrote to one of her mother’s ladies-in-waiting, “My little darling has grown so fat! He has not had a single ache or pain…and sleeps like a top. I cannot say how happy I am with him and what a delight nursing is. I really think that I have never been so happy, and I certainly never loved one of the others so much…” As Sigismund became a toddler, Vicky thought him much cleverer and more intelligent than his three elder siblings and believed he would have great potential in the future.

On June 4, 1866, Vicky’s husband Fritz was on his way to the front of the Austro-Prussian War.  Even before his father left, Sigismund had been fretful, thought to be caused by teething. However, the day after Fritz left, Sigismund was unable to eat or sleep. Twenty-four hours later, he could no longer stand. Because all the doctors normally used by the family had left with the army, Vicky was forced to consult doctors unknown to her who gave her the terrible news that her son had meningitis. At that time, there was no successful treatment for meningitis, and death usually occurred. Sigismund’s convulsions grew increasingly worse until he died in agony on June 18, 1866, only 21 months old. Vicky wrote to her mother Queen Victoria, “Oh to see it suffer so cruelly, to see it die and hear its last piteous cry was an agony I cannot describe, it haunts me night and day!”

Vicky was without her husband to comfort her, and her mother-in-law Queen Augusta personally went to the front to tell Fritz. Fritz’s father gave him permission to come home for the funeral, but Fritz declined. He said, “I am in the service of the fatherland. I would never forgive myself if we were attacked when I was absent from my post.” Understandably, Vicky did not comprehend this and wrote to her husband, “In you, of course, the soldier is uppermost.”

Vicky prepared a small room in the Friedenskirche in Potsdam, Kingdom of Prussia, now in Brandenburg, Germany, with carpets, cushions, pictures, and flowers to receive the tiny coffin. In great shock, Vicky was the only one who attended Sigismund’s funeral who did not cry.

After Sigismund’s father died in 1888, the Kaiser Friedrich Mausoleum was added to the Friedenskirche, and Sigismund and his brother Waldemar, who died of diphtheria when he was eleven years old, were re-interred there. German sculptor Reinhold Begas was commissioned to make their marble tombs.

Tomb of Prince Sigismund; Credit – Wikipedia

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Prince Heinrich of Prussia

by Susan Flantzer  © Unofficial Royalty 2015

Prince Heinrich of Prussia; Credit – Wikipedia

Prince Heinrich of Prussia (Albert Wilhelm Heinrich) was Grand Admiral of the German Imperial Navy, a brother of Wilhelm II, German Emperor, and a grandson of Queen Victoria. Heinrich (Albert Wilhelm Heinrich) was born on August 14, 1862, at the Kronprinzenpalais (Crown Prince’s Palace) in Berlin, Kingdom of Prussia, now in the German state of Brandenburg. He was the third of the eight children of Friedrich III, German Emperor and King of Prussia and Victoria, Princess Royal, the eldest child of Queen Victoria.

Heinrich had seven siblings:

Heinrich’s family; Credit – Wikipedia

As a baby, Heinrich was fretful, and as a toddler, he was unsteady on his legs, crying to be carried around, or just plain crying. When Heinrich was 3 1/2 years old, his mother sent him off to England to spend the winter with his grandmother, Queen Victoria, and sent this warning, “You do not know how much trouble we have had with Henry…He never spoke the truth, roared by hours together if the least thing was refused him…bit, kicked and scratched the maids if they did not instantly do what he chose…”

Five-year-old Heinrich started his lessons with Georg Hinzpeter, who was already the tutor of Heinrich’s elder brother Wilhelm. Hinzpeter complained that Heinrich was “very backward and slow.” When Heinrich was eleven years old, his mother wrote to Queen Victoria, ” Henry is so awfully backward in every thing…is hopelessly lazy, drole, and idle about his lessons – but such a good natured boy – everyone likes him…” Eventually, it was decided that the best thing for Heinrich was to put him in the navy.

