by Scott Mehl © Unofficial Royalty 2016
Augusta Viktoria of Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen source: Wikipedia
Augusta Viktoria of Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen was the wife of King Manuel II of Portugal from 1913 until he died in 1932. As he had already been deposed, she was never actually Queen of Portugal, although she was often styled as such by courtesy.
Augusta Viktoria was born on August 19, 1890, in Potsdam, Kingdom of Prussia, now in the German state of Brandenburg, the daughter of Wilhelm, Prince of Hohenzollern and Princess Maria Teresa of Bourbon-Two Sicilies. For several years, her father had been the heir presumptive to King Carol I of Romania, his paternal uncle. However, he renounced his rights to the Romanian throne in 1886, and it eventually passed to his younger brother who became King Ferdinand of Romania. Augusta Viktoria had younger twin brothers, who married two sisters:
- Prince Friedrich Viktor of Hohenzollern (1891 – 1965) – married Princess Margarete Karola of Saxony, had issue
- Prince Franz Joseph of Hohenzollern (1891 – 1964) – married Princess Maria Alix of Saxony, had issue
Wedding of Augusta Viktoria and the former King Manuel II of Portugal source: Wikipedia
In 1912, Augusta Viktoria met the former King Manuel II of Portugal while both were visiting Switzerland. Manuel had become King in 1908 following the assassinations of his father and elder brother but was deposed two years later when the Portuguese First Republic was declared. Augusta Viktoria and Manuel were second cousins, both great-grandchildren of Queen Maria II of Portugal. They married on September 4, 1913, at Sigmaringen Castle. in Sigmaringen, Kingdom of Prussia, now in the German state of Baden-Württemberg. Following a honeymoon in Munich, they settled at Fulwell Park, Manuel’s home outside London, England. Augusta Viktoria and Manuel had no children.
Manuel and Augusta Viktoria attending Wimbledon, 1930; Credit – Wikipedia
Manuel died July 2, 1932, at Fulwell Park, in Middlesex, England. Several years later, on April 23, 1939, Augusta Viktoria married Count Robert Douglas, head of the Swedish comital house of Douglas (a branch of the Scottish Clan Douglas). The couple lived at Langenstein Castle in Orsingen-Nenzingen Baden, Germany, and had no children.
Widowed in 1955, Augusta Viktoria continued to live in Germany and died on August 29, 1966, at Eigeltingen, Baden-Württemerg, Germany. She is buried at Langenstein Castle.
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