Category Archives: German Royals

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

by Scott Mehl © Unofficial Royalty 2015

photo: Wikipedia

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

The Marchioness of Milford Haven (as she was titled later in life) is often overlooked in history due to the accomplishments and fame of her family members – two sisters who became Russian royalty and were killed in 1918; a son who became one of the most decorated military heroes in British history; and a grandson who married the future Queen Elizabeth II. However, Victoria herself is quite fascinating in her own right.

Princess Alice holding the young Princess Victoria

Princess Victoria Alberta Elisabeth Mathilde Marie of Hesse and by Rhine was born in the Tapestry Room at Windsor Castle in Windsor, England, on April 5, 1863, in the presence of her grandmother, and namesake, Queen Victoria. The two Victorias shared a very close bond that would last their entire lives. The younger Victoria was the eldest child of Princess Alice of the United Kingdom and Grand Duke Ludwig IV of Hesse and by Rhine.

 On April 27, 1863, in the Green Drawing Room at Windsor Castle, Victoria was christened in the Lutheran faith by the Hessian court chaplain who had come to Windsor for the occasion in the arms of her grandmother and namesake Her godparents were:

Victoria had six younger siblings:

  • Elisabeth “Ella” (1864-1918) -married Grand Duke Sergei Alexandrovich of Russia, no issue
  • Irene (1866-1953) – married Prince Heinrich of Prussia, had issue
  • Ernst Ludwig “Ernie” (1868-1937) – married (1) Princess Victoria Melita of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, had issue; (2) Princess Eleonore of Solms-Hohensolms-Lich, had issue
  • Friedrich “Frittie” (1870-1873) – hemophiliac, died at age 2-½ from a cerebral hemorrhage due to a fall
  • Alix (1872-1918) – married Nicholas II, Emperor of All Russia, had issue
  • Marie “May” (1874-1878) – died of diphtheria at age 4

Victoria was educated privately, as was typical for the times, and was quite intellectual. She and her sister, Ella being so close in age, were educated together and shared a room. They would remain extremely close until Ella’s tragic death in 1918. As a child, Victoria developed a love of books, becoming an avid reader, and at an early age began to keep a record of all the books she read. This continued for the rest of her life.

Princess Victoria and her three surviving sisters mourning their mother, 1879; Credit – Royal Collection Trust

In November 1878, Victoria fell ill with diphtheria. The illness quickly spread to most of her family, with some of them dangerously sick. On the 16th of the month, her youngest sister, May, succumbed to diphtheria and died. Less than a month later, her mother, who had nursed the family back to health, also fell victim and died on December 14, 1878. Alice’s death devastated the family, and Victoria found herself suddenly placed in the role of surrogate mother to her younger siblings. She also began to serve as a companion to her father and later became the hostess for many of his official duties.

On April 30, 1884, in the chapel of the Old Palace in Darmstadt, Grand Duchy of Hesse and by Rhine, now in Hesse, Germany, Victoria married her father’s first cousin, Prince Louis of Battenberg, the son of Prince Alexander of Hesse and by Rhine, and Princess Julia of Battenberg (born Countess Julia Hauke). Victoria’s father was personally against the marriage, primarily because he would be losing his eldest daughter and companion, and also because his cousin did not have the financial resources that most other royal husbands would be able to provide. Victoria, however, would have none of the reservations her father had, and being fiercely independent, made it clear that she intended to marry with or without her father’s blessing. In the end, Ludwig put his daughter’s happiness ahead of his own. The wedding, which had been postponed a few weeks due to the death of Victoria’s uncle, Prince Leopold, Duke of Albany, was attended by many of the extended family from Europe, including Queen Victoria, and The Crown Prince and Crown Princess of Prussia (Victoria’s aunt). The couple honeymooned for a week at Heiligenberg before returning to England where Louis was serving in the Royal Navy. Prince Louis had become a naturalized British subject in 1868, having joined the British Navy. They leased Sennicotts, a country home in Chichester, England as their first home.

They had four children:

photo: Wikipedia

Victoria’s life moved around quite a bit, with her husband taking up residence in different places based on his Navy assignments. In 1896, at her husband’s urging, she brought on Cecil Nona Kerr as a lady-in-waiting. The two became close companions and friends, and Nona helped with raising the children. Nona stayed with Victoria until her own marriage in 1915, but the two remained lifelong friends.

Victoria (far right) with her siblings and their spouses at the wedding of her daughter Alice to Prince Andrew of Greece, 1903. photo: Wikipedia

In addition to moving around with her husband, Victoria was constantly on the move, visiting relatives and friends around the world. She made extended visits back to Darmstadt, visiting her brother Ernie, as well as visiting her sister Irene in Prussia, and her sisters Ella and Alix in Russia. It was on one of these Russian visits in 1914 that Victoria received an urgent telegram from her husband, instructing her to come home immediately, as World War I was breaking out in Europe. Accompanied by her daughter Louise, and Nona Kerr, Victoria quickly made arrangements to return home, and assuming Russia would be safe, left all of her jewels with Alix for safekeeping. Sadly, it would be the last time she would see either Ella or Alix, as both were killed by the Bolsheviks in 1918.

Victoria returned home to Kent House, on the grounds of Osborne House on the Isle of Wight, England. The property had been inherited by her aunt, Princess Louise, Duchess of Argyll, upon Queen Victoria’s death. And in 1913, Louise gave the home to Victoria and Louis. Having leased properties for their entire marriage, Kent House was the only home in the United Kingdom that the couple ever owned.

1914 saw more changes for the couple. Prince Louis, who had spent his entire life in the British Royal Navy, and had earned the rank of First Sea Lord, was forced to resign due to widespread anti-German sentiment. Despite protests from King George V, Louis resigned from the position in October 1914. While still remaining in the Royal Navy, he spent his remaining years in basic retirement at Kent House, having been assured a return to service following the war.

Due to anti-German sentiment, in 1917, King George V changed the name of the royal house to Windsor and asked all of his relatives to relinquish their German titles. Giving up their Battenberg titles, the couple took on the surname Mountbatten, the anglicized version of Battenberg. Victoria was offered the option to retain her style of Princess Victoria (without the Hesse and by Rhine), but she declined this, stating that her husband’s title, whatever it was, was good enough for her. Louis was created Marquess of Milford Haven, having initially been offered a Dukedom, but declining as he felt unable to meet the financial requirements and lifestyle of the title. He was the only one of the relatives offered a dukedom, most likely in recognition of the King’s deep respect for both Louis and Victoria. Victoria, however, was disappointed with her cousin for bringing about the name change. To her, it was just another slap in the face to her husband, who had devoted his life to Britain. They would remain close, but she never fully forgave him.

 

The new Marquess and Marchioness continued to live a quiet retirement at Kent House. However, after the war, Louis was informed that he would not be recalled to service, and formally retired from the Royal Navy in January 1919. Soon, due to financial reasons, Victoria sold Kent House. They were also forced to sell Schloss Heiligenberg  (which Louis had inherited from his father), earning just a fraction of its value. Nona Kerr’s husband, Lt Col Crichton, offered them a home – called Fishponds – on the grounds of his home, Netley Castle in Netley, Hampshire, England. They settled there for the next several years.

