Category Archives: British Royals

Death of Richard II, King of England (1400)

by Susan Flantzer
© Unofficial Royalty 2020

Richard II, King of England was deposed by his first cousin Henry of Bolingbroke who then reigned as Henry IV, King of England. Held in captivity at Pontefract Castle in Pontefract, West Yorkshire, England, Richard is thought to have starved to death and died on or around February 14, 1400.

Richard II, King of England

Painting at Westminster Abbey by an unknown artist, circa 1394; Credit – Wikipedia

King Richard II of England was born in the Archbishop’s Palace in Bordeaux, then in the English-held Duchy of Aquitaine (now in France) on January 6, 1367. He was the second son and second of the two children of Edward, Prince of Wales (known as the Black Prince), eldest son and heir of King Edward III of England, and Joan of Kent, 4th Countess of Kent in her own right. Joan was a grandchild of King Edward I of England. Richard’s elder brother died young of the plague.

Nine-year-old Richard’s life changed when his father died at the age of 45 on June 8, 1376. Richard was now the heir to his grandfather’s throne. Because it was feared that Richard’s uncle John of Gaunt, Duke of Lancaster might usurp his place in the succession, Richard was quickly invested as Prince of Wales and given his father’s other titles. On June 21, 1377, King Edward III died and his ten-year-old grandson was then King Richard II.

King Richard II and Anne of Bohemia; Credit: Wikipedia

When Richard was fifteen, he married another fifteen-year-old, Anne of Bohemia, the eldest child of Charles IV, Holy Roman Emperor and King of Bohemia. Richard and Anne had no children and Anne died of the plague when she was 28-years-old. Four years later, Richard married seven-year-old Isabella of Valois, daughter of King Charles VI of France. The marriage was never consummated due to Isabella’s young age.

Henry versus Richard

Henry of Bolingbroke, later King Henry IV of England; Credit – Wikipedia

Many had thought the succession of ten-year-old Richard II, a child king whose father had not been the king, was controversial. Some believed that one of King Edward III’s younger sons – there were three still alive: John of Gaunt, Duke of Lancaster; Edmund of Langley, Duke of York; and Thomas of Woodstock, Duke of Gloucester – should be king. Parliament, which was in a dispute with John of Gaunt at that time, supported Richard’s accession to the throne. John of Gaunt and his two brothers were excluded from the councils which ruled during Richard’s minority but as the uncles of the king, they still held great informal influence over the business of government. Richard II was childless. Lionel of Antwerp, Duke of Clarence had been the second son of King Edward III so his heirs had a superior genealogical claim to the throne over that of Edward III’s third son John of Gaunt. Despite the fact that Richard II officially recognized the claim of Lionel’s grandson Roger Mortimer, 4th Earl of March, the claim was unlikely to remain uncontested.

In 1387, Henry of Bolingbroke, the son of John of Gaunt and the future King Henry IV, participated in the rebellion of the Lords Appellant, a group of nobles who wanted to restrain some of King Richard II’s favorites from the power they held. The Lords Appellant were successful for a time until John of Gaunt, Richard’s uncle, threw his support behind Richard who was able to rebuild his power gradually. Richard never forgave the Lords Appellant and many of them paid a price. His uncle Thomas of Woodstock, Duke Gloucester was murdered in captivity in Calais, France, probably on Richard’s orders. Richard FitzAlan, 4th Earl of Arundel was beheaded. Thomas de Beauchamp, 12th Earl of Warwick lost his title and his lands and was imprisoned on the Isle of Man until Richard was overthrown by Henry of Bolingbroke.

In 1398, Henry of Bolingbroke quarreled with Thomas de Mowbray, 1st Duke of Norfolk, who accused him of treason. The two men planned to duel, but instead, King Richard II banished them from England. In addition, Richard revoked the permission he had given them to sue for any inheritance that fell due, as it did in relation to Mowbray’s grandmother and, more significantly, of Henry’s father, John of Gaunt. The actions Richard took against his first cousin would ultimately result in his downfall.

Henry went to France, and on a visit to the court of Brittany, he met his future second wife Joan of Navarre, the widow of Jean V, Duke of Brittany. When John of Gaunt died on February 3, 1399, Richard did not consider pardoning his cousin Henry instead, he confiscated the estates of his uncle and much of what Henry would have inherited was given away to his favorites. This caused Henry to make plans for a return to England so he could claim his rights to the Duchy of Lancaster and the properties of his father.

Richard’s surrender to Henry at Flint Castle from the illuminated manuscript of Jean Creton’s La Prinse et Mort du roy Richart (“The Capture and Death of King Richard”), early 1400s; Credit – Wikipedia

Richard II had been on a military campaign in Ireland and left in May 1399 to deal with the unrest his cousin Henry might cause. On July 4, 1399, Henry arrived by boat in Yorkshire with a small army. As Henry made his way south, his army grew larger. King Richard II was eventually abandoned by his supporters and was forced to surrender to Henry at Flint Castle in Flint, Flintshire, Wales on August 16, 1399. He was then taken to London where he was held at the Tower of London.

Henry used the precedent established when King Edward II was forced to abdicate by Parliament in favor of his son King Edward III. However, Henry had a complication that his grandfather Edward III did not have. Henry was descended from Edward III’s third son and so, unlike Edward III, he was not the direct heir. Because Richard II was childless, the heir presumptive was eight-year-old Edmund Mortimer, 5th Earl of March, the great-grandson of King Edward III’s second son Lionel of Antwerp. Because Edmund was a young child, Parliament saw no benefit in his succession and agreed Henry should succeed. On September 29, 1399, Richard was forced by Parliament to abdicate the crown to his cousin Henry. King Henry IV was crowned in Westminster Abbey on October 13, 1399.

What happened to Richard II?

Painting in Pontefract Museum of Pontefract Castle in the early 17th century by Alexander Keirincx; Credit – Wikipedia

Sometime before Christmas of 1399, Richard was moved to Pontefract Castle in Pontefract, West Yorkshire, England which had been the personal residence of his uncle John of Gaunt and was now the possession of John’s son King Henry IV. In January 1400, some supporters of Richard plotted a failed rebellion against Henry IV called the Epiphany Rising. Henry realized that left alive, Richard would remain a threat and it is probable that the deposed king was left at Pontefract Castle to starve to death.

Richard II’s body is brought to St Paul’s Cathedral to let everyone see that he is dead – engraving from A Chronicle of England: B.C. 55 – A.D. 1485 by James William Edmund Doyle (1864); Credit – Wikipedia

Although Henry IV has often been suspected of having Richard murdered, there is no substantial evidence to prove that claim. It can be positively said that Richard did not suffer a violent death. After his death, Richard’s body was put on public display for three days at Old St. Paul’s Cathedral in London, both to prove to his supporters that he was truly dead and also to prove that he had not suffered a violent death. Whether Richard did indeed starve himself or whether that starvation was forced upon him is still up for speculation.

Henry IV had Richard quietly buried in the King’s Langley Priory Church in King’s Langley, Hertfordshire, England. In 1413, King Henry V of England, son of King Henry IV, to atone for his father’s actions and to silence the rumors of Richard’s survival, had Richard’s remains moved to Westminster Abbey in London, England where they were placed in an elaborate tomb Richard had constructed for himself and his first wife Anne of Bohemia.

Tomb of Richard II and Anne of Bohemia at Westminster Abbey; Credit – westminsterabbey.org

The tomb, with bronze effigies of Richard and Anne, is in the Chapel of Saint Edward the Confessor at Westminster Abbey, at the foot of the tomb of Richard’s grandfather King Edward III. On October 13, 2018, this writer had the experience of attending the National Pilgrimage Day, which celebrates the life of Saint Edward the Confessor, King of England. The Chapel of Saint Edward the Confessor is usually not open to tourists but it is open on the National Pilgrimage Day and this writer had the awe-inspiring experience of seeing Edward the Confessor’s shrine surrounded by the tombs of kings and queens, including the tomb of King Richard II and Anne of Bohemia.

Embed from Getty Images 
The shrine of Edward the Confessor in the middle, Richard and Anne’s tomb is on the right

The Aftermath

The Red Rose of the House of Lancaster and the White Rose of the House of York; Credit – Wikipedia

The Wars of the Roses, fought between 1455 and 1487, was a series of English civil wars for control of the throne of England fought between supporters of two rival cadet branches of the  House of Plantagenet, the House of Lancaster and the House of York. The House of Lancaster and the House of York have their roots in the sons of Edward III. The House of Lancaster descended from Edward III’s son John of Gaunt, and the House of York descended from two of Edward III’s sons, Lionel of Antwerp and Edmund of Langley. Previously, for the most part, the sons of English kings had married foreign princesses. The sons of King Edward III married into the English nobility, and their descendants later battled for the English throne in the Wars of the Roses. The usurpation by Henry IV, the first of the House of Lancaster, of the throne of his first cousin Richard II, was the first step toward the Wars of the Roses.

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

  • Ashley, M. and Lock, J. (1998). The Mammoth Book of British Kings & Queens. New York: Carroll & Graf Publishers.
  • Dodson, A. (2004). The Royal Tombs of Great Britain. London, p.Gerald Duckworth and Co. Ltd.
  • En.wikipedia.org. (2019). Richard II of England. [online] Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_II_of_England [Accessed 28 Dec. 2019].
  • Flantzer, Susan. (2016). King Richard II of England. [online] Unofficial Royalty. Available at: https://www.unofficialroyalty.com/king-richard-ii-of-england/ [Accessed 28 Dec. 2019].
  • Williamson, D. (1996). Brewer’s British Royalty. London: Cassell.

Suspicious Death of William II Rufus, King of England (1100)

by Susan Flantzer  © Unofficial Royalty 2020

On August 2, 1100, William II Rufus, King of England rode out from Winchester Castle on a hunting expedition to the New Forest, accompanied by his brother Henry and several nobles. During the hunt, an arrow hit William Rufus in his chest, puncturing his lungs, and killing him.

William II Rufus, King of England

William II Rufus, King of England; Credit – Wikipedia

King William II Rufus of England was born in the Duchy of Normandy, now in France, between 1056 and 1060. He was the third of the four sons of King William I of England (the Conqueror) and Matilda of Flanders. At the time of William Rufus’ birth, his father was the Duke of Normandy. In 1066, William, Duke of Normandy invaded England and defeated the last Anglo-Saxon King, Harold Godwinson at the Battle of Hastings. The Duke of Normandy was then also King William I of England.

In 1087, King William I divided his lands between his two eldest surviving sons. The eldest son Robert Curthose was to receive the Duchy of Normandy and William Rufus, the second surviving son was to receive the Kingdom of England. William I’s other surviving son Henry (the future King Henry I of England) was to receive 5,000 pounds of silver and his mother’s English estates.

King William I of England died on September 9, 1087. Robert Curthose became Robert II Curthose, Duke of Normandy and William Rufus became King William II Rufus of England. Henry received the money, but no land. William Rufus never married and had no children.

In 1096, Robert Curthose left for the Holy Land on the First Crusade. To raise money for the crusade, he mortgaged the Duchy of Normandy to his brother King William II Rufus. The two older brothers made a pact stating that if one died without heirs, both Normandy and England would be reunited under the surviving brother. William then ruled Normandy as regent in Robert’s absence. Robert did not return until September 1100, one month after William Rufus’ death.

The Death of William Rufus

Death of William Rufus, 1895 lithograph; Credit – Wikipedia

On August 2, 1100, King William II Rufus rode out from Winchester Castle in Winchester, England on a hunting expedition to the New Forest, accompanied by his brother Henry and several nobles. His elder brother Richard and his nephew Richard, the illegitimate son of his brother Robert Curthose, had both been killed in hunting accidents in the New Forest.

According to most contemporary accounts, the hunting party spread out as they chased their prey. William Rufus, in the company of William Tirel, a noble, became separated from the others as he chased after a stag. William Rufus shot an arrow but missed the stag. He then called out to Tirel to shoot, which he did, but the arrow hit the king in his chest, puncturing his lungs, and killing him.

The Aftermath

Fearing reprisals, Walter Tirel immediately jumped on his horse and fled to France where he took refuge in one of his French castles. The other nobles who had been with William Rufus abandoned his body and fled to their Norman and English lands to secure their possessions following the king’s death.

The next day, William Rufus’ body was found by a group of local farmers. The farmers loaded the king’s body on a cart and brought it to Winchester Cathedral where he was buried under a plain flat marble stone below the tower with little ceremony.

In 1107, the tower at Winchester Cathedral near William Rufus’ grave collapsed and the presence of William Rufus’ remains was considered the cause. Around 1525, the royal remains in Winchester Cathedral were rearranged. William Rufus’ remains were transferred to one of the mortuary chests next to the mortuary chest of King Cnut the Great atop the stone wall around the high altar.

In 1642, Winchester Cathedral was sacked by Parliamentary Troops during the English Civil War. The remains in the mortuary chests were scattered around the cathedral. Later the remains were returned to the mortuary chests in no particular order. In 2015, a project to record and analyze the contents of the mortuary chests began.

Mortuary chest in Winchester Cathedral; Credit – www.findagrave.com

In the New Forest, a memorial stone, known as the Rufus Stone, claims to mark the spot where William Rufus died.

Rufus Stone; Credit – Wikipedia

Was there a conspiracy to assassinate William Rufus?

Walter Tirel was an excellent archer but he badly missed his shot. He vigorously denied killing William Rufus several times under oath to Abbot Suger of the Abbey of Saint-Denis, the principal minister of King Louis VI of France. There was no investigation into William Rufus’ death because it was thought that his death was an accident and not a deliberate act. Tirel was not subjected to any punishment or loss of land.

However, William Rufus’ younger brother Henry was among the hunting party that day and would have benefited directly from his death. Henry was among the nobles who abandoned William Rufus’ body in the New Forest. William Rufus’ elder brother Robert Curthose was still on crusade, so Henry was able to seize the crown of England for himself despite the pact his two elder brothers had made stating that if one of them died without heirs, both Normandy and England would be reunited under the surviving brother.

Henry hurried to Winchester to secure the royal treasury. The day after William Rufus’ funeral at Winchester, Henry was elected king by the nobles. Henry then left for London where he was crowned King Henry I of England three days after William Rufus’ death by the Bishop of London. Henry did not wait for the Archbishop of Canterbury to arrive. If William Rufus’ death was a conspiracy, the new King Henry I could have easily squelched any investigation and kept Walter Tirel free from any consequences. Some modern historians find the assassination theory credible. Others say that hunting accidents were common as evidenced by William Rufus’ brother and nephew dying in hunting accidents and there is not enough hard evidence to prove murder.

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

  • Ashley, M. and Lock, J. (1998). The Mammoth Book of British Kings & Queens. New York: Carroll & Graf Publishers.
  • Dodson, A. (2004). The Royal Tombs of Great Britain. London, p.Gerald Duckworth and Co. Ltd.
  • En.wikipedia.org. (2019). Walter Tirel. [online] Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Walter_Tirel [Accessed 28 Dec. 2019].
  • En.wikipedia.org. (2019). William II of England. [online] Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_II_of_England [Accessed 28 Dec. 2019].
  • Flantzer, Susan. (2016). King William II Rufus of England. [online] Unofficial Royalty. Available at: https://www.unofficialroyalty.com/king-william-ii-rufus-of-england/ [Accessed 28 Dec. 2019].
  • Fr.wikipedia.org. (2019). Gautier II Tirel. [online] Available at: https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gautier_II_Tirel [Accessed 28 Dec. 2019].
  • Fr.wikipedia.org. (2019). Guillaume le Roux. [online] Available at: https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guillaume_le_Roux [Accessed 28 Dec. 2019].
  • Williamson, D. (1996). Brewer’s British Royalty. London: Cassell.

Assassination of Edward the Martyr, King of the English (978)

by Susan Flantzer © Unofficial Royalty 2020

On March 18, 978, 16-year-old Saint Edward the Martyr, King of the English was stabbed in the back while mounted on his horse. He fell off, but his foot caught in the stirrup and he was dragged to his death.

Saint Edward the Martyr, King of the English

Credit – Wikipedia

Edward the Martyr was the eldest son of Edgar the Peaceful, King of the English. He was born around 962 to Æthelflæd who possibly was a nun at Wilton Abbey, a Benedictine abbey in Wiltshire, England, whom Edgar seduced. It is unclear whether Æthelflæd and Edgar married.

In 975, King Edgar died and leaving his two surviving sons: Edward around 13 years of age and Edward’s half- brother Æthelred around 7 years old, the son of Edgar’s wife Ælfthryth. Both boys were too young to have played any significant role in the political maneuvering, and so it was the brothers’ supporters who were responsible for the turmoil which accompanied the choice of a successor to the throne. In the end, Edward’s supporters, mainly Saint Dunstan, Archbishop of Canterbury and Oswald of Worcester, Archbishop of York, proved more powerful and persuasive, and he was crowned king before the year was out. The teenaged Edward was famous for temper tantrums and insulting influential people due to his lack of diplomatic behavior.