In 1877, at the age of 15, Heinrich entered the German Imperial Navy.  His training included a two-year voyage around the world (1878 to 1880), the naval officer examination (Seeoffizierhauptprüfung) in October 1880, and attendance at the German Imperial Naval Academy (1884 to 1886).

Heinrich held various commands:

In 1899, Heinrich became Commander of the East Asia Squadron, and in 1903, he returned to Germany as the Commander of the Baltic Sea Naval Station. From 1906 to 1909, Henry was Commander of the High Seas Fleet. He was promoted to Grand Admiral (Großadmiral) in 1909, the highest rank in the German Imperial Navy.

On May 24, 1888, Heinrich married his first cousin, Princess Irene of Hesse and by Rhine, at the chapel in Charlottenburg Palace in Berlin, Kingdom of Prussia, now in the German state of Brandenburg. Irene was the daughter of Ludwig IV, Grand Duke of Hesse and by Rhine and Princess Alice of the United Kingdom, Queen Victoria’s second eldest daughter. At the time of the wedding, Heinrich’s father and Irene’s uncle by marriage, Friedrich III, German Emperor (known as Fritz), was suffering from cancer of the larynx and would die in less than a month. To honor his son, Fritz wore one of his full-dress uniforms with the Hessian Order and the Order of the Garter Star, entered the chapel leaning heavily on a cane, and although pale and thin, looked quite dignified. He can be seen in the photo below next to his wife, who is to the right of the minister. Among other guests were the Prince of Wales (future King Edward VII) who was the uncle of both the bride and groom, Grand Duke Serge Alexandrovich of Russia and his wife Grand Duchess Elisabeth Feodorovna (born Princess Elisabeth of Hesse and by Rhine, sister of the bride), and Prince and Princess Louis of Battenberg (the princess was born Princess Victoria of Hesse and by Rhine, sister of the bride).

Wedding of Heinrich and Irene; Photo Credit – Wikipedia

Unfortunately, Irene was a hemophilia carrier, having inherited the gene from her mother, Princess Alice, who had inherited it from her mother, Queen Victoria. Nine of Queen Victoria’s descendants were afflicted with hemophilia, including two of  Heinrich and Irene’s three sons.
Unofficial Royalty: Hemophilia in Queen Victoria’s Descendants

  • Prince Waldemar (1889 – 1945) married Princess Calixta of Lippe-Biesterfeld, no issue; a hemophiliac who died at age 56 in Tutzing, Bavaria, Germany, due to lack of blood transfusion facilities as the Russians and Americans advanced on Germany at the very end of World War II
  • Prince Sigismund (1896 – 1978) married Princess Charlotte of Saxe-Altenburg, had one son and one daughter
  • Prince Heinrich (1900 – 1904), a hemophiliac, died at age 4 from a brain hemorrhage due to a fall

Prince Henry with his wife, Princess Irene, and their two surviving sons, Waldemar and Sigismund; Credit – Wikipedia

At the beginning of World War I, Heinrich was appointed Commander-in-Chief of the Baltic Fleet. He was charged with preventing the Russian Navy from attacking the German coast and was successful. At the end of World War I, and with the abdication of his brother, Wilhelm, German Emperor and King of Prussia, Heinrich left the navy.

 

After the dissolution of the German monarchies, Heinrich and his family lived at Hemmelmark, an estate in Eckernförde in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany. Heinrich bought the estate in 1894 because it was near his residence in the naval port city of Kiel. He continued participating in motorsports and sailing and was successful in sailing regattas even in his old age. Heinrich popularized the Prinz-Heinrich-Mütze (“Prince Henry cap”), still worn by some sailors.

Hemmelmark; Photo Credit – Wikipedia

Prince Heinrich died of throat cancer at the age of 66, at his home Hemmelmark on April 20, 1929. He was buried in a Russian-style chapel surrounded by trees, built on a field at Hemmelmark. Princess Irene died in 1953 at the age of 87 and was interred with her husband.