Prince Louis, Marquess of Milford Haven died suddenly on September 11, 1921, in London, England. Victoria was devastated. Their marriage had truly been a love match that survived through the ages. Concerned for her financial position, King George offered Frogmore Cottage in Windsor, but she declined, having already paid up the lease on Fishponds until 1922. At that point, she did accept his offer of apartments in Kensington Palace in London, England. After extensive renovations overseen by Victoria and Queen Mary (the space was formerly the Chapel Royal until 1901), Victoria moved into Apartment 7 in the winter of 1922 and would remain there until her death.

By the 1930s, Victoria had become a surrogate mother to her grandson Prince Philip of Greece and Denmark, the future husband of Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom. Her daughter Alice had suffered several breakdowns and spent many years institutionalized. Victoria, along with her two sons, took over the care of the young Philip, overseeing his education and social ventures. Victoria continued her travels, seemingly always off visiting some relative or another. She continued to spend time in Darmstadt with Ernie and his family, often accompanied by her sister Irene.

The late 1930s would see more tragic losses in Victoria’s life. 1937 saw the death of her brother Ernie, followed weeks later by the tragic plane crash that killed Ernie’s widow, their elder son, his wife (also Victoria’s granddaughter), and their two young sons. The following year, her own son George died of bone cancer. The losses took a heavy toll on Victoria.

When World War II came, Victoria spent much of her time at Windsor Castle with King George VI and his family after Kensington Palace had been bombed. During this time, her grandson Philip made frequent visits which also allowed him to spend time with his future wife. So it was with great pleasure that Victoria welcomed the announcement of the engagement of her grandson Philip to Princess Elizabeth in 1947. Despite the loss of her titles and the hardships that she had endured in life, she found great satisfaction in knowing that her descendants would one day occupy the throne of the United Kingdom.

The following year, Victoria served as godparent to her great-grandson the future King Charles III. Once a vibrant woman, she appears quite tiny and frail in the photos. It would be one of the last official functions that she attended. Over the next two years, Victoria’s health began to diminish. She spent most of her time at Kensington Palace or at Broadlands, her son Louis’ home in Hampshire. By the summer of 1950, staying at Broadlands, Victoria had developed bronchitis, and suffered a heart attack in August. Sensing the end was near, she insisted on returning home to Kensington Palace. It was here, on the morning of September 24, 1950, that she passed away, surrounded by her three surviving children. Four days later, she was buried beside her husband on the grounds of St Mildred’s Church in Whippingham on the Isle of Wight.

St Mildred’s Church, Whippingham. photo: Wikipedia

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Recommended Book

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

Who Are The Battenbergs?

by Scott Mehl
© Unofficial Royalty 2015

The Battenbergs were a morganatic branch of the Grand Ducal family of Hesse and by Rhine. The name began when Prince Alexander of Hesse and by Rhine, the youngest son of Grand Duke Ludwig II, entered into a morganatic marriage in 1851. Later, the name would be anglicized to Mountbatten, a name very familiar to the British Royal Family.

Ten years earlier, Prince Alexander had accompanied his younger sister, Princess Marie of Hesse and by Rhine, to Russia where she was married to the Tsarevich (the future Alexander II, Emperor of All Russia). Prince Alexander remained there after the wedding, establishing himself in the Russian military and becoming a prominent member of the Imperial court. Emperor Alexander II was even considering Alexander as a possible spouse for one of his daughters. However, Alexander had other plans. In fact, he had fallen in love with one of his sister’s ladies-in-waiting, Countess Julia Hauke.

Julia Hauke was the orphaned daughter of Count Johann Mauritz Hauke, a lifelong soldier, and Deputy Minister of War of Congress of Poland. He and his wife were killed in an assassination attempt on Grand Duke Konstantin Pavlovich, and their children became wards of  Alexander I, Emperor of all Russia. She later became a lady-in-waiting to the new wife of the Tsarevich, the former Princess Marie of Hesse and by Rhine, Alexander’s sister.

Alexander and Julia. Photo: Wikipedia

Alexander and Julia were in love, and despite being banned from marrying by the Emperor, the couple eloped and left the Russian court. Prince Alexander was stripped of his Russian honors and military appointments, basically leaving him as a deserter from the Russian Army. The couple managed to get away, and married on October 28, 1851, in Breslau, Silesia (now Wrocław in Poland).

By this time, Alexander’s brother was the reigning Grand Duke of Hesse and by Rhine, Ludwig III. The Grand Duke allowed the couple to settle in Hesse. Although he recognized their marriage, it was considered morganatic, meaning that none of their children would be in the line of succession to the grand ducal throne. It also meant that neither Julia nor their children would receive any titles from Alexander. Instead, the Grand Duke granted Julia the hereditary title Countess of Battenberg, with the style Illustrious Highness. This is the title that would pass to the couple’s children. Later, in 1858, the Grand Duke would elevate Julia and her children to the title of Prince/Princess of Battenberg, with the style Serene Highness. The origin of the title came from the small town of Battenberg in northwestern Hesse, and its castle Schloss Battenberg.

The couple had five children:

Prince Alexander served with the Austrian army and held a command position in Hesse’s forces. Following Prussia’s defeat of Austria in 1866, he retired from the military and the family lived a quiet life. They split their time between the Alexander Palace (also known as the Battenberg Palace) in Darmstadt, and their country residence, Heiligenberg Castle in Seeheim-Jugenheim.

Because of the unequal marriage between Alexander and Julia, their children were often overlooked by other royal families when searching for prospective spouses. At the time, many monarchies would not even consider the idea of someone of a “lesser birth” marrying into their family. Fortunately, Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom had no such misgivings.  Eventually, all five of the Battenberg children made successful marriages.

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Princess Marie. photo: Wikipedia

Princess Marie of Battenberg

Marie married Count Gustav of Erbach-Schönberg in 1871. Gustav was later elevated to Prince by the Grand Duke of Hesse and by Rhine in 1903. They had four children.

Prince Ludwig (“Louis”). photo: Wikipedia

Prince Louis of Battenberg

Louis married his first cousin once removed, Princess Victoria of Hesse and by Rhine, a granddaughter of Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom. Louis served as First Sea Lord before stepping down at the onset of World War I due to anti-German sentiment. Louis and Victoria relinquished their German titles in 1917 and were created Marquess and Marchioness of Mountbatten – the anglicized version of Battenberg. They had four children:

Prince Alexander. photo: Wikipedia

Prince Alexander of Battenberg

Alexander (known as ‘Sandro’) was elected Prince of Bulgaria and held the throne from 1879-1886. He later married Johanna Loisinger and took the style Count of Hartenau. The couple had two children who took on the surname ‘von Hartenau’.

Prince Heinrich (“Henry”). photo: Wikipedia

Prince Henry of Battenberg

Henry married Princess Beatrice of the United Kingdom, the youngest daughter of Queen Victoria. The family lived in the Queen’s household where Beatrice served as her mother’s secretary and companion. Having convinced his mother-in-law to allow him to serve with British forces in the Ashanti War, Henry died of malaria on the journey. He was just 37 years old. In 1919, his wife and children relinquished their German titles and took on the surname Mountbatten. Henry and Beatrice had four children:

Prince Franz Joseph. photo: Wikipedia

Prince Franz Joseph of Battenberg

Franz Joseph married Princess Anna of Montenegro, the daughter of King Nicholas I of Montenegro and Milena Vukotić. He served as an officer in the Bulgarian army during his brother Alexander’s reign. He was a favorite of Queen Victoria and met his wife at a dinner party held by The Queen while on holiday in Cimiez, Nice. The couple had no children.