The Assassination

The texts in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle say that Edward was “killed” or “martyred” and that “no worse deed for the English race was done than this was.” It appears that Edward’s stepmother Ælfthryth may have been linked to his murder. Ælfthryth, the first woman known to have been crowned and anointed as Queen of England, was a powerful political figure. The legality of her marriage to King Edgar the Peaceful was not in doubt and she was the mother of the future Æthelred II the Unready, King of the English. However, Ælfthryth had a previous marriage.

Ælfthryth’s father was Ordgar, son of an ealdorman, who owned much land in Somerset. King Edgar decided to marry Ordgar’s daughter Ælfthryth and sent Æthelwald, Ealdorman of East Anglia to make the arrangements. Æthelwald instead took Ælfthryth for his own wife and reported back to King Edgar that she was unsuitable.

Æthelwald died in 962 and there are two versions of the story of his death. One version has King Edgar being told of Æthelwald’s deception and then killing him during a hunt. The second version comes from Saint Dunstan, Archbishop of Canterbury. Dunstan believed that Æthelwald was murdered by his wife Ælfthryth who then seduced King Edgar. Whatever the circumstances of Æthelwald’s death, Ælfthryth married King Edgar and by 964, her father Ordgar had been created Ealdorman of Devon. Apparently, Ordgar was one of King Edgar’s closest advisors because from 964 until his death in 971, he was a witness on almost all the charters Edgar issued.

A Victorian-era depiction of Ælfthryth putting her plan of murdering Edward the Martyr into motion; Credit – Wikipedia

It is reasonable to assume that Ælfthryth was not happy that her son Æthelred, born of a legal marriage, was not king. Furthermore, it is also reasonable to assume she might plot against Edward. On March 18, 978, 16-year-old Edward arrived at a hunting lodge probably at or near the mound on which the ruins of Corfe Castle in Dorset, England now stand. Aelfthryth had invited her stepson there and she arranged for him to be welcomed with a cup of wine. As Edward drank the wine, he was stabbed in the back while still mounted on his horse. He fell off, but his foot caught in the stirrup and he was dragged to his death.

Edward’s ten-year-old half-brother succeeded to the throne as Æthelred II the Unready, King of the English. Although Æthelred was not personally suspected of participation, it appears that the murder was committed by his supporters, and the specter of his half-brother’s murder hung over him for the rest of his life.

The Aftermath

Ælfthryth served as regent for her son Æthelred until he came of age in 984. Her reputation was tarnished because she was implicated in Edward’s murder. She founded the Benedictine Wherwell Abbey in Hampshire, England, and retired there to do penance for her part in the murders of her first husband Æthelwald and of her stepson Edward.

Edward was first buried at St. Mary’s Church in Wareham, Dorset, England. Soon people were saying miracles occurred at his burial place and he was declared a saint and a martyr. Edward is recognized as a saint in the Eastern Orthodox Church, the Roman Catholic Church, and the Anglican Church, and is known as Saint Edward the Martyr.

In 981, Edward’s remains were moved to Shaftesbury Abbey, a convent founded by his great-great-grandfather Alfred the Great, and were buried there with great pomp under the supervision of Saint Dunstan, Archbishop of Canterbury. Many miracles were claimed to occur at the tomb of Saint Edward the Martyr, including the healing of lepers and the blind. The abbey became the wealthiest Benedictine convent in England and a major pilgrimage site.

In 1539, Edward’s remains were hidden to avoid desecration during the Dissolution of the Monasteries during the reign of King Henry VIII. In 1931, some remains were recovered by J.E. Wilson-Claridge during an archaeological excavation of Shaftesbury Abbey. Their identity was confirmed by Dr. T.E.A. Stowell, an osteologist, who said the remains were those of a young man of about 20 who had injuries that corresponded to a person being dragged backward over the pommel of a saddle and having their leg twisted in a stirrup.

In 1970, another examination performed on the remains suggested that death had been caused by the manner in which Edward supposedly had died. However, a later examination showed the remains to be from the same time period as Edward but that they belonged to a man in his late twenties or early thirties rather than a youth in his mid-teens. Nevertheless, Wilson-Claridge donated the remains to the Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia, which interred them as King Edward the Martyr in a shrine at St. Edward the Martyr Orthodox Church in Woking, Surrey, England.

Shrine of St Edward the Martyr in St. Edward the Martyr Orthodox Church; Credit – Wikipedia

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

Works Cited

  • Ashley, M. (1998). The Mammoth Book of British Kings & Queens. New York: Carroll & Graf Pub.
  • Cannon, J. and Griffiths, R. (1988). The Oxford Illustrated History of the British Monarchy. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
  • Clarke, J. (2019). St Edward the Martyr. [online] John-clarke.co.uk. Available at: https://www.john-clarke.co.uk/st_edward_the_martyr.html [Accessed 21 Feb. 2019].
  • Dodson, A. (2004). The Royal Tombs of Great Britain. London: Duckworth.
  • En.wikipedia.org. (2019). Ælfthryth, wife of Edgar. [online] Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/%C3%86lfthryth,_wife_of_Edgar [Accessed 11 Dec. 2019].
  • En.wikipedia.org. (2019). Edward the Martyr. [online] Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edward_the_Martyr [Accessed 21 Feb. 2019].
  • Flantzer, Susan. (2019). Edward the Martyr, King of the English. [online] Unofficial Royalty. Available at: https://www.unofficialroyalty.com/edward-the-martyr-king-of-the-english/ [Accessed 11 Dec. 2019].
  • Fr.wikipedia.org. (2019). Édouard le Martyr. [online] Available at: https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/%C3%89douard_le_Martyr [Accessed 21 Feb. 2019].
  • Williamson, D. (1998). Brewer’s British Royalty. London: Cassell.

Assassination of Edmund I, King of the English (946)

by Susan Flantzer  © Unofficial Royalty 2020

On May 26, 946, Edmund I, King of the English was stabbed to death at a royal hunting lodge in Pucklechurch, north of Bath, England while celebrating the feast of St. Augustine of Canterbury. Recent research indicates that Edmund may have been the victim of political assassination.

Edmund I, King of the English

Edmund I, King of the English; Credit – Wikipedia

Edmund I, King of the English was born in 921, the elder of the two sons and the eldest of the three children of Edward the Elder, King of the Anglo-Saxons and his third wife Eadgifu of Kent, the daughter of Sigehelm, Ealdorman of Kent. He was also a grandson of Alfred the Great, King of Wessex, King of the Anglo-Saxons.

Edmund was just three years old when his father died on July 24, 924. His 30-year-old half-brother Æthelstan, King of the English. succeeded their father. When the unmarried Æthelstan died in 939, he was succeeded by his 18-year-old half-brother Edmund I, King of the English. Edmund was the first Anglo-Saxon monarch, whose dominion extended over the whole of England at the time of his accession.

Edmund married Ælfgifu of Shaftesbury around 940. They had two sons who both became King of England: Eadwig and Edgar the Peaceful, King of the English. In 944, after Ælfgifu’s death, Edmund married Æthelflæd of Damerham but the couple had no children.

The Assassination

An 18th-century engraving of the murder

On May 26, 946, Edmund I, King of the English was celebrating the feast of St. Augustine of Canterbury at a royal hunting lodge in Pucklechurch, north of Bath, England. During the celebrations, twenty-four-year-old Edmund was stabbed to death. Because Edmund’s two sons were very young, he was succeeded by his brother Eadred. Edmund was buried at Glastonbury Abbey in Glastonbury, Somerset, England. His tomb was destroyed during the Dissolution of the Monasteries during the reign of King Henry VIII.

The story usually told is from The Chronicle of John of Worcester: “While the glorious Edmund, king of the English, was at the royal township called Pucklechurch in English, in seeking to rescue his steward from the hands of Leofa, a most wicked thief, lest he be killed, was himself killed by the same man on the feast of St Augustine, teacher of the English, on Tuesday, 26 May, in the fourth indiction, having completed five years and seven months of his reign.”

Edmund seizing Leofa by the hair, from The Comic History of England, circa 1860

William of Malmesbury described the murder a bit differently in his chronicle Gesta Regum Anglorum (Deeds of the English Kings): “A thief named Leof, whom he had banished for his robberies, returned after six years, and on the festival of St Augustine, archbishop of Canterbury, at Pucklechurch, unexpectedly took his seat among the royal guests. It was the day when the English were accustomed to holding a festival dinner in memory of him who had preached the Gospel to them, and as it happened he was sitting next to the thegn whom the king had condescended to make his guest at dinner. The king alone noticed this, for all the rest were aflame with wine; and in sudden anger, carried away by fate, he leaped up from the table, seized him by the hair, and flung him to the ground. The man drew a dagger in stealth from its sheaf, and as the king lay on him plunged it with all his force into his chest. The wound was fatal and gave an opening for rumors about his death that spread all over England. The robber too, as the servants soon came running up, was torn limb from limb, but not before he had wounded several of them.”

A Victim of Political Association?

Recent research indicates that Edmund may have been the victim of political assassination and suggests that later chroniclers fabricated the characterization of Edmund’s killer as a thief to counter rumors that the king had been the victim of a political assassination. Kevin Halloran published a paper in 2015, A Murder at Pucklechurch: The Death of King Edmund, 26 May 946, explaining such a possibility.

In 944, Ælfgifu of Shaftesbury, the mother of Edmund’s two sons, Eadwig (born circa 940) and Edgar (born circa 943) died. She may not have been legally married to Edmund. No marriage record exists and she may not have been officially recognized as queen. Ælfgifu was styled as concubina regis (royal concubine) in a charter. In two later chronicles, she was styled as queen but this may be the result of her higher status after death as a saint and the mother of two kings. Possibly, the lack of a legal marriage between their parents could have questioned the succession rights of Eadwig and Edgar. Edmund’s brother Eadred appears to have been acknowledged as Edmund’s successor throughout his reign but if Edmund reigned until his sons reached maturity, the likelihood that Eadred would succeed to the throne would diminish. Edmund’s long absence away from court in 945 while on a military campaign in the north could have given Eadred the time to contemplate the situation and come up with a plan.

Halloran theorized that it is probable that Edmund’s killer was not apprehended or identified and so no motive for the murder could be established. Edmund’s killer was not named in any chronicles for more than 100 years after Edmund’s death and the name that eventually appeared was probably chosen on purpose because its meaning was understood all too well. In Old English leof(a) meant “beloved” and so the use of the name Leofa for an assassin seems quite ironic.

William of Malmesbury says in his chronicle that “…rumours about his death…spread all over England.” Some of these rumors may have blamed the person who had the most to gain from Edmund’s death – his brother Eadred. It is odd that a thief returned from an exile of six years and decided to attend a royal feast, uninvited, and that he did not hide in the back of the hall but sat next to a special guest. Furthermore, none of the guests recognized him but after his body was hacked, he was positively identified. It is also odd that King Edmund recognized the uninvited guest and attacked him.

Halloran says that the accounts of John of Worcester and William of Malmesbury, who were both monks, are “improbable and conflicting” and that they “may have been written deliberately to counter any suggestion that the king’s death resulted from a politically motivated conspiracy.” He further suggests that prior accounts of the murder that suggested a conspiracy were revised and that Leofa was invented with two storylines – the thief who returned from exile intent upon killing the king or the thief who wanted to kill the king’s unnamed steward. Halloran says that the purpose of John of Worcester’s and William of Malmesbury’s stories about King Edmund’s death was to protect the reputation of the monarchy and the church which greatly benefited from kings.

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

  • Ashley, Mike. (1998). The Mammoth Book of British Kings & Queens. New York: Carroll & Graf Pub.
  • Cannon, J. and Griffiths, R. (1988). The Oxford Illustrated History of the British Monarchy. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
  • Dodson, A. (2004). The Royal Tombs of Great Britain. London: Duckworth.
  • En.wikipedia.org. (2019). Edmund I. [online] Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edmund_I [Accessed 14 Feb. 2019].
  • Flantzer, S. (2019). Edmund I, King of the English. [online] Unofficial Royalty. Available at: https://www.unofficialroyalty.com/edmund-i-king-of-the-english/ [Accessed 10 Dec. 2019].
  • Halloran, Kevin. (2015). The Murder of King Edmund 26 May 946. [online] academia.edu. Available at: https://www.academia.edu/799350/The_murder_of_King_Edmund_26_May_946 [Accessed 10 Dec. 2019].
  • Williamson, D. (1998). Brewer’s British Royalty. London: Cassell.

Wedding of Prince Edward, Duke of Windsor and Wallis Simpson

by Susan Flantzer  © Unofficial Royalty 2019

David and Wallis in 1934, the year their affair started; Credit – Wikipedia

On June 3, 1937, Prince Edward, Duke of Windsor (known as David) married Wallis Simpson at the Château de Candé in Monts, France, a 16th-century castle owned by Charles Bedaux, a ­­French-born, naturalized American industrial millionaire.

David’s Early Life

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Four Generations: Left to right: The future King George V (David’s father), Queen Victoria (David’s great-grandmother), David (the future King Edward VIII), the future King Edward VII (David’s grandfather), circa 1900

The future King Edward VIII was born on June 23, 1894, at White Lodge, Richmond Park on the outskirts of London. At the time of his birth, his great-grandmother Queen Victoria sat upon the throne of the United Kingdom. His parents, the future King George V and Queen Mary were the Duke and Duchess of York, and his grandparents, the future King Edward VII and Queen Alexandra were Prince and Princess of Wales. The infant prince was the eldest son of his parents and was third in the line of succession behind his grandfather and father. He was christened with a long string of names: Edward Albert Christian George Andrew Patrick David but in the family, he was known as David.

David and his brother, the future King George VI (called Bertie in the family), were raised by Frederick Finch, the nursery footman, and Henry Hansell, their tutor. Finch remained important in David’s life as he later became his valet and then his butler. David continued under Hansell’s instruction until 1907 when he enrolled at the Osborne Naval College. He did not enjoy his time there and after two years, he moved on to continue his studies at Royal Naval College, Dartmouth.

After his father succeeded to the throne in 1910 as King George V, David was the heir to the throne and his education intensified. He was withdrawn from his naval course before his formal graduation and served as a midshipman for three months aboard the battleship Hindustan. Next, he was enrolled at Magdalen College, Oxford, despite being intellectually underprepared. He left Oxford after eight terms without any academic qualifications.

When World War I started in 1914, David was eager to participate. He had joined the Grenadier Guards in June 1914 and was willing to serve on the front lines. Secretary of State for War Lord Kitchener refused because of the possibility that the heir to the throne could be captured by the enemy.

During the 1920s and the 1930s, David made several successful overseas tours. He was a popular prince and was admired for his fashion style and easy manner. Much to his father’s annoyance, David showed little interest in marrying and settling down. His father was disgusted by his affairs with married women and was reluctant to see him inherit the throne. King George V prophetically said, “After I am dead, the boy will ruin himself in 12 months.”

Wallis’ Early Life

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Wallis and her mother

Bessie Wallis Warfield was born on June 19, 1896, in Square Cottage at the Monterey Inn in Blue Ridge Summit, Pennsylvania, and grew up in Baltimore, Maryland.  She was the only child of  Teackle Wallis Warfield and Alice Montague. Five months after Wallis’ birth, her father died of tuberculosis at the age of 27. Wallis and her mother were dependent on the charity of relatives until her mother remarried. Wallis’ uncle, her father’s brother, paid for her to attend the most expensive girls’ school in Maryland and she made friends with several girls from wealthy families.

When Wallis was 20, she married Earl Winfield Spencer, a U.S. Navy pilot. Allegedly, Spencer was abusive and an alcoholic. After several separations, the Spencers divorced in December 1927. Before her marriage was officially ended, Wallis became involved with Ernest Simpson, a shipping executive, who had been born in the United States but became a British citizen during World War I. Wallis and Ernest married in 1928.

Controversy and Abdication

Credit – Wikipedia

Through a friend, Consuelo Thaw, Wallis met Consuelo’s sister Thelma, Lady Furness, who was David’s mistress. In early 1931, Lady Furness introduced Wallis to David. Over the next several years, David and the Simpsons attended various house parties and other social events, and Wallis was presented at court. In January 1934, Wallis became David’s mistress.

On January 20, 1936, King George V died and David became King Edward VIII. He showed impatience with court protocol and caused concern by his disregard for established constitutional conventions. He was also completely enthralled by Wallis and was naively convinced that once she was free from her marriage, he would be able to marry her and she would be queen. Wallis divorced her second husband in October 1936. At that time, it was unthinkable that the Supreme Governor of the Church of England could marry a person who had been divorced not just once, but twice. David’s insistence on proceeding with these plans, despite advice to the contrary, provoked a government crisis.