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.

Bibliography of Royal Biographies: Queen Victoria and Family

The Family of Queen Victoria in 1887 by Laurits Regner Tuxen; Credit – The Royal Collection Trust

We have used many of the books below from our own personal libraries as resources in our articles about Queen Victoria and her family.

Queen Victoria and Prince Albert

General

  • Ask Sir James – Michaela Reid (about Sir James Reid, Queen Victoria’s personal physician)
  • Childhood At Court, 1819-1914 – John Van der Kiste
  • Grandmama of Europe: The Crowned Descendants of Queen Victoria – Theo Aronson
  • Life at the Court of Queen Victoria – Barry St. John-Nevill
  • Purple Secret – Genes, Madness and the Royal Houses of Europe – John C.G. Rohl, Martin Warren, and David Hunt
  • Queen Victoria’s Descendants – Marlene A. Eilers
  • Queen Victoria’s Family: A Century of Photographs – Charlotte Zeepvat
  • Queen Victoria’s Gene: Hemophilia and the Royal Family – D.M. Potts
  • Queen Victoria’s Jubilees: 1887 and 1897 – Caroline Chapman
  • Serving Victoria: Life in the Royal Household – Kate Hubbard

Biographies of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert

  • Becoming Queen Victoria: The Unexpected Rise of Britain’s Greatest Monarch – Kate Williams
  • Dear Papa, Beloved Mama: Queen Victoria and Prince Albert as Parents – Christina Croft
  • Farewell to Splendor: The Passing of Queen Victoria – Jerrold Packard
  • Her Little Majesty – Carolly Erickson
  • Prince Albert: The Man Who Saved the Monarchy – A. N. Wilson
  • Queen Victoria – Walter L. Arnstein
  • Queen Victoria: A Life of Contradictions – Matthew Dennison
  • Queen Victoria: A Personal History – Christopher Hibbert
  • Queen Victoria: Twenty-Four Days That Changed Her Life (US edition)/Queen Victoria: Daughter, Wife, Mother, Widow (UK edition) – Lucy Worsley
  • Queen Victoria’s Highland Journals – Queen Victoria, edited by David Duff
  • Queen Victoria’s Secrets – Adrienne Munich
  • Shooting Victoria – Paul Thomas Murphy
  • Twilight of Splendor: The Court of Queen Victoria During Her Diamond Jubilee Year – Greg King
  • Uncrowned King: The Life of Prince Albert -Stanley Weintraub
  • Victoria: A Life – A. N. Wilson
  • Victoria R.I. – Elizabeth Longford
  • Victoria: The Queen: An Intimate Biography of the Woman Who Ruled an Empire – Julia Baird
  • We Two: Victoria and Albert: Rulers, Partners and Rivals – Gillian Gill

Quee Victoria’s Children

General

  • Queen Victoria’s Children – John Van der Kiste
  • Victoria’s Daughters – Jerrold M. Packard

Victoria, Princess Royal, German Empress

  • A Mere Passing Shadow: The Tragedy of Frederick III, German Emperor – John Van der Kiste
  • An Uncommon Woman – Hannah Pakula
  • Beloved and Darling Child – edited by Agatha Ramm (letters of Queen Victoria and her daughter Victoria)
  • Dearest Vicky, Darling Fritz: The Tragic Love Story of Queen Victoria’s Eldest Daughter and the German Emperor – John Van der Kiste

King Edward VII of the United Kingdom

  • Edward and Alexandra: Their Private and Public Lives – Richard Alexander Hough
  • Edward VII: The Last Victorian King – Christopher Hibbert
  • King Edward VII – Philip Magnus
  • Queen Alexandra – Georgina Battiscombe
  • The Heir Apparent: A Life of Edward VII, The Playboy Prince – Jane Ridley
  • The Marlborough Set – Anita Leslie