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In 1917, King George V of the United Kingdom asked all of his family, and extended family to relinquish their German titles due to the anti-German feelings in the United Kingdom. For the Battenbergs, this affected Prince Louis and the family of Prince Henry, who had died 21 years earlier.  They gave up their Battenberg titles and took on the surname Mountbatten, the anglicized version of Battenberg.

Prince Louis became Louis Mountbatten and was created Marquess of Milford Haven.  His elder son took the courtesy title of Earl Medina, and his younger son became Lord Louis Mountbatten.  His daughter Louise became Lady Louise Mountbatten.  His elder daughter, Alice, was already married and had become Princess Andrew of Greece.

Prince Henry’s two surviving sons both took the surname Mountbatten as well.  His eldest son, Prince Alexander became Alexander Mountbatten and was created Marquess of Carisbrooke. His younger son, Prince Leopold, became Lord Leopold Mountbatten.  Henry’s daughter Victoria Eugenie was already Queen of Spain, and his youngest son Maurice had been killed in action before the title changes had occurred.

The Mountbatten name continues today through the descendants of Prince Louis. Although his daughter Alice never took on the Mountbatten name, her son did. Prince Philip, The Duke of Edinburgh, was born Prince Philippos of Greece and Denmark. He gave up his royal titles upon joining the British Royal Navy and took on the name Philip Mountbatten. In 1960, Queen Elizabeth II issued an Order in Council declaring that her descendants, when needing a surname, would use Mountbatten-Windsor.

The Mountbatten name also continues through Prince Louis’ two sons, both as a surname and a title. His elder son George succeeded him as Marquess of Milford Haven and that title continues today with Louis’ great-grandson, also named George Mountbatten. Louis’ younger son, Lord Louis Mountbatten, later served as First Sea Lord like his father before him and became the last Viceroy, and first Governor-General, of India. He was later created Earl Mountbatten of Burma, a title which passed down to his elder daughter, Patricia Mountbatten Knatchbull.  Countess Mountbatten passed away in 2017, and the title passed to her son Norton Knatchbull, 3rd Earl Mountbatten of Burma.

The name ceased in Prince Henry descendants in the following generation.  Henry’s eldest son, Alexander, had just one daughter Iris.  Upon her marriage in 1941, the surname ceased in this branch of the family.  Lord Leopold Mountbatten died unmarried, with no children.

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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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Photo 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 in order to provide a mother to his remaining children. Feodora’s mother, Feodora of Leiningen, was an older half-sister to 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, their original form, and 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 went for military training 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 had worked with well-known archaeologists. For his work in archaeology, the University of Athens gave Bernard the title “Philhellene,” lover of Greece and Greek culture, in 1889 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:

  • Feodora (1879-1945), married Prince Henry XXX Reuss-Köstritz, no children

Bernhard and Charlotte in 1877; Photo 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 of 1893, Bernhard and Charlotte took up permanent residence in Meiningen. This was due to the fact that 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. With his wife Charlotte, he 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 Bernard 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

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Charlotte of Prussia, Duchess of Saxe-Meiningen

by Susan Flantzer  © Unofficial Royalty 2015

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 that 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; Photo 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.

Charlotte’s daughter Feodora also was ill much of her life and spent her last years in a sanatorium. Tired of years of illness and ineffective treatments, Feodora died by suicide on August 26, 1945. Historian John Rohl, author of Purple Secret: Genes, ‘Madness’ and the Royal Houses of Europe believes that the stomach pains, rashes, and urinary problems both Charlotte and her daughter Feodora exhibited were signs of porphyria, the genetic disease that their ancestor King George III possibly had. Researchers found Feodora’s grave and did DNA analysis on her remains, believing that the results would show that she had the genetic disease porphyria, the same disease her ancestor King George III supposedly suffered from. The analysis did show that she had porphyria which was most likely the cause of her many ailments.

Burial site of Charlotte and her husband; Photo Credit – Wikipedia

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Saxe-Meiningen Resources at Unofficial Royalty

Princess Hermine Reuss of Greiz, German Empress, Queen of Prussia

by Susan Flantzer  © Unofficial Royalty 2015

Photo Credit – Wikipedia

Princess Hermine Reuss of Greiz, the second wife of Wilhelm II, formerly German Emperor, was born on December 17, 1887, in Greiz, Principality of Reuss-Greiz, German Empire, now in Thuringia, Germany. She was the fifth of the sixth children of Heinrich XXII, 5th Prince Reuss of Greiz and his wife Princess Ida of Schaumburg-Lippe. Hermine had one brother and four sisters:

Hermine (on the left) and her sisters in 1903; Photo Credit – Wikipedia

When Hermine was not quite four-years-old, her mother died and Hermine was raised by Louise, Grand Duchess of Baden, the daughter of Wilhelm I, German Emperor and King of Prussia.

On January 7, 1907, Hermine married Prince Johann Georg von Schoenaich-Carolath, who died in 1920 from tuberculosis. Hermine and Johann Georg had five children:

  • Prince Hans Georg von Schönaich-Carolath (1907 – 1943), married Baroness Sibylle von Zedlitz und Leipe, killed in action during World War II
  • Prince Georg Wilhelm von Schönaich-Carolath (1909 – 1927), died unmarried
  • Princess Hermine von Schönaich-Carolath (born 9 May 1910), married Hugo Herbert Hartung
  • Prince Ferdinand von Schönaich-Carolath (1913 –1973), married (1) Rose Rauch, married (2) Baroness Margret von Seckendorff
  • Princess Henriette von Schönaich-Carolath (1918 – 1972), married Prince Karl Franz of Prussia (grandson of Wilhelm II, German Emperor and only child of Prince Joachim of Prussia), had three children including Prince Franz Wilhelm of Prussia whose wife Maria Vladimirovna, Grand Duchess of Russia is a claimant to the Headship of the Imperial Family of Russia

Hermine with her children in 1923; Photo Credit – Wikipedia

In January 1922, one of Hermine’s sons sent birthday wishes to Wilhelm II, formerly German Emperor, living in exile at Huis Doorn in Doorn, the Netherlands, who then invited the boy and his mother to Doorn. Wilhelm found Hermine very attractive and greatly enjoyed her company. Having both been recently widowed, the two had much in common. Wilhelm was determined to marry Hermine despite objections from his children. 63-year-old Wilhelm and 34-year-old Hermine married on November 5, 1922, in Doorn. Although Wilhelm had abdicated, he continued to use his royal styles and titles and therefore Hermine was styled Her Imperial Majesty The German Empress, Queen of Prussia.

