Category Archives: German Royals

Sophia Friederike of Mecklenburg-Schwerin, Hereditary Princess of Denmark and Norway

by Susan Flantzer
© Unofficial Royalty 2023

Sophia Friederike of Mecklenburg-Schwerin, Hereditary Princess of Denmark and Norway; Credit – Wikipedia

Sophia Friederike of Mecklenburg-Schwerin, Hereditary Princess of Denmark and Norway, the mother of King Christian VIII of Denmark, was born on August 24, 1758, in Schwerin, Duchy of Mecklenburg-Schwerin, now in the German state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern. She was the second of the two children and the only daughter of Ludwig, Hereditary Prince of Mecklenburg-Schwerin and Princess Charlotte Sophie of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld. Sophia Friederike’s paternal grandparents were Christian Ludwig II, Duke of Mecklenburg-Schwerin and Duchess Gustave Caroline of Mecklenburg-Strelitz. Her maternal grandparents were Franz Josias, Duke of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld and Anna Sophie of Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt.

Sophie Friederike with her brother Friedrich Franz, 1764; Credit – Wikipedia

Sophia Friederike had one older brother:

Hereditary Prince Frederik of Denmark and Norway; Credit – Wikipedia

On October 21, 1774, 16-year-old Sophia Friederike married 21-year-old Hereditary Prince Frederik of Denmark and Norway, the only child of King Frederik V of Denmark and Norway and his second wife Juliana Maria of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel. When Sophia Friederike first met Frederik, she was disappointed by his less favorable appearance. She had some difficulty in settling at the Danish court and repeatedly complained of its dullness. Although the couple eventually became fond of each other, they both had lovers and the father of Sophia Friederike’s children was rumored to be her husband’s adjutant Frederik von Blücher (in Danish).

Sophia Friederike and Frederik with their three eldest surviving children Christian, Juliane, and Louise; Credit – Wikipedia

Sophia Friederike and Frederik had two stillborn daughters before the birth of their five children. Through their daughter Louise Charlotte, they are the ancestors of the Belgian, British, Danish, Luxembourg, Norwegian, and Spanish royal families and the former royal families of Greece and Romania.

Frederik’s elder half brother KIng Christian VII of Denmark; Credit – Wikipedia

At the time of the marriage, Frederik’s elder half-brother Christian VII, the son of King Frederik V of Denmark and Norway and his first wife, Princess Louisa of Great Britain, was King of Denmark and Norway. Soon after Christian VII’s succession, it became clear that he was not quite normal. It is unknown if Christian’s mental illness was caused by the brutal childhood treatment of his governor Christian Ditlev Reventlow, Count of Reventlow, possible porphyria inherited from his Hanover mother, or schizophrenia. Christian’s symptoms included paranoia, self-mutilation, and hallucinations. It was becoming clearer and clearer that Christian could not fulfill his role as king. Eventually, as a result of King Christian VII’s mental illness, Sophia Friederike’s husband Frederik and his mother Queen Dowager Juliana Maria became involved in major political manipulations. Their actions, of course, would affect Sophia Friederike and her status in the Danish royal family.

Sophia Friederike’s mother-in-law Juliana Maria of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel, Queen Dowager of Denmark and Norway; Credit – Wikipedia

On a trip that had been arranged because it was believed that new environments could change King Christian VII’s behavior, Christian became acquainted with the physician Johann Friedrich Struensee. Struensee was the first person who understood that Christian was seriously ill. When Christian came home from the trip, Struensee accompanied him and was employed as Christian’s personal physician. Because of Christian’s confidence in him, Struensee gained political power. He also became the lover of Christian VII’s ill-treated wife, born Princess Caroline Matilda of Wales, whose marriage was less than satisfactory. When Caroline Matilda gave birth to her daughter Louise, no one doubted that Struensee was the father of the princess. In 1772, Frederik’s mother, Queen Dowager Juliana Maria, maneuvered a coup that would bring about the fall of Struensee and discredit Caroline Matilda. Juliana Maria arranged for King Christian VII to sign the arrest warrant of Struensee after she had already made the arrest in the name of the king. Struensee was executed and Caroline Matilda was exiled for the rest of her life.

After the fall of Struensee, Frederik and his mother Juliana Maria took charge of the Council of State. Christian VII was only nominally king from 1772 onward. Crown Prince Frederik (the future King Frederik VI), King Christian VII’s son, had no intention of allowing his uncle Frederik and his stepgrandmother Juliana Maria to continue their rule. In 1784, Crown Prince Frederik reached the age of legal majority and then ruled permanently as Prince Regent. He somehow managed to get his insane father to sign an order dismissing the supporters of his Frederik and Juliana Maria’s supporters from the Council of State and declaring that no royal order was legal unless co-signed by the Crown Prince, thereby deposing Frederik and Juliana Maria. After losing power, Frederik’s political career came to an end, his family’s status in the Danish royal family was greatly diminished, and he and Sophia Friederike lived as private people for the rest of their lives.

Roskilde Cathedral; Photo © Susan Flantzer

On November 29, 1794, Sophia Friederike, aged thirty-six, died at Sorgenfri Palace in Kongens Lyngby, Denmark, north of Copenhagen. She was buried at Roskilde Cathedral in Roskilde, Denmark, the traditional burial site of the Danish royal family. Hereditary Prince Frederik survived his wife by eleven years, dying at Amalienborg in Copenhagen, Denmark on December 7, 1805, at the age of 52. He also was buried at Roskilde Cathedral. Because King Frederick VI, Frederik’s nephew, the son of his half-brother King Christian VII, had two daughters but no sons, upon his death in 1839, he was succeeded by the son of Sophia Friederike and Frederik, King Christian VIII.

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

Works Cited

  • Da.wikipedia.org. (2018). Arveprins Frederik. [online] Available at: https://da.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arveprins_Frederik [Accessed 01 Jun. 2023].
  • Da.wikipedia.org. (2018). Sophie Frederikke af Mecklenburg-Schwerin. [online] Available at: https://da.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sophie_Frederikke_af_Mecklenburg-Schwerin [Accessed 01 Jun. 2023].
  • En.wikipedia.org. (2018). Duchess Sophia Frederica of Mecklenburg-Schwerin. [online] Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Duchess_Sophia_Frederica_of_Mecklenburg-Schwerin [Accessed 01 Jun. 2023].
  • En.wikipedia.org. (2018). Frederick, Hereditary Prince of Denmark. [online] Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frederick,_Hereditary_Prince_of_Denmark [Accessed 1 Jun. 2023].
  • Flantzer, Susan. (2019) Frederik, Hereditary Prince of Denmark and Norway, Unofficial Royalty. Available at: https://www.unofficialroyalty.com/frederik-hereditary-prince-of-denmark/ (Accessed: 01 June 2023).
  • Flantzer, Susan. (2017). Juliana Maria of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel, Queen of Denmark. [online] Unofficial Royalty. Available at: https://www.unofficialroyalty.com/juliana-maria-of-brunswick-wolfenbuttel-bevern-queen-of-denmark/ [Accessed 01 Jun. 2023].
  • Ludwig, Hereditary Prince of Mecklenburg-Schwerin (2023) Wikipedia. Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ludwig,_Hereditary_Prince_of_Mecklenburg-Schwerin (Accessed: 01 June 2023).

Maria Josepha of Saxony, Archduchess of Austria

by Susan Flantzer
© Unofficial Royalty 2023

Maria Josepha of Saxony, Archduchess of Austria, circa 1910 – 1915; Credit – Wikipedia

Princess Maria Josepha of Saxony was the wife of Archduke Otto Franz of Austria and the mother of Karl I, the last Emperor of Austria. Maria Josepha Louise Philippina Elisabeth Pia Angelica Margaretha was born on May 31, 1867, in Dresden, Kingdom of Saxony, now in the German state of Saxony. She was the fifth of the eight children and the youngest of the four daughters of King Georg of Saxony and Infanta Maria Ana of Portugal. Maria Josepha’s paternal grandparents were King Johann of Saxony and Princess Amalie Auguste of Bavaria. Her maternal grandparents were Queen Maria II of Portugal and her second husband Prince Ferdinand of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha-Koháry.

Maria Josepha had seven siblings:

Maria Josepha, circa 1893; Credit – Wikipedia

Maria Josepha was raised in a strict Catholic environment. In 1883, her youngest sibling Albert became very ill. Their mother Maria Ana took care of him intensively for months until he recovered, but overworked herself so much that she died of exhaustion on February 5, 1884, at the age of 40. Maria Ana’s death occurred before her husband, who never remarried, became King of Saxony.

Otto Franz and Maria Josepha at the time of their engagement, 1886; Credit – Wikipedia

On October 2, 1886, in Dresden, Kingdom of Saxony, now in the German state of Saxony, 19-year-old Princess Maria Josepha married her 21-year-old second cousin Archduke Otto Franz of Austria, the son of Archduke Karl Ludwig of Austria and his second wife Princess Maria Annunciata of Bourbon-Two Sicilies. Maria Josepha’s father-in-law Karl Ludwig was the younger brother of Franz Joseph I, Emperor of Austria and Archduke Maximilian of Austria, the executed Emperor of Mexico. Her new husband Otto Franz was the brother of the ill-fated Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria whose assassination in 1914 was one of the causes and World War I

The marriage was not a love match. Both Otto Franz’s first cousin Crown Prince Rudolf of Austria and Otto’s brother Franz Ferdinand had snubbed the Saxony court by rejecting Maria Josepha’s elder sister Mathilde as a bride. Relations between Austria-Hungary and Saxony improved only when Otto Franz, under pressure from the Austrian-Hungarian court, married Mathilde’s younger sister Maria Josepha. The marriage of Otto Franz and Maria Josepha was increasingly unhappy. Otto Franz had many affairs and Maria Josepha was very religious and was insultingly called “the nun” by her husband because of the deeply pious beliefs.

Otto Franz and Maria Josepha with their two sons Karl and Maximilian Eugen, circa 1897; Credit – Wikipedia

Maria Josepha and Otto Franz had two sons:

In 1889, Otto Franz’s first cousin Crown Prince Rudolf of Austria died by suicide at his hunting lodge Mayerling. Crown Prince Rudolf, the only son of Emperor Franz Joseph of Austria, had no sons, so the succession would pass to Emperor Franz Joseph’s brother Archduke Karl Ludwig and his eldest son Archduke Franz Ferdinand, Maria Josepha’s father-in-law and brother-in-law. There have been suggestions that Karl Ludwig renounced his succession rights in favor of his son Franz Ferdinand. However, an act of renunciation was never formally signed and Karl Ludwig was never officially designated heir to the throne. He was only three years younger than Franz Joseph and not a realistic choice. When Karl Ludwig died in 1896, Maria Josepha’s brother-in-law Franz Ferdinand became the heir to his uncle’s throne.

Meanwhile, Otto Franz was involved in many scandals, including jumping nude from a window in a private dining room in the Hotel Sacher in Vienna in front of a visiting British peeress and being spotted in the hallway at the same hotel about to enter a lady’s room, wearing nothing but a sword. The imperial court gradually became alienated from Otto Franz as did his wife.


Maria Josepha and Otto Franz in 1900; Credit – Wikipedia

By 1900, it was clear that Maria Josepha’s husband Otto Franz had contracted the sexually transmitted disease syphilis. He withdrew from public life and spent a year in Egypt where he temporarily improved. After returning to Austria, Otto Franz became quite ill. He was in agonizing pain for the last two years of his life and was forced to replace his nose with a rubber prosthetic due to the facial deformity caused by syphilis. During the last months of his life, Otto Franz lived in a villa in Währing, a district of Vienna, and was nursed by his last mistress Luise Robinson and by his stepmother, his father’s second wife Maria Theresa of Portugal. On November 1, 1906, Archduke Otto Franz, aged forty-one, died. He was interred in the Imperial Crypt at the Capuchin Church in Vienna, Austria. After the death of her husband, Maria Josepha remained unmarried. The German-Austrian stage and film actor Otto Tressler was a close friend, and possibly Maria Josepha and Otto had a relationship.