Princess Alice, Grand Duchess of Hesse of Hesse and by Rhine

  • Alice, The Enigma – A Biography of Queen Victoria’s Daughter – Christina Croft
  • Alice: Biographical Sketch and Letters – Alice, Grand Duchess of Hesse and by Rhine
  • Princess Alice: Queen Victoria’s Forgotten Daughter – Gerard Noel

Prince Alfred, Duke of Edinburgh, Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha

  • Dearest Affie: Alfred, Queen Victoria’s Second Son – John Van Der Kiste

Princess Helena, Princess Christian of Schleswig-Holstein

  • Helena: A  Princess Reclaimed – S. Chomet
  • Helena: Queen Victoria’s Third Daughter – John Van der Kiste and Bee Jordaan

Princess Louise, Duchess of Argyll

  • Darling Loosy: Letters to Princess Louise (1856-1939) – Elizabeth Longford
  • Princess Louise: Queen Victoria’s Unconventional Daughter – Jehanne Wake
  • The Mystery of Princess Louise: Queen Victoria’s Rebellious Daughter – Lucinda Hawksley

Prince Arthur, Duke of Connaught

  • Witness of a Century: Life and Times of Prince Arthur, Duke of Connaught (1850-1942) – Noble Frankland

Prince Leopold, Duke of Albany

  • Queen Victoria’s Youngest Son: The Untold Story of Prince Leopold – Charlotte Zeepvat

Princess Beatrice, Princess Henry of Battenberg

  • The Last Princess: The Devoted Life of Queen Victoria’s Youngest Daughter – Matthew Dennison
  • The Shy Princess – David Duff

Queen Victoria’s Grandchildren

General

  • Born to Rule: Five Reigning Consorts, Granddaughters of Queen Victoria – Julia P. Gelardi
  • Edward VII’s Children – John Van der Kiste
  • King, Kaiser, Tsar – Catrine Clay
  • Queen Victoria’s Granddaughters: 1860-1918 – Christina Croft
  • Queen Victoria’s Grandsons: 1859-1918 – Christina Croft
  • The Four Graces: Queen Victoria’s Hessian Granddaughters – Ilana D. Miller
  • The Prussian Princesses: The Sisters of Kaiser Wilhelm II – John Van der Kiste
  • The Royal Mob – Theresa Sherman

Wilhelm II, German Emperor, King of Prussia

  • Kaiser Wilhelm II: Germany’s Last Emperor – John Van der Kiste
  • The Last German Empress: A Life of Empress Augusta Victoria, Consort of Emperor Wilhelm II –
  • Wilhelm II, Volume 1: Prince and Emperor 1859-1900 – Lamar Cecil
  • Wilhelm II, Volume 2: Emperor and Exile, 1900-1941 – Lamar Cecil

Princess Charlotte of Prussia, Princess of Saxe-Meiningen

  • Charlotte and Feodora: A Troubled Mother-Daughter Relationship in Imperial Prussia – John Van der Kiste

Prince Albert Victor of Wales (Eddy)

  • Prince Eddy: The King Britain Never Had – Andrew Cook

King George V of the United Kingdom

  • King George V – Kenneth Rose
  • King George V: His Life and Reign – Harold Nicolson

Princess Victoria of Hesse and by Rhine, Marchioness of Milford Haven

  • Advice to My Grand-daughter: Letters from Queen Victoria to Princess Victoria of Hesse – compiled by Richard Hough

Princess Elisabeth of Hesse and by Rhine, Grand Duchess Elizabeth Feodorovna of Russia

  • Elizabeth, Grand Duchess of Russia – Hugo Mager
  • The Life and Death of Ella, Grand Duchess of Russia: A Romanov Tragedy – Christopher Warwick

Princess Alix of Hesse of Hesse and by Rhine, Empress Alexandra Feodorovna of Russia

  • A Lifelong Passion – Sergei Mironenko and Andrei Maylunas
  • Nicholas and Alexandra – Robert Massie
  • The Last Empress: The Life and Times of Alexandra Feodorovna, Tsarina of Russia – Greg King