Wilhelm and Hermine in 1933 at Huis Doorn; Photo Credit – Wikipedia

Hermine’s youngest child Princess Henriette came to live with Hermine and Wilhelm at Huis Doorn. Wilhelm stayed out of his stepchildren’s affairs, with the exception of Henriette. He seemed to have a genuine affection for her, and she came to be known as “the general”. On August 6, 1940, at his residence at Doorn, Wilhelm officially announced the engagement of his stepdaughter Princess Henriette and his grandson Prince Karl Franz of Prussia, the only child of Wilhelm’s son Prince Joachim who had died by suicide in 1920. The couple married at Huis Doorn on October 5, 1940, had three children and divorced in 1946.

Hermine with Wilhelm and her youngest daughter Henriette in Doorn in 1931; Photo Credit – Wikipedia

Hermine returned to Germany after Wilhelm’s death in 1941. After World War II, Hermine was imprisoned for a while at Paulinenhof, a Soviet internment camp near Brandenburg, East Germany.  On August 7, 1947, at the age of 59, Hermine died suddenly of a heart attack in a small apartment in Frankfurt an der Oder in the Soviet Zone of Germany while under house arrest by the Red Army occupation forces. . She was buried at the Temple of Antiquities in Potsdam, Germany where Wilhelm’s first wife, Augusta Victoria of Schleswig-Holstein, and several other family members are also buried.

Temple of Antiquities; Photo Credit – Wikipedia

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Friedrich III, German Emperor, King of Prussia

by Susan Flantzer  © Unofficial Royalty 2015

Kingdom of Prussia: The Protestant Franconian branch of the House of Hohenzollern ruled as Margraves of Brandenburg, Dukes of Prussia, Electors of Brandenburg, Kings of Prussia from 1415 until 1918. In November 1700, in exchange for supporting the Holy Roman Empire in the Spanish War of Succession, Leopold I, Holy Roman Emperor agreed to allow Friedrich III, Duke of Prussia, Elector of Brandenburg to make Prussia a kingdom and become its first king. In the aftermath of World War I, Prussia had a revolution that resulted in the replacement of the monarchy with a republic. Wilhelm II, German Emperor, King of Prussia abdicated on November 9, 1918.

The Kingdom of Prussia had territory that today is part of Belgium, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Germany, Lithuania, the Netherlands, Poland, Russia, and Switzerland. All or parts of the following states of today’s Germany were part of the Kingdom of Prussia: Brandenburg, Hesse, Lower Saxony, North Rhine-Westphalia, Saarland, Saxony-Anhalt, and Schleswig-Holstein.

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Credit – Wikipedia

Friedrich III, German Emperor, King of Prussia was born at the Neues Palais in Potsdam, Kingdom of Prussia, now in the German state of Brandenburg, on October 18, 1831. The elder of the two children of the future Wilhelm I, German Emperor, King of Prussia and his wife Augusta of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach, he was given the names Friedrich Wilhelm Nikolaus Karl but was known in the family as Fritz. Fritz had one sister:

Fritz’s father Wilhelm had been raised in the strict military traditions of the Hohenzollerns, the ruling house of Prussia. However, Fritz’s mother Augusta grew up in the more intellectual and artistic atmosphere of Saxe-Weimar where she received an excellent education with liberal views. Among the people, Augusta was exposed to during her childhood were the famous German writer Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, composer Johann Nepomuk Hummel, and artist Louise Seidler.  Because of their different views, Fritz’s parents did not have a happy marriage and this unhappiness affected their children.

Fritz, circa 1841; Credit – Wikipedia

Fritz received both a military and a classical education. In 1844, archaeologist and historian Ernst Curtius was appointed his private tutor, and Fritz studied history, geography, physics, music, and religion. He had a talent for foreign languages, becoming fluent in English and French, and also studying Latin. Naturally, Fritz studied the traditional Hohenzollern areas of fencing, riding, gymnastics, and practical craft skills such as carpentry, book printing, and bookbinding. Colonel Karl Georg Friedrich Johann von Unruh oversaw Fritz’s military education. Probably at the suggestion of his mother, Fritz interrupted his military training at the age of 18 to study history, politics, law, and public policy at the University of Bonn. His time at the University of Bonn helped solidify his liberal, reforming beliefs.

In 1851, Fritz and his family were invited to England by Queen Victoria to visit the Great Exhibition in Hyde Park, London which her husband Prince Albert was instrumental in organizing. On a visit to the Great Exhibition, Queen Victoria’s eldest child, ten-year-old Victoria, Princess Royal (called Vicky), was allowed to accompany the group as a companion to Fritz’s sister Louise. Despite being only ten years old, Vicky made an impression on Fritz, who was ten years older. Vicky’s father Prince Albert saw Fritz as a partner who shared his liberal political views. Fritz spent four weeks in England and was impressed by the British Royal Family. Unlike his parents, Queen Victoria and Prince Albert were warm and loving toward each other and had a family life that was far different from the rigor and formality of the Prussian court. After Fritz returned to Prussia, he and Vicky began to write to each other regularly. In a letter to her uncle, King Leopold I of the Belgians, Queen Victoria expressed the hope that Fritz and Vicky would form a closer bond.

Four years later, in 1855, Fritz was invited back to England by Victoria and Albert for a visit to their Scottish home Balmoral. Both the British and Prussian royal families expected that Fritz and Vicky should come to a decision about their future together. Fritz was second in line to the Prussian throne after his father, who was expected to succeed his childless brother. Despite the fact that the marriage would not be universally popular in either country, Vicky and Fritz agreed to marry each other. Their marriage would be one of the most romantic of royal marriages. Because Vicky was so young, her parents decreed that the wedding would have to wait until Vicky was 17 years old. Fritz and Vicky were married on Monday, January 25, 1858, in the Chapel Royal of St. James’ Palace in London, England, where the bride’s parents had been married.

Fritz and Vicky, circa 1858; Credit – Wikipedia

Vicky and Fritz had eight children:

Fritz and Vicky’s family; Credit – Wikipedia

Vicky had also received a liberal education and shared her husband’s views. Both Prince Albert and Queen Victoria ardently hoped that this marriage would make the ties between London and Berlin closer, and lead to a unified and liberal Germany. However, Vicky and Fritz were politically isolated and their liberal and Anglophile views clashed with the authoritarian ideas of the Minister-President of Prussia and later Chancellor, Otto von Bismarck. Despite their efforts to educate their eldest son Wilhelm about the benefits of democracy, he favored his German tutors’ views of autocratic rule and became alienated from his parents.

On January 2, 1861, Fritz’s father became King of Prussia and Fritz became Crown Prince, a title he held for 27 years. King Wilhelm I continued with his conservative ideas and frequently clashed with his son Fritz who believed in an “essential liberal policy for internal and foreign affairs.” The appointment of Otto von Bismarck as Minister-President of Prussia made matters worse. Bismarck was an authoritarian who saw nothing wrong with ignoring or overruling the Landtag, the Prussian legislative body. On June 4, 1863, Fritz vehemently protested Bismarck’s restrictions on freedom of the press at a city hall reception in Danzig, making Bismarck his enemy and making his father extremely angry. For the rest of his father’s reign, Fritz was excluded from any position of political power and relegated to representing his father at ceremonies, weddings, and celebrations, such as Queen Victoria’s Golden Jubilee in 1887.