Karl and Zita’s wedding: (L – R) Archduke Franz Ferdinand, Archduchess Maria Josepha, Emperor Franz Joseph, Karl, and Zita; Credit – Wikipedia

On October 21, 1911, Maria Josepha’s son Karl married Princess Zita of Bourbon-Parma, the daughter of the deposed Robert I, Duke of Parma and his second wife, Maria Antonia of Portugal at Schwarzau Castle, an Austrian home of Zita’s family. 

Maria Josepha’s son Karl I, the last Emperor of Austria; Credit – Wikipedia

Maria Josepha’s brother-in-law Archduke Franz Ferdinand was the heir to the Austrian throne until his assassination on June 28, 1914, an event that was one of the causes of World War I. Franz Ferdinand had been allowed to make a morganatic marriage with the condition that the children of the marriage would not have succession rights. Upon Franz Ferdinand’s death, Maria Josepha’s son Karl became the heir to the Austrian throne. He succeeded to the throne as Emperor Karl I of Austria upon the death of Emperor Franz Joseph I in 1916. Karl reigned until the monarchy was abolished in 1918, at the end of World War I.

At the end of World War I, the armistice required that the Austrian-Hungarian Empire allow for autonomy and self-determination of the government of its various ethnic populations. The various areas proclaimed independence and by October 1918 there was not much left of the empire. On November 11, 1918, the same day as the armistice ending World War I, Karl issued a proclamation in which he recognized the rights of the people of Austria to determine their form of government and released his government officials from their loyalty to him. On November 13, 1918, Karl issued a similar proclamation for Hungary. Karl did not use the term “abdicate” in his proclamations and would never admit that he abdicated.

On March 23, 1919, Karl and his family, including his mother Maria Josepha, left for Switzerland. On April 3, 1919, the Austrian Parliament passed the Habsburg Law which forbade Karl or his wife Zita from ever returning to Austria. The law also prevented other Habsburgs from returning to Austria unless they renounced all intentions of claiming the throne and accepted the condition of living as ordinary citizens. In 1921, Karl returned to Hungary twice, attempting to regain the throne of Hungary. After the second attempt, the Council of Allied Powers decided to exile Karl and his family to the Portuguese island of Madeira. In March 1922, Karl caught a cold which developed into bronchitis and further developed into pneumonia. After suffering two heart attacks and respiratory failure, Karl died on April 1, 1922, at the age of 34. Due to the Habsburg Law, Karl could not be buried in the Imperial Crypt in Vienna, Austria. He was buried at the Church of Our Lady of the Mount on the island of Madeira in Portugal.

The restrictions on the Habsburgs entering Austria were eventually rescinded, but only for those Habsburgs born after April 10, 1919. In 1982, the restrictions were eased and after 63 years, Karl’s widow Zita could return to Austria for visits. When Zita died in 1989, the government of Austria allowed her funeral to take place in Austria provided that the Habsburg family pay the cost and Zita was allowed to be buried in the Habsburg traditional burial site, the Imperial Crypt at the Capuchin Church in Vienna, Austria. However, the remains of her husband Karl are still interred in Portugal.

Beatification of Karl in 2004

Maria Josepha had raised Karl with a very religious upbringing, and upon marrying Princess Zita of Bourbon-Parma, also a very devout Roman Catholic, Karl told her, “Now, we must help each other to get to Heaven.” Karl was beatified on October 3, 2004, by Pope John Paul II, and he is known as Blessed Karl of Austria. Beatification is the third of four steps toward sainthood in the Roman Catholic Church.

Tomb of Maria Josepha, to the right of her husband’s tomb in the Imperial Crypt at the Capuchin Church in Vienna; Credit – www.findagrave.com

After Karl and his family were exiled to the Portuguese island of Madeira, Maria Josepha settled in Bavaria, Germany where she lived in Geiselgasteig near Munich. Because of Allied bombings during World War II, Maria Josepha moved to the safety of Wildenwart Castle in Chiemgau, Bavaria, Germany. The castle belonged to the former Bavarian royal family, and Maria Josepha lived there with Princess Hildegard and Princess Helmtrud, two unmarried daughters of Ludwig III, the last King of Bavaria. Maria Josepha died at Wildenwart Castle on May 28, 1944, at the age of 76, and was allowed to be buried in the New Vault of the Imperial Crypt at the Capuchin Church in Vienna, beside 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.

Works Cited

  • Flantzer, Susan. (2014) Karl I, Emperor of Austria, Unofficial Royalty. Available at: https://www.unofficialroyalty.com/karl-i-emperor-of-austria/ (Accessed: 29 May 2023).
  • Flantzer, Susan. (2023) Archduke Otto Franz of Austria, Unofficial Royalty. Available at: https://www.unofficialroyalty.com/archduke-otto-franz-of-austria/ (Accessed: 29 May 2023).
  • Maria Josepha von Sachsen (1867–1944) (2023) Wikipedia (German). Available at: https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maria_Josepha_von_Sachsen_(1867%E2%80%931944) (Accessed: 29 May 2023).
  • Princess Maria Josepha of Saxony (1867–1944) (2023) Wikipedia. Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Princess_Maria_Josepha_of_Saxony_(1867%E2%80%931944) (Accessed: 29 May 2023).
  • Wheatcroft, Andrew, 1995. The Habsburgs. London: Viking.

Maria Amalia of Saxony, Queen of Spain, Queen of Naples and Sicily

by Susan Flantzer
© Unofficial Royalty 2023

Maria Amalia of Saxony with the regalia of the Kingdom of Naples, circa 1745; Credit – Wikipedia

Maria Amalia of Saxony was the wife of King Carlos III of Spain who also was King Carlo VII of Naples from 1735 – 1759 and King Carlo V of Sicily from 1734 – 1759. Born on November 24, 1724, at Dresden Castle, in Dresden, Electorate of Saxony, now in the German state of Saxony, Maria Amalia Christina Franziska Xaveria Flora Walburga was a Princess of Poland and a Princess of Saxony. She was the fourth of the fourteen children and the eldest of the seven daughters of Augustus III, King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania, who was also Friedrich August II, Elector of Saxony, and Archduchess Maria Josepha of Austria. Maria Amalia’s paternal grandparents were Augustus II, King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania, who was also Friedrich August I, Elector of Saxony, and Christiane Eberhardine of Brandenburg-Bayreuth. Her maternal grandparents were Holy Roman Emperor Joseph I and Wilhelmine Amalie of Brunswick -Lüneburg.

Maria Amalia had thirteen siblings:

Dresden Castle where Maria Amalia was born and raised; Credit – By X-Weinzar – Self-photographed, CC BY-SA 2.5, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=7530258

Maria Amalia was raised at her father’s court at Dresden Castle in Dresden, Electorate of Saxony, now in the German state of Saxony. She received instruction in foreign languages, mathematics, foreign cultures, theater, and dancing. Maria Amalia was also an excellent musician and sang and played the piano from an early age.

Maria Amalia’s husband Carlos as King of Naples and Sicily; Credit – Wikipedia

In 1738, a marriage was arranged for fourteen-year-old Maria Amalia and twenty-two-year-old Carlos of Spain who was then sovereign of two Italian kingdoms as King Carlo VII of Naples and King Carlo V of Sicily. Carlos was the eldest son of Felipe V, the first Bourbon King of Spain and his second wife ​Elisabeth Farnese of Parma, who had arranged the marriage. Carlos was not expected to become King of Spain because he had two elder surviving brothers from his father’s first marriage to Maria Luisa of Savoy.

On May 8, 1738, a proxy marriage was held in Dresden, Electorate of Saxony, now in Germany with the bride’s brother Friedrich Christian of Saxony standing in for Carlos. Shortly afterward, Maria Amalia traveled to the Kingdom of Naples, and on June 19, 1738, at Portella, a village on the border of the Kingdom of Naples, Carlos and Maria Amalia met for the first time and were married.

Three children of Maria Amalia and Carlos: Francisco Javier, Maria Luisa, and Carlos III’s successor, the future King Carlos IV; Credit – Wikipedia

Maria Amalia and Carlos had thirteen children but only seven survived childhood. Their children who were born before Carlos became King of Spain were Princes and Princesses of Naples and Sicily. Their children who survived until Carlos became King of Spain were then Infantes and Infantas of Spain.

Royal Palace of Caserta in Caserta, Italy; Credit – By Carlo Pelagalli, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=52612424

As Queen of Naples and Sicily, Maria Amalia had great influence and took an active part in state affairs. After the birth of her first son in 1747, she was given a seat on the council of state. Maria Amalia ended the careers of several politicians she disliked. She played an important role in the planning and construction of the Royal Palace of Caserta.

Maria Amalia’s in-laws: King Felipe V of Spain and Elisabeth Farnese of Parma, Queen of Spain in 1739

Carlos’ father Felipe V, King of Spain died of a stroke at the age of 62 on July 9, 1746, and Carlos’ only surviving elder half-brother Fernando succeeded to the Spanish throne as Fernando VI, King of Spain and reigned for thirteen years. However, Fernando’s marriage to Barbara of Portugal produced no children, and so upon his death in 1759, his elder surviving half-brother, Maria Amalia’s husband Carlos, succeeded him as King Carlos III of Spain. With great sadness, by both Carlos and the people of Naples and Sicily, Carlos abdicated the thrones of Naples and Sicily in favor of his eight-year-old third son Ferdinando with a regency council ruling until his sixteenth birthday.

Maria Amalia, her husband, and their surviving children moved from Naples to Madrid, Spain in the autumn of 1759. Besides leaving their third son Ferdinando who was now King of Naples and Sicily, they left their eldest son Felipe who was excluded from the succession due to learning disabilities and epilepsy. Felipe lived hidden away at the Palace of Portici in the Kingdom of Naples, occasionally being visited by his brother King Ferdinando. Felipe died, aged 30, in 1777, from smallpox.

Maria Amalia had lived in her husband’s Italian kingdoms for twenty-one years and did not like Spain. She complained about the food, the language, which she refused to learn, the climate, the Spaniards, whom she regarded as passive, and the Spanish courtiers, whom she regarded as ignorant and uneducated. She planned reforms for the Spanish court but did not have time to complete them.

A posthumous portrait of Maria Amalia, circa 1761; Credit – Wikipedia

On September 27, 1760, a year after arriving in Spain, 35-year-old Maria Amalia died from tuberculosis at the Buen Retiro Palace in Madrid, Spain, and was buried in the Pantheon of Kings in the Royal Crypt of the Monastery of El Escorial. Upon Maria Amalia’s death, her husband Carlos said, “In twenty-two years of marriage, this is the first serious upset that Amalia has given me.” After Maria Amalia’s death, Carlos remained unmarried. He survived his wife by twenty-eight years, dying, aged 72, on December 14, 1788, at the Royal Palace of Madrid in Spain. He was buried in the Pantheon of Kings in the Royal Crypt of the Monastery of El Escorial.

Tomb of Maria Amalia of Saxony, Queen of Spain; Credit – www.findagrave.com

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

Works Cited

  • Augustus III of Poland (2022) Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation. Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Augustus_III_of_Poland (Accessed: January 2, 2023).
  • Flantzer, Susan. (2023) Carlos III, King of Spain, Duke of Parma and Piacenza, King of Naples, King of Sicily, Unofficial Royalty. Available at: https://www.unofficialroyalty.com/carlos-iii-king-of-spain-duke-of-parma-and-piacenza-king-of-naples-king-of-sicily/ (Accessed: January 2, 2023).
  • María Amalia de Sajonia (2022) Wikipedia (Spanish). Wikimedia Foundation. Available at: https://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mar%C3%ADa_Amalia_de_Sajonia (Accessed: January 2, 2023).
  • Maria Amalia di Sassonia (2022) Wikipedia (Italian). Wikimedia Foundation. Available at: https://it.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maria_Amalia_di_Sassonia (Accessed: January 2, 2023).
  • Maria Amalia of Saxony (2022) Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation. Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maria_Amalia_of_Saxony (Accessed: January 2, 2023).
  • Maria Amalia von Sachsen (1724–1760) (2023) Wikipedia (German). Wikimedia Foundation. Available at: https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maria_Amalia_von_Sachsen_(1724%E2%80%931760) (Accessed: January 2, 2023).