Princess Victoria Melita of Edinburgh and Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, Grand Duchess Victoria Feodorovna of Russia

  • A Fatal Passion – Michael John Sullivan
  • Princess Victoria Melita: Grand Duchess Cyril of Russia 1876-1936 – John Van der Kiste

Princess Marie of Edinburgh, Queen of Romania

  • The Last Romantic: A Biography of Queen Marie of Romania – Hannah Pakula
  • The Story of My Life – Queen Marie of Romania

Princess Marie Louise (of Schleswig-Holstein)

  • My Memories of Six Reigns – Princess Marie Louise

Princess Alice of Albany, Countess of Athlone

  • For My Grandchildren: Some Reminiscences of Her Royal Highness Princess Alice, Countess of Athlone  – Princess Alice, Countess of Athlone
  • Princess Alice: Countess of Athlone – Theo Aronson

Bernhard III, Duke of Saxe-Meiningen

by Susan Flantzer © Unofficial Royalty 2015

Duchy of Saxe-Meiningen: On March 26, 1675, Ernst I, Duke of Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg died. Initially, his seven sons collectively governed the Duchy of Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg, as set out in their father’s will. On February 24, 1680, the seven brothers concluded a treaty of separation, with each brother getting a portion of the Duchy of Saxe-Gotha Altenburg and becoming a Duke. One of the seven new duchies was the Duchy of Saxe-Meinigen and Bernhard, one of the seven sons of Ernst I, Duke of Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg became the first Duke of Saxe-Meinigen.

On November 9, 1918, Wilhelm II abdicated as German Emperor and King of Prussia in the wake of the November Revolution. Bernhard III, the last Duke of Saxe-Meiningen abdicated the next day due to pressure from the Meininger Workers and Soldiers Council. His half-brother Ernst waived his succession rights on November 12, 1918, officially ending the monarchy of the Duchy of Saxe-Meiningen. Today the territory that encompassed the Duchy of Saxe-Meiningen is in the German state of Thuringia.

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Bernhard III, Duke of Saxe-Meiningen; Credit – Wikipedia

Bernhard III, Duke of Saxe-Meiningen, the last reigning Duke of Saxe-Meiningen, a scholar, and a Field Marshal in the Prussian army, was the husband of Queen Victoria’s granddaughter Princess Charlotte of Prussia. He was born on April 1, 1851, in Meiningen, the capital of the Duchy of Saxe-Meiningen, now in Thuringia, Germany. Bernhard was the eldest son of Georg II, Duke of Saxe-Meiningen and his first wife Princess Charlotte Frederica of Prussia.  Bernhard’s parents had three other children:

On January 27, 1855, Bernhard’s younger brother died. Three months later, his mother died of childbirth complications, along with her newborn son. Bernhard’s father was inconsolable, but in 1858, he married Princess Feodora of Hohenlohe-Langenburg to provide a mother to his remaining children. Feodora’s mother, Feodora of Leiningen, was an older half-sister of Queen Victoria, making the younger Feodora a niece of the Queen.

Bernhard’s father and stepmother had three sons:

  • Prince Ernst Bernhard of Saxe-Meiningen (1859 – 1941), married morganatically to Katharina Jensen; had issue
  • Prince Frederick Johann of Saxe-Meiningen (1861 – 1914), married Countess Adelaide of Lippe-Biesterfeld; had issue; killed in action during World War I in Tarcienne, France; grandfather of Princess Regina of Saxe-Meiningen, wife of Otto von Habsburg, last Crown Prince of Austria
  • Prince Viktor of Saxe-Meiningen (born and died 1865), died as an infant

Bernhard began serving as a second lieutenant in the Saxe-Meiningen Infantry Regiment in 1867. In 1869, he enrolled at Heidelberg University to study classical philology, the study of literary texts and written records to establish their authenticity and original form, and to determine their meaning. His education was interrupted by the Franco-Prussian War as he served as an aide with the 6th Thuringian Infantry Regiment Nr. 95 and the 6th Cavalry. After the war, he resumed his studies in Heidelberg and then studied in Leipzig. After graduating in 1873, Bernhard trained with the Fusilier Guards Regiment of the Prussian Army in Berlin.