David informed Prime Minister Stanley Baldwin that he would abdicate if he could not marry Wallis. Baldwin then presented the king with three choices: (1) give up the idea of marriage (2) marry against his ministers’ wishes (3) abdicate. It was evident that David was not prepared to give up Wallis and he knew that if he married against the advice of his ministers, he would cause the government to resign, prompting a constitutional crisis. He chose to abdicate.

David signed the Instrument of Abdication on December 10, 1936, in the presence of his brothers: Prince Albert, Duke of York, the heir to the throne who would succeed to the throne as King George VI; Prince Henry, Duke of Gloucester; and Prince George, Duke of Kent. The next day, the last act of his reign was the royal assent to His Majesty’s Declaration of Abdication Act 1936, necessary because only Parliament can change the succession to the throne. On the evening of December 11, 1936, once again His Royal Highness Prince Edward, the former king gave his famous radio speech in which he said, “I have found it impossible to carry the heavy burden of responsibility and to discharge my duties as king as I would wish to do without the help and support of the woman I love.”

Wedding Guests

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Left to right: Herman Rogers who gave Wallis away, Wallis, David, and Major Edward Dudley Metcalfe (Fruity), the best man

David had wanted his brothers Prince Henry, Duke of Gloucester and Prince George, Duke of Kent along with his close friend and second cousin Lord Louis Mountbatten (the future 1st Earl Mountbatten of Burma) to attend the ceremony but his brother King George VI forbade members of the royal family from attending. Instead, the marriage was witnessed by a small group of faithful friends. Major Edward Dudley Metcalfe, known as Fruity Metcalfe, David’s close friend and former equerry, served as best man. Wallis was given away by her friend Herman Rogers.

In addition to the guests listed below, fifteen servants, five newspaper reporters, and several local officials including the Mayor of Monts, France who performed the civil marriage ceremony, attended the wedding.

  • George Allen (David’s solicitor)
  • Charles and Fern Bedaux (hosts of the wedding)
  • Randolph Churchill (journalist, writer, and politician, son of Sir Winston Churchill)
  • Dudley Forwood (David’s equerry)
  • W. C. Graham and Mrs. Graham (Graham was the British Consul at Nantes, France)
  • Bessie Montague Merryman (Wallis’ maternal aunt, the only relative to attend the wedding)
  • Major Edward Dudley Metcalfe (Fruity) and his wife Lady Alexandra Metcalfe (Fruity was
  • David’s close friend and former equerry)
  • Sir Walter Monckton (Attorney General of the Duchy of Cornwall, advisor to David during the abdication crisis)
  • Herman and Katherine Rogers (Wallis’ friends)
  • Baron Eugène Rothschild and his wife Baroness Rothschild (the Baroness, American-born Catherine “Kitty” Wolf, was Wallis’ friend, after his abdication, David stayed at the Rothschilds’ home in Austria)
  • Lady Selby (wife of David’s friend Sir Walford Selby, British Ambassador to Austria)
  • Hugh Lloyd Thomas (David’s former secretary, then First Secretary at the British Embassy in Paris)

Wedding Attire

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David wore a morning suit, with a wing collar, striped trousers, a black and white checkered cravat, and a white carnation in his lapel.

The bride wore a soft crepe dress with a tight, buttoned bodice in her signature color of “Wallis Blue,” a halo-shaped hat of the same color, matching shoes, and gloves. The dress was created by Mainbocher, a fashion label founded by the American couturier Main Rousseau Bocher. In 1950, Wallis presented the dress to the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City. More than 25 years after the wedding, the dress was still considered one of the most copied dresses in modern times. Wallis wore a glittering diamond and sapphire brooch and matching bracelet and earrings. She had a lavender orchid at her waist but carried no flowers.

The Wedding

Château de Candé in Monts, Indre-et-Loire, France; Credit – Wikipedia

On June 3, 1937, David married Wallis at the Château de Candé in Monts, France, a 16th-century castle owned by Charles Bedaux, a ­­French-born, naturalized American industrial millionaire.  Marcel Dupré, one of France’s leading organists, played the organ and the famous British photographer Cecil Beaton took the photographs.

A civil ceremony was required in France. It was performed in the green-paneled music room, the windows overlooking the beautiful Indre Valley. Four chairs for the bride, the groom, the best man, and the bride’s supporter had been placed before the marriage table, covered with a dark yellow cloth with large vases containing pink and white peonies at either end. The Mayor of Monts, Dr. Charles Mercier, also a physician, performed the civil ceremony. The mayor then made a speech, the register was signed and the civil ceremony was over in five minutes. During the civil service, Marcel Dupré, in an adjoining room, softly played music by Bach, Schumann, and one of his compositions.

When the Church of England refused to sanction the wedding, Reverend Robert Anderson Jardine, the Vicar of St Paul’s Church in Darlington, County Durham, England, offered to perform the ceremony. When Reverend Jardine returned home to Darlington, he soon became aware that he had performed an act that the Church of England could not accept. He was forced to resign his position, and under pressure, he left England and settled in California.

The religious service was held in the music room. An improvised altar of an oak chest was in an alcove of the room. At each end of the altar was a single yellow candle with a cross in the middle. David and his best man entered the room and awaited the bride. While Marcel Dupré played the march from Georg Friedrich Handel’s oratorio “Judas Maccabeus”, Wallis entered the room on the arm of her friend Herman Rogers. Reverand Jardine performed the traditional Church of England wedding ceremony. During the benediction, Marcel Dupre played “O Perfect Love”. Ironically, “O Perfect Love” was specially written by English composer Sir Joseph Barnby for the wedding of David’s paternal aunt Louise, Princess Royal, and Alexander Duff, 1st Duke of Fife.  “O Perfect Love” remains a popular wedding anthem.

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After the wedding, the newlyweds led the guests to the terrace where the best man gave a champagne toast to the bride and groom’s happiness and long life together. The guests dined on a buffet luncheon of lobster, chicken a la king, salad, and strawberries. There was a three-foot-high wedding cake that the newlyweds cut together. More than 2,000 telegrams were delivered and were packed up to be taken on the honeymoon, to be read at the couple’s leisure.

At 6:25 PM, the Duke and Duchess of Windsor climbed into their limousine, driven by George Ladbrooke, the Duke’s chauffeur for seventeen years, for the drive to the train station. Ahead of them went 226 pieces of luggage, including 183 trunks. They went by train to Wasserleonburg Castle in Austria where they spent their three-month honeymoon.

Wallis’ Style and Title

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On December 12, 1936, at the accession meeting of the Privy Council, the new King George VI announced he was giving his brother the title Duke of Windsor with the style of Royal Highness. Letters Patent dated May 27, 1937 re-conferred the “title, style, or attribute of Royal Highness” upon the Duke of Windsor, but specifically stated that “his wife and descendants, if any, shall not hold said title or attribute”. This meant that Wallis would be styled as the wife of a duke, Her Grace The Duchess of Windsor, while her husband was styled His Royal Highness The Duke of Windsor.

The legality of King George VI’s Letters Patent stating that David’s style Royal Highness could not be extended to his wife or any children is doubtful. As the son of a British monarch, David was entitled to that style which should have automatically reverted to him upon his abdication without the need of Letters Patent and automatically extended to his legal wife and any legitimate children. David considered the holding back of the style Her Royal Highness from his wife unjust but out of respect for his brother, he never made a public issue. In their household, the Duchess of Windsor was always addressed as Royal Highness.

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

  • Bocca, Geoffrey. (1954). The Woman Who Would Be Queen. New York: Rinehart & Company Inc.
  • En.wikipedia.org. (2019). Wedding dress of Wallis Warfield. [online] Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wedding_dress_of_Wallis_Warfield [Accessed 27 Oct. 2019].
  • Flantzer, Susan. (2013). King Edward VIII, The Duke of Windsor. [online] Unofficial Royalty. Available at: https://www.unofficialroyalty.com/may-28-daily-featured-royal-date/ [Accessed 27 Oct. 2019].
  • Flantzer, Susan. (2013). Wallis, Duchess of Windsor. [online] Unofficial Royalty. Available at: https://www.unofficialroyalty.com/april-24-daily-featured-royal-date/ [Accessed 27 Oct. 2019].
  • Hallemann, Caroline. (2017). Inside the Wedding That Changed the British Royal Family Forever. [online] Town & Country. Available at: https://www.townandcountrymag.com/society/tradition/a9967591/wallis-simpson-prince-edward-wedding/ [Accessed 27 Oct. 2019].
  • Higham, Charles. (1988). The Duchess of Windsor. New York: McGraw-Hill Book Company.
  • Hough, Richard. (1991). Born Royal – The Lives and Loves of the Young Windsors. Leicester: Ulverscroft.
  • Nytimes.com. (1937). Duke Weds Mrs. Warfield; They Start on Austrian Trip; Windsor and Bride Appeal to Press for Privacy–Wed in Simple Civil Ceremony at Chateau, Followed by Anglican Service. [online] Available at: https://www.nytimes.com/1937/06/04/archives/duke-weds-mrs-warfield-they-start-on-austrian-trip-windsor-and.html?searchResultPosition=241 [Accessed 27 Oct. 2019].
  • Nytimes.com. (1937). WINDSOR WEDDING TO HAVE 16 GUESTS; Britain Permits Several Who Hold Official Posts to Attend, but None of Royalty. [online] Available at: https://www.nytimes.com/1937/05/27/archives/windsor-wedding-to-have-16-guests-britain-permits-several-who-hold.html?searchResultPosition=230 [Accessed 27 Oct. 2019].
  • Rothman, Lily. and Ronk, Liz. (2017). Inside the Wedding That Shook the British Monarchy. [online] Time. Available at: https://time.com/4781342/wallis-edward-wedding-photos/ [Accessed 27 Oct. 2019].
  • Staff Writers (2018). Flashback: A royal scandal, the marriage of Wallis and Edward.. [online] The Sydney Morning Herald. Available at: https://www.smh.com.au/world/europe/flashback-a-royal-scandal-the-marriage-of-wallis-and-edward-20180514-p4zf5g.html [Accessed 27 Oct. 2019].

Wedding of Prince Henry, Duke of Gloucester and Lady Alice Montagu Douglas Scott

by Susan Flantzer  © Unofficial Royalty 2019

Photo Credit – The wedding of Prince Henry, Duke of Gloucester and Princess Alice, Duchess of Gloucester by and after Vandyk, hand-coloured bromide print, 6 November 1935, NPG x134883 © National Portrait Gallery, London

Prince Henry, Duke of Gloucester and Lady Alice Montagu Douglas Scott were married on November 6, 1935, at the Private Chapel in Buckingham Palace in London, England. The wedding was originally set to be held at Westminster Abbey but the wedding venue was changed after the death of the bride’s father. John Montagu Douglas Scott, 7th Duke of Buccleuch died from cancer at Bowhill House in Selkirkshire, Borders, Scotland on October 19, 1935, less than three weeks before the wedding date. Because of the circumstances, it was deemed more appropriate to have the wedding at the Private Chapel at Buckingham Palace.

 

Henry’s Early Life

Henry with his siblings in 1912 (Front row) John, Mary and George (Back row) Albert, Henry and Edward; Credit – Wikipedia

Prince Henry was the third son of the five sons and fourth of the six children of George, Duke of York (later King George V) and Victoria Mary of Teck (later Queen Mary). He was born on March 31, 1900, at York Cottage on the Sandringham estate in Norfolk, England. Henry attended St. Peter’s Court School in Kent and then Eton College near Windsor which was unusual for a royal child at that time. He also attended the Royal Military College at Sandhurst and Trinity College, Cambridge. Henry had a military career in the British Army and served with The King’s Royal Rifle Corps and the 10th Royal Hussars. On his 28th birthday, his father King George V created him Duke of Gloucester.

For more information, see Unofficial Royalty: Prince Henry, Duke of Gloucester

Alice’s Early Life

Mary Theresa (née Montagu-Douglas-Scott), Lady Burghley; Princess Alice, Duchess of Gloucester by Lafayette bromide print, circa 1910 NPG Ax29354 © National Portrait Gallery, London

Lady Alice Montagu Douglas Scott was born on December 25, 1901, at Montagu House in Whitehall, London, England. She was the third daughter and the fifth of eight children of John Montagu Douglas Scott, 7th Duke of Buccleuch and 9th Duke of Queensberry and Lady Margaret Bridgeman, daughter of George Bridgeman, 4th Earl of Bradford. Alice’s father was the largest landowner in Scotland, and she was a descendant of King Charles II through an illegitimate line. Alice grew up in her family’s country homes home, Boughton House in Northamptonshire, England, Drumlanrig Castle in Dumfries and Galloway, Scotland and Bowhill House near Selkirk, Scotland. She attended St. James’ School for Girls, in West Malvern, Worcestershire, England.

For more information, see Unofficial Royalty: Lady Alice Montagu Douglas Scott, Duchess of Gloucester

The Engagement

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September 2, 1935: A royal gathering at Balmoral Castle on the occasion of the Duke of Gloucester’s engagement to Lady Alice Montagu Douglas Scott. From left to right: The Duchess of Buccleuch (Alice’s mother), King George V, Lady Alice Montagu Douglas Scott, Prince Henry, Duke of Gloucester and Queen Mary

Both Prince Henry and Lady Alice were older than usual when they married. Henry was 35-years-old and Alice was nearly 34-years-old. Henry’s eldest brother David (the future King Edward VIII and later Duke of Windsor) was also not married and his parents had given up hope. David encouraged Henry’s bachelorhood because it made him feel more comfortable about not being the only single sibling. He also encouraged Henry’s travels which kept him out of any serious relationship. In the early 1930s, most of Henry’s friends thought he had his eye on Lady Alice and that Henry would have courted her if he would settle down.

Pressured by his parents, Prince Henry decided it was time to settle down and started to seriously court Lady Alice, sister of one of his best friends Lord William Montagu Douglas Scott. In May 1935, after an extended stay with an uncle in Kenya, Alice returned home due to her father’s illness and the couple started to see quite a lot of each other. Henry and Alice were staying at Windsor Castle with Queen Mary while King George V, who was ill, was staying at Sandringham. Henry wrote to his father: “I saw Alice Scott several times & met her out riding each morning. I think Mama liked her.” George V replied quickly to his son, a surprise considering his health situation, “Mama thought Alice Scott very nice, glad you saw something of her at Windsor.”

While walking his dogs with Alice at Richmond Park, Henry finally proposed. Alice later wrote in her memoirs: “There was no formal declaration on his part, I think he just muttered it as an aside…nor was there any doubt about my acceptance. I was thirty-four, so I had had a very good innings. Apart from my great happiness in getting married, I felt too that it was time I did something useful with my life.”

King George V wrote to Alice’s father: “I must send you a line to say how delighted the Queen and I are that my son Harry is engaged to be married to your third daughter…Our families have known each other for many generations now, that it gives me great pleasure to think that they will be more closely connected still.”

Sadly, Alice’s father would not live to see her wedding day and Henry’s father would die ten weeks after the wedding.

The Wedding Site

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The Private Chapel at Buckingham Palace was created by Queen Victoria and Prince Albert in 1844 in what had originally been a conservatory. Queen Victoria was delighted with the result, supervised by Prince Albert, and described it as “beautiful” and “exceedingly restrained”. During World War II, the Private Chapel was damaged by bombing and was later incorporated into The Queen’s Gallery. In 1889, the wedding of Henry’s aunt Louise, Princess Royal, Duchess of Fife was the first wedding to take place at the Private Chapel in Buckingham Palace.

Bridesmaids and Supporters

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Left to right, back row: Clare Phipps, The Duke of York (later George VI), Lady Elizabeth Montagu Douglas Scott, the groom and the bride, Lady Angela Montagu Douglas Scott, The Prince of Wales (later Edward VIII), and Moyra Montagu Douglas Scott. Left to right, front row: Lady Mary Cambridge, Princess Elizabeth (later Queen Elizabeth II), Princess Margaret of York and Anne Hawkins

Supporters:

Henry’s two eldest brothers The Prince of Wales (the future King Edward VIII, later the Duke of Windsor) and The Duke of York (the future King George VI) served as his supporters.