Fritz as Crown Prince in 1874; Credit – Wikipedia

Despite his hatred of war and his belief that there should be bloodless “moral conquests,” Fritz served in the Second Schleswig War, the Austro-Prussian War, and Franco-Prussian War. Once the wars had started, Fritz supported the Prussian military wholeheartedly and took positions of command. Since he had no political influence at all, these were the only opportunities to prove himself. In 1871, following Prussia’s victories, the German states were united into the German Empire, with Fritz’s father Wilhelm I as the German Emperor (Kaiser) and Fritz as heir-apparent. Fritz sided with the empire’s liberals in their opposition to the expansion of the German Empire’s army and he also became involved in many public works projects, such as the establishment of schools and churches.

Fritz’s father’s proclamation as German Emperor in the Hall of Mirror at the Palace of Versailles, Fritz is standing behind his father; Credit – Wikipedia

The year 1888 is called “The Year of Three Emperors” in German history. Fritz’s father Wilhelm I died on March 9, 1888, and Fritz succeeded him as Friedrich III. However, Fritz was already gravely ill with cancer of the larynx and could no longer speak, but despite this, he did his best to fulfill his obligations as Emperor. In May 1888, Fritz lamented, “I cannot die … What would happen to Germany?” Fritz reigned for only 99 days, dying at the age of 56 on June 15, 1888, and was buried in the Kaiser Friedrich Mausoleum at the Friedenskirche in Potsdam, Kingdom of Prussia, now in Brandenburg, Germany.

As for what happened to Germany, Fritz was succeeded by his son Wilhelm II, who was impulsive and pompous, who brought the German Empire into World War I which eventually caused the collapse of all the German Empire’s constituent states, who was an ineffective war leader, who abdicated in November 1918, and who fled to exile in the Netherlands.

Tomb of Friedrich III, German Emperor and Victoria, Princess Royal; Credit – findagrave.com

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Prussia Resources at Unofficial Royalty

Ludwig IV, Grand Duke of Hesse and by Rhine

by Scott Mehl  © Unofficial Royalty 2015

Grand Duchy of Hesse and by Rhine: The House of Hesse-Darmstadt was one of several branches of the House of Hesse. After the fall of the Holy Roman Empire in 1806, the Landgraviate of Hesse-Darmstadt was raised to the Grand Duchy of Hesse, and Ludwig X, Landgrave of Hesse-Darmstadt became the first Grand Duke, Ludwig I.  Several years later, at the Congress of Vienna, Ludwig was forced to cede his Westphalian territories but in return was given the Rheinhessen region and the Grand Duchy of Hesse became the Grand Duchy of Hesse and by Rhine. Ernst Ludwig, a grandson of Queen Victoria, was the last Grand Duke of Hesse and by Rhine. With the fall of the German states, Ernst Ludwig refused to abdicate but still lost his throne on November 9, 1918. Today the territory that encompassed the Grand Duchy of Hesse and by Rhine is in the German state of Hesse.

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photo: Wikipedia

Ludwig IV, Grand Duke of Hesse and by Rhine

Grand Duke Ludwig IV of Hesse and by Rhine was the husband of Princess Alice of the United Kingdom, second daughter of Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom and Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha. He was born Prince Friedrich Wilhelm Ludwig Karl on September 12, 1837, in Darmstadt, Grand Duchy of Hesse and by Rhine, now in Hesse, Germany, the eldest of four children of Prince Karl of Hesse and by Rhine (a son of Grand Duke Ludwig II of Hesse and by Rhine and younger brother of Grand Duke Ludwig III of Hesse and by Rhine) and his wife, Princess Elisabeth of Prussia (a granddaughter of King Friedrich Wilhelm II of Prussia).

Ludwig had three siblings:

photo: Wikipedia

Ludwig began his military training in 1854, along with his younger brother Heinrich, and the two later studied at the University of Göttingen and the University of Giessen. But from an early age, Ludwig was destined for a military career. He led the Hessian forces in the Austro-Prussian War of 1866 and the Franco-Prussian War of 1870-1871.

The Marriage of Princess Alice, 1st July 1862 by George Housman Thomas; Credit – Royal Collection Trust/© Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II 2017

On July 1, 1862, he married Princess Alice at Osborne House on the Isle of Wight, England. The wedding was a rather subdued affair, as Alice’s father had died seven months earlier, and the family was still in official mourning. At the time of the wedding, Queen Victoria issued Letters Patent giving Ludwig the style Royal Highness. This would only be valid in the United Kingdom. Elsewhere, he was still a Grand Ducal Highness. After a brief honeymoon, the couple returned and took up residence in Darmstadt.

They would go on to have seven children:

photo: Wikipedia

Ludwig’s uncle, Grand Duke Ludwig III, was childless, so it was expected that the grand ducal throne would pass to Ludwig’s father. However, Prince Karl died in March 1877, making Ludwig the heir presumptive. Just three months later, on June 13, 1877, he succeeded to the grand ducal throne, as Grand Duke Ludwig IV of Hesse and by Rhine.

Tragedy would strike the family at the end of 1878. The family, with the exception of Alice and Ella, all came down with diphtheria. Princess Alice nursed her family back to health, and all survived except for their youngest daughter May. Sadly, Princess Alice eventually also became ill and was unable to fight off the illness, and died on December 14, 1878. The couple’s eldest daughter, Victoria, took on the role of raising her younger siblings and often served as hostess at official events.

In 1884, royals from around Europe descended upon Darmstadt for the wedding of Princess Victoria to her father’s first cousin, Prince Louis of Battenberg. Ludwig didn’t particularly approve of the marriage for several reasons – his cousin’s unequal birth, and the fact that he would be losing his daughter who had become his close companion). However, Victoria stood her ground and the marriage took place as planned. Unknown to any of the assembled guests, Grand Duke Ludwig had also made plans to marry that same evening. Following the wedding events for his daughter, Ludwig was secretly married to Alexandrine de Kolemine (formerly Hutton-Czapska), the divorced wife of the Russian chargé d’affaires in Darmstadt. When word spread, the assembled guests were shocked. The idea that the Grand Duke would enter into such an inappropriate, and unequal, marriage was scandalous at the time. The Crown Prince and Crown Princess of Prussia were summoned home immediately, so as to not be caught up in the scandal. And Queen Victoria was in an uproar! She was adamant that the marriage should be annulled immediately… and it was.

Ludwig IV passed away just eight years later from a heart attack, on March 13, 1892, in Darmstadt, Grand Duchy of Hesse and by Rhine, now in Hesse, Germany. He was just 54 years old. He was buried, alongside his wife and their two children who died in childhood, in the Neues Mausoleum in Rosenhöhe Park in Darmstadt.