Bernhard was interested in the Greek language and was the author and translator of several works. Between 1873 and 1894, he made numerous study trips to Greece and Asia Minor, where he visited archaeological sites and worked with well-known archaeologists. In 1889, for his work in archaeology, the University of Athens gave Bernard the title “Philhellene,” lover of Greece and Greek culture, and in 1912, the University of Breslau awarded him an honorary doctorate.

On February 18, 1878, in Potsdam, Bernhard married Princess Charlotte of Prussia, the eldest daughter of Friedrich III, German Emperor and King of Prussia and Victoria, Princess Royal, and the sister of Wilhelm II, German Emperor.

Bernhard and Charlotte had one child:

Bernhard and Charlotte in 1877; Credit – Wikipedia

Bernhard was transferred to the General Staff of the Prussian Army in 1882 and moved to Charlotte’s apartments at Charlottenburg Palace in Berlin. In 1889, he was appointed Major General and then Lieutenant General in 1891. The German Archaeological Institute appointed him an honorary member in 1892. In December 1893, Bernhard and Charlotte took up permanent residence in Meiningen because Bernhard’s father Georg suffered from acute deafness and had retired from active life.

Bernhard’s rank and responsibility in the Prussian Army kept increasing. He became General of the Infantry and from 1896-1903 was Commanding General of the VI Army Corps in Breslau (now Wroclaw, Poland). On September 15, 1903, he was appointed Inspector-General of the II Army Inspectorate and was stationed in Meiningen. Bernhard and his wife Charlotte undertook numerous road trips throughout the Duchy of Saxe-Meiningen and the German Empire. In 1909, Bernhard received the rank of Field Marshal. Bernhard ended his military career in 1912 and moved back permanently to Meiningen.

Bernhard’s father died on June 25, 1914, just three days before the assassination of Austrian Archduke Franz Ferdinand in Sarajevo, and Bernhard became the reigning Duke of Saxe-Meiningen. Bernhard’s conservative Prussian views made him unpopular in the liberal Duchy of Saxe-Meiningen. After the start of World War I, Bernhard transferred his governing duties to his wife Charlotte and went to the front to visit Meiningen troops and military installations.

Bernhard with some other royalty circa 1913-1915; Photo Credit – Wikipedia

On November 9, 1918, his brother-in-law, Wilhelm II, abdicated as German Emperor and King of Prussia in the wake of the November Revolution.  Bernhard abdicated the next day due to pressure from the Meininger Workers and Soldiers Council. His half-brother Ernst waived his succession rights on November 12, 1918, officially ending the monarchy of the Duchy of Saxe-Meiningen.

On October 1, 1919, Bernhard’s wife Charlotte died at the age of 59 while taking a cure in Baden-Baden. Bernhard lived his remaining years at Schloss Altenstein in Bad Liebenstein, now in Germany. After his death on January 16, 1928, at the age of 76, Bernhard’s coffin lay in state at the Große Palais (Great Palace) in Meiningen. On January 20, 1928, with great interest from the local population, a funeral procession brought his coffin to the train station for the journey to Schloss Altenstein, where he was buried on January 21, 1928, next to his wife Charlotte in the castle park.

Burial site of Bernhard and his wife Charlotte; Photo Credit – Wikipedia

Saxe-Meiningen Resources at Unofficial Royalty

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.