Bridesmaids:

  • Princess Elizabeth of York, the groom’s niece, the future Queen Elizabeth II
  • Princess Margaret of York, the groom’s niece, married Antony Armstrong-Jones, later 1st Earl of Snowdon
  • Lady Mary Cambridge, the groom’s first cousin once removed, daughter of George Cambridge, 2nd Marquess of Cambridge (nephew of Queen Mary), married Peter Whitley
  • Lady Angela Montagu Douglas Scott, the bride’s sister, married Vice-Admiral Sir Peter Dawnay
  • Lady Elizabeth Montagu Douglas Scott, the bride’s niece, daughter of Walter Montagu Douglas Scott, 8th Duke of Buccleuch, married Hugh Percy, 10th Duke of Northumberland
  • Anne Hawkins, the bride’s niece, daughter of Lady Margaret Montagu Douglas Scott and Admiral Sir Geoffrey Hawkins, married Commander Michael Edward St. Quintin Wall
  • Clare Phipps, the bride’s niece, daughter of Lady Sybil Montagu Douglas Scott and Charles Phipps, married David Hadow
  • Moyra Montagu Douglas Scott, the bride’s first cousin, daughter of Lord Francis Montagu Douglas Scott, married Colonel David Smiley

Wedding Attire

‘The Royal Wedding’ (Prince Henry, Duke of Gloucester; Princess Alice, Duchess of Gloucester) by Vandyk, published by J. Beagles & Co bromide postcard print, 6 November 1935 NPG x197272 © National Portrait Gallery, London

The groom looked splendid in the blue and gold uniform of the 10th Royal Hussars with the sash and star of the Order of the Garter and black-topped boots. The Prince of Wales wore the uniform of a colonel of the Welsh Guard and the Duke of York wore the uniform of a colonel of the Scots Guards. The bridesmaids wore simple satin dresses with golden satin sashes.

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Alice’s wedding dress was designed by Norman Hartnell, the first of many designs for the women of the British royal family. What was most striking about Alice’s dress was the color. It was not the traditional white but pink. Hartnell described the color as “glimmer of pearl” while others called it “blush pink” or simply “blush-colored.” Alice wanted a simple dress and Hartnell did as he was told. The dress was a modest, simple design, with long, narrow sleeves and a high neckline draped into a nosegay of artificial orange-blossom. The cathedral train was appropriate for the intended setting, Westminster Abbey.

Alice wore a pearl necklace, pearl stud earrings. Her tulle veil was held in place by a crystal headdress specially made for the day, instead of a tiara. The bridal bouquet was of white roses and lilies of the valley with a sprig of myrtle grown from a sprig taken from Queen Victoria’s wedding bouquet. Every royal bride has since carried a sprig of the myrtle for good luck.

The Wedding

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The bride on the way to Buckingham Palace

Henry had breakfast with his parents and from the windows of the palace, they saw that the crowds were already lined up ten deep. Crowds also gathered near Alice’s family home in London, in Grosvenor Place hoping to get a glimpse of her.

The Private Chapel was decorated with hundreds of white flowers. Two gold vases full of lilies stood at the altar. The communion rails had garlands made from lilies, white heather, orange blossoms, roses, and narcissus. Flowers six feet high decorated the pillars.

Waiting in the Private Chapel were about 120 guests, far fewer than there would have been in Westminster Abbey. King George V and Queen Mary (the groom’s parents), Queen Maud of Norway (the groom’s aunt), King George II of Greece (the groom’s second cousin), the Duke of Kent (the groom’s brother), the Duchess of York (the groom’s sister-in-law, the future Queen Elizabeth, wife of King George VI) and The Princess Royal (the groom’s sister Mary) sat on the right side of the altar. Behind them sat the three surviving children of Queen Victoria: Arthur, Duke of Connaught, Princess Louise, and Princess Beatrice, along with Crown Prince Gustaf Adolf of Sweden (the future King Gustaf VI Adolf), and Henry Lascelles, 6th Earl of Harewood (husband of The Princess Royal) and his two sons (the groom’s nephews). On the opposite side sat Walter Montagu Douglas Scott, 8th Duke of Buccleuch and his wife Vreda (the bride’s brother and sister-in-law) and Margaret Montagu Douglas Scott, Dowager Duchess of Buccleuch (the bride’s mother). Behind them sat other relatives and members of the Cabinet.

Alice accompanied by her brother Walter Montagu Douglas Scott, 8th Duke of Buccleuch, taking the place of his recently deceased father, rode in the Glass Coach to Buckingham Palace. After arriving at the palace, they met the bridesmaids in the Drawing Room and walked in a procession to the Private Chapel where the groom was waiting with his two eldest brothers.

The service was conducted by Cosmo Gordon Lang, Archbishop of Canterbury, Arthur Winnington-Ingram, Bishop of London, and Arthur Maclean, Primus of the Scottish Episcopal Church. After the hymn “Praise, My Soul, the King of Heaven” was sung, the Archbishop of Canterbury led the couple through their wedding vows. The Primus of the Scottish Episcopal Church prayed for God’s blessing upon the couple. Then the Archbishop of Canterbury gave a short address, followed by his benediction. While Felix Mendelssohn’s “Wedding March” was played, the newlyweds proceeded to the adjacent household drawing-room to sign the wedding register.

After the Wedding

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Left to right: Princess Elizabeth, Princess Margaret, King George V, Queen Maud of Norway (the king’s sister), The Duke Of Gloucester, The Duchess of Gloucester, and Queen Mary

After the signing of the wedding register, the royal party proceeded to the balcony of Buckingham Palace. Tremendous cheers greeted the newlyweds. When King George V and Queen Mary appeared the cheers were renewed. The crowd was especially delighted at the appearance of Princess Elizabeth and Princess Margaret. The new Duchess of Gloucester waved repeatedly to the crowd before leaving the balcony. Queen Maud, The Princess Royal, the Duchess of York, and other members of the royal family also appeared on the balcony.

The wedding breakfast was very simple. The guests were seated at twelve round tables decorated with gold vases filled with roses, chrysanthemums, heather, and mimosa. The bride and groom sat with King George V, Queen Mary, and Princess Elizabeth of York. King George V made a short toast to the health of the bride and groom.

After the wedding breakfast, the bride and groom were taken by carriage to St. Pancras Station in London. Along the way, the streets were crowded with well-wishers. The train took them to Kettering, Northamptonshire, England where they spent their honeymoon at Boughton House, one of the seats of the Duke of Buccleuch.

Boughton House; Credit – By Euan Myles – Euan Myles Photography, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.w.ikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=52799330

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

  • Bowles, Hamish. (2018). The Royal Bride Who Wore Pink. [online] Vogue. Available at: https://www.vogue.com/article/the-royal-bride-who-wore-pink-princess-alice-duchess-of-gloucester [Accessed 27 Oct. 2019].
  • En.wikipedia.org. (2019). Wedding dress of Lady Alice Montagu Douglas Scott. [online] Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wedding_dress_of_Lady_Alice_Montagu_Douglas_Scott [Accessed 27 Oct. 2019].
  • Flantzer, S. (2014). Princess Alice, Duchess of Gloucester. [online] Unofficial Royalty. Available at: https://www.unofficialroyalty.com/princess-alice-duchess-of-gloucester/ [Accessed 27 Oct. 2019].
  • Flantzer, Susan. (2013). Prince Henry, Duke of Gloucester. [online] Unofficial Royalty. Available at: https://www.unofficialroyalty.com/june-10-daily-featured-royal-date/ [Accessed 27 Oct. 2019].
  • Hough, Richard. (1991). Born Royal – The Lives and Loves of the Young Windsors. Leicester: Ulverscroft.
  • Nytimes.com. (1935). WEDDING BELLS FOR ANOTHER ROYAL SON; Duke of Gloucester’s Marriage Leaves the Prince of Wales Alone Unwed ANOTHER ROYAL SON TO WED The Marriage of the Duke of Gloucester Will Leave the Prince of Wales Alone a Bachelor. [online] Available at: https://www.nytimes.com/1935/11/03/archives/wedding-bells-for-another-royal-son-duke-of-gloucesters-marriage.html?ref=oembed [Accessed 27 Oct. 2019].
  • Orderofsplendor.blogspot.com. (2011). Wedding Wednesday: Alice, Duchess of Gloucester’s Gown. [online] Available at: http://orderofsplendor.blogspot.com/2011/11/wedding-wednesday-alice-duchess-of.html [Accessed 27 Oct. 2019].
  • Pope-Hennessy, James. (1959). Queen Mary, 1867-1953. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, Inc.
  • Trove. (1935). ROYAL WEDDING – QUIET CEREMONY IN PALACE CHAPEL LONDON REGRETS LACK OF PAGEANTRY CROWDS CHEER HAPPY COUPLE LONDON, Nov. 6. – The Argus (Melbourne, Vic. : 1848 – 1957) – 7 Nov 1935. [online] Available at: https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/11852400 [Accessed 27 Oct. 2019].

Wedding of Prince George, Duke of Kent and Princess Marina of Greece and Denmark

by Susan Flantzer
© Unofficial Royalty 2019

Wedding of Prince George, Duke of Kent and Princess Marina of Greece by Bassano Ltd 12 x 10 inch glass plate negative, 29 November 1934 NPG x95790 © National Portrait Gallery, London

Prince George, Duke of Kent and Princess Marina of Greece and Denmark were married in a Church of England ceremony at Westminster Abbey in London, England on November 29, 1934, followed by a Greek Orthodox service at the Private Chapel in Buckingham Palace. This was the last time a foreign princess married into the British Royal Family. It was the first time that a royal wedding was broadcast over the radio.

George’s Early Life

Prince George with his siblings in 1902; (Sitting left to right, John, Mary, George, Standing left to right Albert (future King George VI), Henry, Edward (known as David, future King Edward VIII); Credit – Wikipedia

Prince George, Duke of Kent was the fifth of six children of the future King George V and Queen Mary. He was born on December 20, 1902, at York Cottage on the Sandringham Estate in Norfolk, England. George’s siblings were King Edward VIII, later Duke of Windsor; King George VI; Mary, Princess Royal, Countess of Harewood; Prince Henry, Duke of Gloucester; and Prince John who died at age thirteen due to epilepsy complications.

George’s education began privately at home, and then he attended St Peter’s Court Preparatory School in Kent, England. After attending the Royal Naval Colleges at Osborne and at Dartmouth, George served in the Royal Navy until 1929. He then became the first member of the British Royal Family to work as a civil servant, taking up positions in the Foreign Office and then the Home Office. On October 12, 1934, six weeks before his marriage to Princess Marina, he was created Duke of Kent, Earl of St Andrews, and Baron Downpatrick.

Learn more about Prince George at Unofficial Royalty: Prince George, Duke of Kent

Marina’s Early Life

Marina on the right with her sisters Olga and Elizabeth; Credit – Wikipedia

Princess Marina of Greece and Denmark was born on December 13, 1906, in Athens, Greece. She was the youngest of the three daughters of Prince Nicholas of Greece and Denmark (a son of King George I of the Hellenes, born Prince Vilhelm of Denmark) and Grand Duchess Elena Vladimirovna of Russia (a granddaughter of Alexander II, Emperor of All Russia). Through her father, Marina was the first cousin of Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh.

Marina and her sisters grew up with their paternal grandparents in Athens, Greece. They were educated by English governesses and were taught foreign languages, history, and mathematics by private tutors. The year 1913 brought the family’s idyllic life to an end. Marina’s grandfather King George I was assassinated. In 1917, when her uncle King Constantine I was forced from the Greek throne, Marina’s family joined Constantine in exile in Switzerland. World War I had wiped out her mother’s Russian fortune and the family faced financial difficulties for the first time. Marina’s family returned to Greece in 1920 when King Constantine I was restored to the throne but again went into exile two years later when he was forced to abdicate. After staying in Italy and England, Marina’s family settled in Paris, where they relied upon the generosity of her father’s elder brother Prince George and his very wealthy wife Princess Marie Bonaparte.

Learn more about Princess Marina at Unofficial Royalty: Princess Marina of Greece and Denmark, Duchess of Kent

The Engagement

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In September 1933, Marina traveled to London with her sister Olga and Olga’s husband Prince Paul of Yugoslavia. Both Marina and George attended a luncheon at Claridge’s Hotel. The two were second cousins as they were both great-grandchildren of King Christian IX of Denmark. They had met many times before but at the luncheon, they each paid more attention to the other. George’s eldest brother encouraged him to court Marina.

The next summer, Marina’s mother and other members of the Greek royal family came to London, and George and Marina began a serious courtship. On the evening of August 20, 1934, after a game of backgammon, Marina’s family left her alone with George and he proposed. On August 28, 1934, Buckingham Palace announced the engagement of Prince George, Duke of Kent to Princess Marina of Greece and Denmark.

The Wedding Site

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Westminster Abbey was completed around 1060 and was consecrated in 1065, during the reign of Edward the Confessor. Construction of the second and present church was begun in 1245 by Henry III who selected the site for his burial. In 1269, Henry III oversaw a grand ceremony to rebury Edward the Confessor in a magnificent new shrine, personally helping to carry the body to its new resting place.

Westminster Abbey was the wedding venue for six royal weddings during the reigns of the Plantagenet kings including the wedding of King Richard II to Anne of Bohemia in 1382. That would be the last royal wedding at Westminster Abbey until the reign of King George V. Queen Victoria’s granddaughter and King George V’s first cousin Princess Patricia of Connaught married The Honorable Alexander Ramsay at Westminster Abbey in 1919. This was the first major royal event after World War I.

The wedding of George’s sister Princess Mary and Viscount Lascelles in 1922 was the first time a child of a monarch had married at Westminster Abbey since 1290 when Margaret of England, daughter of King Edward I, married John II, Duke of Brabant. George’s brother Prince Albert, Duke of York, the future King George VI, had married Lady Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon at Westminster Abbey in 1923. Because there had not been a royal wedding for eleven years, there was much excitement about the wedding of George and Marina.

Wedding Guests

1,500 guests attended the wedding at Westminster Abbey. Members of the British royal family attended the wedding along with members of the royal families of Denmark, Greece, and Yugoslavia. Also in attendance were members of the former reigning royal families of Russia, Prussia, Austria, and other lesser royals who had also lost their thrones after World War I. Among the guests were the American-born British shipbroker Ernest Simpson and his American wife Wallis, who would soon become a household name. Also in Westminster Abbey, was an eight-year-old bridesmaid, the niece of the groom, the future Queen Elizabeth II, and the thirteen-year-old first cousin of the bride, Prince Philip of Greece and Denmark, the future Duke of Edinburgh.

Bridesmaids and Supporters

The wedding of Prince George, Duke of Kent and Princess Marina, Duchess of Kent by Bassano Ltd, 12 x 10 inch glass plate negative, 29 November 1934, NPG x95791 © National Portrait Gallery, London

George’s two eldest brothers The Prince of Wales (the future King Edward VIII, later the Duke of Windsor) and The Duke of York (the future King George VI) served as best man and his supporter.

The eight bridesmaids were related to the bride and/or the groom:

  • Princess Irene of Greece and Denmark, the bride’s first cousin and groom’s second cousin, daughter of King Constantine I of Greece and Princess Sophie of Prussia (granddaughter of Queen Victoria), married Prince Aimone, Duke of Aosta
  • Princess Katherine of Greece and Denmark, the bride’s first cousin and groom’s second cousin, daughter of King Constantine I of Greece and Princess Sophie of Prussia (granddaughter of Queen Victoria), married Major Richard Brandram
  • Princess Eugénie of Greece and Denmark, the bride’s first cousin, daughter of Prince George of Greece and Denmark, married (1) Prince Dominic Radziwill (2) husband Prince Raymundo della Torre e Tasso, Duke of Castel Duino
  • Grand Duchess Kira Kirillovna of Russia, the bride’s first cousin and the groom’s second cousin, daughter of Grand Duke Kirill Vladimirovich of Russia and Princess Victoria Melita of Edinburgh and Saxe-Coburg and Gotha (granddaughter of Queen Victoria), married Prince Louis Ferdinand of Prussia
  • Princess Juliana of the Netherlands, the bride’s first cousin once removed, the future Queen Juliana of the Netherlands, daughter of Queen Wilhelmina of the Netherlands, married Prince Bernhard of Lippe-Biesterfeld
  • Princess Elizabeth of York, the groom’s niece and the bride’s second cousin once removed, the future Queen Elizabeth II, married the bride’s first cousin Prince Philip of Greece and Denmark
  • Lady Iris Mountbatten, the groom’s second cousin, daughter of Alexander Mountbatten, 1st Marquess of Carisbrooke, (grandson of Queen Victoria), married (1) Hamilton O’Malley (2) Michael Bryan (3) William Kemp
  • Lady Mary Cambridge, the groom’s first cousin once removed, daughter of George Cambridge, 2nd Marquess of Cambridge (nephew of Queen Mary), married Peter Whitley

Wedding Attire

The Wedding of Princess Marina, Duchess of Kent and Prince George, Duke of Kent by Elliott & Fry vintage contact print, 29 November 1934 NPG x104247 © National Portrait Gallery, London

Prince George, Duke of Kent was dressed in military uniform with ropes, sash, and medals including the Royal Victorian Order, the Order of the Thistle, the Order of the Garter, and the Order of St Michael and St George.

