Category Archives: German Royals

Heinrich XI, 1st Prince Reuss of Greiz

by Susan Flantzer © Unofficial Royalty 2020

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

Principality of Reuss-Greiz: The House of Reuss began their rule circa 1010. Heinrich XI, Count Reuss of Greiz, Lower-Greiz (Untergreiz) and Upper-Greiz (Obergreiz) was elevated to princely status in 1778 and then used the title of Prince Reuss, Older Line, or Prince Reuss of Greiz.

Heinrich XXIV, the last Prince Reuss of Greiz, succeeded his father in 1902 but was unable to rule because of his physical and mental disabilities as a result of an accident in his childhood. Instead, a Regent ruled the Principality of Reuss-Greiz: Heinrich XIV, 4th Prince Reuss of Gera from 1901 – 1913, and then his son Heinrich XXVII, 5th and last Prince Reuss of Gera from 1913 – 1918.

On November 11, 1918, the Regent, Heinrich XXVII, Prince Reuss of Gera (Younger Line) abdicated in the name of the disabled Heinrich XXIV, 6th Prince Reuss of Greiz. After the abdication, Heinrich XXIV retained the right of residence of the Lower Castle in Greiz and lived there until his death. The territory that encompassed the Principality of Reuss-Greiz is now in the German state of Thuringia.

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Heinrich XI, 1st Prince Reuss of Greiz; Credit – Wikipedia

Heinrich XI, 1st Prince Reuss of Greiz was born on March 18, 1722 in Greiz, County of Reuss-Obergreiz, now in Thuringia, Germany. He was the youngest of the five children of Heinrich II, Count Reuss of Obergreiz and Countess Sofia Charlotte von Botmer.

Heinrich XI had four older siblings who all died in childhood:

  • Henrietta Erdmouth Sofia of Reuss-Obergreiz (1716 – 1719)
  • Heinrich VIII of Reuss-Obergreiz (1718 – 1719)
  • Heinrich IX, Count Reuss of Obergreiz (1718 – 1723)
  • Heinrich X of Reuss-Obergreiz (born and died in 1720)

Heinrich XI was only eight months old when his father died on November 17, 1722. His four-year-old brother Heinrich IX succeeded their father as Count Reuss of Obergreiz but he reigned for only four months, dying on March 17, 1723. Heinrich XI became Count Reuss of Obergreiz the day before his first birthday. Heinrich XI was a reigning Count and then a reigning Prince from 1723 until he died in 1800, a total of 77 years.

Heinrich XI’s half-sister Sophie von Erbach-Erbach; Credit – Wikipedia

After the death of his father, Heinrich XI’s mother married for a second time in 1723 to Count George Wilhelm von Erbach-Erbach. Heinrich XI had one half-sister from this marriage:

On April 4, 1746, Heinrich XI married Countess Conradine Reuss of Köstritz (1719–1770), the youngest daughter of Heinrich XXIV, Count Reuss of Köstritz (in German) and Baroness Marie Eleonore Emma von Promnitz-Dittersbach. Heinrich and Conradine had eleven children. The children listed as Count and Countess died before Heinrich XI became Prince Reuss-Greiz in 1778. Heinrich XI’s first wife also died before he became Prince Reuss-Greiz.

  • Count Heinrich XII Reuss-Greiz (1744 – 1745), died in infancy
  • Countess Amalie Reuss-Greiz (1745 – 1748), died in childhood
  • Heinrich XIII, 2nd Prince Reuss-Greiz (1747 – 1817), Heinrich XI’s successor, married Princess Wilhelmine of Nassau-Weilburg, had three sons
  • Princess Friederike Reuss of Greiz (1748 – 1816), married (1) Friedrich Ludwig, Count of Castell-Rüdenhausen, no children, divorced (2) Friedrich Wilhelm, Prince of Hohenlohe-Kirchberg, no children
  • Prince Heinrich XIV Reuss of Greiz (in German) (1749 – 1799), married Marie Anne Meyer, no children
  • Prince Heinrich XV Reuss of Greiz (in German) (1751 – 1825), unmarried
  • Princess Isabelle Auguste Reuss of Greiz (1752 – 1824), married Burgrave Wilhelm Georg of Kirchberg-Hachenburg, had children
  • Countess Marie Reuss of Greiz (1754 – 1759), died in childhood
  • Princess Viktoria Reus of Greiz (1756 – 1819), married Wolfgang Ernst II, Prince of Isenburg and Büdingen, no children
  • Count Heinrich XVI Reuss of Greiz (1759 – 1763), died in childhood
  • Prince Heinrich XVII Reuss of Greiz (1761 – 1807), married Babette von Wenz, no children

When Heinrich III, Count of Reuss-Untergreiz died unmarried and childless in 1768, Heinrich XI, Count of Reuss-Obergreiz, inherited the County of Reuss-Untergreiz. Obergreiz and Untergreiz were united into the County of Reuss-Greiz. The following year Heinrich, now Count Reuss of Greiz, started constructing the the family residence in Greiz, the Summer Palace.

Summer Palace in Greiz; Credit – By Steffen Löwe – Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=43638573

On February 2, 1770, Heinrich XI’s first wife Conradine died, aged 51, and was buried at the Bergkirche St. Marien now in Schleiz, Thuringia, Germany which had served as the burial place for the Counts Reuss of Schleiz. Heinrich XI married again on October 25, 1770, in the Free City of Frankfurt to Countess Alexandrina von Leningen-Dagsburg-Falkenburg (1732 – 1809), daughter of Count Christian Carl Reinhard Leiningen-Dagsburg-Falkenburg (in German) and Countess Katarina Poliksen von Solms-Rödelheim. The marriage of Heinrich XI and Alexandrina was childless.

On 12 May 1778, Heinrich XI was elevated to Prince by Holy Roman Emperor Joseph II and the County of Reuss-Greiz became the Principality of Reuss-Greiz. The German language has two words for Prince: Fürst and Prinz. Fürst was used for a reigning sovereign ruler or monarch. The present-day rulers of the Principality of Liechtenstein bear the title of Fürst, and the title is also used in German when referring to the ruling princes of the Principality of Monaco. Non-reigning descendants of a Fürst are referred to in German as Prinz (prince) or Prinzessin (princess).

Heinrich XI, 1st Prince Reuss of Greiz died on June 28, 1800, aged 78, in Greiz, Principality of Reuss-Greiz and was buried at the Stadtkirche St. Marien in Greiz, the burial site for the Princes of Reuss-Greiz, Elder Line, now in the German federal state of Thuringia. His second wife Alexandrina died on October 4, 1809, aged 76, and was buried with her husband.

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Reuss-Greiz Resources at Unofficial Royalty

Works Cited

  • Bg.wikipedia.org. (2020). Хайнрих XI (Ройс-Грайц). [online] Available at: https://bg.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D0%A5%D0%B0%D0%B9%D0%BD%D1%80%D0%B8%D1%85_XI_(%D0%A0%D0%BE%D0%B9%D1%81-%D0%93%D1%80%D0%B0%D0%B9%D1%86) [Accessed 1 Mar. 2020].
  • De.wikipedia.org. (2020). Heinrich XI. (Reuß-Greiz). [online] Available at: https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heinrich_XI._(Reu%C3%9F-Greiz) [Accessed 1 Mar. 2020].
  • En.wikipedia.org. (2020). Heinrich XI, Prince Reuss of Greiz. [online] Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heinrich_XI,_Prince_Reuss_of_Greiz [Accessed 1 Mar. 2020].

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.

Wedding of Prince Arthur, Duke of Connaught and Princess Louise Margaret of Prussia

by Susan Flantzer
© Unofficial Royalty 2019

The Marriage of the Duke of Connaught by Sydney Pryor Hall – The bride is approaching the altar, escorted by her father Prince Friedrich Karl of Prussia and Crown Prince Friedrich of Prussia. The bridegroom awaits her, accompanied by his two older brothers and Queen Victoria; Credit – Royal Collection Trust

Prince Arthur, Duke of Connaught and Princess Louise Margaret of Prussia married on March 13, 1879, at St. George’s Chapel, Windsor Castle in Windsor, England.

Arthur’s Early Life

The First of May 1851 by Franz Xaver Winterhalter commemorates the 1st birthday of Prince Arthur, and the 82nd birthday of Arthur’s godfather Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington, and the opening day of the Great Exhibition, which was organized by Prince Albert. The painting shows Prince Arthur and his parents, the Duke of Wellington offering a gift to Prince Arthur, and The Crystal Palace, site of the Great Exhibition in the background; Credit – Wikipedia

Prince Arthur was born on May 1, 1850, at Buckingham Palace in London, England, the third son of the four sons and the seventh of the nine children of Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom and Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha. Arthur was educated by private tutors. In 1866, at the age of 16, Arthur entered the Royal Military College, Woolwich. He graduated two years later and was commissioned as a lieutenant in the Corps of Royal Engineers. During his forty-year military career in the British Army, Arthur participated in many missions in various parts of the British Empire. On his mother’s birthday, May 24, 1874, Arthur was created a royal peer with the titles Duke of Connaught and Strathearn and Earl of Sussex.

To learn more about Arthur, see Unofficial Royalty: Prince Arthur, Duke of Connaught

Louise Margaret’s Early Life

Princess Luise Margarete of Prussia; Credit – Wikipedia

Princess Luise Margarete of Prussia was born on July 25, 1860, at the Marmorpalais (Marble Palace), a royal residence in Potsdam, Kingdom of Prussia, now in Brandenburg, Germany. She was the fourth of the four daughters and the fourth of the five children of Prince Friedrich Karl of Prussia and Princess Maria Anna of Anhalt-Dessau. Prince Friedrich Karl’s father, Prince Karl of Prussia, was a younger son of King Friedrich Wilhelm III of Prussia and a brother of King Friedrich Wilhelm IV of Prussia and Wilhelm I, German Emperor and King of Prussia. Luise Margarete’s mother was also descended from Prussian kings as her great-grandfather was King Friedrich Wilhelm II of Prussia.

Luise Margarete’s parents had an unhappy marriage. After the birth of Luise Margarete, the fourth daughter, Prince Friedrich Karl reportedly beat his wife for not producing a son. Only the urgings of Friedrich Karl’s uncle King Wilhelm I of Prussia prevented a formal separation. Finally, five years after the birth of Luise Margarete, a son was born.

Upon her marriage, her name was anglicized to Louise Margaret.

To learn more about Louise Margaret, see Unofficial Royalty: Princess Louise Margaret of Prussia, Duchess of Connaught

The Engagement

Prince Arthur, 1st Duke of Connaught and Strathearn; Princess Louise, Duchess of Connaught (née Princess of Prussia) after Léon Abraham Marius Joliot, albumen carte-de-visite, 1870s, NPG Ax131371© National Portrait Gallery, London

In 1878, Arthur met Princess Louise Margaret of Prussia on a visit to his eldest sister Victoria, German Crown Princess and Crown Princess of Prussia. Louise Margaret was friendly with the Crown Princess and her eldest daughter Charlotte. Arthur wrote to his mother, “I must say I thought her rather pretty.” Queen Victoria considered Louise Margaret to be a less than satisfactory possible bride for her son. She was plain-looking and had bad teeth. Her parents were unpleasant, had an unhappy marriage, and lived apart. Victoria wanted to avoid associating her family with a possible scandal.

Upon returning home, Arthur had a conversation with his mother and Queen Victoria wrote about that conversation in her diary: “Dear Arthur arrived and stopped with us while we were taking tea. Afterward remained talking with me a little while, and told me that he had taken a great liking to young Louise of Prussia, Fritz Carl’s youngest daughter, who was brought up by an English governess…He said he did not wish to marry yet, and no one had breathed a word about it, but he liked her better and better, and meant, if I had no objection, to ask to see her this summer again. I could not help saying that I dislike the Prussians and told him he should see others first, but he said it would make no difference. What could I then say, but that, of course, his happiness was the first thing? He assured me he liked her better than anyone he had seen, but that he would not do anything without my consent, and looked so sad and earnest, yet so dear and gentle, that, having heard nothing but good of the girl, I could not object.”