March 1915: Royalty and World War I

by Susan Flantzer


Brabourne Family Connections

Brabourne

Wyndham Knatchbull-Hugessen, 3rd Baron Brabourne; Photo Credit – www.illustratedfirstworldwar.com

On March 11, 1915, 29-year-old Wyndham Knatchbull-Hugessen, 3rd Baron Brabourne was killed in action in World War I. On March 10, 1915, during the Battle of Neuve Chapelle, the 1st Battalion of the Grenadier Guards took up reserve positions near Neuve Chapelle, France. On March 11, 1915, the battalion sustained heavy casualties while crossing the Rue Tilleloy. The battalion’s war diary recorded the death of Lord Brabourne together with 15 other officers and 325 other soldiers. Lord Barbourne has no known grave, but his name appears on the La Touret Memorial in Bethune, France. His family erected a memorial for him in the parish church in Smeeth, England.

As the 3rd Baron Brabourne was unmarried and had no heir, his first cousin Cecil Knatchbull-Hugessen succeeded him as the 4th Baron Brabourne. The peerage continued to be inherited from father to son until Norton Knatchbull, 6th Baron Brabourne, who was captured and executed by the Nazi Schutzstaffel (SS) during World War II. The 6th Baron Brabourne’s brother John then became the 7th Baron Brabourne as his brother had died unmarried.
Wikipedia: Baron Brabourne

The names Brabourne and Knatchbull may sound familiar to many British royal family enthusiasts. The current Baron Brabourne, Norton Knatchbull, 8th Baron Brabourne, is the son of John Knatchbull, 7th Baron Brabourne and Patricia Mountbatten, 2nd Countess Mountbatten of Burma. His mother Patricia is the elder daughter of Louis Mountbatten, 1st Earl Mountbatten of Burma who was a great grandson of Queen Victoria. Patricia is also a first cousin of Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh. The family’s descent from Queen Victoria comes from her third child Princess Alice who married Louis IV, Grand Duke of Hesse and by Rhine.

Queen Victoria married Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha → Princess Alice married Louis IV, Grand Duke of Hesse and by Rhine  → Princess Victoria of Hesse and by Rhine married Prince Louis of Battenberg (later Louis Mountbatten, 1st Marquess of Milford Haven) →  Prince Louis of Battenberg (later of Louis Mountbatten, 1st Earl Mountbatten of Burma) married Edwina Ashley → Patricia Mountbatten, 2nd Countess Mountbatten of Burma married John Knatchbull, 7th Baron Brabourne → Norton Knatchbull, 8th Baron Brabourne

Louis Mountbatten, 1st Earl Mountbatten of Burma was killed in 1979 by a Provisional Irish Republican Army bomb placed in his fishing boat. Also killed was Nicholas Knatchbull, a son of Lord Mountbatten’s elder daughter Patricia, Patricia’s mother-in-law the Dowager Lady Brabourne, and Paul Maxwell, a 15-year-old crew member.
Unofficial Royalty: Tragedy in the British Royal Family at the End of August (scroll down to Louis Mountbatten, 1st Earl Mountbatten of Burma)

Upon his father’s death in 2005, Norton Knatchbull became the 8th Baron Brabourne. He will become 3rd Earl Mountbatten of Burma upon the death of his mother Patricia, 2nd Countess Mountbatten of Burma. Patricia was able to succeed to her father’s title because the peerage had been created with special remainder to the 1st Earl Mountbatten of Burma’s daughters and their heirs male.
Wikipedia Earl Mountbatten of Burma

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Timeline: March 1, 1915 – March 31, 1915

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A Note About German Titles

Most of the royals who died in action during World War I were German. The German Empire consisted of 27 constituent states, most of them ruled by royal families. Scroll down to German Empire here to see what constituent states made up the German Empire.  The constituent states retained their own governments, but had limited sovereignty. Some had their own armies, but the military forces of the smaller ones were put under Prussian control. In wartime, armies of all the constituent states would be controlled by the Prussian Army and the combined forces were known as the Imperial German Army.  German titles may be used in Royals Who Died In Action below. Refer to Unofficial Royalty: Glossary of German Noble and Royal Titles.