Princess Marina, Duchess of Kent by Elliott & Fry half-plate negative, 29 November 1934 NPG x82064 © National Portrait Gallery, London

Princess Marina was considered the most glamorous of the early Windsor brides. Her gown, designed by British designer Edward Molyneux, was made from silver and white brocade with a flower design and was lined with silver lamé. The court train was fifteen feet long and the sleeves were long and in a medieval style. The veil, made of handmade lace and white tulle, had been worn by Marina’s mother, born Grand Duchess Elena Vladimirovna of Russia, and by Marina’s sister Olga at their weddings. It was secured by the Kent City of London Fringe Tiara, a wedding gift to Marina from the City of London. Princess Marina was the first British royal bride to wear the now de rigueur tiara.

The Kent City of London Fringe Tiara; Photo Credit – http://orderofsplendor.blogspot.com

The Wedding

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At 8 AM on November 29, 1934, the first guests began to arrive at Westminster Abbey, dressed in uniforms and evening dress. An hour later, arriving guests found it difficult to make their way into Westminster Abbey due to the huge crowds that had gathered.

The groom’s parents King George V and Queen Mary led the royal procession from Buckingham Palace to Westminster Abbey, departing as scheduled at 10:35 AM. King Haakon V (first cousin once removed of both the bride and groom) and Queen Maud of Norway (the groom’s aunt), King Christian X of Denmark (the first cousin once removed of both the bride and groom) and his wife Queen Alexandrine, former King George II of Greece (second cousin of both the bride and groom), Prince Paul of Yugoslavia (the bride’s brother-in-law) and Princess Nicholas of Greece (the bride’s mother) followed in the royal procession to Westminster Abbey. Prince George, Duke of Kent left St. James’ Palace at 10:44 AM with his brothers The Prince of Wales and The Duke of York. Two minutes later, Princess Marina and her father Prince Nicholas of Greece left Buckingham Palace.

At 10:50 AM, members of the various royal families began the royal procession into Westminster Abbey which ended with King George V and Queen Mary. Following the royal procession, the groom made his way down the aisle accompanied by his two eldest brothers the Prince of Wales (the future King Edward VIII, later the Duke of Windsor) and the Duke of York (the future King George VI). Princess Marina, on the arm of her father Prince Nicholas of Greece, and accompanied by her eight bridesmaids, proceeded to the altar to the organ playing “The Bridal March” by Hubert Parry. Eight-year-old Princess Elizabeth of York and ten-year-old Lady Mary Cambridge carried the bride’s veil. After the bride reached the altar, the hymn “Gracious Spirit, Holy Ghost” was sung.

Cosmo Gordon Lang, Archbishop of Canterbury conducted the wedding ceremony, and referring to the radio broadcast, he said, “The whole nation, nay the whole empire, are wedding guests.” The couple took their vows as the bridesmaids stood in two lines behind them. After two prayers and the choir’s melodious “Amens”, the bridal couple moved to the altar. Psalms were sung and the Lord’s Prayer was said. After additional prayers and the hymn “God Be in My Head”, the Archbishop of Canterbury gave his address followed by his benediction and the national anthem, “God Save The King.” The choir then sang an anthem specially written for the occasion, “Alleluia, The Lord Send You Help from the Sanctuary”. The bride, the groom, their parents, and other royalty signed the wedding register in the Chapel of St. Edward the Confessor.

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Upon returning to Buckingham Palace, a Greek Orthodox wedding ceremony was held in the Private Chapel officiated by The Metropolitan Dr. Strinopoulos Germanos, Head of the Greek Orthodox Church in England.

After the Wedding

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A wedding breakfast was held for 120 guests at Buckingham Palace. There were five wedding cakes and the largest one was cut with the groom’s sword. Shortly before 1:30 PM, the newlyweds appeared on the balcony. As George and Marina left Buckingham Palace for Paddington Station, they were pelted by rose petals confetti shaped in symbols of good luck: silver shoes, horseshoes, and true lovers’ knots. The Prince of Wales and the Duke of York then ran after the carriage in the palace forecourt tossing the symbols of good luck at the newlyweds.

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On the way to Paddington Stations, the couple was greeted by crowds of people lining the streets. They spent their honeymoon at Himley Hall in Himley, Staffordshire, England, the country estate of William Ward, 3rd Earl of Dudley.

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At Paddington Station, ready to leave for their honeymoon

Children

 

George and Marina had three children. Sadly, just six weeks after the birth of their youngest child Prince Michael, George was killed when his military plane crashed in Scotland on August 25, 1942.

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

  • Hough, Richard. (1991). Born Royal – The Lives and Loves of the Young Windsors. Leicester: Ulverscroft.
  • Jewels, K. and Jeweller, T. (2019). Kent Royal Wedding Jewels. [online] Thecourtjeweller.com. Available at: http://www.thecourtjeweller.com/2019/05/kent-royal-wedding-jewels.html [Accessed 26 Oct. 2019].
  • Mehl, Scott. (2014). Prince George, Duke of Kent. [online] Unofficial Royalty. Available at: https://www.unofficialroyalty.com/prince-george-duke-of-kent/ [Accessed 26 Oct. 2019].
  • Mehl, Scott. (2014). Princess Marina, Duchess of Kent. [online] Unofficial Royalty. Available at: https://www.unofficialroyalty.com/princess-marina-duchess-of-kent/ [Accessed 26 Oct. 2019].
  • News.google.com. (1934). Dense Crowds Throng Around Westminster To See Processions. [online] Available at: https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=gBRkAAAAIBAJ&sjid=BnsNAAAAIBAJ&pg=1563,3406056&dq=prince+george+duke+of+kent&hl=en [Accessed 26 Oct. 2019].
  • News.google.com. (1934). Prince George, Son of King To Be Married. [online] Available at: https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=0owjAAAAIBAJ&sjid=HZkFAAAAIBAJ&pg=6110,3145586&hl=en [Accessed 26 Oct. 2019].
  • News.google.com. (1934). Royal Wedding – King and Queen See Rehearsals. [online] Available at: https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=jOpUAAAAIBAJ&sjid=6JEDAAAAIBAJ&pg=7191,2539668&dq=princess+marina&hl=en [Accessed 26 Oct. 2019].
  • Nytimes.com. (1934). Glittering Gathering in Abbey.. [online] Available at: https://www.nytimes.com/1934/11/30/archives/glittering-gathering-in-abbey.html?searchResultPosition=4 [Accessed 26 Oct. 2019].
  • Nytimes.com. (1934). MARGOT ASQUITH HAILS ‘LOVE MATCH’; Happy Expressions on Faces of Princess Marina and Duke of Kent Move Her. THRONGS WELL MANNERED Writer Marvels at Good Humor of Britons That Makes Rulers Safe in Their Midst.. [online] Available at: https://www.nytimes.com/1934/11/30/archives/margot-asquith-hails-love-match-happy-expressions-on-faces-of.html?searchResultPosition=3 [Accessed 26 Oct. 2019].
  • Nytimes.com. (1934). PRINCE GEORGE GOES ABROAD FOR A BRIDE; His Wedding With Princess Marina Allies Windsor With a Dispossessed Dynasty. [online] Available at: https://www.nytimes.com/1934/09/02/archives/prince-george-goes-abroad-for-a-bride-his-wedding-with-princess.html?searchResultPosition=2 [Accessed 26 Oct. 2019].
  • Orderofsplendor.blogspot.com. (2012). Wedding Wednesday: Princess Marina’s Gown. [online] Available at: http://orderofsplendor.blogspot.com/2012/10/wedding-wednesday-princess-marinas-gown.html [Accessed 26 Oct. 2019].
  • Pope-Hennessy, James. (1959). Queen Mary, 1867-1953. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, Inc.

Wedding of Louise, Princess Royal and Alexander Duff, 1st Duke of Fife

by Susan Flantzer  © Unofficial Royalty 2019

The Marriage of Princess Louise of Wales with the Duke of Fife at Buckingham Palace, 27th July 1889 by Sydney Prior Hall; Credit – Royal Collection Trust

The painting above depicts the couple kneeling at the altar, Behind them, from right to left: The Prince of Wales; Ludwig IV, Grand Duke of Hesse and by Rhine; Queen Victoria; The Princess of Wales and her brothers King George I of Greece, and Crown Frederik of Denmark

On July 27, 1889, in the Private Chapel of Buckingham Palace in London, England, Princess Louise of Wales (later The Princess Royal), the eldest daughter of The Prince of Wales (later King Edward VII), married Alexander Duff, then the 6th Earl Fife, later 1st Duke of Fife.

Louise’s Early Life

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Princess Louise of Wales was born on February 20, 1867, at her parents’ London home, Marlborough House. She was the third of the six children and the eldest of the three daughters of The Prince of Wales, the future King Edward VII, and The Princess of Wales, born Princess Alexandra of Denmark. Louise was the granddaughter of two monarchs, Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom and King Christian IX of Denmark.

Unlike their beautiful mother, Louise and her sisters Victoria and Maud were not considered attractive and had the rather unpleasant nickname of “The Hags.” Their education was minimal although they had been taught music. In public, the sisters appeared shy and did not want to be noticed or have others talk about them. In private, they were less inhibited and took part in the family tradition of practical jokes. Every summer, the whole family went to Denmark, the homeland of Louise’s mother, where relatives from all parts of Europe gathered.

Alexandra was extremely possessive of her children and prolonged their childhood far past the norm. For example, Louise, at age 19, was given a child’s birthday party. While Louise and Maud married, their sister Victoria was not allowed to marry so that she could serve as a companion to her mother.

To learn more about Louise, see Unofficial Royalty: Princess Louise, Princess Royal, Duchess of Fife

Alexander’s Early Life

Alexander Duff, 1st Duke of Fife, 1889; Credit – Wikipedia

Alexander Duff, 1st Duke of Fife, was born in Edinburgh, Scotland on November 10, 1849. He was the only son of James Duff, 5th Earl Fife and Lady Agnes Hay, daughter of William Hay, 18th Earl of Erroll and Lady Elizabeth FitzClarence, an illegitimate daughter of King William IV and his mistress Dorothea Jordan. Alexander had two older sisters and two younger sisters. When Alexander’s father became 5th Earl Fife in 1857, he was able to use the courtesy title Viscount Macduff, and Macduff became his nickname. Alexander was educated at Eton College.

In 1874, Alexander was elected to Parliament as a Liberal Party member for the Scottish constituency Elginshire and Nairnshire. He remained in Parliament until his father’s death in 1879 when he became the 6th Earl Fife and then had a seat in the House of Lords.

About Alexander Duff’s Titles

Alexander was married as the 6th Earl Fife. Two days after the wedding, Queen Victoria created him Duke of Fife and Marquess of Macduff in the County of Banff in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. The Letters Patent contained the standard remainder that the peerages were to be inherited by the “heirs male of his body”. Alexander and Louise had two daughters. When it appeared that they would have no more children and Alexander’s peerages would be extinct upon his death, Queen Victoria issued another Letters Patent. The Queen once again created Alexander Duke of Fife and Marquess of Macduff but with the remainder that in default of a male heir, these peerages would pass to the daughters of the 1st Duke and then to their male descendants.

When Alexander died in 1912, all his titles created before the 1900 titles became extinct because there was no male heir, and his elder daughter Alexandra became 2nd Duchess of Fife in her own right. Because her son and only child predeceased her, upon Alexandra’s death in 1959, James Carnegie, her nephew, the son of her sister Maud, became the 3rd Duke of Fife. When Carnegie’s father died in 1992, he became the 12th Earl of Southesk.

To learn more about Alexander, see Unofficial Royalty: Alexander Duff, 1st Duke of Fife

The Engagement

Louise and Alexander in 1889; Credit – Wikipedia

Despite her mother’s possessiveness and her grandmother’s matchmaking, Louise decided that she wanted to marry for love. She preferred to marry a British subject rather than a European prince that would take her away from home and so, like her aunt Princess Louise who had married the future 9th Duke of Argyll, she chose a husband from the British aristocracy, Alexander Duff, then the 6th Earl Fife. Louise and Alexander were third cousins via their mutual descent from King George III. Alexander’s descent was via the long-time relationship of King George III’s third son, the future King William IV, with actress Dorothea Jordan by whom he had ten children who married into the British aristocracy. Alexander was eighteen years older than Louise. He was a close friend of Louise’s father The Prince of Wales who was only eight years older than Alexander. Alexander was a regular companion of the Prince and frequently went shooting with Louise’s father and brothers so he was someone Louise saw often.

When Louise’s grandmother Queen Victoria arrived at Sandringham to discuss a potential engagement with Louise’s parents, she was met by Louise who tearfully explained that if she was not allowed to marry Alexander, she would die an old maid. Queen Victoria, who had known Alexander since childhood, explained that as her grandmother and sovereign, she had to spend some time with her potential groom before deciding about the marriage. Queen Victoria was partial to Scotsmen and when she spent some time with Alexander, she approved the marriage.

Queen Victoria recorded in her journal on June 27, 1889, that she had officially given her approval to the marriage. On that same day, she wrote a letter to Alexander: “…I love my granddaughters dearly and they are like my own children: their happiness is very near my heart. Dear Louise, will, I am sure, be happy with you, whom I have known and liked since childhood. That my dear beloved grandchild should have her home in Scotland and in the dear Highlands is an additional satisfaction to me.” She signed the letter “your very affectionate future Grandmama.”

The Wedding Site

Buckingham Palace: The Private Chapel 1843-4 by Douglas Morrison; Credit – Royal Collection Trust

The Private Chapel at Buckingham Palace was created by Queen Victoria and Prince Albert in 1844 in what had originally been a conservatory. Queen Victoria was delighted with the result, supervised by Prince Albert, and described it as “beautiful” and “exceedingly restrained”. During World War II, the Private Chapel was damaged by bombing and was later incorporated into The Queen’s Gallery. The wedding of Princess Louise of Wales was the first wedding to take place at the Private Chapel at Buckingham Palace.

Wedding Guests

Royal Guests

  • Queen Victoria, grandmother of the bride
  • The Prince of Wales, father of the bride, the future King Edward VII
  • The Princess of Wales, mother of the bride, born Princess Alexandra of Denmark
  • Prince Albert Victor of Wales, brother of the bride
  • Prince George of Wales, brother of the bride, the future King George V
  • Princess Victoria of Wales, sister of the bride
  • Princess Maud of Wales, sister of the bride
  • Princess Christian of Schleswig-Holstein, Princess Helena, aunt of the bride
  • Prince Christian of Schleswig-Holstein, uncle of the bride
  • Princess Helena Victoria of Schleswig-Holstein, first cousin of the bride
  • Princess Marie Louise of Schleswig-Holstein, first cousin of the bride
  • Prince Christian Victor of Schleswig-Holstein, first cousin of the bride
  • Prince Albert of Schleswig-Holstein, first cousin of the bride
  • Princess Louise, Marchioness of Lome, aunt of the bride
  • John Campbell, Marquess of Lorne, uncle of the bride
  • Princess Henry of Battenberg, Princess Beatrice, aunt of the bride
  • Prince Henry of Battenberg, uncle of the bride
  • Princess Frederica of Hanover, Baroness von Pawel Rammingen, second cousin once removed of the bride
  • Baron Alfons Von Pawel Rammingen, husband of Princess Frederica of Hanover
  • Prince George, Duke of Cambridge, first cousin twice removed of the bride
  • Princess Mary Adelaide of Cambridge, Duchess of Teck, first cousin twice removed of the bride
  • Prince Francis, Duke of Teck, husband of Princess Mary Adelaide of Cambridge
  • Princess Victoria Mary of Teck, second cousin once removed of the bride and her future sister-in-law
  • Prince Francis of Teck, second cousin once removed of the bride, the future Queen Mary, wife of King George V
  • Prince Alexander of Teck, second cousin once removed of the bride
  • Prince Edward of Saxe- Weimar
  • Princess Edward of Saxe-Weimar, born Lady Augusta Gordon-Lennox
  • Prince Victor of Hohenlohe, first cousin once removed of the bride
  • Princess Victor of Hohenlohe, born Laura Williamina Seymour
  • Countess Feodore Gleichen, second cousin of the bride
  • Countess Victoria Gleichen, second cousin of the bride
  • Countess Helen Gleichen, second cousin of the bride
  • Count Gleichen, second cousin of the bride
  • King George I of Greece, uncle of the bride, born Prince Vilhelm of Denmark
  • Ludwig IV, Grand Duke of Hesse and by Rhine, widower of Princess Alice, uncle of the bride
  • Crown Prince Fredrik of Denmark, first cousin of the bride, the future King Frederik VIII of Denmark
  • Ernst, Hereditary Prince of Hohenlohe Langenburg, second cousin of the bride, the future
  • Ernst II, Prince of Hohenlohe-Langenburg