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Hesse and by Rhine Resources at Unofficial Royalty

Victoria, Princess Royal, German Empress, Queen of Prussia

by Susan Flantzer  © Unofficial Royalty 2015

Credit – Wikipedia

Victoria, Princess Royal was the eldest child of Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom and her husband Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha. She was born on November 21, 1840, at Buckingham Palace in London, England, nine months after her parents’ marriage. Her christening was held in the Throne Room of Buckingham Palace on February 10, 1841, her parents’ first wedding anniversary, and she was given the names Victoria Adelaide Mary Louisa. In the family, she was known as Vicky. Her godparents were:

Queen Victoria with her eldest daughter Victoria, Princess Royal circa 1845; Credit – Wikipedia

Prince Albert with his eldest daughter Princess Victoria and Eos, his greyhound; Credit – Wikipedia

Vicky had eight siblings:

Royal Family in 1846 by Franz Xaver Winterhalter left to right: Prince Alfred and the Prince of Wales; the Queen and Prince Albert; Princesses Alice, Helena, and Victoria; Credit – Wikipedia

Shortly before her first birthday, Vicky was created Princess Royal, the fourth princess to be so styled. Vicky’s first governess was born Lady Sarah Spencer, daughter of George Spencer, 2nd Earl Spencer, and she married William Lyttelton, 3rd Baron Lyttelton. Lady Lyttelton was widowed in 1837 and shortly afterward she was appointed a lady-in-waiting to Queen Victoria. Lyttelton earned the respect of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert and, in April 1843, she was appointed governess to the royal children, who continued to call her Laddle, even when they were adults. Vicky started learning French with a French tutor when she was 18 months and then began learning German at age three. Vicky’s second governess was Sarah Anne Hildyard, a dedicated and skillful teacher who developed a close relationship with her student. Miss Hildyard, called Tilla, was the daughter of a clergyman and taught Vicky science, literature, Latin, and history. Prince Albert tutored his daughter in politics and philosophy. All Vicky’s governesses and tutors were impressed with her intelligence.

In 1851, Prince Wilhelm of Prussia (the future King of Prussia and German Emperor) and his wife Augusta were invited to England by Queen Victoria to visit the Great Exhibition in Hyde Park in London, England, which her husband Prince Albert was instrumental in organizing. Wilhelm and Augusta brought their two children, 20-year-old Friedrich and 13-year-old Louise. On a visit to the Great Exhibition, ten-year-old Vicky was allowed to accompany the group as a companion to Louise. Despite being only ten years old, Vicky made an impression on Friedrich (Fritz), who was ten years older.

Four years later, in 1855, Fritz was invited back to England by Victoria and Albert for a visit to their Scottish home Balmoral. Both the British and Prussian royal families expected that Fritz and Vicky should come to a decision about their future together. Fritz was second in line to the Prussian throne after his father, who was expected to succeed his childless brother. Despite the fact that the marriage would not be universally popular in either country, Vicky and Fritz agreed to marry each other. Their marriage would be one of the most romantic of royal marriages. Because Vicky was so young, her parents decreed that the wedding would have to wait until Vicky was 17 years old.

Wedding of Victoria, Princess Royal and Prince Friedrich of Prussia; Credit – Wikipedia

It was and still is, customary for the wedding to be in the bride’s home territory, but Vicky was marrying a future monarch and the wedding was therefore expected to be in Berlin, Kingdom of Prussia.  However, Queen Victoria had other ideas: “The assumption of it being too much for a Prince Royal of Prussia to come over to marry the Princess Royal of Great Britain in England is too absurd, to say the least…Whatever may be the usual practice of Prussian Princes, it is not every day that one marries the eldest daughter of the Queen of England.  The question must therefore be considered as settled and closed…”  Queen Victoria got her way and the wedding was scheduled for Monday, January 25, 1858, in the Chapel Royal of St. James’ Palace in London, England, where the bride’s parents had been married.

Eighteen carriages and 300 soldiers were in the procession for the short ride from Buckingham Palace to St. James’ Palace. Queen Victoria and Vicky were in the very last carriage. They were met at St. James’ Palace by Prince Albert and King Leopold I of the Belgians, the uncle of both Victoria and Albert. Vicky’s four brothers were in Highland dress and the elder two (Bertie and Alfred) preceded the Queen down the aisle. Vicky’s two younger brothers (Arthur and Leopold) accompanied their mother down the aisle followed by three of Vicky’s four sisters (Alice, Helena, and Louise) who were dressed in white lace over pink satin. Beatrice, Vicky’s youngest sibling, was left back at Buckingham Palace as she was not even a year old. Next came Fritz, wearing a dark blue tunic and white trousers, the uniform of the Prussian First Infantry Regiment of the Guard, accompanied by his father and his uncle Prince Albrecht. Finally, Vicky came down the aisle escorted by her father Prince Albert and her great-uncle King Leopold I of the Belgians.

John Sumner, Archbishop of Canterbury, conducted the service and he was so nervous that he left out several parts of the service. However, Queen Victoria was pleased that both “Vicky and Fritz spoke plainly,” as she wrote in her journal. The service was concluded with George Friedrich Handel’s Hallelujah Chorus and then Vicky and Fritz led the recessional to The Wedding March by Felix Mendelssohn, the first time it was used in a wedding. Thereafter it became a popular wedding recessional. The music is from a suite of incidental music to Shakespeare’s play A Midsummer Night’s Dream. Queen Victoria loved Mendelssohn’s music and the composer often played for her when he visited Great Britain.

Vicky and Fritz led the carriage procession back to Buckingham Palace where they appeared on the balcony with and without their parents. After a wedding breakfast, the newly married couple left by train for a two-day honeymoon at Windsor Castle. Upon arrival at Windsor, Vicky and Fritz were met by fireworks, cannons, an honor guard, and cheering crowds. Schoolboys from nearby Eton pulled their carriage from the train station up the hill to Windsor Castle.

Vicky and Fritz on January 29, 1858; Credit – Wikipedia

Vicky and Fritz eight children:

Vicky and Fritz’s family; Credit – Wikipedia

Both Prince Albert and Queen Victoria ardently hoped that this marriage would make the ties between London and Berlin closer, and lead to a unified and liberal Germany. However, Vicky and Fritz were politically isolated and their liberal and Anglophile views clashed with the authoritarian ideas of the Minister-President of Prussia, Otto von Bismarck.  Despite their efforts to educate their eldest son Wilhelm about the benefits of democracy, he favored his German tutors’ views of autocratic rule and became alienated from his parents.

NPG Ax132839; Frederick III, Emperor of Germany and King of Prussia; Victoria, Empress of Germany and Queen of Prussia by Hills & Saunders

Frederick III, Emperor of Germany and King of Prussia; Victoria, Empress of Germany and Queen of Prussia by Hills & Saunders, albumen carte-de-visite, circa 1870, NPG Ax132839 © National Portrait Gallery, London

The year 1888 is called “The Year of Three Emperors” in German history. Fritz’s father Wilhelm I died on March 9, 1888, and Fritz succeeded him as Friedrich III. However, Fritz was already gravely ill with cancer of the larynx and lived only three months more, dying at the age of 56 on June 15, 1888, when his son Wilhelm succeeded to the throne. After her husband’s death, Vicky lived at Schloss Friedrichshof, a castle she built in memory of her husband near Kronberg, close to Frankfurt, Germany. Today the castle is a five-star hotel. Vicky remained close to her British relatives and regularly corresponded with her mother. 3,777 letters from Queen Victoria to Vicky and more than 4,000 from Vicky to mother have been cataloged.