Arthur’s eldest sister wrote to her mother: “I could not choose for a sister-in-law anyone I like better than Louise. She will make Arthur a most delightful wife. Each is the complement of the other, and I foresee that each will make the other supremely happy.”

When Queen Victoria met Louise Margaret, she became more positive and the engagement was announced. The Queen admitted to her diary, “Had I seen Louischen before Arthur spoke to me about his feelings, I should not have grieved him by hesitating for a moment in giving my consent. She is a dear, sweet girl of the most amiable and charming character…I am sure dear Arthur could not have chosen more wisely.”

Wedding Site

Embed from Getty Images 

The construction of St. George’s Chapel at Windsor Castle in Windsor, England began in 1475 by King Edward IV and completed by King Henry VIII in 1528.  It is a separate building located in the Lower Ward of Windsor Castle. The chapel seats about 800 people and has been the location of many royal ceremonies, weddings, funerals, and burials. Members of the Order of the Garter meet at Windsor Castle every June for the annual Garter Service held at St. George’s Chapel.

There had been no royal weddings at St. George’s Chapel until 1863 when Queen Victoria’s eldest son, the future King Edward VII, married Princess Alexandra of Denmark. Four more of Queen Victoria’s children were married at St. George’s Chapel, and became a popular site for royal weddings.

Wedding Guests

Royal Guests

  • Queen Victoria, the groom’s mother
  • The Prince of Wales, the groom’s brother, the future King Edward VII
  • The Princess of Wales, the groom’s sister-in-law, born Princess Alexandra of Denmark
  • Prince Albert Victor of Wales, the groom’s nephew
  • Prince George of Wales, the groom’s nephew, the future King George V
  • Princess Louise of Wales, the groom’s niece
  • Princess Victoria of Wales, the groom’s niece
  • Princess Maud of Wales, the groom’s niece
  • Prince Alfred, Duke of Edinburgh, the groom’s brother
  • The Duchess of Edinburgh, the groom’s sister-in-law, born Grand Duchess Maria Alexandrovna of Russia
  • Crown Princess Victoria of Germany and Prussia, the groom’s sister Victoria, Princess Royal
  • Crown Prince Friedrich of Germany and Prussia, the groom’s brother-in-law and the bride’s second cousin, the future Friedrich III, German Emperor and King of Prussia
  • Prince Wilhelm of Prussia, the groom’s nephew, the future Wilhelm II, German Emperor and King of Prussia
  • Princess Christian of Schleswig-Holstein, the groom’s sister Princess Helena
  • Prince Christian of Schleswig-Holstein, the groom’s brother-in-law
  • Princess Helena Victoria of Schleswig-Holstein, the groom’s niece
  • Princess Marie Louise of Schleswig-Holstein, the groom’s niece
  • Princess Beatrice, the groom’s sister
  • Prince George, 2nd Duke of Cambridge, the groom’s first cousin once removed
  • Duchess of Teck, born Princess Mary Adelaide of Cambridge, the groom’s first cousin once removed
  • Duke Francis of Teck, husband of the Duchess of Teck
  • Princess Victoria Mary of Teck, the groom’s second cousin, the future Queen Mary, wife of King George V
  • Prince Adolphus of Teck, the groom’s second cousin
  • Prince Francis of Teck, the groom’s second cousin
  • Prince Alexander of Teck, the groom’s second cousin
  • Prince Friedrich Karl of Prussia, the bride’s father
  • Princess Friedrich Karl of Prussia, the bride’s mother, born Princess Maria Anna of Anhalt-Dessau
  • Prince Friedrich Leopold of Prussia, the bride’s brother
  • Leopold II, King of the Belgians, the groom’s first cousin once removed
  • Marie Henriette, Queen of the Belgians, wife of King Leopold II, born Archduchess Marie Henriette of Austria
  • Ernst, 4th Prince of Leiningen, first cousin of the groom
  • Prince Philip of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, the groom’s second cousin
  • Princess Philip of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, wife of Prince Philip, born Princess Louise of Belgium, the groom’s second cousin
  • Princess August of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, the groom’s first cousin once removed
  • Princess August of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, wife of Prince August, born Princess Clémentine of Orléans
  • Maharajah Duleep Singh and his wife Maharani Bamba
  • Prince Edward of Saxe-Weimar

Invited Guests

(Some spouses were in attendance and/or in the processions)

  • Frances Gordon-Lennox, Duchess of Richmond
  • Francis Russell, 9th Duke of Bedford and Elizabeth Russell, Duchess of Bedford
  • Frances Spencer-Churchill, Duchess of Marlborough
  • Charles FitzGerald, 4th Duke of Leinster and Caroline FitzGerald, Duchess of Leinster
  • Arthur Wellesley, 2nd Duke of Wellington
  • George Sutherland-Leveson-Gower, 3rd Duke of Sutherland and Anne Sutherland-Leveson-Gower, Duchess of Sutherland
  • Rear-Admiral Prince Victor of Hohenlohe-Langenburg, Count Gleichen, first cousin of the groom
  • Georgina Gascoyne-Cecil, Marchioness of Salisbury
  • Emily Seymour, Marchioness of Hertford
  • Henry Moore, 3rd Marquess of Drogheda and Mary Moore, Marchioness of Drogheda
  • Thomas Taylour, 3rd Marquess of Headfort and Emily Taylour, Marchioness of Headfort
  • Jane Loftus, Dowager Marchioness of Ely
  • James Butler, 3rd Marquess of Ormonde
  • Spencer Cavendish, Marquess of Hartington
  • Constance Bruce, Countess of Elgin
  • Mary Louise Bruce, Dowager Countess of Elgin
  • William Edgcumbe, 4th Earl of Mount Edgcumbe
  • John Scott, 4th Earl of Clonmell
  • Selina Bridgeman, Countess of Bradford
  • Mary Lygon, Countess Beauchamp
  • William Hare, 3rd Earl of Listowell and Ernestine Hare, Countess of Listowel
  • Granville Leveson-Gower, 2nd Earl Granville and Castila Leveson-Gower, Countess Granville
  • John Townshend, 3rd Viscount Sydney and Emily Townshend, Countess Sydney
  • Mary Cairns, Countess Cairns
  • General Alexander Hood, 1st Viscount Bridport
  • Jane Gathorne-Hardy, Viscountess Cranbrook
  • General Robert Napier, 1st Baron Napier of Magdala
  • Lieutenant-General Lord Alexander Russell and Lady Russell
  • Major C. T. Bunbury
  • Major E. Harvey
  • Captain E. J. Harvey
  • Lieutenant and Adjutant Charles Norcott
  • Lady Constance Stanley
  • The Honorable Mrs. Gerald Wellesley
  • The Honorable Mrs. Alfred Egerton
  • The Honorable Lady Ponsonby
  • Lady Northcote
  • Lady Elphinstone
  • Mademoiselle Norelle, French tutor to Queen Victoria’s children
  • Sir William Jenner, 1st Baronet, Physician in Ordinary to Queen Victoria
  • Sir Henry Keppel, Admiral of the Fleet
  • General Sir Lintorn Simmonds, Inspector General of Fortifications
  • Lieutenant-General Sir C. L. D’Aguilar
  • Lieutenant-General William Parke
  • Lieutenant-Colonel George Ashley Maude, Crown Equerry of the Royal Mews
  • Mr. Frederick Gibbs, former tutor to The Prince of Wales and Prince Alfred
  • Mr. Francis Knollys, Private Secretary to The Prince of Wales
  • Mr. Montagu Corry, Prime Minister Benjamin Disraeli’s private secretary
  • Mr. Theodore Martin, Scottish poet, biographer, and translator.
  • Major-General Radcliffe
  • Colonel E. Butler
  • Colonel Robert Hale
  • Staff Captain Thomson
  • Commander H. Pearson
  • Lieutenant-Colonel James Ward
  • Captain Isham Edwards
  • Reverend Canon C. F. Tarver, former tutor to The Prince of Wales
  • Reverend Canon Henry Mildred Birch, Chaplain to The Prince of Wales
  • Reverend Canon Richard Gee, Vicar of New Windsor
  • Reverend Canon Robinson Duckworth, tutor to Prince Leopold
  • Reverend John Neale Dalton, tutor to Prince Albert Victor of Wales and Prince George of Wales
  • Mr. Frederick Campbell
  • Mr. R. R. Holmes, Librarian of Windsor Castle
  • Mr. Holzmann, Private Secretary to the Princess of Wales
  • Mr. A. B. Mitford, British diplomat, collector and writer
  • Mr. Hermann Sahl, Librarian and German Secretary to Queen Victoria
  • Dr. Douglas Argyll Robertson, Surgeon Oculist to Queen Victoria
  • John Webb, Mayor of Windsor
  • Mr. Doyne C. Bell
  • Mr. Edward Corbould, instructor of historical painting to Queen Victoria and her family
  • Mr. Du Pasquier, Apothecary to the Royal Household
  • Mr. James Ellison
  • Mr. Samuel Evans
  • Dr. T. Fairbanks
  • Miss Ferari
  • Mr. Charles Hallé, pianist and conductor
  • Dr. William Carter Hoffmeister – Surgeon to Queen Victoria
  • Mr. Sydney Prior Hall, British portrait painter and illustrator, who was commanded by Queen Victoria to make sketches of the wedding for a future painting
  • Dr. Alexander Profeit, Commissioner of Works at Balmoral Castle
  • Mr. White

The Queen’s Household

  • Elizabeth Wellesley, Duchess of Wellington, Mistress of the Robes
  • Susanna Innes-Kerr, Duchess of Roxburghe, Lady of the Bedchamber in Waiting
  • The Honorable Mary Pitt, Maid of Honor in Waiting
  • The Honorable Amy Lambart, Maid of Honor in Waiting
  • The Honorable Mrs. Ferguson of Pitfour, Bedchamber Woman in Waiting
  • Frederick Lygon, 6th Earl Beauchamp, Lord Steward
  • General Francis Seymour, 5th Marquess of Hertford, Lord Chamberlain
  • Orlando Bridgeman, 3rd Earl of Bradford, Master of the Horse
  • Lieutenant-General Sir Henry Ponsonby, Private Secretary and Keeper of the Privy Purse
  • Lord Henry Thynne, Treasurer of the Household
  • Hugh Seymour, Earl of Yarmouth, Comptroller of the Household
  • George Barrington, 7th Viscount Barrington, Vice-Chamberlain
  • General George Upton, 3rd Viscount Templetown, Gold Stick in Waiting
  • Charles Yorke, 5th Earl of Hardwicke, Master of the Buckhounds
  • Colonel Sir John Cowell, Master of the Household
  • Cornwallis Maude, 4th Viscount Hawarden, Lord in Waiting
  • Major C. E. Phipps, Groom in Waiting
  • General Sir Francis Seymour, Baronet, Master of the Ceremonies
  • Lieutenant-General Lord Alfred Paget, Clerk Marshal
  • Major-General Lord Charles Fitzroy, Equerry in Waiting
  • Colonel The Honorable H. W. J. Byng, Equerry in Waiting
  • Mr. Henry Erskine of Cardross, Groom of the Robes
  • Lieutenant-Colonel C. W. Duncombe, Silver Stick in Waiting
  • Colonel R. H. White, Field Officer in Brigade Waiting
  • The Honorable S. Ponsonby-Fane, Comptroller in the Lord Chamberlain’s Department
  • Count Albert Edward Gleichen, Page of Honor
  • The Honorable Victor Spencer, Page of Honor
  • Mr. Conway Seymour, Gentleman Usher in Waiting
  • Mr. Alpin Macgregor, Gentleman Usher in Waiting
  • Mr. James Bontein, Gentleman Usher in Waiting
  • Captain C. G. Nelson, Gentleman Usher in Waiting
  • Captain A. J. Loftus, Gentleman Usher in Waiting
  • Sir Albert Woods, Garter King of Arms
  • Mr. George Cokayne, Lancaster Herald
  • Mr. John de Havilland, York Herald

Attendants on the Bridegroom

  • Colonel Sir Howard Elphinstone, Comptroller of the Household
  • Captain Maurice FitzGerald, Equerry in Waiting
  • Captain Alfred Egerton, Equerry in Waiting
  • The Prince of Wales (the future King Edward VII), Supporter
  • Prince Alfred, Duke of Edinburgh, Supporter