24 British peers were also killed in World War I and they will be included in the list of those who died in action. In addition, more than 100 sons of peers also lost their lives, and those that can be verified will also be included.

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March 1915 – Royals/Nobles/Peers Who Died In Action

The list is in chronological order and does contain some who would be considered noble instead of royal. The links in the last bullet for each person is that person’s genealogical information from Leo’s Genealogics Website or to The Peerage website.  If a person has a Wikipedia page, their name will be linked to that page.

The Honorable William Eden

Prince Alexander of Hohenlohe-Schillingsfürst, Prince of Ratibor-Corvey

Howard Stonor

Wyndham Knatchbull-Hugessen, 3rd Baron Brabourne

George Douglas-Pennant

Charlotte of Prussia, Duchess of Saxe-Meiningen

by Susan Flantzer  © Unofficial Royalty 2015

Charlotte of Prussia, Duchess of Saxe-Meiningen; Credit – Wikipedia

Princess Charlotte of Prussia (Viktoria Elisabeth Auguste Charlotte) was the second child and eldest daughter of Friedrich III, German Emperor and King of Prussia and his wife Victoria, Princess Royal, the eldest child of Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom. She was born at the Neues Palais in Potsdam, Kingdom of Prussia, now in Brandenburg, Germany, on July 24, 1860, and was christened Viktoria Elisabeth Auguste Charlotte. Charlotte’s mother considered her the most difficult of all her children. As a toddler, Charlotte started to bite her nails and pull at her clothes and was forced to wear gloves or stand with her hands tied together. Charlotte also seemed to have learning difficulties. Her governess and tutors told her mother they had never had such difficulties as with Charlotte. Charlotte was a favorite of her paternal grandparents whose spoiling did not help the situation.

Charlotte had seven siblings:

Charlotte’s mother and siblings in 1900: Sophia, Victoria, Wilhelm, their mother Empress Frederick, Charlotte, Heinrich, and Margaret; Photo Credit – Wikipedia

Charlotte wanted to leave home as quickly as possible. As a marriage offered her the only way out, Charlotte found herself a prince, her shy and well-educated second cousin Bernhard, Hereditary Prince of Saxe-Meiningen. Because the prince was a suitable marriage candidate and their daughter caused much unrest at home, Charlotte’s parents agreed to the marriage. Charlotte and Bernhard were engaged in 1876 and married in Berlin, Kingdom of Prussia, now in the German state of Brandenburg, on February 18, 1878, when Charlotte was not quite 18.

Charlotte of Prussia with Bernhard of Saxe-Meiningen around the time of the engagement; Credit – Wikipedia

Charlotte and Bernhard had one child, the first great-grandchild of Queen Victoria:

Feodora circa 1900; Photo Credit – Wikipedia

After the birth of her only child, Charlotte neglected her daughter in favor of society life in Berlin which caused Feodora to be cared for by nannies and servants and her maternal grandmother. Feodora was a long-term houseguest at her grandmother’s home Friedrichshof. Her grandmother said of her, “She is really a good little child and far easier to manage than her Mama…The atmosphere of her home is not the best for a child her age.”

In 1891, Charlotte was involved in the Kotze Affair, a scandal in which several members of the aristocracy and members of the family of Wilhelm II, German Emperor were accused in anonymous letters of sexual debauchery.

In 1914, Charlotte’s husband became the last reigning Duke of Saxe-Meiningen. His reign was short as Bernhard was forced to abdicate on November 10, 1918, and spent the rest of his life in his former country as a private citizen.

Charlotte was a chain smoker and had suffered ill health her entire life. She died on October 1, 1919, at the age of 59, in Baden-Baden, Germany. She was buried at Schloss Altenstein, the summer residence of the Dukes of Saxe-Meiningen, now in Bad Liebenstein in the German state of Thuringia.

Burial site of Charlotte and her husband; Credit – Wikipedia

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.

Saxe-Meiningen Resources at Unofficial Royalty