The Queen’s Household

  • Louisa Montagu Douglas Scott, Duchess of Buccleuch, Mistress of the Robes
  • Eliza Hay, Countess of Erroll, Lady of the Bedchamber in Waiting
  • The Honorable Emily Cathcart, Woman of the Bedchamber
  • Miss Ina McNeill, Woman of the Bedchamber
  • The Honorable Evelyn Paget, Maid of Honor in Waiting
  • The Honorable Marie Adeane, Maid of Honor in Waiting
  • William Edgcumbe, 4th Earl of Mount-Edgcumbe, Lord Steward
  • Edward Bootle-Wilbraham, 1st Earl of Lathom, Lord Chamberlain
  • William Cavendish-Bentinck, 6th Duke of Portland, Master of the Horse
  • General Sir Henry Ponsonby, Private Secretary and Keeper of the Privy Purse
  • William Pleydell-Bouverie, 5th Earl of Radnor, Treasurer of the Household
  • Lord Arthur Hill, Comptroller of the Household
  • William Legge, Viscount Lewisham, Vice-Chamberlain
  • Field-Marshal Sir Patrick Grant, Gold Stick in Waiting
  • William Pery, 3rd Earl of Limerick, Captain of the Yeomen of the Guard
  • Major-General Sir John Cowell, Master of the Household
  • General Lord de Ros, Lord in Waiting
  • Major Sir F. I. Edwards, Groom in Waiting
  • Colonel The Honorable H. W. J. Ryng, Equerry in Waiting
  • The Honorable W. Carrington, Equerry in Waiting
  • Colonel The Honorable O. Montagu, Silver Stick in Waiting
  • Colonel H. H. D. Stracey, The Field Officer in Brigade Waiting
  • The Honorable Sir S. Ponsonby Fane, Comptroller in the Lord Chamberlain’s Department
  • Mr. Conway Seymour, Gentleman Usher in Waiting
  • Mr. E. H. Anson, Gentleman Usher in Waiting
  • Mr. Arnold Royle, Gentleman Usher in Waiting
  • Captain C. G. Nelson, Gentleman Usher in Waiting
  • The Honorable Henry Stonor, Gentleman Usher in Waiting

Attendants to Other Royalty

  • Charles Harbord, 5th Baron Suffield, Lord in Waiting to The Prince of Wales
  • General Sir Dighton M. Probyn, Comptroller and Treasurer to The Prince of Wales
  • Sir Francis Knollys, Private Secretary to The Prince of Wales
  • Major-General Arthur Ellis, Equerry in Waiting to The Prince of Wales
  • Charles Colville, 1st Viscount Colville of Culross, Chamberlain to The Princess of Wales
  • Lady Emily Kingscote, Lady of the Bedchamber to The Princess of Wales
  • Miss Charlotte Knollys, Woman of the Bedchamber to The Princess of Wales
  • Captain Holford, Equerry in Waiting to Prince Albert Victor
  • The Honorable Mrs. J. M. Stopford, Lady in Waiting to Princess Christian of Schleswig-Holstein
  • Lieutenant-Colonel The Honorable C. G. C. Eliot, Equerry in Waiting to Prince Christian of Schleswig-Holstein
  • Lady Sophia Macnamara, Lady in Waiting to Princess Louise, Marchioness of Lorne
  • Lieutenant-Colonel Arthur Collins, Comptroller and Equerry to Princess Louise, Marchioness of Lorne
  • The Honorable Lady Biddulph, Lady in Waiting to Princess Henry of Battenberg
  • Colonel J. Clerk, Equerry in Waiting to Prince Henry of Battenberg
  • Miss Trotter, Lady in Attendance to Princess Frederica of Hanover, Baroness von Pawel Rammingen
  • Major-General R. Bateson, Equerry in Waiting to Prince George, Duke of Cambridge
  • The Honorable Mary Thesiger, Lady in Waiting to Princess Mary Adelaide of Cambridge, Duchess of Teck
  • Captain Edgar Sebright, Equerry in Waiting to Princess Mary Adelaide of Cambridge, Duchess of Teck
  • Colonel E. Hadjipetros, Gentleman in Waiting to King George I of Greece
  • Charles Marsham, 4th Earl of Romney, Lord in Waiting to The Queen in Attendance on King George I of Greece
  • Baron Grancy, Equerry to Ludwig IV, Grand Duke of Hesse and by Rhine
  • Lord E. Pelham Clinton, Groom in Waiting to The Queen in Attendance on Ludwig IV, Grand Duke of Hesse and by Rhine
  • Captain Bull, Equerry to Crown Prince Frederik of Denmark
  • Colonel Stanley Clark, Equerry to The Prince of Wales in Attendance on Crown Prince Frederik of Denmark

Other Guests

  • George Cadogan, 5th Earl Cadogan and Beatrix Cadogan, Countess Cadogan
  • Charles Gordon-Lennox, 6th Duke of Richmond and his daughter Lady Caroline Gordon-Lennox
  • William Beauclerk, 10th Duke of St. Albans and Grace Beauclerk, Duchess of St. Albans
  • William Montagu Douglas Scott, 6th Duke of Buccleuch
  • George Campbell, 8th Duke of Argyll and Amelia Campbell, Duchess of Argyll
  • Anne Murray, Dowager Duchess of Atholl
  • Susanna Innes-Ker, Dowager Duchess of Roxburghe
  • James Innes-Ker, 7th Duke of Roxburghe and Anne Innes-Ker, Duchess of Roxburghe
  • Winifred Cavendish-Bentinck, Duchess of Portland
  • William Montagu, 7th Duke of Manchester and Louisa Montagu, Duchess of Manchester
  • James Hamilton, 2nd Duke of Abercorn and Mary Anna Hamilton, Duchess of Abercorn
  • Hugh Grosvenor, 1st Duke of Westminster and Katherine Grosvenor, Duchess of Westminster
  • Christian de Falbe, Danish Ambassador and Madame de Falbe
  • The Greek Ambassador
  • Schomberg Kerr, 9th Marquess of Lothian and Victoria Kerr, Marchioness of Lothian
  • Robert Gascoyne-Cecil, 3rd Marquess of Salisbury, Prime Minister and Georgina Gascoyne-Cecil, Marchioness of Salisbury
  • Charles Vane-Tempest-Stewart, 6th Marquess of Londonderry and Theresa Vane-Tempest-Stewart, Marchioness of Londonderry
  • Spencer Cavendish, Marquess of Hartington
  • Lady Geraldine Somerset
  • William Hay, 19th Earl of Erroll
  • Alice Douglas, Dowager Countess of Morton
  • Archibald Primrose, 5th Earl of Rosebery and Hannah Primrose, Countess of Rosebery
  • Thomas Parker, 6th Earl of Macclesfield and Mary Frances Parker, Countess of Macclesfield
  • John Poyntz Spencer, 5th Earl Spencer and Charlotte Spencer, Countess Spencer
  • John Scott, 4th Earl of Clonmell
  • Archibald Acheson, 4th Earl of Gosford and Louisa Acheson, Countess of Gosford
  • Adelbert Brownlow-Cust, 3rd Earl Brownlow and Adelaide Brownlow-Cust, Countess Brownlow
  • Granville Leveson-Gower, 2nd Earl Granville and Marie Louise Leveson-Gower, Countess Granville
  • Thomas Coke, 2nd Earl of Leicester and Georgina Coke, Countess of Leicester
  • Charles Noel, 3rd Earl of Gainsborough and Augusta Noel, Countess of Gainsborough
  • John Townshend, 1st Earl Sydney and Emily Sydney, Countess Sydney
  • Lord A. Somerset
  • Lord and Lady Randolph Churchill
  • Lady Agnes Townshend
  • Lady Alfred Paget
  • Lady Colville of Culross
  • Lady Suffield
  • Dowager Lady Churchill
  • Lord De L’Isle and Dudley
  • Lord and Lady Vivian
  • Lord Rowton
  • Lord and Lady Rothschild
  • Lord and Lady Wantage
  • Admiral of the Fleet The Honorable Sir Henry Keppel
  • The Honorable Mrs. Robert Bruce
  • The Honorable A. T. and Mrs. Fitzmaurice
  • Captain The Honorable North and Mrs. Dalrymple
  • The Honorable Lady Ponsonby Fane
  • The Honorable R. Meade
  • The Honorable Lady Hardinge
  • The Honorable Julia Stonor
  • The Honorable H. Tyrwliitt Wilson
  • The Honorable Lady Knollys
  • The Honorable Mrs. Ellis
  • The Honorable Horatia Stopford
  • The Honorable Harriet Phipps
  • William Ewart Gladstone, former Prime Minister, and Mrs. Gladstone
  • G. J. and Mrs. Goschen
  • The Honorable Lady Ponsonby
  • W. H. and Mrs. Smith
  • Henry Matthews
  • Sir C. L. Wyke
  • Lady Cowell
  • Lady Scott and Miss Scott
  • General Sir F. Seymour, Baronet
  • Sir Prescott Hewett, 1st Baronet, Serjeant-Surgeon to Queen Victoria
  • Sir William Jenner, 1st Baronet, Physician in Ordinary to Queen Victoria and to the Prince of Wales
  • Sir James Paget, 1st Baronet, Surgeon Extraordinary to Queen Victoria
  • Sir William Gull, 1st Baronet, Physicians-in-Ordinary to Queen Victoria
  • Sir Frederick Leighton, 1st Baronet, painter and sculptor
  • Sir Theodore Martin, Scottish poet, biographer, and translator.
  • Sir Henry Acland, Physicians-in-Ordinary to Queen Victoria
  • Lady Probyn
  • Colonel Sir George Maude, Crown Equerry to Queen Victoria.
  • Colonel Sir N. Kingscote
  • Major-General Sir C. Teesdale
  • Sir Oscar Clayton, Extra Surgeon-in-Ordinary to the Prince of Wales
  • Sir Arnold White, Solicitor to Queen Victoria
  • Mr. E. Beck
  • Mr. Henry Calcraff
  • Reverend A. Campbell, Vicar of Crathie Church near Balmoral in Scotland
  • Mrs. Stanley Clarke
  • Reverend Canon Robinson Duckworth, former tutor to Prince Leopold
  • Reverend Canon John Neale Dalton, chaplain to Queen Victoria and tutor to Prince Albert Victor of Wales and Prince George of Wales
  • Dr. Evans
  • Major Wynne Finch
  • Mr. Frederick Gibbs, former tutor to The Prince of Wales and Prince Alfred
  • Mrs. Hervey
  • Mr. C. Hal
  • Mr. M. Holzmann
  • Reverend B. Jackson
  • Francis Laking, Physician-in-Ordinary to The Prince of Wales
  • Mr. W. Leslie
  • Reverend J. Mitchell
  • Miss Mitchell
  • Mr. Mackenzie of Kintail
  • Mr. A. Montgomery
  • Mr. A. H. A. Morton
  • Mr. M. Muther
  • Fraulein Noedel, tutor to Princess Louise and her sisters
  • Dr. Alexander Profeit, Commissioner of Works at Balmoral Castle
  • Dr. Quain
  • Dr. James Reid, Physician in Ordinary to Queen Victoria
  • Mr. Reuben Sassoon, banker
  • Reverend Edgar Sheppard, Sub-Dean of the Chapels Royal
  • Captain H. F. Stephenson
  • Mr. C. Sykes
  • Signer Tosti, composer of romantic and drawing-room songs
  • Mademoiselle Vauthier, governess to Princess Louise and her two sisters
  • Captain G. A. and Lady Cecilia Webbe

Bridesmaids and Supporters

Left to Right Standing: Princess Victoria of Wales; Duke of Fife; Princess Louise; Princess Victoria Mary of Teck; Princess Marie Louise of Schleswig-Holstein; Countess Feodore Gleichen. Seated: Princess Maud of Wales; Countess Helena Gleichen; Countess Victoria Gleichen; Princess Helena Victoria of Schleswig-Holstein; Credit – Royal Collection Trust

Mr. Horace Farquhar, a friend of the groom, was the groom’s supporter and best man. He was created Baron Farquhar in 1890, Viscount Farquhar in 1917, and Earl Farquhar in 1922.

The bride was supported by her father The Prince of Wales and had eight bridesmaids, all relatives of the bride.

  • Princess Victoria of Wales, sister of the bride, unmarried
  • Princess Maud of Wales, sister of the bride, married King Haakon VII of Norway
  • Princess Helena Victoria of Schleswig-Holstein, first cousin of the bride, unmarried
  • Princess Marie Louise of Schleswig-Holstein, first cousin of the bride, married Prince Aribert of Anhalt, marriage dissolved
  • Princess Victoria Mary of Teck, the future Queen Mary, wife of King George V, second cousin once removed of the bride and her future sister-in-law
  • Countess Feodore Gleichen, second cousin of the bride, unmarried
  • Countess Victoria Gleichen, second cousin of the bride, married Lieutenant-Colonel Percy Machell
  • Countess Helena Gleichen, second cousin of the bride, unmarried

Note: The Gleichens were grandchildren of Queen Victoria’s half-sister Princess Feodora of Leiningen who married Ernst, 4th Prince of Hohenlohe-Langenburg.

Wedding Attire

Alexander William George Duff, 1st Duke of Fife; Princess Louise Victoria Alexandra Dagmar, Duchess of Fife by William Downey, for W. & D. Downey. albumen cabinet card, 27 July 1889, NPG x3805. © National Portrait Gallery, London

The groom wore the green uniform of the Banffshire Artillery Volunteers and the Order of the Thistle, an order of chivalry associated with Scotland. In 1884, Alexander had been appointed Honorary Colonel of the Banffshire Artillery Volunteers.

The bride’s wedding dress was made of white duchesse satin with a long train trimmed with orange blossoms. On her head, Louise wore a wreath of orange blossoms and a point de gaze lace veil.  She wore diamond and pearl jewelry.

The eight bridesmaids wore dresses made of blush pink faille, a soft, light-woven silk fabric with a ribbed texture, and carried bouquets of pink roses.

The Wedding

Credit – Wikipedia

Clergy Officiating:

  • Edward White Benson, Archbishop of Canterbury
  • Mandell Creighton, Bishop of London
  • The Very Reverend Randall T. Davidson, Dean of Windsor, Domestic Chaplain to The Queen
  • The Reverend F. A. J. Hervey, Domestic Chaplain to The Prince of Wales
  • The Reverend T. Teignmouth Shore, Chaplain in Ordinary to the Queen

Music Provided by:

  • Charles Sherwood Jekyll, Organist and Choirmaster of the Chapel Royal, St. James’ Palace
  • Choir of the Chapel Royal, St. James’ Palace

July 27, 1889 was a gloomy, rainy, chilly day in London, “better befitting October than July” according to the New York Times. Nevertheless, crowds gathered to see the bridal procession on its way from Marlborough House, the London home of The Prince and Princess of Wales, to nearby Buckingham Palace where the wedding would take place in the Private Chapel.

Guests arrived at the Pimlico entrance to Buckingham Palace at 11:30 AM and were conducted to their places in the Private Chapel by Her Majesty’s Gentlemen Ushers. The clergy also arrived at the Pimlico entrance and were taken to their place at the altar at 11:45 AM while a “Marche Nuptiale” composed by Charles Sherwood Jekyll was played by the composer on the organ. The groom and his supporter arrived at 11:40 AM and remained in the New Luncheon Room until summoned for the ceremony.

The mother of the bride, The Princess of Wales, along with her brothers King George I of Greece and Crown Prince Frederik of Denmark and her sons Prince Albert Victor of Wales and Prince George of Wales, left Marlborough House at 11: 30 AM, arrived at the Grand Entrance of Buckingham Palace at 11:40 AM and were conducted to the Bow Library. Ludwig IV, Grand Duke of Hesse and by Rhine and the other members of the Royal Family, who had arrived at the Grand Entrance were also conducted to the Bow Library, where they assembled at 11:45 AM and awaited the arrival of Queen Victoria from the Private Apartments. After the arrival of Queen Victoria in the Bow Library, the procession of the Royal Family and their attendants made its way to their places in the Private Chapel while “The Occasional March” by Georg Friedrich Handel was played on the organ.

The Vice-Chamberlain then proceeded to the New Luncheon Room and conducted the groom to the Private Chapel while a march from Richard Wagner’s opera “Tannhäuser” was played on the organ. The groom, with his supporter, took his place on the right side of the altar where he awaited the arrival of the bride.