Attendants on the Bride

  • Lady Adela Larking, Lady in Attendance
  • George Byng, 7th Viscount Torrington, Lord in Waiting to the Queen, in attendance to the Bride
  • Lady Georgiana Spencer-Churchill, Bridesmaid
  • Lady Blanche Conyngham, Bridesmaid
  • Lady Louisa Bruce, Bridesmaid
  • Lady Mabel Bridgeman, Bridesmaid
  • Lady Ela Russell, Bridesmaid
  • Lady Adelaide Taylour, Bridesmaid
  • Lady Cecilia Hay, Bridesmaid
  • Lady Victoria Edgcumbe, Bridesmaid

Attendants on Other Royalty

  • General Sir W. T. Knollys, Groom of the Stole to the Prince of Wales
  • Charles Harbord, 5th Baron Suffield, Lord of the Bedchamber in Waiting to the Prince of Wales
  • The Honorable A. Temple Fitz-Maurice, Groom of the Bedchamber in Waiting to the Prince of Wales
  • Lieutenant-General Sir D. M. Probyn, Comptroller and Treasurer to the Prince of Wales
  • Colonel Stanley Clarke, Equerry in Waiting to the Prince of Wales
  • Charles Colville, Lord Colville of Culross, Chamberlain to the Princess of Wales
  • Lady Emily Kingscote, Lady of the Bedchamber in Waiting to the Princess of Wales
  • Miss Charlotte Knollys, Woman of the Bedchamber in Waiting to the Princess of Wales
  • Colonel The Honorable W. J. Colville, Comptroller and Treasurer to the Duke and Duchess of Edinburgh
  • Captain A. B. Haig, Equerry in Waiting to the Duke of Edinburgh
  • Captain John Clerk, Equerry in Waiting to the Duke of Edinburgh
  • Lady Hariot Grimston, Lady in Waiting to the Duchess of Edinburgh
  • Lieutenant-Colonel G. G. Gordon, Treasurer to Prince and Princess Christian of Schleswig-Holstein
  • Lady Agneta Montagu, Lady in Waiting to Princess Christian of Schleswig-Holstein
  • Lady Edward Cavendish, Bedchamber Woman to Princess Christian of Schleswig-Holstein
  • Lady Jane Churchill, Lady of the Bedchamber to the Queen, in attendance on Princess Beatrice
  • Colonel Charles Tyrwhitt, Equerry in Waiting to the Duke of Cambridge
  • Lady Elizabeth Biddulph, Lady in Waiting to the Duchess of Teck
  • Colonel H. L. Fulke Greville, in attendance on the Duchess of Teck
  • Colonel Oliphant, in attendance on the Maharajah Duleep Singh and the Maharanee
  • Baroness de Pach, in Waiting on Prince and Princess August of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha
  • Baron Nostitz, in Waiting on Prince and Princess August of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha
  • Colonel C. T. Du Platt, Equerry in Waiting to the Queen, in attendance on In Waiting on
  • Prince and Princess August of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha
  • The Honorable Flora Macdonald, in attendance to Princess Philip of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha
  • Comtesse de Grünne, in attendance to the King and Queen of the Belgians
  • Baronne d’Hooghvorst, in attendance to the King and Queen of the Belgians
  • Jules De Vaux, in attendance to the King and Queen of the Belgians
  • Comte d’Oultremot, in attendance to the King and Queen of the Belgians
  • Major-General H. Lynedock Gardiner, Groom in Waiting to the Queen, in attendance on the King and Queen of the Belgians
  • Countess Brühl, in attendance to the Crown Prince and Princess of Germany and Prussia
  • Countess Marie Münster, in attendance to the Crown Prince and Princess of Germany and Prussia
  • Count G. Seckendorff, in attendance to the Crown Prince and Princess of Germany and Prussia
  • Captain von Pfuhlstein, in attendance to the Crown Prince and Princess of Germany and Prussia
  • Captain Baron von Nyvhenheim, in attendance to the Crown Prince and Princess of Germany and Prussia
  • Lieutenant-General The Honorable A. E. Hardinge. Equerry to the Queen in Attendance on the Crown Prince and Crown Princess of Germany and Prussia
  • Countess Schliefen, in waiting on Prince and Princess Friedrich Karl of Prussia
  • Countess Pückler, in waiting on Prince and Princess Friedrich Karl of Prussia
  • Frauelein von Woina, in waiting on Prince and Princess Friedrich Karl of Prussia
  • Count Kanitz, in waiting on Prince and Princess Friedrich Karl of Prussia
  • Count Schlippenbach, in waiting on Prince and Princess Friedrich Karl of Prussia
  • Colonel von Borcke, in waiting on Prince and Princess Friedrich Karl of Prussia
  • Major von Broesegke, in waiting on Prince and Princess Friedrich Karl of Prussia
  • Colonel von Geissler, in waiting on Prince and Princess Friedrich Karl of Prussia
  • Colonel J. C. McNeill, Equerry to the Queen, in waiting on Prince and Princess Friedrich Karl of Prussia
  • Lieutenant von Jacobi, in waiting on Prince Wilhelm of Prussia

Representatives of Foreign Governments

  • Turkish Ambassador and Mademoiselle Musurus
  • Georg Münster, Count of Münster, German Ambassador and Countess Olga Münster
  • Luigi Menabrea, 1st Count Menabrea Italian Ambassador and Countess Menabrea
  • Count Alajos Károlyi, Austro-Hungarian Ambassador and Countess Károlyi
  • Danish Minister
  • Belgian Minister
  • French Minister
  • Portuguese Chargé d’Affaires
  • Russian Chargé d’Affaires
  • Baron von den Brincken, member of the German Embassy
  • Count L. Arco, member of the German Embassy
  • Major von Vietinghoff, member of the German Embassy

Members of the Government

  • Hugh Cairns, 1st Earl Cairns, Lord Chancellor
  • Charles Gordon-Lennox, 6th Duke of Richmond, Lord President of the Council
  • Algernon Percy, 6th Duke of Northumberland, Lord Privy Seal
  • Benjamin Disraeli, 1st Earl of Beaconsfield, Prime Minister and First Lord of the Treasury
  • Richard Assheton Cross, Secretary of State for the Home Department
  • Robert Gascoyne-Cecil, 3rd Marquess of Salisbury, Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs
  • Sir Michael Hicks-Beach, Baronet, Secretary of State for the Colonies
  • Colonel Frederick Stanley, Secretary of State for War
  • Gathorne Gathorne-Hardy, 1st Viscount Cranbrook, Secretary of State for India
  • Sir Stafford Northcote, Baronet, Chancellor of the Exchequer
  • W. H. Smith, First Lord of the Admiralty
  • Lord John Manners, Postmaster-General
  • John Spencer-Churchill, 7th Duke of Marlborough, Lord-Lieutenant of Ireland
  • G. Noel, First Commissioner of the Works
  • Stephen Cave, Paymaster-General
  • T. E. Taylor, Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster
  • George Sclater-Booth, President of the Local Government Board
  • G. A. F. Cavendish-Bentinck, Judge Advocate-General
  • James Lowther, Chief Secretary for Ireland
  • Lord George Hamilton, Vice-President of the Board of Education
  • General Sir Charles Ellice, Adjutant-General
  • Lieutenant-General Sir Daniel Lysins, Quartermaster-General
  • General Sir Alfred Horsford, Military Secretary
  • Henry Fitzalan-Howard, 15th Duke of Norfolk, Earl Marshal
  • Gilbert Heathcote-Drummond-Willoughby, 2nd Baron Aveland, Deputy Lord Great Chamberlain

Bridesmaids and Supporters

The eight bridesmaids were unmarried daughters of Dukes, Marquesses, and Earls.

  • Lady Georgiana Spencer-Churchill, daughter of John Spencer-Churchill, 7th Duke of Marlborough, married Richard Curzon, 4th Earl Howe
  • Lady Blanche Conyngham, daughter of General George Conyngham, 3rd Marquess Conyngham, unmarried
  • Lady Louisa Bruce, daughter of James Bruce, 8th Earl of Elgin, unmarried
  • Lady Mabel Bridgeman, daughter of Orlando Bridgeman, 3rd Earl of Bradford, married Colonel William Kenyon-Slaney
  • Lady Ela Russell, daughter of Francis Russell, 9th Duke of Bedford, unmarried
  • Lady Adelaide Taylour, daughter of Thomas Taylour, 3rd Marquess of Headfort, unmarried
  • Lady Cecilia Hay, daughter of Major William Hay, 19th Earl of Erroll, married Captain George Webbe
  • Lady Victoria Edgcumbe, daughter of William Edgcumbe, 4th Earl of Mount Edgcumbe, married Lord Algernon Percy

Princess Louise Margaret was supported by her father Prince Friedrich Karl of Prussia and Friedrich, German Crown Prince and Crown Prince of Prussia (the future Friedrich III, German Emperor and King of Prussia), her father’s paternal first cousin and Arthur’s brother-in-law.

Prince Arthur’s supporters were his two elder brothers, the Prince of Wales (the future King Edward VII) and Prince Alfred, Duke of Edinburgh (the future Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha). Prince Arthur’s youngest brother Prince Leopold was to have been a Supporter but was prevented from attending the wedding due to illness.

Wedding Attire

Louise Margaret in her wedding dress; Credit – Wikipedia

Louise Margaret’s dress reflected her continental European origin. Although it was made of the usual white satin, the lace was not Honiton lace from Devon, England, the traditional lace used in wedding dresses of British royal brides. The lace was a combination of point d’Alençon lace from France and lace made in Silesia, then part of the Kingdom of Prussia, now located mostly in Poland, with small parts in the Czech Republic and Germany. The usual orange blossom and myrtle were still woven into the lace. In Germany, myrtle is considered the flower of love, marriage, and lasting fertility.

Louise Margaret in her wedding dress; Credit – Royal Collection Trust

The white satin dress had a band of lace encircling the waist and the skirt was decorated with myrtle leaves. The train was thirteen feet/four meters long with a lace flounce in which a sprig of myrtle was fixed. The bridal veil was made of lace with orange blossoms, roses, and myrtle leaves intertwined. The veil was fastened to her hair with five diamond stars, a gift from Arthur.

Louise Margaret jewelry Credit – Gogmsite- Grand Ladies

Louise Margaret wore the diamond fringe necklace which had belonged to the Duchess of Kent, Queen Victoria’s mother. The diamond fringe necklace and the diamond brooch on her right shoulder were gifts from Queen Victoria. Louise Margaret’s father gave her a diamond and pearl brooch with a diamond and pearl pendant which she wore in the center of her dress’ neckline. She also wore two bracelets. One was a gold and diamond bracelet, a gift from the groom’s brothers and sisters. The other was a diamond bracelet with a rosette center, a gift from the town of Windsor.

The bridesmaids from The Marriage of the Duke of Connaught by Sydney Pryor Hall; Credit – Royal Collection Trust

The eight bridesmaids wore dresses of white satin duchesse faille, a somewhat shiny closely woven silk, and mousseline de soie, a thin stiff silk, embroidered with wild rosebuds and flowers representing England, Scotland, Ireland and Germany.­

Arthur, on the left, and his brothers from The Marriage of the Duke of Connaught by Sydney Pryor Hall; Credit – Royal Collection Trust

Prince Arthur wore the uniform of a Colonel of the Rifle Brigade. The Prince of Wales wore the uniform of a Field Marshal and Prince Alfred, Duke of Edinburgh wore the uniform of an Admiral.

The Wedding

Embed from Getty Images

The officiating clergy:

  • Campbell Tait, Archbishop of Canterbury
  • John Jackson, Bishop of London, Dean of the Chapels Royal
  • John Mackarness, Bishop of Oxford, Chancellor of the Order of the Garter
  • Henry Philpott, Bishop of Worcester, Clerk of the Closet
  • The Honorable Gerald Wellesley, Dean of Windsor

The wedding guests arrived at the Windsor train station via a special train from London. They were taken by carriage to the South Entrance of St. George’s Chapel and shown to their seats. The Lord Steward and the other members of the Queen’s Household who were not in the carriage procession from Windsor Castle assembled at the South Entrance to St. George’s Chapel at 11:30 AM. The clergy officiating at the wedding assembled at the Deanery and then took their places at the altar at 11:45 AM.