Blanche of England, Countess Palatine

by Susan Flantzer
© Unofficial Royalty 2023

Painting of Blanche in the chancel of the Church of St. Aegidius in Neustadt, Germany where she is buried; Credit – Wikipedia

Blanche of England was born in the spring of 1392 at Peterborough Castle in Peterborough, England. She was the fifth of the six children and the elder of the two daughters of King Henry IV of England and his first wife the wealthy heiress Mary de Bohun, Countess of Northampton, Countess of Derby. Blanche’s paternal grandparents were John of Gaunt, 1st Duke of Lancaster, (the third surviving son of King Edward III of England) and Blanche of Lancaster, Duchess of Lancaster, her namesake and the heiress of England’s wealthiest and most powerful peer, Henry of Grosmont, 1st Duke of Lancaster. It was through Blanche of Lancaster that the Duchy of Lancaster came into the royal family. Since the reign of King Henry IV, the Duchy of Lancaster has provided a source of independent income to the British sovereign. Blanche’s maternal grandparents were Humphrey de Bohun, 7th Earl of Hereford, and Joan FitzAlan, daughter of Richard FitzAlan, 10th Earl of Arundel and 8th Earl of Surrey.  When Blanche was two years old, her mother died while giving birth to her last child Philippa.

Blanche had five siblings:

In 1398, Blanche’s father, then known as Henry of Bolingbroke because he was born at Bolingbroke Castle in Lincolnshire, England, quarreled with Thomas de Mowbray, 1st Duke of Norfolk, who accused him of treason. The two men planned to duel, but instead, Henry’s first cousin King Richard II banished them from England. John of Gaunt died on February 3, 1399, and Richard II confiscated the estates of his uncle and stipulated that his cousin Henry would have to ask him to restore the estates. Henry returned to England while his cousin Richard II was on a military campaign in Ireland and began a military campaign of his own, confiscating the land of those who had opposed him. King Richard II eventually was abandoned by his supporters and was forced by Parliament on September 29, 1399, to abdicate the crown to his cousin Henry.  King Henry IV was crowned in Westminster Abbey on October 13, 1399.  Richard was imprisoned at Pontefract Castle in Yorkshire where he died on or around February 14, 1400. The exact cause of his death, thought to have been starvation, is unknown.

In 1403, Blanche’s father King Henry IV married again to Joan of Navarre, the widow of Jean IV, Duke of Brittany, and the daughter of Charles II, King of Navarre and Jeanne of Valois. Henry IV and Joan had no children but Joan got along well with her stepchildren.

After King Henry IV deposed his first cousin King Richard II, it was important for him to legitimize his rule. Ruprecht III, Elector Palatine and King of the Romans was a needed ally. A marriage between Ruprecht’s eldest surviving son and heir Ludwig, Count Palatine, the future Ludwig III, Elector Palatine, and Henry IV’s eldest daughter Blanche was arranged. The marriage contract was signed on March 7, 1401. Ten-year-old Blanche married twenty-four-year of Ludwig on July 6, 1402, at Cologne Cathedral in the Free Imperial City of Cologne, now in Germany.

The Crown of Princess Blanche; Credit – By Allie Caulfield – This file has been extracted from another file, CC BY 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=65073992

Blanche’s dowry included a crown thought to have originally belonged to Anne of Bohemia, the first wife of King Richard II of England, whom she married in 1382. Known as the Crown of Princess Blanche, the Palatine Crown, and the Bohemian Crown, Blanche wore it at her wedding. Made of gold with diamonds, rubies, emeralds, sapphires, enamel, and pearls, the crown has been the property of the House of Wittelsbach since 1402, and is displayed in the treasury of the Munich Residenz, where it has been kept since 1782. This writer has been fortunate to have seen the crown and can verify that it is spectacular.

Blanche and Ludwig had one child:

  • Ruprecht, Count Palatine (1406 – 1426), unmarried, nicknamed Ruprecht the Englishman

Ludwig III, Elector Palatine with his two wives: his first wife Blanche of England in the middle and his second wife Matilda of Savoy on the right; Credit – Wikipedia

On May 22, 1409, Blanche, aged seventeen, died while pregnant with her second child, possibly from the plague, at Neustadt, Electorate of the Palatinate, now in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. She was buried in the Church of St. Aegidius (link in German) in Neustadt.

Blanche’s tomb at the Church of St. Aegidius in Neustadt.; Credit – Wikipedia

A year after her death, Blanche’s widower succeeded his father as Ludwig III, Elector Palatine. In 1417, Ludwig married Matilda of Savoy, and the couple had five children. However, Ruprecht, Ludwig’s son from his first marriage, remained the heir presumptive to the Electorate of Palatinate and Ludwig allowed Ruprecht to participate in the affairs of state.

On May 20, 1426, Blanche and Ludwig’s son Ruprecht died two days before his 20th birthday. Ludwig suffered immense grief and decided to go on a pilgrimage to the Holy Land. Upon his return from the pilgrimage, Ludwig became seriously ill, and he entered into a period of religious fervor that lasted the rest of his life. By 1430, Ludwig was nearly blind. Five years later, his wife Matilda and the Palatine councilors decided Ludwig was no longer able to rule and removed him from power. Ludwig’s younger brother Otto I, Count Palatine of Mosbach became Regent, and took over the affairs of state and the education of Ludwig’s sons from his second marriage. Twenty-seven years after Blanche’s death, Ludwig III, Elector Palatine died on December 30, 1436, in Heidelberg, Electorate of Palatinate, now in 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.

Works Cited

  • Blanche of England (2022) Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation. Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blanche_of_England (Accessed: January 30, 2023).
  • Blanca von England (2022) Wikipedia (German). Wikimedia Foundation. Available at: https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blanca_von_England (Accessed: January 30, 2023).
  • Flantzer, Susan. (2013) King Henry IV of England, Unofficial Royalty. Available at: https://www.unofficialroyalty.com/march-20-daily-featured-royal-date/ (Accessed: January 30, 2023).
  • Jones, Dan. (2012) The Plantagenets. New York: Viking.
  • Weir, Alison. (1989) Britain’s Royal Families: The Complete Genealogy. London: Vintage Books.
  • Williamson, David. (1996) Brewer’s British royalty: A Phrase and Fable dictionary. London: Cassell.

Heinrich XIII Prince Reuss and the 2022 Attempted Coup d’etat in Germany

by Susan Flantzer
© Unofficial Royalty 2022

Heinrich XIII Prince Reuss; Credit – By Steffen Löwe  Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=126413465

On December 7, 2022, Heinrich XIII Prince Reuss was arrested on suspicion of being one of the ringleaders of a terrorist organization planning a coup d’etat in Germany. A total of 25 people were arrested.

Why so many Heinrichs? Why do they all have numbers?

All males of the House of Reuss were and still are named Heinrich plus a number. In the Reuss-Greiz, Elder Line, the numbering covered all male children and the numbers increased until 100 was reached and then started again at 1. In the Reuss-Gera, Younger Line, the system was similar but the numbers increased until the end of a century before starting again at 1. This tradition was seen as a way of honoring Holy Roman Emperor Heinrich VI (reigned 1191 – 1197) who had benefitted the family. Therefore, the Roman numerals seen after names are NOT regnal numbers.

Modern Use of Titles

After World War I ended in 1918, all German monarchies were abolished. In August 1919, Germany’s first democratic constitution officially abolished royalty and nobility, and any privileges previously held. However, former hereditary titles were and still are permitted as part of surnames. These surnames can then be inherited by a person’s children. Therefore, “Prince Reuss” is the surname of Heinrich XIII Prince Reuss.

The title Fürst was used for a reigning German sovereign ruler. Non-reigning descendants of a Fürst are referred to in German as Prinz (prince) or Prinzessin (princess).

Who is Heinrich XIII Prince Reuss?

Heinrich XIII and his mother in 2018; Credit – By Steffen Löwe – Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=126411903

Heinrich XIII Prince Reuss was born on December 4, 1951 in Büdingen, West Germany, now in Hesse, Germany. He is the fifth of the six children and the fourth of the five sons of Prince Heinrich I Reuss of Köstritz (1910 – 1982) and Duchess Woizlawa Feodora of Mecklenburg-Schwerin (1918 – 2019). Heinrich XIII comes from the Reuss-Köstritz branch of the House of Reuss, a cadet branch of the House of Reuss-Gera (Younger Line).

Heinrich XIII’s mother was the first cousin of Grand Duke Kirill Vladimirovich of Russia, Alexandrine of Mecklenburg-Schwerin (wife of King Christian X of Denmark), Cecilie of Mecklenburg-Schwerin (wife of Wilhelm, the last German Crown Prince and Crown Prince of Prussia), and Queen Juliana of the Netherlands. Heinrich XIII’s paternal grandparents were Prince Heinrich XXXIV Reuss of Köstritz and Princess Sophie Renate Reuss of Köstritz. His maternal grandparents were Duke Adolf Friedrich of Mecklenburg-Schwerin and Princess Viktoria Feodora Reuss of Gera.

To many reading this article, the names Viktoria and Feodora may be familiar. Heinrich XIII’s maternal grandmother Viktoria Feodora Reuss of Gera was the eldest child of Heinrich XXVII, 5th and the last reigning Prince (Fürst) Reuss of Gera (reigned 1913-1918) and Princess Elise of Hohenlohe-Langenburg (full name: Elise Victoria Feodora Sophie Adelheid), a granddaughter of Princess Feodora of Leiningen, the half-sister of Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom. Therefore, Heinrich XIII is a descendant of Queen Victoria’s mother Victoria of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld and her first husband Emich Carl, 2nd Prince of Leiningen.

Heinrich XLV, Hereditary Prince Reuss of Gera, the son of Heinrich XXVII, 5th and the last reigning (Fürst) Prince Reuss of Gera, was the Head of the House of Reuss from 1927 until his arrest by the Soviet military and subsequent disappearance in 1945. As Heinrich XLV was unmarried and had no heirs, he named Heinrich IV, Prince Reuss of Köstritz to succeed him as the Head of the House of Reuss. However, Heinrich XLV wanted his money to stay within his family. Only two of his siblings, both sisters, survived to adulthood and only one sister had a child, Princess Viktoria Feodora Reuss of Gera who died in childbirth a day after giving birth to her only child, a daughter Woizlawa Feodora of Mecklenburg-Schwerin, Heinrich XIII’s mother. Therefore, Heinrich XLV, Hereditary Prince Reuss of Gera adopted Woizlawa Feodora’s husband and Heinrich XIII’s father Prince Heinrich I Reuss of Köstritz for inheritance reasons only, and his private assets remained in the family.

Heinrich XIII has one sister and four brothers:

  • Feodora Princess Reuss (born 1942), married Gilbert Count of Stolberg-Wernigerode, had two sons
  • Heinrich VIII Prince Reuss (born 1944), married Dorit Baroness von Ruffin, had two sons
  • Heinrich IX Prince Reuss (born 1947), Amelie Besserer von Thalfingen
  • Heinrich X Prince Reuss (born 1948), married (1) Elisabeth Åkerhielm af Margrethelund, had one daughter and one son, divorced (2) Antonia von Arnim, no children
  • Heinrich XV Prince Reuss (born 1956), married Anja Charlotte Nooth-Cooper, had children

Heinrich XIII operated a company in Frankfurt, Germany called Büro Prinz Reuss which dealt in real estate and the production of sparkling wine. In 1989, Heinrich XIII married Iranian-born Susan Doukht Jalali (born 1956), who uses the name Princess Susan Reuss. She practices naturopathy, a form of alternative medicine, and served as Germany’s representative to UNESCO in support of its program Education for Children in Need. The couple, now divorced, had two children:

  • Elena Princess Reuss (born 1989), has Down’s Syndrome
  • Heinrich XXVIII Prince Reuss (born 1991)

Heinrich XIII left the House of Reuss Family Association in 2008. His great-grandfather Heinrich XXVII, was the 5th and last reigning Prince (Fürst) Reuss of Gera. However, this descent is through his mother. In his male line, Heinrich XIII would be 17th in the line of succession as Head of the House of Reuss as of the writing of this article in December 2022.