1894: At Palais Edinburgh in Coburg. Back row: left to right: Vicky’s brother, Prince Arthur, Duke of Connaught; Vicky’s brother, Alfred, Duke of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha; Vicky’s son, Wilhelm II, German Emperor; Vicky’s brother, Prince of Wales, later King Edward VII. Front row: left to right: – Queen Victoria;  Vicky

In 1899, while visiting her mother at Balmoral Castle in Scotland, Vicky was diagnosed with breast cancer. By 1900, cancer had spread to her spine and she suffered a great deal during the last months of her life. When Queen Victoria died on January 22, 1901, Vicky was too ill to go to England. She died less than seven months later on August 5, 1901, at the age of 60. Vicky was buried in the royal mausoleum of the Friedenskirche in Potsdam, Kingdom of Prussia, now in Brandenburg, Germany next to her beloved husband Fritz. Their two sons who died in childhood are buried in the same mausoleum.

Tomb of Friedrich III, German Emperor and Victoria, Princess Royal; Credit – findagrave.com

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Recommended Books

  • 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

Queen Victoria Resources at Unofficial Royalty

Prussia Resources at Unofficial Royalty

Victoria of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld, Duchess of Kent

by Susan Flantzer © Unofficial Royalty 2015

Victoria of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld, Duchess of Kent; Credit – Wikipedia

The mother of Queen Victoria, Princess Victoria of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld (Marie Louise Victoire), was born on August 17, 1786, in Coburg, Duchy of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld, now in the German state of Bavaria. She was the fourth daughter of the five daughters and seventh child of the ten children of Franz Frederick, Duke of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld and Augusta of Reuss-Ebersdorf.

Victoria had nine siblings:

At age 17, on December 21, 1803, Victoria became the second wife of Emich Carl, 2nd Prince of Leiningen, who was 23 years her senior.  Emich Carl died of pneumonia in 1814 and was succeeded by his 10-year-old son Karl.

Victoria and Emich Carl’s children:

In November of 1817, the death in childbirth of Princess Charlotte of Wales, the only legitimate grandchild of King George III, necessitated the marriages of the unmarried sons of King George III to provide an heir to the throne. On May 29, 1818, Prince Edward, Duke of Kent (fourth son of King George III) married the 32-year-old widow Victoria at Schloss Ehrenburg in Coburg. Edward had never married but had lived for 28 years with his mistress Julie de Montgenêt de Saint-Laurent. Upon the couple’s return to England, they had a second marriage ceremony on July 13, 1818, at Kew Palace in the presence of Edward’s ailing mother Queen Charlotte.

In September of 1818, Edward and Victoria set out for Leiningen, where the Duchess of Kent’s young son was the Sovereign Prince. However, when the Duchess became pregnant, they were determined to return to England so that the possible heir to the throne would be born there. They took up residence in an apartment at Kensington Palace and it was there that their only child was born on May 24, 1819:

Toward the end of 1819, Edward leased Woolbrook Cottage in Sidmouth, a town on the English Channel, due to the need to economize and the benefits the sea air would have for the Duchess’ health. In early January, Edward caught a cold but insisted on taking a walk in the chilly weather. Within days, the cold worsened, he became feverish and delirious and developed pneumonia. His condition was aggravated by the bleeding and cupping of the physician sent from London to treat him. Edward became increasingly weaker and died on January 23, 1820, just six days before his father, King George III died.

After King George III’s death, the infant Victoria was third in the line of succession after her uncles, Frederick, Duke of York and William, Duke of Clarence. Neither the new king, George IV, nor his brothers Frederick and William had any heirs, and the Duchess of Kent decided she would take a chance on Victoria’s accession to the throne. The Duchess decided to stay in England rather than return to her homeland.

Victoria and the Duchess of Kent; Credit – Wikipedia

The Duchess of Kent and her daughter Victoria were given little financial support from Parliament. The Duchess’ brother Leopold (the future King Leopold I of the Belgians) was the widower of Princess Charlotte and had received a very generous 50,000 pounds per year income from Parliament upon his marriage to Charlotte which was continued after her death. Leopold provided much-needed financial and emotional support to his sister and niece. In 1831, with King George IV dead for a year and his younger brother and heir King William IV still without legitimate issue, Victoria’s status as heir presumptive and her mother’s prospective place as regent led to major increases in income. Uncle Leopold became King of the Belgians in 1831, so an additional consideration was the impropriety of a foreign monarch supporting the heir to the British throne. Leopold had surrendered his British income upon his accession to the Belgian throne.

The Duchess developed a very close relationship with John Conroy, her household comptroller, who wanted to use his position with the mother of the future queen to obtain power and influence. Conroy and the Duchess tried to control and influence Victoria with their Kensington System, a strict and elaborate set of rules. The Duchess’ relationship with her daughter Victoria suffered greatly and did not normalize until Victoria herself had children.

There was no love lost between King William IV and his sister-in-law, the Duchess of Kent. Despite the Regency Act 1830 making the Duchess of Kent regent in case William died while Victoria was still a minor, the king distrusted the duchess’s capacity to be regent. William had been denied access to his young niece as much as the Duchess dared. The Duchess had offended the King by taking rooms in Kensington Palace that the King had reserved for himself. Both before and during William’s reign, the Duchess had snubbed his illegitimate children, the FitzClarences. All of this led to a scene at a dinner in 1836 where King William IV declared in the Duchess’ presence that he wanted to live until Victoria’s 18th birthday so that a regency could be avoided.

On May 24, 1837, Victoria turned 18 years old and it would not be necessary for the Duchess of Kent to serve as regent, much to the relief of Victoria’s uncle King William IV. Less than a month later, on June 20, 1837, King William IV died and Victoria acceded to the British throne. On the day Victoria became queen, she demonstrated her determination to free herself from her mother’s influence by ordering her bed to be removed from the room she and her mother had always shared.

In 1840, Queen Victoria married her first cousin and her mother’s nephew, Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha. After the birth of Victoria and Albert’s first child Victoria, Princess Royal, the Duchess was reconciled with Victoria probably due to Albert’s persuasion. Thereafter, the Duchess became a doting grandmother and her relationship with her daughter became closer than it had ever been.

Dowager Duchess of Kent; Credit – Wikipedia

In March of 1861, after the Duchess had surgery on her arm to remove an ulcer, a severe infection developed. On March 15, 1861, Queen Victoria was notified that her mother was not expected to survive for more than a few hours. Victoria, Albert, and their daughter Alice immediately traveled from London to Windsor where the Duchess resided at Frogmore House near Windsor Castle. The Queen found her mother in a semi-coma and breathing with great difficulty. At 9:30 on the morning of March 16, 1861, the Duchess of Kent died at the age of 74 without regaining consciousness. Victoria did not deal well with losing her mother and dealt even worse with a death that was to come at the end of 1861, that of her beloved husband Albert.

The Duchess of Kent’s final resting place is a mausoleum near Victoria and Albert’s mausoleum at Frogmore in Windsor Home Park.