The Prince of Wales and the bride along with her sisters Princess Victoria of Wales and Princess Maud of Wales left Marlborough House at 11:40 AM, proceeded the short distance down The Mall, and arrived at the Grand Entrance of Buckingham Palace at 11:50 AM. They were conducted to the Bow Library, where they were joined by the other six bridesmaids, who had assembled in the Lower Drawing Room, and proceeded at once to the Private Chapel. The well-known march from the opera “Lohengrin” by Richard Wagner was played on the organ as the bridal procession made its way down the aisle.

The bride was given away by her father. Before the Archbishop of Canterbury gave the final address, the anthem “O Perfect Love” written especially for the occasion by English composer Sir Joseph Barnby was sung by the choir. “O Perfect Love” remains a popular wedding anthem. Felix Mendelssohn’s “Wedding March” from his suite of incidental music to Shakespeare’s play “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” was played as the bride and groom left the Private Chapel.

Queen Victoria and the Royal Family then proceeded to the Lower Drawing Room, where the Register of the Marriage was signed by the bride and groom and attested by Queen Victoria, royalty, and distinguished persons invited to attend for that purpose.

After the Wedding

Credit – The Strand Magazine, No. 55 July 1895 Some Remarkable Wedding Cakes by Framley Steelcroft

The bride and groom returned to the Bow Library and received the congratulations of the royal and distinguished guests assembled there. Then Queen Victoria, the bride and groom, King George I of Greece, Ludwig IV, Grand Duke of Hesse and by Rhine, Crown Prince Frederik of Denmark, The Prince and Princess of Wales, and other members of the Royal Family along with William Edgcumbe, 4th Earl of Mount-Edgcumbe, The Lord Steward; Louisa Montagu Douglas Scott, Duchess of Buccleuch, The Mistress of the Robes; and Eliza Hay, Countess of Erroll, The Lady of the Bedchamber in Waiting proceeded to the State Dining Room, where luncheon was served. Luncheon was also served for the other guests in the Supper Room.

Gunter’s Tea Shop of Berkeley Square in London, considered one of the best wedding cake makers of the day, made the wedding cake. It was seven feet high and weighed 150 pounds. A sugar Greek temple was atop the cake and around it were medallions of satin with raised sugar monograms. The cake was exhibited to the public before the wedding and while it was on display, it was decorated with artificial flowers. On the wedding day, the artificial flowers were replaced with about twenty pounds of fresh natural flowers.

After the luncheon, Queen Victoria and the Royal Family proceeded to the Picture Gallery where they received the congratulations of the wedding guests. The bride and groom then returned to Marlborough House at 2:30 PM followed by The Prince and Princess of Wales, King George I of Greece, and Crown Prince Frederik of Denmark. In the afternoon, The Prince and Princess of Wales held a reception at Marlborough House.

At 5 PM, the bride and groom left for East Sheen Lodge, the suburban home of the groom, near the banks of the Thames at Richmond, where they spent their honeymoon. Queen Victoria watched their departure from the Buckingham Palace balcony.

Children

Louise with her two daughters; Credit – Wikipedia

Louise and Alexander had two surviving children.

  • Alexandra, 2nd Duchess of Fife (1891 – 1959), married her first cousin once removed, Prince Arthur of Connaught; had one son
  • Maud (1893 – 1945), married Charles Carnegie, 11th Earl of Southesk, had one child

As female-line great-granddaughters of the British monarch, (Queen Victoria), Alexandra and Maud were not entitled to the title of Princess or the style Royal Highness. Instead, they were styled Lady Alexandra Duff and Lady Maud Duff, the styles of daughters of a Duke. In 1900, when it became apparent that the Duke and Duchess of Fife were unlikely to have a son to inherit the title, Queen Victoria issued the Duke of Fife a new Letters Patent as Duke of Fife and Earl of Macduff in the Peerage of the United Kingdom giving the second dukedom of Fife a special remainder in default of male issue to the Duke’s daughters and their agnatic male descendants.

Louise was the eldest daughter of King Edward VII and was created Princess Royal during her father’s reign, in 1905.  At the same time, Louise’s daughters Alexandra and Maud were granted the title of Princess with the style of “Highness” and received precedence immediately after all members of the royal family bearing the style of “Royal Highness.” This act was unprecedented and when the College of Arms told King Edward VII it could not be done, the King simply said, “Do it!” Louise’s brother, the future King George V, was greatly disturbed by this act.

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). Alexander Duff, 1st Duke of Fife. [online] Unofficial Royalty. Available at: https://www.unofficialroyalty.com/alexander-duff-1st-duke-of-fife/ [Accessed 4 Oct. 2019].
  • Flantzer, Susan. (2014). Princess Louise, Princess Royal, Duchess of Fife. [online] Unofficial Royalty. Available at: https://www.unofficialroyalty.com/february-20-1867-birth-of-louise-princess-royal-daughter-of-king-edward-vii-of-the-united-kingdom/ [Accessed 4 Oct. 2019].
  • Nytimes.com. (1889). LOUISE AND LORD FIFE ONE; A GLOOMY DAY FOR THE ROYAL WEDDING. RUMORS THAT HER MAJESTY IS BREAKING UP–MGR. PERSICO’S WILD-GOOSE CHASE IN IRELAND.. [online] Available at: https://www.nytimes.com/1889/07/28/archives/louise-and-lord-fife-one-a-gloomy-day-for-the-royal-wedding-rumors.html?searchResultPosition=3 [Accessed 4 Oct. 2019].
  • Steelcroft, Framley. (1895). Some Remarkable Wedding Cakes. The Strand Magazine, (No. 55), pp.101-104.
  • Thecourtjeweller.com. (2014). Jewel History: The Royal Wedding (1889). [online] Available at: http://www.thecourtjeweller.com/2014/07/jewel-history-royal-wedding-1889.html [Accessed 4 Oct. 2019].
  • Thegazette.co.uk. (1889). Page 4312 | Issue 25962, 8 August 1889 | London Gazette | The Gazette. [online] Available at: https://www.thegazette.co.uk/London/issue/25962/page/4312 [Accessed 4 Oct. 2019].
  • Trove. (1889). THE MARRIAGE OF THE PRINCESS LOUISE OF WALES. – (FROM OUR SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT.) LONDON, JULY 27. – The Sydney Morning Herald (NSW : 1842 – 1954) – 11 Sep 1889. [online] Available at: https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/13734404 [Accessed 4 Oct. 2019].
  • Van der Kiste, John. (2013). Edward VII’s Children. Stroud: The History Press.

Wedding of Princess Beatrice of the United Kingdom and Prince Henry of Battenberg

by Susan Flantzer  © Unofficial Royalty 2019

The Marriage of Princess Beatrice by Richard Caton Woodville painted for Queen Victoria. Princess Beatrice is accompanied to the altar by her brother, the Prince of Wales, and Queen Victoria. Her nieces were bridesmaids, but only eight out of the total of ten are shown in the painting; Credit – Royal Collection Trust

Princess Beatrice of the United Kingdom and Prince Henry of Battenberg were married on July 23, 1885, at Saint Mildred’s Church in Whippingham, Isle of Wight, England.

Beatrice’s Early Life

Princess Beatrice with her mother Queen Victoria; Credit – Wikipedia

Princess Beatrice was born on April 14, 1857, at Buckingham Palace in London, England. She was the youngest of the nine children of Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom and Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha. On December 14, 1861, Prince Albert died at the age of 42. Beatrice was only four and a half and had lost one of her principal role models. Queen Victoria was grief-stricken. The night Prince Albert died, Queen Victoria went into the nursery and carried the sleeping Beatrice to her own bed, where she lay unable to sleep, hugging Beatrice while wrapped in the bedclothes of her deceased husband. Because of her mother’s prolonged grief and mourning, Beatrice’s life would forever be shaped by her father’s death. She became a great solace to her mother, and as the years progressed Queen Victoria hoped that Beatrice would always be her constant companion.

Despite her father’s death, Beatrice’s education proceeded according to the plan Prince Albert had devised for all his children. She received lessons in French and German and received a hands-on history education by visiting historical sites. Unlike her mother, Beatrice eventually had clear and legible handwriting and was an accurate speller. By the age of fifteen, Beatrice was writing letters on behalf of Queen Victoria and she was developing into the quiet, attentive, and devoted helper the Queen wanted. When the last of her sisters married and left home, Beatrice took on the job of being her mother’s full-time personal assistant.

To learn more about Beatrice, see Unofficial Royalty: Princess Beatrice of the United Kingdom, Princess Henry of Battenberg

Henry’s Early Life

Prince Henry of Battenberg; Credit – Wikipedia

Prince Henry (Heinrich) of Battenberg was born on October 5, 1858 in Milan, Kingdom of Lombardy-Venetia, now in Italy. Henry (nicknamed Liko) was the fourth of the five children and the third of the four sons of Prince Alexander of Hesse and by Rhine and Countess Julia Hauke. As his parents’ marriage was morganatic, Henry and his siblings took their titles from their mother, who had been created Countess of Battenberg and was later elevated to Princess of Battenberg in 1858.

Henry received a military education and was commissioned a lieutenant in the 1st Regiment of the Rhenish Hussars of the Prussian Army. He also served in the Gardes du Corps, the personal bodyguard of the King of Prussia and, after 1871, of the German Emperor.

To learn more about Henry, see Unofficial Royalty: Prince Henry of Battenberg

The Engagement

Prince Henry giving an engagement ring to Princess Beatrice, illustration from “The Penny Illustrated Paper” (Jan 24 1885); Credit – The British Museum

In 1884, Henry’s brother Prince Louis of Battenberg married Princess Victoria of Hesse and by Rhine, the eldest child of Queen Victoria’s third child Alice, Grand Duchess of Hesse and by Rhine. Of course, Henry attended the wedding in Darmstadt and so did the bride’s aunt, Princess Beatrice. Queen Victoria had expectations that Beatrice would never marry and would remain her personal assistant and secretary. However, during the wedding celebrations, Henry and Beatrice fell in love. When Beatrice told her mother of her desire to marry Henry, Queen Victoria did not speak to Beatrice for seven months. Eventually, the Queen realized that Beatrice would not back down and with some persuasion from the Prince of Wales, Alice’s widower Ludwig IV, Grand Duke of Hesse and by Rhine, and Henry’s brother Prince Louis of Battenberg, Queen Victoria decided to allow the marriage with several conditions: Henry must renounce his military career, his nationality, and his home and agree to live with Beatrice and the Queen.

Wedding Site

St. Mildred’s Church, Whippingham; Credit – By Mypix at English Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=57460350

Saint Mildred’s Church in Whippingham, Isle of Wight, England was where Queen Victoria and her family worshipped when in residence at Osborne House, the beloved home Queen Victoria and Prince Albert built on the Isle of Wight. The original church was redesigned by architect Albert Jenkins Humbert with Prince Albert’s input. The chancel of the church was built in 1854 – 1855 and the remainder of the church was constructed in 1861 – 1862. A side chapel, originally used by members of the household at Osborne House when worshipping at Whippingham, was later made into a shrine, the Battenberg Chapel, upon the early death of Prince Henry of Battenberg. Several family members are buried there including Prince Henry and his wife Princess Beatrice.

Wedding Guests

Since Saint Mildred’s Church was a small, parish church, the guest list had to be limited. Also, because there were limited places for royal relations and guests from abroad to stay on the Isle of Wight, the royal yachts served as floating hotels.

Royal Guests

  • Queen Victoria, mother of the bride
  • The Prince of Wales, later King Edward VII, brother of the bride
  • The Princess of Wales, later Queen Alexandra, sister-in-law of the bride
  • Prince Albert Victor of Wales, nephew of the bride
  • Prince George of Wales, later King George V, nephew of the bride
  • Princess Louise of Wales, niece of the bride
  • Princess Victoria of Wales, niece of the bride
  • Princess Maud of Wales, niece of the bride
  • Prince Alfred, Duke of Edinburgh, brother of the bride
  • The Duchess of Edinburgh, born Grand Duchess Maria Alexandrovna of Russia, sister-in-law of the bride
  • Prince Alfred of Edinburgh, nephew of the bride
  • Princess Marie of Edinburgh, niece of the bride
  • Princess Victoria Melita of Edinburgh, niece of the bride
  • Princess Alexandra of Edinburgh, niece of the bride
  • Prince Arthur, Duke of Connaught, brother of the bride
  • The Duchess of Connaught, born Princess Louise Margaret of Prussia, sister-in-law of the bride
  • Princess Margaret of Connaught, niece of the bride
  • Princess Christian of Schleswig-Holstein, Princess Helena, sister of the bride
  • Prince Christian of Schleswig-Holstein, brother-in-law of the bride
  • Princess Helena Victoria of Schleswig-Holstein, niece of the bride
  • Princess Marie Louise of Schleswig-Holstein, niece of the bride
  • Princess Louise, Marchioness of Lome, sister of the bride
  • John Campbell, Marquis of Lome, brother-in-law of the bride
  • Prince George, 2nd Duke of Cambridge, first cousin once removed of the bride
  • Prince Edward of Saxe-Weimar
  • Ernst, 4th Prince of Leiningen, first cousin of the bride
  • Princess of Leiningen wife of Ernst, born Princess Marie of Baden
  • Prince Alexander of Hesse and by Rhine, father of the groom
  • Princess of Battenberg, born Countess Julie Hauke, mother of the groom
  • Prince Louis of Battenberg, brother of the groom
  • Princess Louis of Battenberg, born Princess Victoria of Hesse and by Rhine, niece of the bride and first cousin once removed of the groom
  • Alexander (of Battenberg), Prince of Bulgaria, brother of the groom
  • Prince Franz Joseph of Battenberg, brother of the groom
  • Count Gustav Ernst of Erbach-Schoenberg, brother-in-law of the groom
  • Countess of Erbach-Schoenberg, born Princess Marie of Battenberg, sister of the groom
  • Ludwig IV, Grand Duke of Hesse and by Rhine, brother-in-law of the bride and first cousin of the groom
  • Ernst Ludwig, Hereditary Grand Duke of Hesse of Hesse and by Rhine, nephew of the bride and first cousin once removed of the groom
  • Princess Irene of Hesse of Hesse and by Rhine, niece of the bride and first cousin once removed of the groom
  • Princess Alix of Hesse of Hesse and by Rhine, niece of the bride and first cousin once removed of the groom
  • Prince Philip of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, second cousin of the bride

Invited Guests

  • William FitzRoy, 6th Duke of Grafton
  • Francis Russell, 9th Duke of Bedford and Elizabeth Russell, Duchess of Bedford
  • Susanna Innes-Kerr, Dowager Duchess of Roxburghe
  • James Butler, 3rd Marquess of Ormonde and Elizabeth Butler, Marchioness of Ormonde
  • Spencer Cavendish, Marquis of Hartington
  • John Poyntz Spencer, 5th Earl Spencer
  • Louisa McDonnell, Countess of Antrim
  • Valentine Browne, 4th Earl of Kenmare
  • Granville Leveson-Gower, 2nd Earl Granville
  • John Townshend, 1st Earl Sydney
  • Standish Vereker, 4th Viscount Gort, Caroline Vereker, Viscountess Gort and The Honorable Miss Vereker
  • Admiral Lord Frederick Kerr
  • General Lord Alfred Paget and The Honorable Evelyn Paget
  • Lieutenant-General Dudley FitzGerald-de Ros, 23rd Baron de Ros
  • Ismania FitzRoy, Baroness Southampton and The Honorable Frederica Fitzroy
  • Thomas Hovell-Thurlow-Cumming-Bruce, 5th Baron Thurlow
  • Emily Cavendish, Lady Waterpark
  • Frederick Methuen, 2nd Baron Methuen
  • General Lord Wolseley
  • Prince Lichnowsky
  • Count Alexander Münster
  • Count Vitzthum
  • Colonel The Honorable C. H. Lindsay
  • Sir Edward Malet and Lady Ermyntrude Malet
  • Captain The Honorable A. Denison
  • The Honorable Flora Macdonald
  • General Sir Francis Seymour, 1st Baronet
  • Lady Cowell
  • Sir Robert Collins
  • Sir William Carter Hoffmeister, Surgeon to Queen Victoria
  • Captain Sir Alfred Balliston
  • Fraulein Bassing
  • Miss Bauer, Beatrice’s former German tutor, now one of Queen Victoria’s readers
  • Mr. Doyne C. Bell
  • Miss Biddulph
  • Mr. W. Campbell of Blythswood
  • Reverend A. Campbell, Vicar of Crathie Church near Balmoral in Scotland
  • Madame de Arcos
  • Reverend Canon Robinson Duckworth, former tutor to Prince Leopold
  • Mrs. F. I. Edwards
  • Miss Jessie Ferrari, singer and music teacher
  • Captain Fisher
  • Mr. Frederick Gibbs, former tutor to The Prince of Wales and Prince Alfred
  • Mr. Charles Hallé, pianist and conductor
  • Rear-Admiral F. A. Herbert
  • Dr. John Hoffmeister
  • Mr. R. R. Holmes, Librarian of Windsor Castle
  • Lieutenant-Colonel George Ashley Maude, Crown Equerry of the Royal Mews
  • Mademoiselle Norelle, former French tutor to Queen Victoria’s children
  • Miss Alberta Ponsonby and Miss Magdalen Ponsonby, daughters of Sir Henry Frederick Ponsonby, Queen Victoria’s Private Secretary
  • Dr. Alexander Profeit, Commissioner of Works at Balmoral Castle
  • Mrs. and Miss Prothero, wife and daughter of Reverend Canon George Prothero, Rector of Whippingham and Chaplain in Ordinary to Her Majesty
  • Mr. Hermann Sahl, Librarian and German Secretary to Queen Victoria
  • Colonel Stockwell
  • Reverend Canon C. F. Tarver, former tutor to The Prince of Wales
  • Signer Tosti, composer of romantic and drawing-room songs
  • Captain Webbe and Lady Cecilia Webbe
  • Captain Welch
  • Miss Van de Weyer
  • Mr. Arnold White
  • The Mayor of Newport, Isle of Wight, England