German Empire (1871 – 1918)

The Constituent States of the German Empire; Credit – Wikipedia

The Principality of Reuss-Gera and the Principality of Reuss-Greiz were two of the 26 constituent states of the German Empire. The German Empire existed from the unification of Germany in 1871 until the abdication of Wilhelm II, German Emperor (also King Wilhelm II of Prussia) in 1918 after World War I when all the constituent monarchies in the German Empire were abolished. The German Empire consisted of 26 states, most of them ruled by royal families. They included four kingdoms, six grand duchies, five duchies, seven principalities, three free Hanseatic cities, and one imperial territory.  The King of Prussia was also the German Emperor (Kaiser) and the capital of the German Empire was Berlin. The member states retained their own governments but lost some aspects of sovereignty. For example, both postage stamps and currency were issued for the German Empire as a whole.

House of Reuss-Greiz (Older Line)

The House of Reuss began its rule circa 1010. Heinrich XI, Count Reuss of Greiz, Lower-Greiz (Untergreiz) and Upper-Greiz (Obergreiz) was elevated to princely status in 1778 and then used the title of (Fürst) Prince Reuss, Older Line, or (Fürst) Prince Reuss of Greiz. Heinrich XXIV, the 6th and last (Fürst) Prince Reuss of Greiz, succeeded his father in 1902 but was unable to rule because of his physical and mental disabilities as a result of an accident in his childhood. Instead, a Regent ruled the Principality of Reuss-Greiz: Heinrich XIV, 4th (Fürst) Prince Reuss of Gera from 1901 – 1913, and then his son Heinrich XXVII, 5th and last (Fürst) Prince Reuss of Gera from 1913 – 1918.

On November 11, 1918, the Regent of the Principality of Reuss-Greiz, Heinrich XXVII, Prince Reuss of Gera (Younger Line) abdicated in the name of the disabled Heinrich XXIV, 6th (Fürst) Prince Reuss of Greiz. After the abdication, Heinrich XXIV, the last (Fürst) Prince Reuss of Greiz retained the right of residence of the Lower Castle in Greiz and lived there until his death in 1927.

House of Reuss-Gera (Younger Line)

Heinrich XLII became Count of Reuss-Schleiz in 1784, and then also became Count of Reuss-Gera in 1802. In 1806, the united county was raised to the Principality of Reuss-Gera or Reuss Younger Line, and Heinrich XLII became the 1st (Fürst) Prince of Reuss-Gera. Between 1824 and 1848, the senior line of Gera gradually combined the territory of the surviving cadet branches of Lobenstein, Köstritz, and Ebersdorf.

On November 11, 1918, Heinrich XXVII, 5th (Fürst) Prince Reuss of Gera abdicated his position as Prince Reuss of Gera. The new government of Reuss-Gera made an agreement with Heinrich XXVII and granted him some castles and land. The territory encompassing the Principality of Reuss-Gera is now located within the German state of Thuringia.

In 1927, upon the death of the disabled Heinrich XXIV, 6th (Fürst) Prince Reuss of Greiz, the House of Reuss-Greiz became extinct and the claims to its titles passed to Heinrich XXVII, the 5th and the last reigning (Fürst) Prince Reuss of Gera. When he died in 1928, the claims to the titles of the House of Reuss-Greiz and the House of Reuss-Gera passed to his son Heinrich XLV, Hereditary Prince Reuss of Gera. However, Heinrich XLV was unmarried and childless and he named Heinrich IV, Prince Reuss of Köstritz his successor as the Head of the House of Reuss. The childless Heinrich XLV, Hereditary Prince Reuss of Gera, disappeared after he had been arrested in August 1945 by the Soviet military. He was legally declared dead in 1962 and the claims to the titles of the House of Reuss-Greiz and the House of Reuss-Gera officially went to Heinrich IV, Prince Reuss of Köstritz, Head of House of Reuss-Köstritz. Upon the death of Heinrich IV in 2012, his son Heinrich XIV, Prince Reuss of Köstritz became Head of the House of Reuss.

Why was Heinrich XIII Prince Reuss arrested?

Jagdschloss Waidmannsheil, Heinrich XIII’s ancestral hunting lodge where the plot was planned and weapons were stored

Heinrich XIII Prince Reuss and 24 others were accused of plotting to overthrow the German government, conspiring to execute Olaf Scholz, the Chancellor of Germany, and conspiring to replace the Federal Republic of Germany with an authoritarian state modeled on pre-1918 Germany with Heinrich XIII Prince Reuss as the monarch. Those arrested belonged to the right-wing terrorist group Patriotic Union. One of the other twenty-four people arrested was Vitalia B., a Russian citizen, and Heinrich XIII’s partner. She is suspected of having helped Heinrich XIII in contacting representatives of the Russian Federation.  However, there is no evidence that the Russian Federation would have cooperated with the plot.

The Patriotic Union was divided into a political arm, the “Council” under Heinrich XIII Prince Reuss, and a military arm led by former German Army Lieutenant Colonel Rüdiger von Pescatore. Members of the Patriotic Union believe that the Federal Republic of Germany is not a sovereign country but a corporation set up by the Allies after World War II. The plot was planned and weapons were stored at Jagdschloss Waidmannsheil, Heinrich XIII’s ancestral hunting lodge in the spa town of Bad Lobenstein in the German state of Thuringia.

Heinrich XIV Prince Reuss, Head of the House of Reuss called Heinrich XIII Prince Reuss a “confused old man” and “a marginal figure” and noted that their last common ancestor lived in the early 19th century. He said, “We are 60 family members, 30 of them Heinrich with different numbers. It’s very confusing.” Heinrich XIV said the behavior of Heinrich XIII was a “catastrophe” for the Reuss family, who had been tolerant rulers and were now associated with “terrorists and reactionaries”. Heinrich XIV Prince Reuss, Head of the House of Reuss has had no personal contact with Heinrich XIV Prince Reuss since 2012.

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

Works Cited

  • 2022 German coup d’état plot (2022) Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation. Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2022_German_coup_d%27%C3%A9tat_plot (Accessed: December 19, 2022).
  • Duchess Woizlawa Feodora of Mecklenburg (2022) Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation. Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Duchess_Woizlawa_Feodora_of_Mecklenburg (Accessed: December 19, 2022).
  • Heinrich XIII. Prinz Reuß (2022) Wikipedia (German). Wikimedia Foundation. Available at: https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heinrich_XIII._Prinz_Reu%C3%9F (Accessed: December 19, 2022).
  • Heinrich XIII Reuss (2022) Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation. Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heinrich_Reuss (Accessed: December 19, 2022).
  • Mdr.de (2022) Nach Razzia: Haus Reuß schockiert über vorgänge um Heinrich XIII., Nach Razzia: Haus Reuß schockiert über Vorgänge um Heinrich XIII. | MDR.DE. MDR. Available at: https://www.mdr.de/nachrichten/thueringen/ost-thueringen/saale-orla/heinrich-xiv-fuerst-reuss-interview-razzia-100.html (Accessed: December 19, 2022).
  • Principality of Reuss-Gera Index (2020) Unofficial Royalty. Available at: https://www.unofficialroyalty.com/current-monarchies-article-index/german-royals-index/principality-of-reuss-gera-index/ (Accessed: December 19, 2022).
  • Principality of Reuss-Greiz Index (2020) Unofficial Royalty. Available at: https://www.unofficialroyalty.com/former-monarchies/german-royals/principality-of-reuss-greiz-index/ (Accessed: December 19, 2022).
  • Solomon, E. and Bennhold, K. (2022) The prince, the plot and a long-lost Reich, The New York Times. The New York Times. Available at: https://www.nytimes.com/2022/12/11/world/europe/germany-prince-heinrich-xiii.html (Accessed: December 19, 2022).

Heinrich XIV, Prince Reuss of Köstritz

by Susan Flantzer
© Unofficial Royalty 2022

Heinrich XIV, Prince Reuss of Köstritz and his wife at the 2011 of Otto von Habsburg; Credit – Wikipedia

IMPORTANT: All males of the House of Reuss were named Heinrich plus a number. In the Reuss-Greiz (Older Line), the numbering covered all male children and the numbers increased until 100 was reached and then started again at 1. In the Reuss-Gera (Younger Line), the system was similar but the numbers increased until the end of the century before starting again at 1. Reuss-Köstritz was a cadet branch of the House of Reuss-Gera. This tradition was seen as a way of honoring Holy Roman Emperor Heinrich VI (reigned 1191 – 1197) who had benefitted the family. Therefore, the Roman numerals seen after names are NOT regnal numbers.

In August 1919, Germany’s first democratic constitution officially abolished royalty and nobility, and any privileges previously held.  However, former hereditary titles were and still are permitted as part of the surname. These surnames can then be inherited by a person’s children. Therefore, “Prince Reuss” is used as a surname.

Fürst/Prince was used for a reigning sovereign ruler or monarch. Non-reigning descendants of a Fürst are referred to in German as Prinz (prince) or Prinzessin (princess).

***********

Born on July 14, 1955, in Vienna, Austria, Heinrich XIV, Prince Reuss of Köstritz has been Head of the House of Reuss since 2012. He is the only son and the eldest of the four children of Heinrich IV, Prince Reuss of Köstritz (1919 – 2012) and Marie Luise, Princess of Salm-Horstmar (1918 – 2015).

Henirich XIV has three younger sisters:

  • Anna Princess Reuss of Köstritz (born 1957), married Phillip Baron von Hohenbuhl Ansitz Gleifheim
  • Karoline Princess Reuss of Köstritz (born 1959), married Carl Philipp Baron von Hohenbuhel gennant Heufler zu Rasen
  • Esperance Princess Reuss of Köstritz (born 1962), married Johannes Ferdinand Count of Kinsky von Wchinitz und Tettau

On April 30, 1995, in Regensburg, Germany, Heinrich IV married Johanna Baroness Raitz von Frentz (born 1971), daughter of Jan Baron Raitz von Frentz and Kunigunde Baroness von Hoenning O’Carroll. The couple had two sons and two daughters:

  • Heinrich XXIX Hereditary Prince Reuss (born 1997)
  • Tatiana Princess Reuss (born 2001)
  • Luise Princess Reuss (born 2005)
  • Heinrich V Prince Reuss (born 2012)

Ernstbrunn Palace in Austria which the family still owns; Credit – Von Henry Kellner – Eigenes Werk, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=42911625

Heinrich IV and his family live in the Reuss-Köstritz family home, Ernstbrunn Palace (link in German) in Ernstbrunn, Austria. They have another home in Bad Köstritz in the German state of Thuringia, but previously a part of the Principality of Reuss-Gera.

Heinrich XIV, Prince Reuss of Köstritz became Head of the House of Reuss upon the death of his 92-year-old father Heinrich IV, Prince Reuss of Köstritz on June 20, 2012. Originally, there were two Reuss principalities, both constituent states of the German Empire, the Principality of Reuss-Greiz and the Principality of Reuss-Gera. Both ceased to be monarchies in 1918, at the end of World War I. In 1927, upon the death of Heinrich XXIV, the 6th and last reigning Prince Reuss of Greiz, the House of Reuss-Greiz became extinct and the claims to its titles passed to Heinrich XXVII, the 5th and the last reigning Prince Reuss of Gera. When Heinrich XXVII died in 1928, the claims to the titles of the House of Reuss-Greiz and the House of Reuss-Gera passed to his son Heinrich XLV, Hereditary Prince Reuss of Gera.

In August 1945, the childless Heinrich XLV, Hereditary Prince Reuss of Gera was arrested by the Soviet military and has been missing ever since. He was likely imprisoned and killed at NKVD special camp Nr. 2, the former German concentration camp Buchenwald, which had been transformed into one of the post–World War II internment camps in the Soviet-occupied parts of Germany. The childless Heinrich XLV, Hereditary Prince Reuss of Gera had named Heinrich IV, Prince Reuss of Köstritz his successor as the Head of the House of Reuss. Heinrich IV unofficially became Head of the House of Reuss in 1945 when Heinrich XLV went missing. In 1962, when Heinrich XLV, Hereditary Prince Reuss of Gera was legally declared dead, the claims to the titles of the House of Reuss-Greiz and the House of Reuss-Gera went to Heinrich XIV’s father Heinrich IV, Prince Reuss of Köstritz who officially became Head of House of Reuss.