At 11:45 AM, the Princess of Wales, the Royal Family, the other royal guests and their attendants proceeded to the West Entrance of St. George’s Chapel via carriages. Upon arrival at St. George’s Chapel, they were received by the Lord Steward and the Vice-Chamberlain. Her Majesty’s State Trumpeters announced with a flourish as each royal procession made its way down the aisle and were conducted to their seats. Georg Friedrich Handel’s March from “Hercules” was played as the royal processions entered the church.

At 12 noon, Queen Victoria accompanied by her daughter Princess Beatrice and her grandson Prince Albert Victor of Wales, and their attendants, left Windsor Castle via carriage. As the Queen’s procession proceeded up the aisle Felix Mendelssohn’s March from “Athalie” was played.

At 12:15 PM, the bridegroom, his supporters and their attendants, made their way via carriages to the West Entrance of St. George’s Chapel. As the bridegroom’s procession made its way to the altar, “Edward Albert,” a march by St. George’s Chapel organist Sir George Elvey, was played.

Finally, the bride with her supporters, bridesmaids, and attendants left Windsor Castle at 12:30 PM and proceeded to the West Entrance of St. George’s Chapel. The bride’s procession made its way down the aisle to Georg Friedrich Handel’s “Occasional Overture.”

The Archbishop of Canterbury performed the Church of England wedding service and the bride was given away by her father. During the service, the choir sang Psalm 128 and Psalm 67, set to music by Sir George Elvey. At the service’s conclusion, the choir sang Handel’s “Hallelujah Chorus” from “The Messiah.” The bride and groom, the royalty and their attendants left the chapel as Felix Mendelssohn’s “Wedding March” was played.

After the Wedding

Arthur and Louise Margaret’s wedding cake; Credit – https://www.royal.uk/royal-wedding-cakes-history

A royal salute was fired upon the conclusion of the wedding service by a battery of the Royal Horse Artillery stationed in the Long Walk. Upon returning to Windsor Castle, the bride and groom signed the marriage registry, attested by Queen Victoria, members of the British royal family, other royalty, and representatives of the British government. Queen Victoria, the British royal family, and the royal guests were served a private luncheon in the Dining Room. The other guests were served a buffet luncheon in St. George’s Hall. Sir George Elvey played the organ and conducted the orchestra and choir.

At 4:00 PM, the bride and groom, accompanied by Lady Adela Larking and Captain Alfred Egerton, left for Claremont House in Esher, Surrey, England where they would spend part of their honeymoon. After several days at Claremont House and then Windsor Castle, the newlyweds departed for a cruise in the Mediterranean. After their return to England, they took up residence in Bagshot Park, now the home of Prince Edward, Duke of Edinburgh.

Children

Arthur, Louise Margaret, and their children; Credit – Wikipedia

Arthur and Louise Margaret had three children:

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

  • En.wikipedia.org. (2019). Wedding dress of Princess Louise Margaret of Prussia. [online] Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wedding_dress_of_Princess_Louise_Margaret_of_Prussia [Accessed 13 Sep. 2019].
  • Flantzer, Susan. (2015). Prince Arthur, Duke of Connaught. [online] Unofficial Royalty. Available at: https://www.unofficialroyalty.com/prince-arthur-duke-of-connaught/ [Accessed 13 Sep. 2019].
  • Flantzer, Susan. (2015). Princess Louise Margaret of Prussia, Duchess of Connaught. [online] Unofficial Royalty. Available at: https://www.unofficialroyalty.com/princess-louise-margaret-of-prussia-duchess-of-connaught-and-strathearn/ [Accessed 13 Sep. 2019].
  • Google Books. (1879). Bulletins and Other State Intelligence – Ceremonial observed at the marriage of His Royal Highness The Prince Arthur and Her Royal Highness Princess Louise Margaret of Prussia.
  • Google Books. (1891). Wedding Etiquette and Usages of Polite Society. [online] Available at: https://books.google.com/books?id=4FcEAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA24&lpg=PA24&dq=Lady+Louisa+Bruce+wedding&source=bl&ots=QCrqFd2YMT&sig=ACfU3U3ncGPp8UXHJRM-7JQW06xJCSpKyw&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwj3ke3qm8XkAhVqh-AKHSmvAfMQ6AEwDXoECB0QAQ#v=onepage&q&f=false [Accessed 13 Sep. 2019].
  • Hibbert, Christopher. (2000). Queen Victoria – A Personal History. Cambridge: De Capo Press.
  • History of Royal Women. (2019). The Year of Queen Victoria – Louise Margaret of Prussia (Part one) – History of Royal Women. [online] Available at: https://www.historyofroyalwomen.com/louise-margaret-of-prussia/the-year-of-queen-victoria-louise-margaret-of-prussia-part-one/ [Accessed 13 Sep. 2019].
  • Royal-magazin.de. (2019). Royal Wedding Jewelry | Duchess of Connaught | Jewels Princess of Prussia. [online] Available at: https://royal-magazin.de/england/connaught/connaught-wedding-bracelet.htm [Accessed 13 Sep. 2019].
  • Timesmachine.nytimes.com. (1879). Royal Marriage Bells. [online] Available at: https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1879/03/14/81750261.pdf [Accessed 13 Sep. 2019].
  • Van der Kiste, J. (2011). Queen Victoria’s Children. Stroud: The History Press.

Wedding of Princess Helena of the United Kingdom and Prince Christian of Schleswig-Holstein

by Susan Flantzer
© Unofficial Royalty 2019

The Marriage of Princess Helena, 5 July 1866 by Christian Karl Magnussen; Credit – Royal Collection Trust

Princess Helena of the United Kingdom and Prince Christian of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Augustenburg were married on July 5, 1866, at the Private Chapel in Windsor Castle in Windsor, England.

Helena’s Early Life

Helena with her favorite sibling Alfred, by Franz Xaver Winterhalter, 1849; Credit – Wikipedia

Princess Helena was the fifth of the nine children and the third of the five daughters of Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom and Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha. She was born at Buckingham Palace on May 25, 1846. Known within the family as Lenchen, Helena’s childhood was spent at her mother’s various homes, in the care of nurses and nannies. An accomplished artist and pianist from a young age, she was overshadowed throughout her life by her siblings. Helena was closest to her brother Alfred, and the two remained so for their entire lives.

Helena’s life would change drastically in 1861, with the death of her beloved father. She began helping her sister Alice who became an unofficial secretary to their mother. After Alice’s marriage, Helena would continue in this role, along with her younger sister Louise, before the role was primarily taken by her youngest sister, Beatrice.

Helena had a brief romance with Carl Ruland, who had served as her father’s librarian. When the Queen discovered her daughter’s interest in one of the servants, Ruland was quickly dispatched back to Germany. Victoria then began a quest to find Helena an appropriate husband.

For more information on Princess Helena, see Unofficial Royalty: Princess Helena of the United Kingdom, Princess Christian of Schleswig-Holstein

Christian’s Early Life

Prince Christian by Franz Xaver Winterhalter, 1866; Credit – Wikipedia

Prince Christian of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Augustenburg, generally shortened to Schleswig-Holstein was born on January 22, 1831, in Augustenborg, Denmark, the sixth of the seven children of Christian August, Duke of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Augustenburg and Countess Louise Sophie of Danneskiold-Samsøe. His elder surviving brother was Friedrich VIII, Duke of Schleswig-Holstein who married Princess Adelheid of Hohenlohe-Langenburg, a daughter of Queen Victoria’s half-sister Feodora of Leiningen, Princess of Hohenlohe-Langenburg. Among Friedrich and Adelheid’s children was Augusta Victoria of Schleswig-Holstein who married Queen Victoria’s grandson Wilhelm II, German Emperor and King of Prussia.

While attending the University of Bonn, Christian became close friends with the future German Emperor Friedrich III. This friendship would serve him well in later years, as Friedrich’s wife was Victoria, Princess Royal, the eldest sister of Christian’s future wife.

For more information on Prince Christian, see Unofficial Royalty: Prince Christian of Schleswig-Holstein

The Engagement

Princess Helena and Prince Christian, part of a series of photographs following their engagement; Credit – Wikipedia

Helena was described by her mother as plump, dowdy, uncomplicated, unambitious, obedient, and without charm – which did not help her with marriage prospects. One of Queen Victoria’s requirements for Helena’s husband was that he had to be prepared to live near the Queen so that Helena could continue to be her companion and secretary. This eliminated many potential husbands. The final candidate in Queen Victoria’s search was a 35-year-old impoverished prince, Christian of Schleswig-Holstein, suggested by Queen Victoria’s uncle Leopold I, King of the Belgians.

Being fifteen years older than Helena, Christian was closer in age to Queen Victoria. When Christian was first summoned to meet Queen Victoria, he assumed that the widowed Queen was inspecting him as a new husband for herself rather than as a husband for one of her daughters. Christian was balding, looked older than his age, and was not considered handsome, certainly not the type of prince a 19-year-old princess sees in her dreams. However, Christian was agreeable and easy-going, spoke fluent English, and had been a long-time friend of Helena’s brother-in-law, the future German Emperor Friedrich III.

In August 1865, Queen Victoria and all her children went to Coburg to unveil a statue of Prince Albert. It was there that Helena and Christian first met. The possibility of a marriage between Helena and Christian was not met with unanimous approval within the royal family. The Princess of Wales (formerly Princess Alexandra of Denmark) could not tolerate a marriage to someone who, she felt, took the Schleswig and Holstein duchies away from her own father, the King of Denmark. The Prince of Wales supported his wife in this. Helena’s sister Alice also disapproved as she felt Queen Victoria was pushing Helena into this marriage to ensure that Helena would remain near her side. The fact that Christian was 15 years older than Helena certainly did not help that suggestion. However, Helena and Christian knew they did not have many marriage prospects and were both agreeable to the marriage. Their engagement was announced on December 5, 1865.

The Wedding Site

The original Private Chapel in Windsor Castle, lithograph by Joseph Nash, 1848; Credit – Wikipedia

The Private Chapel in Windsor Castle was created for Queen Victoria by architect Edward Blore between 1840 and 1847. There were niches with marble sculptures, pews, and a large Gothic chandelier hanging from the ceiling. On November 20, 1992, a fire began in the Private Chapel in Windsor Castle when a painter left a spotlight too close to the curtains. The fire caused much damage to Windsor Castle. The Private Chapel was later restored but the new Private Chapel is much smaller, has chairs instead of pews, and is only able to fit thirty people. The new altar was made by Queen Elizabeth II’s nephew David Armstrong-Jones, 2nd Earl of Snowdon, a furniture designer and maker.

The Wedding Guests

This is a complete list from the London Gazette, Issue 23140, 17 July 1866.