The Queen’s Household

  • Louisa Montagu Douglas Scott, Duchess of Buccleuch, Mistress of the Robes
  • Jane Loftus, Dowager Marchioness of Ely, Lady of the Bedchamber in Waiting
  • The Honourable Harriet Phipps, Maid of Honor in Waiting
  • The Honorable Maude Okeover, Maid of Honor in Waiting
  • William Edgcumbe, 4th Earl of Mount Edgcumbe, Lord Steward
  • Edward Bootle-Wilbraham, 1st Earl of Lathom, Lord Chamberlain
  • Orlando Bridgeman, 3rd Earl of Bradford, Master of the Horse
  • William Heneage, Viscount Lewisham, Vice-Chamberlain
  • Major-General Sir J. C. McNeill, Equerry-in-Waiting
  • Colonel H. P. Ewart, Equerry-in-Waiting
  • General Sir Henry Ponsonby, Private Secretary and Keeper of the Privy Purse
  • Major-General Sir John Cowell, Master of the Household
  • The Honourable Sir S. Ponsonby-Fane, Comptroller in The Lord Chamberlain’s Department
  • Mr. Conway Seymour, Gentleman Usher
  • Mr. Arnold Royle, Gentleman Usher
  • Sir William Jenner, 1st Baronet, Physician in Ordinary to Her Majesty
  • Dr. James Reid, Resident Physician to Her Majesty

Attendant on the Bridegroom

  • Major F. I. Edwards, Groom in Waiting to the Queen, in attendance on Prince Henry of Battenberg

Attendants on the Bride

  • Miss M. Cochrane, Lady in Waiting on Princess Beatrice
  • The Honourable Lady Biddulph, Lady in Waiting on Princess Beatrice
  • Jane Spencer, Baroness Churchill, Acting Lady in Waiting on Princess Beatrice

Attendants on Other Royalty

  • Major-General Bateson, Equerry in Waiting on The Duke of Cambridge.
  • The Honorable Lady Ponsonby, Acting Lady in Waiting on Princess Louise, Marchioness of Lorne
  • Baron d’Ablaing de Giessenbuvg, Gentleman in Waiting on Prince Philip of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha.
  • Colonel Baron Rotsmann, Equerry in Waiting on Prince Alexander of Hesse and by Rhine
  • Lieutenant-Colonel Honorable W. Carington, Equerry in Waiting on The Queen, in attendance on Prince Alexander of Hesse and by Rhine
  • Hoffrath Munther, Gentleman in Waitng on Ernst Ludwig, Hereditary Grand Duke of Hesse and by Rhine
  • Lieutenant-Colonel Wernher, Equerry in Waiting on Ludwig IV, Grand Duke of Hesse and by Rhine
  • Captain Arthur J. Bigge, Equerry in Waiting to The Queen, in attendance Ludwig IV, Grand Duke of Hesse and by Rhine
  • The Honorable A. Yorke, Acting Equerry in Waiting on Prince Christian of Schleswig-Holstein
  • Miss Loch, Lady in Waiting on Princess Christian of Schleswig-Holstein
  • Colonel Sir Howard Elphinstone, Comptroller to The Duke of Connaught
  • Major Francis H. Poors, Equerry in Waiting on The Duke of Connaught
  • The Honorable Ethel Cadogan, Acting Lady in Waiting on The Duchess of Connaught
  • Lady Harriot Poore, Lady in Waiting on The Duchess of Edinburgh
  • Lord Colville of Culross, Chamberlain to The Prince of Wales
  • The Honorable H. Tyrwhitt Wilson, Equerry in Waiting to The Prince of Wales
  • Lieutenant-General Sir Dighton M. Probyn, Comptroller and Treasurer to The Prince of Wales
  • The Honorable Mrs. Coke, Lady of the Bedchamber to Her Royal Highness to The Princess of Wales
  • Baron Riedesel, Marshal of the Court to The Prince of Bulgaria
  • Mr. Topchileschtoff, Secretary to The Prince of Bulgaria
  • Colonel Lord E. Pelham Clinton, Groom in Waiting to The Queen, in attendance on The Prince of Bulgaria

Bridesmaids and Supporters

Wedding of Princess Beatrice of the United Kingdom and Prince Henry of Battenberg (see below for who’s who in the photo); Photo Credit – www.victorian-gothic.co.uk

THE BACK: (L-R): Prince Alexander of Bulgaria, Princess Louise of Wales, Princess Irene of Hesse and by Rhine, Princess Victoria of Wales, Prince Franz Joseph of Battenberg * THE MIDDLE: (L-R): Princess Maud of Wales, Princess Alix of Hesse and by Rhine, Princesses Marie Louise and Helena Victoria of Schleswig-Holstein * THE FRONT: (L-R): Princesses Victoria Melita, Marie, and Alexandra of Edinburgh and the bridal couple.

The supporters of Prince Henry of Battenberg were his brothers Alexander (of Battenberg), Prince of Bulgaria and Prince Franz Joseph of Battenberg. Princess Beatrice’s supporters were her mother Queen Victoria and her eldest brother The Prince of Wales.

The ten royal bridesmaids were granddaughters of Queen Victoria and nieces of Princess Beatrice, ranging in age from seven-years-old to nineteen-years-old:

  • Princess Louise of Wales, daughter of The Prince of Wales, the future King Edward VII, married Alexander Duff, 1st Duke of Fife
  • Princess Victoria of Wales, daughter of The Prince of Wales, the future King Edward VII, unmarried
  • Princess Maud of Wales, daughter of The Prince of Wales, the future King Edward VII, married King Haakon VII of Norway
  • Princess Marie of Edinburgh, daughter of Prince Alfred, Duke of Edinburgh, the future Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, married King Ferdinand I of Romania
  • Princess Victoria Melita of Edinburgh, daughter of Prince Alfred, Duke of Edinburgh, the future Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, married (1) Ernst Ludwig, Grand Duke of Hesse and by Rhine, divorced (2) Grand Duke Kirill Vladimirovich of Russia
  • Princess Alexandra of Edinburgh, daughter of Prince Alfred, Duke of Edinburgh, the future Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, married Prince Ernst II of Hohenlohe-Langenburg
  • Princess Irene of Hesse and by Rhine, daughter of the late Princess Alice, Grand Duchess of Hesse and by Rhine, married Prince Heinrich of Prussia
  • Princess Alix of Hesse and by Rhine, daughter of the late Princess Alice, Grand Duchess of Hesse and by Rhine, married Nicholas II, Emperor of All Russia
  • Princess Helena Victoria of Schleswig-Holstein, daughter of Princess Helena, Princess Christian of Schleswig-Holstein, unmarried
  • Princess Marie Louise of Schleswig-Holstein, daughter of Princess Helena, Princess Christian of Schleswig-Holstein, married Prince Aribert of Anhalt, marriage dissolved

Wedding Attire

Prince Henry and Princess Beatrice on their wedding day; Credit – Wikipedia

Upon Queen Victoria’s insistence, Prince Henry of Battenberg wore the rather dashing white cuirassier uniform of Prussian Garde Du Corps, the personal bodyguard of the King of Prussia and, after 1871, of the German Emperor.

The ten royal bridesmaids were dressed in high-necked white dresses with flounced skirts and carried bouquets of stephanotis.

Princess Beatrice’s wedding dress was made of white satin, trimmed with orange blossoms, white heather, myrtle, and lace. There was lace on the pointed neckline and on the sleeves. Princess Beatrice loved lace and became an expert on lace. Knowing this, Queen Victoria allowed Princess Beatrice to wear the precious Honiton lace veil she had worn on her wedding day. Beatrice was the only one of her daughters to wear the veil. Atop her head, Beatrice wore an orange blossom wreath and a diamond circlet with diamond stars, a wedding gift from her mother.

Beatrice wore diamond collet drop earrings, a diamond collet necklace with a diamond cross suspended from it, a diamond bee brooch, a diamond rose brooch, and a large diamond butterfly brooch. On her right wrist, she wore a wide diamond and sapphire bracelet, a gift of the groom, and on her left wrist, she wore five bangle bracelets, some with diamonds and others plain gold. Beatrice wore the Order of Victoria and Albert, the Crown of India, the Gold Lion of Hesse, the Royal Red Cross, and the Saxe-Coburg and Gotha family order.

The Wedding

 

Clergy Officiating

  • Edward White Benson, Archbishop of Canterbury
  • Harold Browne, Bishop of Winchester
  • The Very Reverend Randall T. Davidson, Dean of Windsor, Domestic Chaplain to Her Majesty
  • Reverend Canon George Prothero, Rector of St. Mildred’s Church, Whippingham and Chaplain in Ordinary to Her Majesty

Music provided by:

  • Walter Parratt, Organist of St. George’s Chapel, Windsor
  • Choir of St. George’s Chapel, Windsor

A special train carrying the wedding guests, along with the members of The Queen’s Household and those in attendance on the royalty who were not already at Osborne House, left Victoria Station in London at 9 AM on the day of the wedding. The train traveled to Portsmouth, England where the royal yacht Alberta was waiting to take them across The Solent to the Isle of Wight. Carriages were provided for the trip to St. Mildred’s Church, Whippingham. Upon arrival at the church, the guests were shown to their seats by Her Majesty’s Gentlemen Ushers.

At 12:40 PM, the Archbishop of Canterbury, the Bishop of Winchester, the Dean of Windsor, and the Rector of St. Mildred’s Church, Whippingham arrived from the church rectory with the choir and took their places at the altar while a voluntary was played on the organ.

At 12:30, the royal family and other royalty left Osborne House with their attendants in a carriage procession. They were received at the church gate by the Lord Chamberlain and the Lord Steward, who, with the Vice-Chamberlain, conducted them to the seats in the royal pews. The Princess of Wales, Ludwig IV, Grand Duke of Hesse and by Rhine, and the groom’s parents, Prince Alexander of Hesse and by Rhine and the Princess of Battenberg, were seated in front of the altar. Georg Friedrich Handel’s March from The Occasional Overture was played as the royal procession moved down the aisle. The royal attendants were shown to seats at the back of the royal and household pews. Meanwhile, the Prince of Wales waited for the bride’s arrival at the church gate.

The ten royal bridesmaids, all nieces of the bride, arrived at 12:45 PM and waited for the bride’s arrival in the church vestry. Ten minutes later, the groom arrived with his supporters, his brothers Alexander (of Battenberg), Prince of Bulgaria and Prince Franz Joseph of Battenberg. As a march by Walter Parratt, the organist of St. George’s Chapel, Windsor Castle, was played, they were conducted to their places on the right of the altar.

As the bride’s carriage procession approached the church, the bridesmaids were escorted to the church gate. Princess Beatrice with Queen Victoria and The Prince of Wales on either side along with the bridesmaids were conducted to the left side of the altar by the Lord Chamberlain and the Lord Steward. Richard Wagner’s Bridal March (“The Bridal Chorus” from the opera Lohengrin) was played as the bridal procession moved down the aisle. Queen Victoria gave the bride away.

After the couple took their vows, the choir sang the anthem O Give Thanks to the Lord by Felix Mendelssohn, and then the Archbishop of Canterbury delivered a short address. As the bride and groom and their attendants proceeded up the aisle Felix Mendelssohn’s “Wedding March” (from The Suite of Incidental Music to Shakespeare’s play A Midsummer Night’s Dream) was played.

After the Wedding

Guests at the wedding of Princess Beatrice to Prince Henry of Battenberg at Osborne House, Isle of Wight, Original Publication: Illustrated London News – pub. 1885

Upon returning to Osborne House, the bride and groom signed the marriage registry attested by Queen Victoria, the royal family, royal guests, and distinguished persons. Luncheon was served for Queen Victoria, the royal family, and the royal guests in a tent upon the lawn. The other guests were served luncheon in a separate tent. The Band of the Royal Marines and the Pipers of the Sutherland Highlanders provided the music.

Beatrice and Henry’s wedding cake; Credit – Royal Collection Trust

The wedding cake was made by Mr. Ponder, the royal confectioner. It stood six feet tall and weighed 280 pounds. The cake featured a replica of the sculpture Hebe by Italian Neoclassical sculptor Antonio Canova.

At 5 PM, Princess Beatrice and Prince Henry, attended by Jane Spencer, Baroness Churchill and Colonel E. P. Ewart, left Osborne House for their honeymoon at nearby Quarr Abbey House.

In the evening, there was a dinner party in the tents on the lawn during which the Royal Marines Light Infantry Band played. Later, the guests proceeded to the Osborne House terrace to view a display of fireworks from the royal yacht Victoria and Albert, HMS Hector, and other yachts in Osborne Bay.

Children

Beatrice and her children in 1900; Credit – Wikipedia

Beatrice and Henry had four children:

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Works Cited

  • Avictorian.com. (2019). Victorian Wedding Cakes, AVICTORIAN.COM. [online] Available at: http://www.avictorian.com/wedding_cakes.html [Accessed 19 Sep. 2019].
  • Dennison, Matthew. (2009). The Last Princess – The Devoted Life of Queen Victoria”s Youngest Daughter. New York: St. Martin’s Griffin.
  • Duff, David. (1974). The Shy Princess. London: Evans.
  • En.wikipedia.org. (2019). Wedding Dress of Princess Beatrice. [online] Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wedding_dress_of_Princess_Beatrice [Accessed 19 Sep. 2019].
  • Flantzer, Susan. (2015). Prince Henry of Battenberg. [online] Unofficial Royalty. Available at: https://www.unofficialroyalty.com/prince-henry-of-battenberg/ [Accessed 19 Sep. 2019].
  • Flantzer, Susan. (2015). Princess Beatrice of the United Kingdom, Princess Henry of Battenberg. [online] Unofficial Royalty. Available at: https://www.unofficialroyalty.com/princess-beatrice-of-the-united-kingdom-princess-henry-of-battenberg/ [Accessed 19 Sep. 2019].
  • Packard, Jerrold. (1998). Victoria’s Daughters. New York: St. Martin’s Press.
  • Royal-magazin.de. (2019). The Princess Beatrice of Great Britain and Ireland|Battenberg | Diamond Stars. [online] Available at: https://royal-magazin.de/england/beatrice-battenberg/princess-beatrice-wedding.htm [Accessed 19 Sep. 2019].
  • Thegazette.co.uk. (1885). Ceremonial observed at the Marriage of Princess Beatrice and Prince Henry of Battenberg | Issue 25495, 28 July 1885 | London Gazette | The Gazette. [online] Available at: https://www.thegazette.co.uk/London/issue/25495/page/3529 [Accessed 19 Sep. 2019].
  • Van der Kiste, J. (2011). Queen Victoria’s Children. Stroud: The History Press.

December 19, 2019 – State Opening of Parliament

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On December 19, 2019, the State Opening of the Parliament was held.  Although there was a State Opening of Parliament just in October after Boris Johnson became Prime Minister of the United Kingdom another State Opening was necessary because of last week’s parliamentary election. This ceremony formally marks the beginning of a session of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Queen Elizabeth II read a prepared speech, known as the “Speech from the Throne” or the “Queen’s Speech”, outlining the Government’s agenda for the coming year. The Queen was accompanied by The Prince of Wales.

For a shorter video that shows just the Queen’s Speech, see BBC: State Opening of Parliament

For a longer video, that shows more of the pomp, see Global News: Queen’s speech formally reopens UK parliament following election | FULL

BBC: Queen’s Speech: Monarch outlines PM’s Brexit and NHS agenda

For more information, see our link below.