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

Works Cited

  • Heinrich lV Reuß zu Köstritz, Fürst (2022) Geni. Available at: https://www.geni.com/people/Heinrich-lV-Reu%C3%9F-zu-K%C3%B6stritz-F%C3%BCrst-G1/6000000014594770830 (Accessed: December 16, 2022).
  • Heinrich XIV Prinz Reuss zu Köstrit (2004) The Peerage. Available at: http://www.thepeerage.com/p11136.htm (Accessed: December 16, 2022).
  • Obituary – Fürst Heinrich IV Reuß (1919-2012) (2012) Eurohistory. Available at: http://erhj.blogspot.com/2012/07/furst-heinrich-iv-reu-1919-2012.html (Accessed: December 16, 2022)

Heinrich IV, Prince Reuss of Köstritz

by Susan Flantzer
© Unofficial Royalty 2022

Heinrich IV in 2011 at the funeral of Otto von Habsburg in Vienna, Austria Credit – By János Korom Dr. from Wien, Austria – Kondukt in Wien (305), CC BY-SA 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=24604547

IMPORTANT: All males of the House of Reuss were named Heinrich plus a number. In the Reuss-Greiz (Older Line), the numbering covered all male children and the numbers increased until 100 was reached and then started again at 1. In the Reuss-Gera (Younger Line), the system was similar but the numbers increased until the end of the century before starting again at 1. Reuss-Köstritz was a cadet branch of the House of Reuss-Gera. This tradition was seen as a way of honoring Holy Roman Emperor Heinrich VI (reigned 1191 – 1197) who had benefitted the family. Therefore, the Roman numerals seen after names are NOT regnal numbers.

In August 1919, Germany’s first democratic constitution officially abolished royalty and nobility, and any privileges previously held.  However, former hereditary titles were and still are permitted as part of the surname. These surnames can then be inherited by a person’s children. Therefore, “Prince Reuss” is used as a surname.

Fürst/Prince was used for a reigning sovereign ruler or monarch. Non-reigning descendants of a Fürst are referred to in German as Prinz (prince) or Prinzessin (princess).

***********

Born at Ernstbrunn Palace (link in German) in Ernstbrunn, Austria on October 26, 1919, Heinrich IV, Prince Reuss of Köstritz was unofficially Head of the House of Reuss after 1945, and then officially in 1962 until his death in 2012. He was the eldest of the six children and the eldest of the three sons of Prince Heinrich XXXIX Reuss of Köstritz (link in German) and Countess Antonia of Castell-Castell.

Heinrich IV had five younger siblings:

  • Heinrich VI, Prince Reuss of Köstritz (1922 – 1942), unmarried, killed in action in the Siege of Leningrad during World War II
  • Amadea Caroline, Princess Reuss of Köstritz (1923 – 2015), married Dr. Reinhold Sachs, had ? children
  • Gertrud Renata, Princess Reuss of Köstritz (1924 – 2011), married Baron Henri-Charles-Alexandre Grand d’Esnon, had five children
  • Heinrich VII, Prince Reuss of Köstritz (1927 – 2002), married Baroness Brigitte van Tuyll van Serooskerken, had three children
  • Elisabeth-Donata, Princess Reuss of Köstritz (1932 – 2022), married Peter Coleman, Bishop of Crediton (UK), had four children

During World War II, Heinrich served as a 1st Lieutenant in the 24th Panzer Division (tanks) of the German Army. He was a Commander of the Order of Saint John (German: Johanniterorden), the German Protestant branch of the Knights Hospitaller, the oldest surviving chivalric order.

Originally, there were two Reuss principalities, both constituent states of the German Empire, the Principality of Reuss-Greiz and the Principality of Reuss-Gera. Both ceased to be monarchies in 1918, at the end of World War I. In 1927, upon the death of Heinrich XXIV, the 6th and last reigning Prince Reuss of Greiz, the House of Reuss-Greiz became extinct and the claims to its titles passed to Heinrich XXVII, the 5th and the last reigning Prince Reuss of Gera. When Heinrich XXVII died in 1928, the claims to the titles of the House of Reuss-Greiz and the House of Reuss-Gera passed to his son Heinrich XLV, Hereditary Prince Reuss of Gera.

In August 1945, the childless Heinrich XLV, Hereditary Prince Reuss of Gera was arrested by the Soviet military and has been missing ever since. He was likely imprisoned and killed at NKVD special camp Nr. 2, the former German concentration camp Buchenwald, which had been transformed into one of the post–World War II internment camps in the Soviet-occupied parts of Germany. The childless Heinrich XLV, Hereditary Prince Reuss of Gera had named Heinrich IV, Prince Reuss of Köstritz his successor as the Head of the House of Reuss. Heinrich IV unofficially became Head of the House of Reuss in 1945 when Heinrich XLV went missing. In 1962, when Heinrich XLV, Hereditary Prince Reuss of Gera was legally declared dead, the claims to the titles of the House of Reuss-Greiz and the House of Reuss-Gera went to Heinrich IV, Prince Reuss of Köstritz who officially became Head of House of Reuss.

Ernstbrunn Palace in Austria which the family still owns; Credit – Von Henry Kellner – Eigenes Werk, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=42911625

After World War II, Heinrich IV’s family estates in the state of Thuringia in Germany were now in Communist-controlled East Germany and the estates were confiscated. However, Ernstbrunn Palace, the summer estate in Austria remained under family control. After the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989 and the reunification of Germany, the family regained some of the confiscated lands in Thuringia. In 1990, the family began a forestry operation on their regained land.

On June 10, 1954, Heinrich IV married Marie Luise, Princess of Salm-Horstmar (1918 – 2015). The couple had one son and three daughters:

  • Heinrich XIV, Prince Reuss of Köstritz (born 1955), current Head of the House of Reuss, married Johanna Raitz, Baroness von Frentz, had two sons and two daughters
  • Anna, Princess Reuss of Köstritz (born 1957), married Phillip Baron von Hohenbuhl Ansitz Gleifheim
  • Karoline, Princess Reuss of Köstritz (born 1959), married Carl Philipp, Baron von Hohenbuhel gennant Heufler zu Rasen
  • Esperance, Princess Reuss of Köstritz (born 1962), married Johannes Ferdinand Count of Kinsky von Wchinitz und Tettau

On June 20, 2012, Heinrich IV, Prince Reuss of Köstritz died at Ernstbrunn Palace in Ernstbrunn, Austria at the age of 92, and was buried in the park of Ernstbrunn Palace. His only son Heinrich XIV, Prince Reuss of Köstritz became Head of the House of Reuss.

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

Works Cited

  • Heinrich IV, Prince Reuss of Köstritz (2022) Wikipedia. Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heinrich_IV,_Prince_Reuss_of_K%C3%B6stritz (Accessed: December 16, 2022).
  • Heinrich lV Reuß zu Köstritz, Fürst (2022) Geni. Available at: https://www.geni.com/people/Heinrich-lV-Reu%C3%9F-zu-K%C3%B6stritz-F%C3%BCrst-G1/6000000014594770830 (Accessed: December 16, 2022).
  • Obituary – Fürst Heinrich IV Reuß (1919-2012) (2012) Eurohistory. Available at: http://erhj.blogspot.com/2012/07/furst-heinrich-iv-reu-1919-2012.html (Accessed: December 16, 2022)

Maria Anna of Neuburg, Queen of Spain

by Susan Flantzer
© Unofficial Royalty 2022

Maria Anna of Neuburg, Queen of Spain; Credit – Wikipedia

Maria Anna of Neuburg, the second wife of Carlos II, King of Spain was born on October 28, 1667, at Schloss Benrath in Düsseldorf, Duchy of Berg, now in the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia. She was the twelfth of the seventeen children and the fifth of the eight daughters of Philipp Wilhelm, Elector of the Palatinate, Count Palatine of Neuburg, Duke of Jülich and Berg and his second wife Elisabeth Amalie of Hesse-Darmstadt. Maria Sophie’s paternal grandparents were Wolfgang Wilhelm, Count Palatine of Neuburg, Duke of Jülich and Berg and Magdalene of Bavaria. Her maternal grandparents were Georg II, Landgrave of Hesse-Darmstadt and Sophia Eleonore of Saxony.

Maria Anna’s mother had 23 pregnancies and 17 live births and the family gained the reputation as a fertile family. Maria Anna had sixteen siblings:

Neuburg Castle; Credit – By User: Bbb at wikivoyage shared, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=22660132

Maria Anna was raised with her many siblings at Neuburg Castle, the seat of the Electors of the Palatinate in Neuburg an der Donau in Palatinate-Neuburg, now in Bavaria, Germany. With her sisters, Maria Anna received a comprehensive education that included languages, science, and music, supervised by their governess Frau von Klau. Jesuit priests instructed the sisters in religion.

Maria Anna’s husband Carlos II, King of Spain; Credit – Wikipedia

In 1679, 18-year-old Carlos II, King of Spain had married 17-year-old Marie Louise of Orléans, the eldest niece of King Louis XIV of France and daughter of Philippe I, Duke of Orléans and his first wife Henrietta of England. Ten years later, in 1689, the marriage was childless and Marie Louise of Orléans died, probably from appendicitis. The lack of an heir to the Spanish throne and concerns over King Carlos II’s health made a second marriage an urgent matter. Carlos’ mother Mariana of Austria selected twenty-two-year-old Maria Anna of Neuburg based on the family’s history of fertility. Maria Anna’s eldest sister Eleonor Magdalene had married Leopold I, Holy Roman Emperor, strengthening her ties to the Austrian branch of the House of Habsburg.

The House of Habsburg, which ruled over Austria, Spain, and their many territories, was notorious for its inbreeding. The Habsburgs had built their empire by marriage and they wanted to keep the land they amassed all in the family, so they began to intermarry more and more frequently among themselves. Seven of King Carlos II of Spain’s eight great-grandparents were descended from Juana I, Queen of Castile and León and Aragon and her husband Philip of Habsburg, Duke of Burgundy. While a person in the fifth generation normally has thirty-two different ancestors, Carlos II had only ten different ancestors in the fifth generation.

King Carlos II of Spain had a severe type of mandibular prognathism (Habsburg jaw) which can be seen in this painting; Credit – Wikipedia

Carlos was a weak, sick child from birth. He did not learn to talk until he was four years old and could not walk until he was eight years old. Like many members of the Habsburg family, Carlos had the Habsburg jaw (mandibular prognathism), a disfiguring genetic disorder in which the lower jaw outgrows the upper jaw. However, Carlos’ very pronounced Habsburg jaw was so severe that he swallowed his food without thoroughly chewing. Carlos was educated by the Jesuit priests, however, because of his developmental disability, both physically and mentally, he only received a basic education. Carlos’ conditions showed clear signs of the long-time inbreeding of the House of Habsburg.

Maria Anna in 1689, the year of her marriage; Credit – Wikipedia

The proxy wedding was held on August 28, 1689, in Ingolstadt, Duchy of Bavaria, now in the German state of Bavaria. Among the many distinguished guests at the ceremony were Maria Anna’s brother-in-law Leopold I and her sister Eleonor Magdalene, the Holy Roman Emperor and Empress. Maria Anna arrived in Spain in the spring of 1690. 28-year-old King Carlos II of Spain and 22-year-old Maria Anna of Neuberg were married in person on May 14, 1690, in the Church of the Convent of San Diego, within the complex of the Royal Palace of Valladolid in Spain. During the celebration after the wedding, Carlos II, who was still mourning his first wife, did not pay attention to Maria Anna. It seemed that he was present only to eat cakes. On their wedding night, Carlos and Maria Anna slept in separate quarters, and this practice continued throughout their marriage. Likely, the marriage was never consummated.

The grand entrance of Maria Anna of Neuburg, Queen of Spain into Madrid following her marriage; Credit – Wikipedia

During her marriage, under pressure to provide an heir, Maria Anna faked several pregnancies and encouraged Carlos to undergo treatments to increase his fertility, making it clear the failure to produce an heir was not her fault. Maria Anna attempted to influence the decision of the successor to the Spanish throne. In succession disputes, Maria Anna always supported the claims of her nephew Archduke Karl of Austria, the future Karl VI, Holy Roman Emperor, the son of her older sister, Eleonor Magdalene and Leopold I, Holy Roman Emperor. As the years passed, it became increasingly clear that King Carlos II would never have an heir. It seemed that Carlos was almost certainly infertile and his autopsy did reveal he had only one atrophied testicle.