Royal Guests

  • Queen Victoria, mother of the bride
  • The Prince and Princess of Wales, brother and sister-in-law of the bride
  • Prince Alfred, Duke of Edinburgh, brother of the bride
  • Prince Louise, sister of the bride
  • Prince Arthur, brother of the bride
  • Prince Leopold, brother of the bride
  • Princess Beatrice, sister of the bride
  • The Duchess of Cambridge, great-aunt of the bride
  • Leopold II, King of the Belgians, first cousin once removed of the bride, and his wife Queen Marie Henriette
  • Ernst, 4th Prince of Leiningen, half-first cousin of the bride, and his wife Marie, Princess of Leiningen
  • Prince Edward of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach
  • Prince Friedrich of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Augustenburg, brother of the groom
  • The Maharajah Duleep Singh

The Queen’s Household – participated in the royal, bridegroom’s and bride’s procession

  • Elizabeth Wellesley, Duchess of Wellington, Mistress of the Robes
  • Susanna Innes-Kerr, Duchess of Roxburghe, Lady of the Bedchamber in Waiting
  • The Honorable Mrs. Robert Bruce, Woman of the Bedchamber in Waiting
  • John Townshend, Viscount Sydney, Lord Chamberlain of the Household
  • Valentine Browne, Viscount Castlerosse, Vice-Chamberlain of the Household
  • John Ponsonby, 5th Earl of Bessborough, Lord Steward
  • George Brudenell-Bruce, 2nd Marquess of Ailesbury, Master of the Horse
  • Lieutenant General The Honorable Charles Grey, Joint Keeper of the Privy Purse, Equerry in Waiting
  • Major General Sir Thomas Biddulph, Joint Keeper of the Privy Purse
  • Lord Otho Fitzgerald, Treasurer of the Household
  • Granville Proby, 4th Earl of Carysfort, Comptroller of the Household
  • George Bingham, 3rd Earl of Lucan, Gold Stick in Waiting
  • Thomas Foley, 4th Baron Foley, Captain of the Gentlemen-at-Arms
  • Henry Reynolds-Moreton, 3rd Earl of Ducie, Captain of the Yeomen of the Guard
  • Richard Boyle, 9th Earl of Cork, Master of the Buckhounds
  • Major Sir John Cowell, Master of the Household
  • Frederick Methuen, 2nd Baron Methuen, Lord in Waiting
  • Lieutenant-Colonel W.H.F. Cavendish, Equerry in Waiting
  • Lord Alfred Paget, Clerk Marshal
  • Colonel The Honorable Dudley F. DeRos
  • General The Honorable Sir Edward Cust, Master of Ceremonies
  • Lieutenant-Colonel R. Palmer, Silver Stick in Waiting
  • Colonel H.F. Ponsonby, Field Officer in Brigade in Waiting
  • The Honorable Spencer Ponsonby, Comptroller in the Lord Chamberlain’s Department
  • Sir William Martins, Gentleman Usher
  • Major General Henry S. Stephens, Senior Gentleman Usher
  • Sir Charles G. Young, Garter King of Arms
  • Mr. Albert W. Woods, Lancaster Herald
  • Mr. Matthew C.H. Gibbon, Richmond Herald

Bride’s Attendant

  • Jane, Spencer, Baroness Churchill, Lady of the Bedchamber to The Queen

Bridegroom’s Attendants

  • Major General Francis Seymour, Groom of the Robes to the Queen
  • Count Rantzau, Gentleman of Honor to the Bridegroom

Foreign Representatives

  • Henri-Godefroi-Bernard-Alphonse, Prince de La Tour d’Auvergn, French Ambassador
  • Count of Lavradio, Portuguese Ambassador
  • Phillip Ivanovich Brunnov, Russian Ambassador
  • Christian Emil Krag-Juel-Vind-Frijs, Danish Foreign Minister
  • The Hanoverian Foreign Minister
  • The Prussian Ambassador
  • The Turkish Ambassador

Clergy

  • Charles Longley, Archbishop of Canterbury
  • Archibald Campbell Tait, Dean of the Chapels Royal, Bishop of London
  • Samuel Wilberforce, Lord High Almoner, Bishop of Oxford
  • Henry Philpott, Clerk of the Closet, Bishop of Worcester
  • Charles Sumner, Prelate of the Order of the Garter, Bishop of Winchester
  • Gerald Wellesley, Dean of Windsor

Government Officials

  • Robert Rolfe, 1st Baron Cranworth, Lord High Chancellor
  • Granville Leveson-Gower, 2nd Earl Granville, Lord President of the Council
  • George Campbell, 8th Duke of Argyll, Lord Privy Seal
  • John Russell, 1st Earl Russell, Prime Minister and First Lord of the Treasury
  • Sir George Grey, 2nd Baronet, Secretary of State for the Home Department
  • George Villiers, 4th Earl of Clarendon, Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs
  • Edward Cardwell, Secretary of State for the Colonies
  • Spencer Cavendish, Marquess of Hartington, Secretary of State for War
  • George Robinson, 3rd Earl de Grey, 2nd Earl of Ripon, Secretary for the State of India
  • Chancellor of the Exchequer, William Ewart Gladstone
  • Edward Seymour, 12th Duke of Somerset, First Lord of the Admiralty
  • Edward Stanley, 2nd Baron Stanley of Alderley Postmaster-General
  • George Goschen, Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster
  • Thomas Milner Gibson, President of the Board of Trade
  • Charles Pelham Villiers, President of the Poor Law Board
  • William F. Cowper, First Commissioner of Works
  • Adjutant General, Major-General Lord William Paulet
  • Quartermaster General, Lieutenant-General Sir James Hope Grant

Attendants to Other Royalty – some participated in processions

  • John Poyntz Spencer, 5th Earl Spencer, Groom of the Stole to The Prince of Wales
  • James Hamilton, Viscount Hamilton, Gentleman of the Bedchamber in Waiting to The Prince of Wales
  • The Honorable Charles L. Wood, Groom of the Bedchamber in Waiting to The Prince of Wales
  • Lieutenant-General Knollys, Comptroller and Treasurer to The Prince of Wales
  • Major G. H. Grey, Equerry in Waiting to The Prince of Wales
  • George Harris, 3rd Baron Harris, Chamberlain to The Princess of Wales
  • Countess of Morton, Lady of the Bedchamber in Waiting to The Princess of Wales
  • The Honorable Mrs. Edward Coke, Woman of the Bedchamber in Waiting to The Princess of Wales
  • Comte Van der Straten-Ponthoz, Grand Marshal to The King of the Belgians
  • Comte Gustav de Lannoy, Chamberlain to The Queen of the Belgians
  • Marquise de Trazeguies, Lady in Attendance to The Queen of the Belgians
  • Comtesse de Yves de Bavai, Lady in Attendance to The Queen of the Belgians
  • Jules de Vaux, Secretary to The King of the Belgians
  • Thomas Stonor, 3rd Baron Camoys, Lord in Waiting to Queen Victoria in attendance to The King and Queen of the Belgians
  • The Honorable Eliot Yorke, Equerry in attendance to The Duke of Edinburgh
  • Major Sir Howard Craufurd Elphinstone, Governor to Prince Arthur
  • Lieutenant Walter George Stirling, Governor to Prince Leopold
  • Lady Caroline Barrington, Lady Superintendent to Princess Louise and Princess Beatrice
  • Lady Augusta Stanley, Lady in attendance to Princess Louise and Princess Beatrice
  • Colonel Home Purves, Comptroller of the Household to The Duchess of Cambridge
  • Lady Geraldine Somerset, Lady in Waiting to The Duchess of Cambridge
  • Lieutenant-Colonel James Oliphant, Gentleman in attendance to The Maharajah Duleep Singh
  • Lady Susan Leslie Melville, Lady in Waiting to Princess Helena
  • Gardner D. Engleheart, Comptroller to the Household of Prince Christian and Princess Helena
  • Lieutenant-Colonel George G. Gordon, Equerry to Prince Christian

Other Guests

  • Charles Gordon-Lennox, 6th Duke of Richmond and Frances Gordon-Lennox, Duchess of Richmond
  • Walter Montagu Douglas Scott, 5th Duke of Buccleuch and Charlotte Montagu Douglas Scott, Duchess of Buccleuch
  • Arthur Wellesley, 2nd Duke of Wellington and Elizabeth Wellesley, Duchess of Wellington
  • Augusta, Countess Dornberg, morganatic wife of Prince Edward of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach
  • Prince Victor of Hohenlohe-Langenburg, half-first cousin of the bride, and his morganatic wife Laura, Countess Gleichen
  • James Hamilton, 2nd Marquess of Abercorn
  • Mary Brudenell-Bruce, Marchioness of Ailesbury
  • George Phipps, 2nd Marquess of Normanby and Laura Phipps, Marchioness of Normanby
  • Frances Ponsonby, Countess of Bessborough
  • Edward Smith-Stanley, 14th Earl of Derby
  • Catherine Murray, Dowager Countess of Dunmore
  • William Wentworth-Fitzwilliam, 6th Earl Fitzwilliam and Frances Wentworth-Fitzwilliam, Countess Fitzwilliam
  • Caroline Edgcumbe, Dowager Countess of Mount Edgcumbe
  • John Campbell, 2nd Earl Cawdor and Sarah Campbell, Countess Cawdor
  • Emily Townshend, Viscountess Sydney
  • George Byng, 7th Viscount Torrington
  • Charles Shaw-Lefevre, 1st Viscount Eversley
  • Lady Emily Seymour and The Honorable Miss Seymour
  • The Honorable Reverend Charles L. Courtenay and Lady Caroline Courtenay
  • The Honorable Mrs. Grey and Miss Grey
  • Lieutenant-General Jonathan Peel, politician
  • The Right Honorable Benjamin Disraeli, future Prime Minister
  • Lieutenant-General The Honorable H. Byng and Mrs. Byng
  • The Honorable Mrs. Wellesley, wife of Gerald Wellesley, Dean of Windsor
  • Major-General The Honorable A. N. Hood, Lady Mary Hood and Miss Hood
  • The Honorable Lady Biddulph, wife of Major General Sir Thomas Biddulph, Joint Keeper of the Privy Purse
  • Sir James Clark, Baronet, former Physician-In-Ordinary to Queen Victoria
  • Elizabeth Couper, Dowager Baroness Couper
  • Dr. William Jenner, Physician-In-Ordinary to Queen Victoria
  • Sir Richard Mayne, Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police
  • Mr. Bernard Woodward, Royal Librarian at Windsor Castle
  • Mr. Hermann Sahl, Librarian and German Secretary to Queen Victoria
  • Arthur Penrhyn Stanley, Dean of Westminster
  • Reverend Henry Ellison, Chaplain-in-Ordinary to Queen Victoria
  • Reverend James St. John Blunt, Chaplain-in-Ordinary to Queen
  • Dr. Douglas Argyll Robertson, Surgeon Oculist to Queen Victoria
  • Miss Louisa Bowater, a friend of Princess Helena
  • Lieutenant-Colonel George Ashley Maude, Crown Equerry of the Royal Mews, and Miss E. Maude
  • Mr. Frederick Gibbs, tutor to The Prince of Wales and Prince Alfred
  • Reverend Henry Mildred Birch, Chaplain to The Prince of Wales
  • Reverend William Rowe Jolley, tutor to Prince Alfred
  • Reverend George Prothero, Chaplain-in-Ordinary to Queen Victoria, Rector of St. Mildred’s Church, Whippingham, Isle of Wight, where Queen Victoria’s family worshipped when at Osborne House
  • Reverend Robinson Duckworth, tutor to Prince Leopold
  • Reverend N. Shuldham, tutor to Prince Leopold
  • Mr. Adolf Buff, German tutor to Prince Arthur and Prince Leopold
  • Miss Sarah Anne Hildyard, tutor to Queen Victoria’s children
  • Miss Ottilie Bauer, German tutor to Queen Victoria’s children
  • Mademoiselle Norele, French tutor to Queen Victoria’s children

The Supporters and Bridesmaids

Prince Christian’s supporters were his brother Prince Friedrich of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Augustenburg and Prince Edward of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach.

Helena had eight bridesmaids, all of whom were unmarried daughters of British Dukes and Earls:

  • Lady Muriel Campbell, daughter of John Campbell, 2nd Earl Cawdor, married Sir Courtenay Edmund Boyle
  • Lady Ernestine Edgcumbe, daughter of Ernest Edgcumbe, 3rd Earl of Mount Edgcumbe, unmarried
  • Lady Mary Fitzwilliam, daughter of William Wentworth-FitzWilliam, 6th Earl FitzWilliam, married The Honorable Hugh Le Despencer Boscawen
  • Lady Albertha Hamilton, daughter of James Hamilton, 1st Duke of Abercorn, married George Spencer-Churchill, 8th Duke of Marlborough
  • Lady Caroline Gordon-Lennox, daughter of Charles Gordon-Lennox, 6th Duke of Richmond, unmarried
  • Lady Alexandrina Murray, daughter of Alexander Murray, 6th Earl of Dunmore, married Rev. Henry Cunliffe
  • Lady Laura Phipps, daughter of George Phipps, 2nd Marquess of Normanby, married John Vivian Hampton-Lewis
  • Lady Margaret Montagu Douglas Scott, daughter of Walter Montagu Douglas Scott, 5th Duke of Buccleuch, married Donald Cameron of Lochiel, 24th Chief of Clan Cameron

The Wedding Attire

Princess Helena in her wedding dress; Credit – Wikipedia

Princess Helena’s wedding dress was made from white satin with deep flounces of Honiton lace. The design of the lace featured roses, ivy, and myrtle. The train, also made of the Honiton lace, had bouquets of orange blossom and myrtle attached. On her head, Helena wore a wreath of orange blossoms and myrtle with a veil made of Honiton lace which matched her dress. She wore a necklace, earrings, and a brooch, all of opals and diamonds, a wedding gift from her mother Queen Victoria. In addition, Helena wore bracelets set with miniatures and the Royal Order of Victoria and Albert.