Mausoleum of the Duchess of Kent. photo: Wikipedia

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Princess Alice of the United Kingdom, Grand Duchess of Hesse and by Rhine

by Scott Mehl  © Unofficial Royalty 2015

Princess Alice of the United Kingdom, Grand Duchess of Hesse and by Rhine

Princess Alice Maud Mary of the United Kingdom was born on April 25, 1843, at Buckingham Palace in London, England, the third child, and second daughter, of Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom and Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha. She was named in honor of Viscount Melbourne, Queen Victoria’s former Prime Minister. Lord Melbourne had once told the Queen that Alice was his favorite name. Her second name, Maud (a form of Matilda) was in honor of her godmother, Princess Sophia Matilda of Gloucester; and her third name, Mary, in honor of Princess Mary, Duchess of Gloucester (Queen Victoria’s aunt) with whom she shared a birthday.

She was christened on June 2, 1843, in the newly renovated Private Chapel at Buckingham Palace, by William Howley Archbishop of Canterbury. Her godparents were:

Alice had eight siblings:

Alice’s upbringing was typical for the times, spending most of her time with her siblings under the watch of nannies and tutors. She formed very close relationships with her two elder siblings, especially her brother Bertie, to whom she would remain very close until her death. A very artistic child, from an early age Alice developed a deep sense of compassion for others which would continue to develop in her adult years.

In March 1861, Alice’s grandmother, the Duchess of Kent, died. Alice had been with her during her final days, and established herself as the “family caregiver”. After she died, it was Alice whom Prince Albert sent to take care of Queen Victoria, whose intense grief over the Duchess’ death was unbearable. The Queen later attributed Alice’s efforts with helping her to get through the dark days that followed. Sadly, it would not be long until Alice’s caregiving skills would be needed again.

 

At the end of the same year, Alice’s father, Prince Albert, fell ill with typhoid fever. Alice stayed at his side, nursing him through the last few days of his life. Albert died on December 14, 1861, and the Queen went into seclusion. It was Princess Alice who then stepped in as unofficial secretary to her mother, assisted by her younger sister Louise, handling all of the state papers and correspondence, all while trying to support and comfort The Queen.

The previous year, Alice had become engaged to Prince Ludwig of Hesse and by Rhine, the son of Prince Karl of Hesse and by Rhine and his wife, Princess Elisabeth of Prussia. He would later succeed his uncle to become Grand Duke Ludwig IV. After several other prospective grooms were dismissed by the Queen, Alice’s sister Victoria suggested Ludwig. He and his brother were invited to Windsor in 1860 for the Queen to ‘look them over’, and he and Alice quickly developed a connection. On the second visit in December, the couple became engaged. Following the Queen’s formal consent, the engagement was announced on April 30, 1861. The Queen also negotiated with the Prime Minister to get Parliament to approve a dowry of £30,000.

The wedding was scheduled for the following July, but the death of Alice’s father threatened to derail the plans. The Queen, despite her intense mourning, insisted that the wedding would go on as planned, as that was Prince Albert’s wish. It would, however, be a much more somber affair. Queen Victoria even wrote to her eldest daughter that Alice’s wedding had been “…more of a funeral than a wedding…”

The Marriage of Princess Alice, 1st July 1862 by George Housman Thomas; Credit – Royal Collection Trust/© His Majesty King Charles III

The couple was married on July 1, 1862, in the dining room at Osborne House, on the Isle of Wight, England, which had been converted into a chapel for the day.

Following a brief honeymoon elsewhere on the Isle of Wight, the couple returned to Darmstadt, Grand Duchy of Hesse and by Rhine, now in Hesse, Germany, where they were given a small house in the Old Quarter. This caused much distress to Queen Victoria who held very high expectations when it came to the residences of her children. With significant financial support from Queen Victoria and Alice’s dowry, construction began on a new home, to be called the New Palace. The couple would take up residence in the New Palace in 1866. In the meantime, they were also given the castle at Kranichstein where they spent much of their time. The couple had seven children:

Princess Alice with her husband and children, May 1875.  Photo: The Royal Collection Trust

Once in Darmstadt, Alice tried to find ways to help those less fortunate and attempted to learn as much as she could about the lives of ordinary people. One area of particular interest was nursing. Seeing the need for improved medical care, Alice befriended Florence Nightingale who gave her suggestions and ways to help those in need. Alice embraced this role and worked tirelessly throughout the remainder of her life. During the Austro-Prussian War of 1866, and again during the Franco-Prussian War of 1870-1871, Alice focused on wounded soldiers, making bandages and visiting the injured, and visiting the hospital wards. These visits would continue for the rest of her life, and she often brought her children along, hoping to instill that same compassion in them.

Tragedy struck the family in 1873. In February, Alice’s second son Frittie had been diagnosed with hemophilia after a cut on his ear took several days to stop bleeding. On May 29, 1873,  Frittie and his brother Ernst Ludwig were playing in their mother’s bedroom at the Neues Palais. Ernst went into another room to look through the window which was at an angle to the window in Alice’s bedroom. While Alice was out of the room to get Ernst, Frittie climbed up to the window in the bedroom to try and see Ernst. From all accounts, the chair he had climbed on tipped over and Frittie fell from the window to the ground below. Due to his hemophilia, Frittie died from his injuries.

Over time, Alice’s relationship with her husband had become somewhat strained, despite their mutual love for each other. Their interests were quite different, with Alice being much more of an intellectual than Ludwig. In the early 1870s, she befriended the theologian David Strauss, and she shared many of his views on religion, some of which were quite controversial at the time. Strauss also offered a more intellectual bond than her husband was able to provide. However, following the death of her son in 1873, Alice began to return to her more traditional religious beliefs, distancing herself from Strauss.

Her relationship with her mother was also very strained at times. While initially having a very close relationship, the two often became estranged, often due to Alice voicing her thoughts and opinions, which usually differed from those of The Queen. However, the Queen did remain devoted to Alice, and particularly to her children. After Alice’s death, Victoria spent a significant amount of time with her Hessian grandchildren, helping to ensure that they grew up with the proper guidance.

 

Ludwig’s father died in March 1877, and three months later, his uncle Grand Duke Ludwig III also died. Ludwig and Alice became the reigning Grand Duke and Grand Duchess of Hesse and by Rhine. Alice continued her efforts in nursing, now having a much stronger position in which to bring about changes. Unfortunately, her time would be limited as tragedy would once again strike.

In November 1878, the family began to fall ill with diphtheria. Alice quickly slipped into her role as caregiver, nursing her husband and children back to health. Sadly, her youngest child, Princess Marie, succumbed to the illness and died on November 16, 1878. Alice tried to keep the news from her husband and other children until they were in better health. Eventually telling her son, Ernst Ludwig (who was quite devoted to the young May), she broke the one rule of nursing this horrible illness – she comforted him with hugs and a kiss. Soon after, Alice herself began to fall ill and was also diagnosed with diphtheria. Her condition quickly deteriorated, and in the early morning of December 14, 1878 — the 17th anniversary of her father’s death – Princess Alice, Grand Duchess of Hesse and by Rhine died at the Neues Palais in Darmstadt, Grand Duchy of Hesse and by Rhine, now in Hesse, Germany. She is buried in the Neues Mausoleum at Rosenhöhe Park in Darmstadt alongside her husband and two of her children.

Tomb of Princess Alice, Grand Duchess of Hesse and by Rhine (She is hugging her daughter Marie on her left side); Photo Credit – findagrave.com

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Queen Victoria Resources at Unofficial Royalty

Hesse and by Rhine Resources at Unofficial Royalty

Recommended Books

  • 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