Felipe V, King of France, grandson of King Louis XIV of France and the successor of the childless King Carlos II of Spain, 1701; Credit – Wikipedia

In September 1700, Carlos became ill, and by September 28, 1700, he was no longer able to eat. Louis, Le Grand Dauphin, the only surviving child of King Louis XIV of France and Maria Teresa, Infanta of Spain, Carlos’ half-sister, had the strongest genealogical claim to the throne of Spain. However, neither Louis, Le Grand Dauphin nor his elder son, Louis, Duke of Burgundy, could be displaced from their place in the succession to the French throne. Therefore, in his will, Carlos II, King of Spain named 16-year-old Philippe of France, Duke of Anjou, the second son of Louis, Le Grand Dauphin, and the grandson of Carlos’ half-sister Maria Teresa of Austria, Infanta of Spain and her husband King Louis XIV of France, as his successor. Carlos II, King of Spain died on November 1, 1700, five days before his thirty-ninth birthday, and was succeeded by his half-sister’s grandson Philippe of France, Duke of Anjou who reigned as Felipe V, King of Spain, the first monarch of the House of Bourbon which still reigns in the Kingdom of Spain today.

Although Philippe of France, Duke of Anjou succeeded to the Spanish throne as Felipe V, King of Spain, the political struggle over the Spanish throne between the French faction, which supported Felipe V, and the Austrian faction, which supported Maria Anna’s nephew Archduke Karl of Austria, the future Karl VI, Holy Roman Emperor, resulted in the 1701 – 1714 War of the Spanish Succession that involved the Great Powers of Europe. Ultimately, the War of the Spanish Succession resulted in the recognition of Felipe V as King of Spain, and the renouncing of the rights of Felipe V, formerly Philippe of France, Duke of Anjou, and his descendants to inherit the French throne.

Miniature portrait of Maria Anna of Neuburg, Queen of Spain as a widow, 1600; Credit – Wikipedia

In his will, King Carlos II had stipulated that Maria Anna be given a good annual pension and that she be treated with respect by his successors. However, King Felipe V ordered Maria Anna to leave Madrid before he entered the capital. Maria Anna had no choice but to reside in the Alcazar of Toledo in Toledo, Spain. Having limited funds, Maria Anna wrote to her relatives asking for financial help. In 1701, her brother Johann Wilhelm, Elector of the Palatinate wrote to their sister Eleonor Magdalene, Holy Roman Empress: “About the Queen of Spain, I sincerely sympathize with this unfortunate lady, but, in truth, everything that she had to face was her own fault, as a result of her terrible behavior. And I think what she’s asking Your Majesty is more unrealistic than feasible. But, if you could help this poor woman and console her in such a difficult situation, I would consider this a personal service to me .”

Maria Anna’s 1704 letter to her mother reveals her desperate situation: “I am abandoned by everyone. They do not pay me a full pension, they do not even pay a third…Therefore, I do not always have servants – I simply have nothing to pay them. Sometimes I don’t even have enough food…I became pathetic because I can’t trust anyone, but at the same time, I’m afraid that everyone will leave me.” In 1706, Maria Anna’s situation improved when forces of the Holy Roman Empire led by her nephew Archduke Karl of Austria occupied Toledo. Maria Anna was overjoyed and warmly welcomed her nephew and his army. Because of this, two years later, King Felipe V exiled Maria Anna from Spain. She settled in Bayonne, France where she lived from 1708 – 1739.

Palacio del Infantado in Guadalajara, Spain, Maria Anna’s last home, where she died; Credit – By tiger rus, CC BY 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=58620784

In 1739, elderly and in ill health, Maria Anna was allowed to return to Spain. This was probably due to the influence of her niece Elisabeth Farnese, the daughter of Maria Anna’s sister Dorothea Sophie of Neuburg and Francesco Farnese, Duke of Parma, who had become the second wife of King Felipe V of Spain in 1714. Because of Felipe V’s mental condition, Elisabeth Farnese was the de facto ruler of Spain and later the Regent of Spain. Maria Anna was given a home at the Palacio del Infantado in Guadalajara, Spain, where she died on July 16, 1740, at the age of 72. She was interred in Chapel IX of the Pantheon of the Infantes at the Royal Basilica of San Lorenzo de El Escorial in San Lorenzo de El Escorial, Spain. The Pantheon of the Infantes is the burial place for Infantes and Infantas (corresponding to Prince and Princess) of Spain and for Queen Consorts of Spain who were not mothers of Kings of Spain.

Maria Anna’s tomb is the first tomb on the right; Credit – By José Luis Filpo Cabana – Own work, CC BY 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=26540368

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

Works Cited

  • Flantzer, Susan. (2022) Carlos II, King of Spain, Unofficial Royalty. Available at: https://www.unofficialroyalty.com/carlos-ii-king-of-spain/ (Accessed: October 24, 2022).
  • Maria Anna of Neuburg (2022) Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation. Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maria_Anna_of_Neuburg (Accessed: October 24, 2022).
  • Philip William, Elector Palatine (2022) Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation. Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Philip_William,_Elector_Palatine (Accessed: October 24, 2022).
  • Marie-Anne de Neubourg (2022) Wikipedia (French). Wikimedia Foundation. Available at: https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marie-Anne_de_Neubourg (Accessed: October 24, 2022).
  • Maria Anna von der Pfalz (1667–1740) (2022) Wikipedia (German). Wikimedia Foundation. Available at: https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maria_Anna_von_der_Pfalz_(1667%E2%80%931740) (Accessed: October 24, 2022).
  • Мария Анна пфальц-нейбургская (2022) Wikipedia (Russian). Wikimedia Foundation. Available at: https://ru.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D0%9C%D0%B0%D1%80%D0%B8%D1%8F_%D0%90%D0%BD%D0%BD%D0%B0_%D0%9F%D1%84%D0%B0%D0%BB%D1%8C%D1%86-%D0%9D%D0%B5%D0%B9%D0%B1%D1%83%D1%80%D0%B3%D1%81%D0%BA%D0%B0%D1%8F (Accessed: October 24, 2022).
  • Mariana de Neoburgo (2022) Wikipedia (Spanish). Wikimedia Foundation. Available at: https://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mariana_de_Neoburgo (Accessed: October 24, 2022).
  • Wheatcroft, Andrew (1995). The Habsburgs. London: Viking.

Wedding of Nicholas II, Emperor of All Russia and Alix of Hesse and by Rhine

by Susan Flantzer
© Unofficial Royalty 2022

Nicholas and Alexandra’s Feodorovna engagement photo; Credit – Wikipedia

Nicholas II, Emperor of All Russia and Princess Alix of Hesse and by Rhine were married on November 26, 1894, at the Grand Church of the Winter Palace in St. Petersburg, Russia.

*********************

Nicholas’ Early Life

Nicholas (standing behind his father) with his parents and siblings

Nicholas was the eldest of the four sons and the eldest of the six children of Alexander III, Emperor of All Russia and Empress Maria Feodorovna (born Princess Dagmar of Denmark). He was born May 18, 1868, at the Alexander Palace at Tsarskoye Selo, Russia. Nicholas’s brother Alexander, who was one year younger, died at the age of ten months from meningitis, and so Nicholas was raised with his brother George who was three years younger in a relatively simple manner considering their status. Nicholas and George slept in cots, woke up at 6:00 AM, took cold baths, and ate simple, plain meals. Their rooms were furnished with simple furniture. Both brothers were fluent in Russian, English, French, German, and Danish. The boys enjoyed shooting and fly fishing with their English tutor.

On March 13, 1881, Nicholas’ grandfather Alexander II, Emperor of All Russia was assassinated in St. Petersburg, a victim of a bombing by the underground organization, Narodnaya Volya (People’s Will), and Nicholas’ father succeeded to the Russian throne as Alexander III, Emperor of All Russia. 13-year-old Nicholas became the Tsesarevich of Russia, the heir to the throne.

*********************

Alix’s Early Life

Alix (in the middle, being hugged by her mother) with her parents and siblings, 1876; Credit – Wikipedia

Princess Alix of Hesse and by Rhine was the sixth of the seven children and the fourth of the five daughters of Ludwig IV, Grand Duke of Hesse and by Rhine and Princess Alice of the United Kingdom, daughter of Queen Victoria. Alix was born on June 6, 1872, at the Neues Palais in Darmstadt, Grand Duchy of Hesse and by Rhine, now in Hesse, Germany,

Nicknamed Sunny, she was a happy and beautiful child. The family lived a rather simple life, as they were not very wealthy by royal standards. In 1877, Alix’s father became the reigning Grand Duke, but the children’s lives remained mostly unchanged. They spent time with their grandmother Queen Victoria each year, relishing their visits to ‘Grandmama’ and looking forward to the next one. This relationship would become even closer in the coming years.

Tragedy struck the family in 1873, a week before Alix’s first birthday. Alix’s two-and-a-half-year-old brother Friedrich, known as 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 were playing in their mother’s bedroom. 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. As it turned out, Alix and her sister Irene were hemophilia carriers.

Tragedy struck again in 1878, when Alix was six-and-a-half years old. In November 1878, the family began to fall ill with diphtheria. Alix’s mother Alice quickly slipped into her role as caregiver, nursing her husband and children back to health. Sadly, her youngest child, four-year-old May, 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, who was quite devoted to the young May, Alice 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 the death of her father Prince Albert, Princess Alice, Grand Duchess of Hesse and by Rhine died at the age of 35. Queen Victoria stepped in to serve as a surrogate mother to the children, managing nearly every detail of their lives.

On March 13, 1892, when Alix was nineteen years old, her father Ludwig IV, Grand Duke of Hesse and by Rhine died from a heart attack at the age of 54. Alix deeply felt the loss of her father because he had been her only parent since she was six years old.

**********************

The Engagement


Queen Victoria, surrounded by her extended family, gathered for the wedding of Alix’s brother Ernst Ludwig, Grand Duke of Hesse and by Rhine to his first cousin Princess Victoria Melita of Edinburgh and Saxe-Coburg and Gotha in 1894. Nicholas and Alix are standing in the first row, second and third on the left. The photo was taken on April 21, 1894, the day after their engagement; Credit – Royal Collection Trust / © His Majesty King Charles III 2022

In June 1884, 16-year-old Nicholas attended the wedding of his uncle Grand Duke Sergei Alexandrovich to Princess Elisabeth of Hesse and by Rhine (Ella) in St. Petersburg, Russia. It was during the wedding festivities that he first met the bride’s younger sister, 12-year-old Princess Alix of Hesse and by Rhine. The two were second cousins through their mutual great-grandparents, Ludwig II, Grand Duke of Hesse and by Rhine and his wife Wilhelmine of Baden.

In 1889, 17-year-old Alix visited her sister Ella in St. Petersburg, Russia for six weeks. Alix and 21-year-old Nicholas saw each other at receptions, suppers, and balls. Nicholas took Alix ice skating and sledding. Before Alix returned home, Nicholas persuaded his parents to give her a special tea dance at the Alexander Palace at Tsarskoe Selo which later would become their favorite residence. Nicholas was smitten with Alix. In 1892, he wrote in his diary: “ My dream is someday to marry Alix H. I have loved her a long time and still deeper and stronger since 1889 when she spent six weeks in St. Petersburg. For a long time, I resisted my feeling that my dearest dream will come true.”

After the 1889 meeting, Alix thought Nicholas to be polite, charming, and gentle and liked his blue eyes. She noticed that Nicholas quietly persisted in pursuing her against his parents’ wishes. However, as a devout Lutheran, she was unwilling to give up her religion and convert to the Russian Orthodox religion, as would be required of her. Alix did have feelings for Nicholas and this caused her much turmoil, doubt, and self-examination.

A possible marriage between Alix and Nicholas was met with opposition from both Nicholas’ parents, and Alix’s grandmother Queen Victoria. Emperor Alexander III and Empress Maria Feodorovna felt that Alix was not suitable enough for their son, in part because of their dislike and distrust for all things German. They also hoped for a higher-profile bride and future Empress. As for Queen Victoria, she quite liked Nicholas personally. Ironically, considering what would happen to both Alix and her sister Ella in 1918, Queen Victoria also felt uneasy about another of her granddaughters marrying into the Russian Imperial Family. Instead, Queen Victoria pushed for a marriage between Alix and her first cousin Prince Albert Victor, known as Prince Eddy. Eddy was then second in line to the British throne after his father, the future King Edward VII. Eddy did propose and Alix rejected his proposal. Eddy died in 1892, resulting in his brother eventually succeeding to the throne as King George V.