The eight bridesmaids were dressed in white glacé dresses covered with tulle under a long tunic of silver tulle, which was looped up on one side with a chatelaine of pink roses, forget-me-nots, and white heather. The bodice and skirt were also trimmed with pink roses, forget-me-nots, and heather. On their heads, the bridesmaids wore a wreath of pink roses, forget-me-nots, and heather with a long tulle veil.

The Wedding

Embed from Getty Images 

The wedding ceremony was held at 12:30 PM on July 5, 1866, at the Private Chapel in Windsor Castle in Windsor, England. At noon, members of the British royal family, along with other royalty and important guests gathered in the White Drawing Room in Windsor Castle. Princess Helena remained in Queen Victoria’s Private Apartments while members of her procession assembled in the corridor outside Queen Victoria’s Private Apartments. Prince Christian, his supporters and members of his procession waited in the Red Room. The Ladies and Gentlemen of The Queen’s Household along with the Ladies and Gentlemen of foreign royalty assembled in the corridor. Ambassadors, Foreign Ministers, Cabinet Ministers, and other guests assembled in the Red and Green Drawing Rooms and were then conducted to their seats. The Archbishop of Canterbury and the other clergy taking part in the wedding ceremony assembled in the Audience Chamber. They then proceeded to the Private Chapel and took their places at the altar.

After the Ambassadors, Foreign Ministers, Cabinet Ministers, and other guests had taken their seats and the clergy had assembled in the Private Chapel, the Royal Procession formed in the corridor outside the White Drawing Room and were conducted to the Private Chapel by the Lord Chamberlain and the Vice-Chamberlain. The Lord Chamberlain and the Vice-Chamberlain then proceeded to the Red Room and conducted Prince Christian’s procession to the Private Chapel. Finally, the Lord Chamberlain and the Vice-Chamberlain proceeded to Queen Victoria’s Private Apartments and conducted Princess Helena’s procession to the Private Chapel. As her father had died in 1861, Helena was escorted by her mother Queen Victoria, her eldest brother The Prince of Wales, and her eight bridesmaids.

As the Bride’s Procession made its way to the Private Chapel, the March from the opera “Scipio” by Georg Friedrich Handel was played. When Helena arrived in the Private Chapel she took her place on the left side of the altar while Queen Victoria was led to her seat.

Princess Helena and Prince Christian; Credit – Royal Collection Trust

Charles Longley, Archbishop of Canterbury performed the entire wedding ceremony. The responses of both Helena and Christian were made in a firm and audible voice and Christian spoke with a decidedly foreign accent. When the Archbishop of Canterbury asked, “Who giveth this Woman to be married to this Man?”, it was Queen Victoria, in lieu of her deceased husband, who answered in a dignified and determined manner. During the ceremony, the choir sang a chorale by William George Cusins, specially composed for the occasion. Cusins was the organist in Queen Victoria’s Private Chapels and played the organ during the wedding ceremony.

When the ceremony was over, Helena was warmly embraced by Queen Victoria and The Prince of Wales. Then, to Ludwig Spohr’s march from the oratorio “The Fall of Babylon”, Helena and Christian proceeded to the White Drawing Room, accompanied by the royal procession and the clergy, to sign the marriage registry along with Queen Victoria, other royalty, and some members of the Royal Household.

Post-Wedding

Embed from Getty Images
Princess Helena and Prince Christian leave Windsor Castle for their honeymoon

Luncheon was served to members of the British royal family and other royalty in the Oak Room at Windsor Castle. Other guests were served a buffet in the Waterloo Chamber. At 4:15 PM, guests desiring to return to London boarded a special train. At the same time, the bride and groom left Windsor by special train for Southampton where a boat would convey them to the Isle of Wight for their honeymoon at Osborne House.

Later that evening at Windsor Castle, a banquet was held in the Waterloo Gallery and an evening party was held in St. George’s Hall.

Children

Helena and Christian had five children:

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

  • Chomet, Seweryn. (1999). Helena: A Princess Reclaimed. New York: Begell House Inc.
  • Google Books. (1866). The London Gazette Issue 23140. 17 July 1866. [online] Available at: https://books.google.com/books?id=xTxEAAAAcAAJ&pg=PA4089&lpg=PA4089&dq=London+Gazette.+Issue+23140.+17+July+1866&source=bl&ots=EnAnytK-0J&sig=ACfU3U36Jz4GH6riAvk5Y2WdCGzEbr4sAA&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwivwaH9r4bkAhWwT98KHe3WCb0Q6AEwDHoECAwQAQ#v=onepage&q&f=false [Accessed 23 Aug. 2019].
  • Mehl, Scott. (2015). Prince Christian of Schleswig-Holstein. [online] Unofficial Royalty. Available at: https://www.unofficialroyalty.com/prince-christian-of-schleswig-holstein/ [Accessed 23 Aug. 2019].
  • Mehl, Scott. (2015). Princess Helena of the United Kingdom, Princess Christian of Schleswig-Holstein. [online] Unofficial Royalty. Available at: https://www.unofficialroyalty.com/princess-helena-of-the-united-kingdom-princess-christian-of-schleswig-holstein/ [Accessed 23 Aug. 2019].
  • Packard, Jerrold. (1998). Victoria’s Daughters. New York: St. Martin’s Press.
  • Trove. (1866). MARRIAGE OF THE PRINCESS HELENA. – The Sydney Morning Herald (NSW: 1842 – 1954) – 14 Sep 1866. [online] Available at: https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/13136740 [Accessed 23 Aug. 2019].
  • Van der Kiste, J. (2011). Queen Victoria’s Children. Stroud: The History Press.

Wedding of Victoria, Princess Royal and Friedrich III, German Emperor, King of Prussia

by Susan Flantzer
© Unofficial Royalty 2019

The Marriage of Victoria, Princess Royal, 25 January 1858 by John Phillip; Credit – Royal Collection Trust/ © His Majesty King Charles II

Victoria, Princess Royal married Prince Friedrich of Prussia, the future Friedrich III, German Emperor and King of Prussia, at the Chapel Royal of St. James’s Palace in London, England on January 25, 1858. The couple had eight children and the Greek, Prussian, Romanian, Serbian, and Spanish royal families descended from this marriage.

Victoria’s Early Life

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

The eldest of the nine children and the eldest of the five daughters of Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom and Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha was born on November 21, 1840, at Buckingham Palace, nine months after her parents’ marriage. Named Victoria after her mother and called Vicky in the family, she was created Princess Royal shortly before her first birthday.

Vicky started learning French with a French tutor when she was eighteen months old and then began learning German at age three. Later, Vicky studied science, literature, Latin, and history. All Vicky’s governesses and tutors were impressed with her intelligence.

Once Vicky was engaged to be married to her Prussian prince, her father Prince Albert personally taught her politics and modern European history and had her write essays about events in Prussia. Prince Albert and Queen Victoria ardently hoped that Vicky’s marriage would make the ties between London and Berlin closer and lead to a unified and liberal Germany. However, once married and in Prussia, Vicky and her husband were politically isolated, and their liberal and Anglophile views clashed with the authoritarian ideas of the Minister-President of Prussia, Otto von Bismarck.

For more about Vicky, see Unofficial Royalty: Victoria, Princess Royal, German Empress, Queen of Prussia

Friedrich’s Early Life

Friedrich, circa 1841; Credit – Wikipedia

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

Fritz received both a military and a classical education. He studied history, geography, physics, music, and religion. He had a talent for foreign languages, becoming fluent in English and French, and also studying Latin. Naturally, Fritz studied the traditional Hohenzollern areas of fencing, riding, gymnastics, and practical craft skills such as carpentry, book printing, and bookbinding. In addition, he also received a military education. Fritz interrupted his military training at the age of 18 to study history, politics, law, and public policy at the University of Bonn. His time at the University of Bonn helped solidify his liberal, reforming beliefs.

For more about Fritz, see Friedrich III, German Emperor, King of Prussia

The Engagement

Photograph taken at Balmoral to mark the Princess Royal’s engagement to Prince Friedrich of Prussia on September 29, 1855; From left to right: Prince Friedrich of Prussia, The Princess Royal, Prince Alfred (seated on the grass), Princess Alice, Princess Helena, Queen Victoria, Princess Louise, Prince Albert and The Prince of Wales; Credit – Photograph by George Washington Wilson, The Royal Collection Trust

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

Four years later, in 1855, Fritz was invited back to England by Victoria and Albert for a visit to their Scottish home Balmoral. The British and Prussian royal families expected Fritz and Vicky to decide if they would marry. Fritz was second in line to the Prussian throne after his father, who was expected to succeed his childless brother. Even though a marriage would not be universally popular in either country, Vicky and Fritz agreed to marry each other. They became engaged on September 29, 1855, but the engagement was not publicly announced until May 17, 1856. Because Vicky was so young, her parents decreed that the wedding would have to wait until Vicky was 17 years old.

The Wedding Site

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The Chapel Royal at St. James’ Palace

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

Located in St. James’ Palace, a Tudor palace in London next to Clarence House and nearby Buckingham Palace, the Chapel Royal was built around 1540 and has had alterations over the years. Although St. James’ Palace is no longer used as one of the monarch’s residences, it is used for offices and receptions, and several minor members of the British Royal Family have apartments there. The Chapel Royal in St. James’ Palace was the venue for several earlier Hanover weddings, including the wedding of Vicky’s parents. The Chapel Royal seats about 100 people so Vicky and Fritz’s wedding was nowhere near the size of today’s royal weddings. Accordingly, the guest list had to be limited.

Partial List of Wedding Guests

Queen Victoria, Prince Albert and Victoria, Princess Royal; Credit – Wikipedia

The above photograph is a daguerreotype taken just before the wedding. The figure of Queen Victoria is blurred due to her movement. Of the event, Queen Victoria wrote in her journal, “Vicky was daguerreotyped in my room, & she & her dear father & I, together, but I trembled so that it has come out indistinct. Then, it was time to go.”

The guest list below was gleaned from the New York Times re-publication on February 12, 1858 of the London Times’ article “The Royal Wedding – The Marriage of The Princess Royal – Graphic and Detailed Description of the Ceremonies”, published on January 26, 1858. It is most likely an incomplete guest list.

Royal Guests – The Bride’s Family

  • Queen Victoria, mother of the bride
  • The Prince Consort, father of the bride
  • Duchess of Kent, grandmother of the bride
  • Prince of Wales, brother of the bride
  • Prince Alfred, brother of the bride
  • Prince Arthur, brother of the bride
  • Prince Leopold, brother of the bride
  • Princess Alice, sister of the bride
  • Princess Helena, sister of the bride
  • Princess Louise, sister of the bride
  • Prince George, 2nd Duke of Cambridge, first cousin once removed of the bride
  • Duchess of Cambridge, great-aunt of the bride
  • Princess Mary Adelaide of Cambridge, first cousin once removed of the bride
  • Leopold I, King of the Belgians, great-uncle of the bride
  • Prince Leopold of Belgium, Duke of Brabant, first cousin once removed of the bride
  • Prince Philippe of Belgium, Count of Flanders, first cousin once removed of the bride
  • Ernst II, Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, uncle of the bride
  • Ernst, 4th Prince of Leiningen, half first cousin of the bride
  • Prince Victor of Hohenlohe-Langenburg, half first cousin of the bride

Royal Guests – The Groom’s Family

  • Prince and Princess Wilhelm of Prussia, parents of the groom
  • Prince Adalbert of Prussia, first cousin once removed of the groom
  • Prince Friedrich Karl of Prussia, first cousin of the groom
  • Prince Albrecht of Prussia, uncle of the groom
  • Friedrich I, Grand Duke of Baden, brother-in-law of the groom
  • Prince Edward of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach, first cousin once removed of the groom

Other Royal Guests

  • Henri d’Orléans, Duke of Aumale and Maria, Carolina, Duchess d’Aumale
  • Robert, Duke of Chartres
  • Karl Anton, Prince of Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen
  • Helen, Duchess of Orléans
  • Philippe, Count of Paris
  • Clementina, Princess of Salerno
  • Prince Julius of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glücksburg

Other Guests

  • George Campbell, 8th Duke of Argyll
  • George Murray, 6th Duke of Atholl
  • Walter Montagu Douglas Scott, 5th Duke of Buccleuch
  • William Montagu, 7th Duke of Manchester
  • Henry Pelham-Clinton, 5th Duke of Newcastle
  • Charles Gordon-Lennox, 5th Duke of Richmond and Caroline Gordon-Lennox, Duchess of Richmond
  • Elizabeth Wellesley, Duchess of Wellington
  • Henry Petty-Fitzmaurice, 3rd Marquess of Lansdowne
  • Louisa Hamilton, Marchioness of Abercorn
  • Elizabeth Campbell, Marchioness of Breadlebane
  • Harriet de Burgh, Marchioness of Clanricarde
  • Edward Smith-Stanley, 14th Earl of Derby and Emma Smith-Stanley, Countess of Derby
  • Charles Yorke, 4th Earl of Hardwicke and Susan Yorke, Countess of Hardwicke
  • Caroline Ponsonby, Countess of Bessborough
  • Marie Louise Leveson-Gower, Countess Granville
  • Sophie Child Villiers, Countess of Jersey
  • Caroline Edgcumbe, Countess of Mount Edgcumbe
  • Laura Phipps, Countess of Mulgrave
  • Susan Stapleton-Cotton, Viscountess Cumbermere
  • Emily Townshend, Viscountess Sydney
  • Edward Stanley, 2nd Baron Stanley of Alderley and Henrietta Stanley, Baroness Stanley of Alderley
  • John Campbell, 1st Baron Campbell and his wife Mary Elizabeth Campbell, 1st Baroness Stratheden
  • Robert Grosvenor, 1st Baron Ebury and Charlotte Grosvenor, Baroness Ebury
  • Fox Maule-Ramsay,2nd Baron Panmure and Montague Maule-Ramsay, Baroness Panmure
  • Henry Labouchere, 1st Baron Taunton
  • Sir George Cornewell Lewis, 2nd Baronet and Lady Cornewell Lewis
  • Lord Alfred Paget, Queen Victoria’s Chief Equerry and Clerk Marshal, and Lady Paget
  • Sir George Grey and Lady Grey
  • Sir Charles and Lady Mary Wood
  • Lord and Lady Ernest Bruce
  • Mr. Vernon Smith
  • Matthew Talbot Baines, Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and Mrs. Baines

Procession Participants

Among the procession participants in The Queen’s Procession, The Bridegroom’s Procession and The Bride’s Procession at the Chapel Royal were:

  • The Earl Marshal: Henry Fitzalan-Howard, 14th Duke of Norfolk
  • Prime Minister and First Lord of the Treasury: Henry John Temple, 3rd Viscount Palmerston
  • Treasurer of the Household: George Phipps, Earl of Mulgrave
  • Comptroller of the Household: Valentine Browne, 4th Earl of Kenmare
  • Lord Chamberlain of the Household: John Campbell, 2nd Marquess of Breadalbane
  • Keeper of the Privy Purse: Colonel The Honourable Sir Charles Beaumont Phipps
  • The Lord Steward: Edward Granville Eliot, 3rd Earl of St Germans
  • Lord Privy Seal: Dudley Ryder, 2nd Earl of Harrowby
  • Lord President of the Council: Granville Leveson-Gower, 2nd Earl Granville
  • Lord High Chancellor: Robert Rolfe, 1st Baron Cranworth
  • Mistress of the Robes: Harriet Sutherland-Leveson-Gower, Duchess of Sutherland
  • Lady of the Bedchamber: Frances Jocelyn, Viscountess Jocelyn
  • Groom of the Stole to The Prince Consort: James Hamilton, 2nd Marquess of Abercorn
  • Chief Equerry and Comptroller of the Household of The Duchess of Kent: Sir George Couper, 2nd Baronet
  • Train Bearer for The Duchess of Kent: Lady Anna Maria Dawson, daughter of John Dawson, 1st Earl of Portarlington
  • Lady-in-Waiting to Princess Augusta, Duchess of Cambridge: Lady Geraldine Somerset, daughter of Henry Somerset, 7th Duke of Beaufort
  • Train Bearer for The Duchess of Cambridge: Lady Arabella Sackville-West, daughter of
  • George Sackville-West, 5th Earl De La Warr
  • Baron Otto Theodor von Manteuffel, Minister-President of the Kingdom of Prussia

Supporters and Bridesmaids

Victoria, Princess Royal’s, bridesmaids 1887 copy after an original of 25 Jan 1858 Hughes & Mullins: Ryde, Isle of Wight (photographer); Credit – Royal Collection Trust From left to right, Lady Cecilia Gordon-Lennox, Lady Susan Pelham-Clinton, Lady Katherine Hamilton, Lady Emma Stanley, Lady Constance Villiers, Lady Susan Murray, Lady Cecilia Molyneux, and Lady Victoria Noel

Fritz was supported by his father Prince Wilhelm of Prussia (the future Wilhelm I, German Emperor and King of Prussia) and his uncle Prince Albrecht of Prussia.

Vicky had had eight bridesmaids, all of whom were unmarried daughters of British Dukes and Earls:

  • Lady Cecilia Gordon-Lennox (1838-1910), daughter of Charles Gordon-Lennox, 5th Duke of Richmond, married Charles Bingham, 4th Earl of Lucan
  • Lady Susan Pelham-Clinton (1839-1875), daughter of Henry Pelham-Clinton, 5th Duke of Newcastle, married Lord Adolphus Vane-Tempest
  • Lady Katherine Hamilton (1840-1874), daughter of James Hamilton, 1st Duke of Abercorn, married William Edgcumbe, 4th Earl of Mount Edgcumbe
  • Lady Emma Stanley (1835-1928), daughter of Edward Stanley, 14th Earl of Derby, married Sir Wellington Patrick Chetwynd-Talbot
  • Lady Constance Villiers (1840-1922), daughter of George Villiers, 4th Earl of Clarendon, married Frederick Stanley, 16th Earl of Derby
  • Lady Susan Murray (1837-1915), daughter of Alexander Murray, 6th Earl of Dunmore, married James Carnegie, 9th Earl of Southesk
  • Lady Cecilia Molyneux (1838-1910), daughter of Charles Molyneux, 3rd Earl of Sefton, married Hugh Dawnay, 8th Viscount Downe
  • Lady Victoria Noel (1839-1916), daughter of Charles Noel, 1st Earl of Gainsborough, married Sir Thomas Buxton, 3rd Baronet

The Wedding Attire

Victoria, Princess Royal in her wedding dress; Credit – https://www.royal.uk/wedding-dresses

Vicky’s wedding dress was made of white moire antique (a textile with a wavy appearance), trimmed with Honiton lace and orange flowers and myrtle. The train, carried by the eight bridesmaids, was also made of white moire antique lined with satin bordered with white satin ribands, Honiton lace, orange flowers, and myrtle. Vicky wore a wreath of orange flowers and myrtle and a veil of Honiton lace on her head. The Honiton lace in the dress, train, and veil consisted of bouquets in openwork of the rose, shamrock, and thistle in three medallions. The rose, the shamrock, and the thistle are the national flowers of England, Ireland, and Scotland. Vicky wore a diamond necklace, diamond earrings, and a diamond brooch. On her left sleeve, Vicky wore the Order of Louise, a Prussian order of chivalry created by King Friedrich Wilhelm III of Prussia in honor of his late wife, born Louise of Mecklenburg-Strelitz, and the Royal Order of Victoria and Albert.

Close-up detail of The Marriage of Victoria, Princess Royal, 25 January 1858 by John Phillip; Credit – Royal Collection Trust/ © Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II

Fritz wore the General’s uniform of the Prussian First Infantry Regiment of the Guard – a dark blue tunic with gold embroidery on the collar and cuffs, a gold aiguillette (ornamental tagged cord or braid) on the right shoulder, a silver sash, and white kerseymere (a fine woolen cloth with a fancy twill weave) trousers.

The Wedding Ceremony

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Queen Victoria and her family at the wedding, engraved from the painting by John Philip

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

John Sumner, Archbishop of Canterbury, conducted the service and he was so nervous that he left out several parts of the service. However, Queen Victoria was pleased that both “Vicky and Fritz spoke plainly,” as she wrote in her journal. The service was concluded with George Friedrich Handel’s Hallelujah Chorus and then Vicky and Fritz led the recessional to The Wedding March by Felix Mendelssohn (click to listen). Thereafter, it became a popular wedding recessional. The music is from a suite of incidental music to Shakespeare’s play A Midsummer Night’s Dream. Queen Victoria loved Mendelssohn’s music and he often played for her while on his visits to the United Kingdom.  The bride and groom along with Queen Victoria and the princes and princesses then proceeded to the Throne Room of St. James’ Palace where the marriage certificate was signed in the presence of the clergy who participated in the ceremony.

The Wedding Luncheon

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‘A National Toast’, 1858. ‘Health and Happiness to the Bride and Bridegroom! (Hoorah!)’. Mr. Punch, as the People’s representative, raises a foaming glass of champagne to celebrate the marriage of Victoria, Princess Royal, to Prince Friedrich of Prussia. From Punch, or the London Charivari, January 30, 1858. (Photo by The Cartoon Collector/Print Collector/Getty Images)

Vicky and Fritz led the carriage procession back to Buckingham Palace. Back at the palace, Queen Victoria, The Prince Consort, the newlyweds, the British royal family, and the foreign princes and princesses walked from the Picture Gallery to the State Dining Room where a luncheon was served.

Vicky and Fritz’s wedding cake; Credit – Royal Collection Trust

The elaborate wedding cake was placed in the middle of the table. It was seven or eight feet high and was divided into three parts from top to bottom. The upper part had two cupids holding a medallion with portraits of Vicky and Fritz. The middle part consisted of niches containing statutes including ones of Innocence and Wisdom. The bottom part had medallions of vases and baskets of flowers.

Other guests including the Officers of State, the Ladies and Gentlemen of the Households of The Queen and The Prince Consort, and other important guests had luncheon in the Lower Dining Room at Buckingham Palace.

After luncheon, Vicky and Fritz appeared on the Buckingham Palace balcony with and without their parents.

The Honeymoon and Leaving England

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

After the wedding luncheon, the newly married couple left by train for a two-day honeymoon at Windsor Castle. Upon arrival at Windsor, Vicky and Fritz were met by fireworks, cannons, an honor guard, and cheering crowds. Schoolboys from nearby Eton pulled their carriage from the train station up the hill to Windsor Castle.

The next day, Vicky and Fritz went on a walk and went ice skating. Family members and members of the wedding party arrived at Windsor Castle two days after the wedding. Queen Victoria wrote in her diary that it was quite strange to see Vicky walking off with Fritz at bedtime.

On January 29, 1858, everyone returned to London for more festivities before Vicky and Fritz left for Prussia. On her last day at home, February 1, 1858, Vicky spent a quiet day with her mother and then spent the early evening playing with her nine-month-old sister Beatrice. Vicky confided to her mother, “I think it will kill me to take leave of dear Papa.”

On the day of Vicky’s departure, Queen Victoria described the scene in her diary: “We went into the Audience Room where Mama & all the Children were assembled & here poor Vicky and Alice’s, as well as the other’s tears began to flow fast…The Hall was filled with all our people and theirs [the Prussians]…amongst the many servants there. Poor dear child…I clasped her in my arms…kissed good Fritz…Against the door of the carriage, I embraced them both…What a dreadful moment, what a real heartache to think of our dearest child being gone & not knowing how long it may be before we see her again!”