In April 1894 in Coburg, Grand Duchy of Hesse and by Rhine, Nicholas represented his father at the wedding of Alix’s brother Ernst Ludwig, Grand Duke of Hesse and by Rhine and Princess Victoria Melita of Edinburgh and Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, Nicholas and Alix’s mutual first cousin. The wedding was attended by Queen Victoria, the grandmother of both the bride and groom, and much of her extended family. Before Nicholas left for Coburg, after much pestering, he received permission from his father to propose to Alix.

When Nicholas arrived in Coburg, Alix greeted him at the train station. That evening, they went to dinner and an operetta with the family. The next morning Nicholas proposed to Alix. Tearfully, Alix rejected his proposal because she objected to changing her religion. Later that day Queen Victoria arrived in Coburg. Apparently, she had a change of heart and now supported the marriage. Queen Victoria told her granddaughter that the Russian Orthodox religion was really not all that different from Lutheranism. The following day, Alix’s first cousin Wilhelm II, German Empire had a conversation with Alix, insisting that it was her duty to marry Nicholas, despite her religious objection. However, it was Alix’s sister Ella who made all the difference. Although Ella’s husband Grand Duke Sergei Alexandrovich was the son of an Emperor of All Russia, he was far removed from the throne and Ella was not required to convert to Russian Orthodoxy. However, she had converted voluntarily and she told Alix that a change of religion was not an enormous or unusual experience.

On April 19, 1894, during the wedding ceremony, a still saddened Nicholas closely watched Alix. Later in the day, he wrote in his diary, “How much I would have liked to have been able to look into the depths of Alix’s soul.” However, by the next day, things had completely changed. Alix had decided to marry Nicholas. The jubilant Nicholas wrote in his diary: “A marvelous, unforgettable day. Today is the day of my engagement to my darling, adorable Alix. After ten she came to Aunt Miechen [Grand Duchess Maria Pavlovna, the wife of Nicholas’ eldest uncle Grand Duke Vladimir Alexandrovich] and after a talk with her, we came to an understanding. O God, what a mountain has rolled from my shoulders…The whole day I have been walking in a dream, without fully realizing what was happening to me…I went straight with Alix to the Queen [Victoria]… The whole family was simply enraptured.”

Alix’s first cousin Princess Marie Louise of Schleswig-Holstein, who was the same age as Alix, wrote in her memoir: “I remember sitting in my room. I was quietly getting ready for a luncheon party when Alix stormed into my room, threw her arms around my neck, and said, ‘I’m going to marry Nicky!’”

The wedding was planned for the spring of 1895 but another tragedy caused those plans to be disrupted.

**********************

Disruption of the Wedding Plans

Alexander III’s death in Livadia by M.Zichy (Hermitage); Credit – Wikipedia

In 1894, Nicholas’s father Alexander III, Emperor of All Russia became ill with nephritis, a kidney disorder. Alexander was on his way to the Greek isle of Corfu where he hoped to recuperate at Mon Repos, the villa of his wife’s sister-in-law, Queen Olga of Greece. Born Grand Duchess Olga Konstantinovna of Russia, Queen Olga was also Alexander III’s first cousin. However, when Alexander reached Crimea, he was too ill to continue traveling and stayed at the Small Palace in Livadia, his home in Crimea. It was soon obvious that Alexander III would not survive and various relatives came to Crimea.

Alexander III instructed Nicholas to send for Alix, who arrived on October 22, 1894. Despite his ailing health, Alexander III insisted on greeting Alix in full uniform and gave her his blessing. Alexander III’s condition rapidly deteriorated and he died on November 1, 1894, at the age of 49, leaving the 26-year-old Nicholas as the new Emperor of All Russia. Since her engagement in April, Alix had been receiving instruction in the Russian Orthodox religion. The day after the death of Alexander III, Alix was received into the Russian Orthodox Church and was given the title and name Grand Duchess Alexandra Feodorovna of Russia. On November 18, 1894, after two weeks of Russian Orthodox ceremonies, and a procession from Crimea to St. Petersburg, via Moscow, Nicholas’s father was interred at the Cathedral of Peter and Paul in the Peter and Paul Fortress in St. Petersburg, Russia.

Nicholas and Alix’s wedding had been scheduled for the spring of 1895. Planning for the wedding had been ongoing since the April engagement and would have included a week of public celebrations and parades. However, Alexander III’s death necessitated a change in the wedding plans due to court mourning. Nicholas wanted to be married privately in Livadia before his father’s funeral and his mother agreed to this. However, his uncles, the brothers of his father, Grand Dukes Vladimir, Alexei, Sergei, and Paul argued that, as Nicholas was now the Emperor of All Russia, the wedding should be held in St. Petersburg with some pomp. With Nicholas unwilling to wait until the end of official mourning to marry, it was decided to hold the wedding on his mother’s birthday (November 26), which would allow for court mourning to be somewhat relaxed.

*********************

The Wedding Site

The Winter Palace in St. Petersburg, Russia; Credit – By Alex ‘Florstein’ Fedorov, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=49250446

The wedding site was the Grand Church of the Winter Palace on the Neva River in St. Petersburg, Russia. In the photo above of the Winter Palace, the golden cupola of the Grand Church can be seen on the left side of the photo. The Grand Church of the Winter Palace was a Russian Orthodox church that had cathedral status and was the site of most Romanov christenings, weddings, conversions of foreign princesses marrying into the family, and memorial services.

The Grand Church of the Winter Palace; Credit – By Januarius-zick – Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=42460200

I have visited the Winter Palace on the banks of the Neva River in St. Petersburg, Russia and it is truly awe-inspiring. It was the official residence of the Russian Emperors and Empresses from 1732 to 1917. Today, part of the palace houses the State Hermitage Museum, one of the world’s premier art museums. The Winter Palace’s monumental scale was intended to reflect the might and power of Imperial Russia and it is still a mighty and powerful building. It is said to contain 1,786 doors, 1,945 windows, 1,500 rooms, and 117 staircases.

**********************

The Wedding Guests

Many of the foreign royalty who had come to St. Petersburg for the funeral of Alexander III, Emperor of All Russia remained in Russia for the wedding.

Family of the Groom

  • Empress Dowager Maria Alexandrovna of Russia (born Dagmar of Denmark), mother of Nicholas II
  • Grand Duchess Xenia Alexandrovna of Russia, sister of Nicholas II, and Grand Duke Alexander Mikhailovich of Russia, brother-in-law and first cousin once removed of Nicholas II
  • Grand Duke Michael Alexandrovich of Russia, brother of Nicholas II
  • Grand Duchess Olga Alexandrovna of Russia, sister of Nicholas II
  • Grand Duke Vladimir Alexandrovich of Russia, paternal uncle and his wife Grand Duchess Marie Pavlovna of Russia (born Marie of Mecklenburg-Schwerin)
  • Grand Duke Kirill Vladimirovich of Russia, first cousin of Nicholas II
  • Grand Duke Boris Vladimirovich of Russia, first cousin of Nicholas II
  • Grand Duke Andrei Vladimirovich of Russia, first cousin of Nicholas II
  • Grand Duchess Elena Vladimirovna of Russia, first cousin of Nicholas II
  • Grand Duke Alexei Alexandrovich of Russia, paternal uncle of Nicholas II
  • Grand Duke Sergei Alexandrovich of Russia, paternal uncle of Nicholas II, and his wife Grand Duchess Elizabeth Feodorovna of Russia (born Elisabeth of Hesse and by Rhine), sister of Alexandra
  • Grand Duke Paul Alexandrovich of Russia, paternal uncle of Nicholas II
  • Grand Duchess Alexandra Iosifovna of Russia (born Alexandra of Saxe-Altenburg), paternal great aunt by marriage of Nicholas II
  • Grand Duke Konstantin Konstantinovich of Russia, first cousin once removed of Nicholas II, and his wife Grand Duchess Elizabeth Mavrikievna of Russia (born Elisabeth of Saxe-Altenburg)
  • Grand Duke Dmitri Konstantinovich of Russia, first cousin once removed of Nicholas II
  • Duchess Vera of Württemberg (born Grand Duchess Vera Konstantinovna of Russia), first cousin once removed of Nicholas II (representing the King Wilhelm II of Württemberg)
  • Grand Duke Michael Nikolaevich of Russia, paternal great-uncle of Nicholas II
  • Grand Duke Nicholas Mikhailovich of Russia, first cousin once removed of Nicholas II
  • Grand Duke George Mikhailovich of Russia, first cousin once removed of Nicholas II
  • Grand Duke Sergei Mikhailovich of Russia, first cousin once removed of Nicholas II
  • Christian IX, King of Denmark, maternal grandfather of Nicholas II
  • George I, King of the Hellenes, maternal uncle of Nicholas II, and his wife Queen Olga of the Hellenes (born Grand Duchess Olga Konstantinovna of Russia), first cousin once removed of Nicholas II
  • Prince George of Greece and Denmark, first cousin of Nicholas II
  • Prince Valdemar of Denmark, maternal uncle of Nicholas II

Family of the Bride

  • Ernst Ludwig, Grand Duke of Hesse and by Rhine, brother of Alexandra
  • Prince Heinrich of Prussia, brother-in-law and first cousin of Alexandra, and Princess Heinrich of Prussia (born Irene of Hesse and by Rhine), sister of Alexandra (representing
  • Wilhelm II, German Emperor, first cousin of Alexandra)
  • The Prince of Wales (the future King Edward VII of the United Kingdom), maternal uncle of Alexandra, and The Princess of Wales (born Alexandra of Denmark), maternal aunt of Nicholas II (representing Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom, maternal grandmother of Alexandra)
  • The Duke of York (the future King George V of the United Kingdom), first cousin of both Nicholas II and Alexandra
  • Prince Alfred of the United Kingdom, Duke of Edinburgh and Sovereign Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, maternal uncle of Alexandra, and The Duchess of Edinburg and Duchess of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha (born Grand Duchess Maria Alexandrovna of Russia), paternal aunt of Nicholas II
  • Crown Prince Ferdinand of Romania (the future King Ferdinand I of Romania), husband of Marie of Edinburgh, Crown Princess of Romania, first cousin of both Nicholas II and Alexandra (representing King Carol I of Romania)

Foreign Royalty

  • Duke Johann Albrecht of Mecklenburg, second cousin once removed of Nicholas II (representing Friedrich Franz III, Grand Duke of Mecklenburg-Schwerin)
  • Prince Wilhelm of Baden and Princess Maria Maximilianovna of Baden (born Maria Maximilianovna of Leuchtenberg), second cousin once removed of both Nicholas and Alexandra, and first cousin once removed of Nicholas II (representing Friedrich I, Grand Duke of Baden)
  • Prince Eugen Maximilianovich Romanowsky, 5th Duke of Leuchtenberg, first cousin once removed of Nicholas II
  • Prince George Maximilianovich Romanowsky (the future 6th Duke of Leuchtenberg), first cousin once removed of Nicholas II, and his wife Princess Anastasia of Leuchtenberg (born Anastasia of Montenegro)
  • Duke Alexander Petrovich of Oldenburg, second cousin once removed, and Duchess Eugenia Maximilianovna of Oldenburg (born Eugenia Maximilianovna of Leuchtenberg), first cousin once removed of Nicholas II
  • Duke Peter Alexandrovich of Oldenburg, second cousin of Nicholas II
  • Duke Konstantin Petrovich of Oldenburg, second cousin once removed of Nicholas II
  • Duke Georg Alexander of Mecklenburg-Strelitz, second cousin once removed of Nicholas II
  • Duke Karl Michael of Mecklenburg-Strelitz, second cousin once removed of Nicholas II
  • Prince Albrecht of Saxe-Altenburg, third cousin once removed of both Nicholas and Alexandra, and Princess Helene of Saxe-Altenburg (born Helene of Mecklenburg-Strelitz), second cousin once removed of Nicholas II (representing Ernst I, Duke of Saxe-Altenburg)

**********************

Groomsmen

In Romanov weddings, there were no bridesmaids, only groomsmen. Their main job was to hold the gold marriage crowns over the heads of the bride and groom during the Russian Orthodox wedding ceremony. The groomsmen for Nicholas and Alexandra’s wedding were:

  • Grand Duke Michael Alexandrovich of Russia, brother of Nicholas II
  • Grand Duke Kirill Vladimirovich of Russia, first cousin of Nicholas II
  • Grand Duke Sergei Mikhailovich of Russia, first cousin once removed of Nicholas II
  • Prince George of Greece and Denmark, first cousin of Nicholas II

**********************

The Wedding Attire

Nicholas wore the ceremonial dress uniform of a colonel in the Life Guards Hussar Regiment. The red tunic of the uniform was decorated with gold braid, gold epaulets, several rows of medals, and the orange sash of the Order of Hesse and by Rhine. The dark blue breeches were trimmed with gold braid.

Alexandra wore a dress modeled on the traditional Russian court dress. The silver brocade bodice was adorned with diamonds and embroidered with a leaf design in gold thread. The neckline was edged in white ermine and revealed Alexandra’s neck and shoulder. The long sleeves were edged in white ermine and hung in folds below the waist. The silver brocade overskirt was open in the front in an inverted V, revealing a silver tissue underskirt edged in ermine. The overskirt spread out from the waist into a fifteen-foot train edged in white ermine.

Alexandra’s hair was styled in the traditional style of Romanov brides. Her hair was in a bun at the back of her head and two ringlets that hung down to her shoulders were attached on either side of her head. She wore the same lace wedding veil designed by her grandfather Prince Albert for her mother Princess Alice. Alexandra’s sisters Victoria, Elisabeth, and Irene also wore the same veil when they got married. On her head, Alexandra wore the diamond Romanov nuptial tiara, formed like the traditional Russian kokoshnik headdress. In addition, she wore the diamond Romanov nuptial crown with a cross. For more information on the Romanov wedding jewelry see: The Royal Order of Sartorial Splendor: Russian Imperial Wedding Splendor

The photo below is not Alexandra but rather the first cousin of Nicholas II, Grand Duchess Elena Vladimirovna. The photo was taken on the day of Elena Vladimirovna’s wedding to Prince Nicholas of Greece in 1902. There is no photo of Alexandra on her wedding day but she would have been dressed in a similar manner. Notice on Elena’s head the Romanov nuptial tiara, in the front and the Romanov nuptial crown with the cross in the back.

Maria Alexandrovna’s niece Elena Vladimirovna dressed as her aunt would have been dressed on her wedding day; Credit – Wikipedia

**********************

The Wedding

The Wedding of Nicholas II and Alexandra by Laurits Tuxen, 1895; Credit – Wikipedia

As the guns from the Peter and Paul Fortress, just across the Neva River, fired a fifty-one-gun salute, the wedding procession began. Three thousand guests had been invited to witness the procession and they lined the halls of the Winter Palace. Proceeded by one hundred officials in pairs, Nicholas’ mother Dowager Empress Maria Feodorovna led Alexandra at the head of the procession, with Nicholas right behind. Members of Nicholas’s entourage came next, followed by the foreign royal guests headed by King Christian IX of Denmark, Nicholas’ maternal grandfather. Members of the Russian imperial family came next followed by Russian high-ranking government officials. As the procession reached the 1812 Gallery, members of the diplomatic corps, the Imperial Council, and the Council of Ministers joined the procession.

This 1894 painting by Ilya Repin shows the golden nuptial crowns being held over the heads of the bride and groom and shows where the guests stood; Credit – Wikipedia

Father Ioann Yanishev, the private imperial confessor and chief of the palace clergy, along with other clergymen, conducted the wedding service. After Nicholas had walked up the several steps to the dais, Dowager Empress Maria Feodorovna led Alexandra up the steps. Nicholas and Alexandra stood on a crimson carpet before a lectern on which lay the Gospels in a bejeweled cover. Father Yanishev announced the betrothal of Nicholas to Alexandra and then handed them their rings. After exchanging the rings three times in recognition of the Holy Trinity, Nicholas and Alexandra knelt and exchanged formal wedding vows. The four groomsmen took turns holding the golden nuptial crowns over the heads of the bride and groom, exchanging them three times. Nicholas and Alexandra joined hands and were led around the altar three times. They then knelt before the lectern and kissed a gold cross. Following a final prayer, Nicholas and Alexandra were pronounced man and wife. The church bells rang across St. Petersburg and guns were fired from the Peter and Paul Fortress.

**********************

After the Wedding

After the wedding, it was straight back to strict court mourning. There was no wedding breakfast or reception, and no honeymoon trip. Nicholas and Alexandra changed into traveling clothes and left the Winter Palace in an open landau drawn by four horses for the nearby Anichkov Palace, where Nicholas had spent his childhood. Nicholas wrote in his diary, “The streets were so crowded that we could hardly drive through them.” Nicholas saluted the crowds and Alexandra, in tears, nervously repeatedly bowed her head. The couple stopped at Kazan Cathedral, crowded with people, to pray before its famous icon. The landau proceeded to Anichkov Palace where the newlyweds were met by Nicholas’ mother Dowager Empress Maria Feodorovna with the traditional Russian welcome of bread and salt signifying plenty and good luck. Nicholas and Alexandra spent their first night as husband and wife in Nicholas’ former childhood bedroom. Meanwhile, in England, Queen Victoria held a banquet at Windsor Castle to celebrate the wedding, toasting the bride and groom and reading telegraphs from the new Empress Alexandra and from The Prince and Princess of Wales, who had traveled to Russia as her representatives.

**********************

Children

Nicholas and Alexandra with their children (circa 1913-1914); Credit – Wikipedia

Nicholas and Alexandra had four daughters and one son. Unfortunately, Alexandra was a hemophilia carrier and her son was a hemophiliac.

Nicholas, Alexandra, their five children, along with three of their most loyal servants and the court doctor, were shot to death by a firing squad during the Russian Revolution on July 17, 1918.

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

Works Cited

  • Ceremony of the wedding of Nicholas and Alexandra. Available at: https://www.alexanderpalace.org/wedding/ (Accessed: November 22, 2022).
  • King, Greg. (2006) The Court of the Last Tsar: Pomp, Power, and Pageantry in the Reign of Nicholas II. Hoboken: Wiley.
  • Laurits Regner Tuxen (1853-1927) – The Marriage of Nicholas II, Tsar of Russia, 26th November 1894 (no date) Royal Collection Trust. Available at: https://www.rct.uk/collection/404465/the-marriage-of-nicholas-ii-tsar-of-russia-26th-november-1894 (Accessed: November 22, 2022).
  • Massie, Robert K. (1967) Nicholas and Alexandra. New York: Random House.
  • Mehl, Scott. (2015) Alix of Hesse and by Rhine, Alexandra Feodorovna, Empress of All Russia, Unofficial Royalty. Available at: https://www.unofficialroyalty.com/princess-alix-of-hesse-and-by-rhine-empress-alexandra-feodorovna-of-russia/ (Accessed: November 22, 2022).
  • Mehl, Scott. (2015) Nicholas II of Russia, Emperor of All Russia, Unofficial Royalty. Available at: https://www.unofficialroyalty.com/tsar-nicholas-ii-of-russia/ (Accessed: November 22, 2022).
  • Royal Wedding,: 1894-12-01: Weekly Mail – Welsh Newspapers (1894) ROYAL WEDDING,|1894-12-01|Weekly Mail – Welsh Newspapers. Available at: https://newspapers.library.wales/view/3369740/3369752/105/ (Accessed: November 22, 2022).
  • The Court Jeweller (2021) Romanov Splendor: The wedding tiara and jewels of Russia’s last Empress, The Court Jeweller. Available at: https://www.thecourtjeweller.com/2021/11/romanov-splendor-the-wedding-tiara-and-jewels-of-russias-last-empress.html (Accessed: November 22, 2022).
  • The life and tragedy of Alexandra – chapter V – marriage and first year in Russia. Available at: https://www.alexanderpalace.org/alexandra/V.html (Accessed: November 22, 2022).
  • To re-form the Russian Ministry; the usual pomp will be wanting in the marriage of czar Nicholas II. (1894) The New York Times. The New York Times. Available at: https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1894/11/19/106879632.html?pageNumber=1 (Accessed: November 22, 2022).
  • Wedding of Nicholas II and Alexandra Feodorovna (2022) Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation. Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wedding_of_Nicholas_II_and_Alexandra_Feodorovna (Accessed: November 22, 2022).

Helena of Nassau, Princess of Waldeck and Pyrmont

by Susan Flantzer
© Unofficial Royalty 2022

Helena of Nassau, Princess of Waldeck and Pyrmont; Credit – Wikipedia

Helena of Nassau was the first wife of Georg Viktor, Prince of Waldeck and Pyrmont. Helena Wilhelmine Henriette Pauline Marianne was born on August 18, 1831, in Wiesbaden, Duchy of Nassau, now in the German state of Hesse. She was the eldest of the three surviving children and the elder of the two surviving daughters of Wilhelm, Duke of Nassau and his second wife Princess Pauline of Württemberg. Both Helena’s parents were descendants of King George II of Great Britain. Helena’s paternal grandparents were Friedrich Wilhelm, Duke of Nassau, and Louise Isabelle of Kirchberg. Her maternal grandparents were Prince Paul of Württemberg and his wife Princess Charlotte of Saxe-Hildburghausen.

Helena had two surviving siblings:

Helena had eight half-siblings from her father’s first marriage to Princess Louise of Saxe-Hildburghausen including Adolphe, Grand Duke of Luxembourg:

Georg Viktor and Helena; Credit – https://www.pinterest.com/pin/430445676888607858/

On September 26, 1853, in Wiesbaden, Duchy of Nassau, now in the German state of Hesse, Helena married Georg Viktor, Prince of Waldeck and Pyrmont, the son of  Georg II, Prince of Waldeck-Pyrmont and Emma of Anhalt-Bernburg-Schaumburg-Hoym. Helena proved to be very successful in finding suitable marriages for their children by making contacts with various European royal houses. Because of her efforts, the relatively poor House of Waldeck-Pyrmont was linked to the richer ruling dynasties of Würtemberg, the Netherlands, and the United Kingdom. Georg Viktor and Helena are the ancestors of the Dutch royal family through their daughter Emma and the Swedish royal family through their daughter Helena.

Georg Viktor and Helena with their five elder daughters circa 1864; Credit – Wikipedia

Georg Viktor and Helena had six daughters and one son:

Helena focused on charitable work, chairing many charitable organizations, and involving her children in charitable work from a very young age. Her daughter Emma said of Helena, “Mother had a great talent for dealing with people, to do them justice. We daughters have tried to follow mother’s example, also in her social interest.”

Princely Mausoleum and Cemetery; Credit – www.findagrave.com

Helena was in ill-health for the last decade of her life. She died on October 28, 1888, aged 57, in Pyrmont, Principality of Waldeck and Pyrmont, now in the German state of Lower Saxony. She was buried at the Princely Cemetery at Schloss Rhoden (link in German) in Rhoden, Principality of Waldeck-Pyrmont, now in the German state of Hesse.

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

Works Cited

  • Flantzer, Susan (2021) Georg Viktor, Prince of Waldeck and Pyrmont, Unofficial Royalty. Available at: https://www.unofficialroyalty.com/georg-viktor-prince-of-waldeck-and-pyrmont/ (Accessed: October 26, 2022).
  • Helena av Nassau-Weilburg (2022) Wikipedia (Swedish). Wikimedia Foundation. Available at: https://sv.wikipedia.org/wiki/Helena_av_Nassau-Weilburg (Accessed: October 26, 2022).
  • Helene von Nassau (2021) Wikipedia (German). Wikimedia Foundation. Available at: https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Helene_von_Nassau (Accessed: October 26, 2022).
  • Princess Helena of Nassau (2022) Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation. Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Princess_Helena_of_Nassau (Accessed: October 26, 2022).
  • William, Duke of Nassau (2022) Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation. Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William,_Duke_of_Nassau (Accessed: October 26, 2022).