Vicky and Fritz, accompanied by her father, her two oldest brothers Bertie and Affie, and her mother’s uncle The Duke of Cambridge drove to Gravesend where they were to board the royal yacht for the voyage to the European continent. As they reached the yacht, Bertie and Affie cried and Vicky sobbed as she said goodbye to her father, who somehow maintained his composure. The next day, Prince Albert wrote his daughter a letter: “My heart was very full when yesterday you leaned your forehead on my breast to give free vent to your tears. I am not of a demonstrative nature and therefore you can hardly know how dear you have always been to me, and what a great void you have left behind in my heart.”

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The departure of The Princess Royal to Germany, circa January 1858. (Photo by Popperfoto via Getty Images/Getty Images)

Children

Vicky, Fritz and their children; Credit – Wikipedia

Vicky and Fritz had eight children:

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. (2015). Friedrich III, German Emperor, King of Prussia. [online] Unofficial Royalty. Available at: https://www.unofficialroyalty.com/friedrich-iii-german-emperor-king-of-prussia/ [Accessed 15 Aug. 2019].
  • Flantzer, Susan. (2015). Victoria, Princess Royal, German Empress, Queen of Prussia. [online] Unofficial Royalty. Available at: https://www.unofficialroyalty.com/victoria-princess-royal-german-empress-queen-of-prussia/ [Accessed 15 Aug. 2019].
  • Pakula, Hannah. (1995). An Uncommon Woman. New York: Simon & Shuster.
  • Timesmachine.nytimes.com. (1858). The Royal Wedding – The Marriage of The Princess Royal – Graphic and Detailed Description of the Ceremonies,. [online] Available at: https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1858/02/12/78528860.pdf [Accessed 15 Aug. 2019].
  • Van der Kiste, John. (2013). Dearest Vicky, Darling Fritz. Stroud: The History Press.
  • Victoria and Ramm, Agnes. (1998). Beloved & Darling Child. Stroud, Gloucestershire: Sutton Pub.

Friedrich Josias, Prince of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, Head of the House of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha

by Susan Flantzer
© Unofficial Royalty 2019

Friedrich Josias, Prince of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha

The Head of the House of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha from 1954 until he died in 1998, Friedrich Josias was born at Callenberg Castle, now in Coburg, Bavaria, Germany on November 29, 1918. His birth occurred just three weeks after the Workers’ and Soldiers Council of Gotha, deposed his father as Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha. His father signed a declaration relinquishing his rights to the throne but he remained Head of the House of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha. Christened Friedrich Josias Carl Eduard Ernst Kyrill Harald, he was the youngest of the five children and the youngest of the three sons of Charles Edward, Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha and his wife Viktoria Adelheid of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glücksburg.

Friedrich Josias’ father was the posthumous son of Queen Victoria’s youngest son Prince Leopold, Duke of Albany. Therefore, Friedrich Josias was a great-grandchild of Queen Victoria.  His mother was the daughter of Friedrich Ferdinand, Duke of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glücksburg and his wife Princess Karoline Mathilde of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Augustenburg. His maternal grandfather was the eldest son of Friedrich, Duke of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glücksburg and a nephew of King Christian IX of Denmark. His maternal grandmother was a granddaughter of Princess Feodora of Leiningen, the half-sister of Queen Victoria from her mother’s first marriage.

Left to right: Prince Hubertus, the Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, Princess Caroline Mathilde, Prince Johann Leopold, Prince Friedrich Josias on the lap of the Duchess of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha and Princess Sibylla

Friedrich Josias had four elder siblings:

Friedrich Josias was educated at home by tutors. He then attended the Casimirianum Coburg in Coburg, Bavaria, Germany from 1929 to 1934. He then attended the Schnepfenthal Salzmann School, a boarding school in Gotha, Germany, founded in 1784, graduating in 1938.

In 1938, Friedrich Josias joined the German Army and participated in the German occupation of Czechoslovakia in 1939. In 1941, he participated in the German occupation of Poland and France and fought in campaigns in Yugoslavia and the Soviet Union.

In 1932, Friedrich Josias’ elder brother Johann Leopold made an unequal marriage against the Saxe-Coburg and Gotha House Act of March 1, 1855, and had to renounce succession rights for himself and any children from the marriage. His brother Hubertus was designated the heir to his father as Head of the House of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha. However, after Hubertus was killed in action in an airplane crash during World War II in 1943, Friedrich Josias became the heir to Head of the House of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha.

In 1944, Friedrich Josias became an adjutant to Field Marshal Erwin Rommel who was in charge of the German campaign in North Africa. Later in 1944, he was transferred to the staff of General Hermann von Hanneken, the supreme commander of the German forces in Denmark. In May 1945, Friedrich Josias was captured by British forces in Denmark and remained in captivity until he was released that autumn when he returned to Coburg.

Friedrich Josias married his first cousin Countess Viktoria-Luise of Solms-Baruth on January 25, 1942.  The couple divorced on September 19, 1946.

Friedrich Josias and Viktoria-Luise had one son who succeeded his father as the Head of the House of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha:

On February 14, 1948, Friedrich Josias made a second marriage to Denyse Henriette de Muralt in San Francisco, California. The couple divorced in 1964 and had three children:

  • Maria of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha (1949 – 2016), married Gion Schäfer, had two daughters
  • Beatrice of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha (born 1951), married Friedrich-Ernst of Saxe-Meiningen, had one son and one daughter
  • Adrian of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha (1955 – 2011), married (1) Lea Rinderknecht, had two sons (2) Gertrud Krieg

Friedrich Josias and his third wife Katrin

Friedrich Josias married one last time, on October 30, 1964, in Hamburg, Germany to Katrin Bremme. The couple had no children. His third wife Katrin survived him by twenty-three years, dying in 2011.

In 1946, Friedrich Josias went to Stockholm, Sweden. He stayed for a while with his elder sister Sibylla who was married to Prince Gustaf Adolf of Sweden, Duke of Västerbotten, the second in line to the Swedish throne after his father, the future King Gustaf VI Adolf. Prince Gustaf Adolf, the father of King Carl XVI Gustaf of Sweden, would have himself become King of Sweden had he not died tragically in an airplane crash in 1947. In Sweden, Friedrich Josias worked for Johnson Line AB, a Swedish shipping company.

In 1948, Friedrich Josias accepted a position with W.R. Grace and Company, another shipping company, in San Francisco, California, and later in Santos, Brazil, and Hamburg, Germany. As per his father’s wish, he ended his employment with W.R. Grace and Company to work for the Foundation of the Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha family and the Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha Foundation for Art and Science. When his father died in 1954, Friedrich Josias became Head of the House of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha.

From 1958 – 1964, Friedrich Josias again worked for the Swedish shipping company Johnson Line AB, this time in Buenos Aires, Argentina. Upon his return to Germany, he first lived in Hamburg. Beginning in 1967, he spent his time in Coburg, now in Bavaria, Germany, and Grein, Austria. During the last years of his life, Friedrich Josias was in ill health and his son Andreas took over many of his duties. He died on January 23, 1998, in a hospital in Amstetten, Austria at the age of 79 and was buried in the family cemetery in the forest of Schloss Callenberg in Coburg, Bavaria, Germany.

The Saxe-Coburg and Gotha family cemetery in the forest of Callenberg Castle; 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

  • De.wikipedia.org. (n.d.). Friedrich Josias Prinz von Sachsen-Coburg und Gotha. [online] Available at: https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Friedrich_Josias_Prinz_von_Sachsen-Coburg_und_Gotha [Accessed 28 Jan. 2019].
  • En.wikipedia.org. (n.d.). Friedrich Josias, Prince of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha. [online] Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Friedrich_Josias,_Prince_of_Saxe-Coburg_and_Gotha [Accessed 28 Jan. 2019].
  • Thepeerage.com. (2019). Person Page. [online] Available at: http://www.thepeerage.com/p10859.htm#i108581 [Accessed 28 Jan. 2019].

Princess Caroline Mathilde of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha

by Susan Flantzer  © Unofficial Royalty 2019

Caroline Mathilde of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha; Credit – https://www.stadtgeschichte-coburg.de

Princess Caroline Mathilde of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, known as Calma, was born on June 22, 1912, at Callenberg Castle in Coburg, Duchy of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, now in Bavaria, Germany. She was the younger of the two daughters and the fourth of the five children of Charles Edward, Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha and his wife Viktoria Adelheid of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glücksburg. Calma’s father was the posthumous son of Queen Victoria’s youngest son Prince Leopold, Duke of Albany. Therefore, Calma was a great-grandchild of Queen Victoria.  Her mother was the daughter of Friedrich Ferdinand, Duke of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glücksburg and his wife Princess Karoline Mathilde of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Augustenburg. Her father was the eldest son of Friedrich, Duke of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glücksburg and a nephew of King Christian IX of Denmark.  Calma’s mother was a granddaughter of Princess Feodora of Leiningen, the half-sister of Queen Victoria from their mother’s first marriage.

Calma had four siblings:

The Christening of Caroline Mathilde; Credit – Wikipedia

Calma was christened Caroline Mathilde Helene Ludwiga Augusta Beatrice on July 25, 1912, at Callenberg Castle.

Her godparents were:

Wedding of Princess Caroline Mathilde and Count Friedrich Wolfgang Otto of Castell-Rüdenhausen at Schloss Greinburg; Credit – By Bundesarchiv, Bild 183-R14380 / CC-BY-SA 3.0, CC BY-SA 3.0 de, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=5368325

Calma married Count Friedrich Wolfgang of Castell-Rüdenhausen, son of Hugo Friedrich of Castell-Rüdenhausen and Clementine of Solms-Sonnenwalde, on December 14, 1931, at Greinburg Castle on the Danube in Austria. The marriage was not a happy one. Eventually, Calma left Friedrich, amid much controversy and scandal, and they were officially divorced on May 2, 1938. In 1940, during World War II, Friedrich was killed in action while flying over England.

Calma and Friedrich had three children:

  • Count Bertram Friedrich of Castell-Rüdenhausen (born 1932), married Felicita von Auersperg, had two children
  • Count Conradin Friedrich of Castell-Rüdenhausen (1933 – 2011), married Marta Catharina Lonegren, had two children
  • Countess Viktoria Adelheid of Castell-Rüdenhausen (born 1935), married Sir John Miles Huntington-Whiteley, 4th Baronet, had three children

On June 22, 1938, in Berlin, Germany, Calma married Captain Max Schnirring, a famous pilot whose aviation career began during World War I. He had been friends with the famous “ Red Baron” Manfred von Richthofen. Max was one of the first pilots for Deutsche Luft Hansa, a precursor to today’s Lufthansa. He also worked as a training supervisor for Focke-Wulf and as a test pilot for Arado. He had crashed four times during his test flights without serious injury. However, during a test flight on July 6, 1944, he crashed in a field near Parow, a village a few miles north of Stralsund in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Germany. Max died the next day, at the age of 49, in a hospital in Stralsund, Germany.

Calma and Max had three children:

  • Calma Barbara Schnirring (born 1938), married (1) Richard Darrell Berger, had six children (2) James Cook, adopted a daughter
  • Dagmar Schnirring (born 1940), married (1) Heinrich Walz, had two children, divorced in 1989 (2) married Eberhard Schäl, no children
  • Peter Michael Schnirring (1943 – 1966), unmarried

Calma married a third time on December 23, 1946, to Karl Otto Andree. The couple had no children and divorced on October 10, 1949.

After the end of World War II, Calma’s father Charles Edward was placed under house arrest at his residence the Veste Coburg because of his Nazi sympathies. In 1949, a denazification appeals court classified Charles Edward as a Nazi Follower, Category IV. He was heavily fined and almost bankrupted. Calma had a difficult time adjusting to her family’s circumstances and became estranged from some of her children. To make ends meet, she became a shoemaker. She had numerous relationships with different men and one relationship caused her to spend some time in prison.

Calma became involved with an engineer and factory owner named Alexander Glascow who had left his wife and five children for her. Glascow was accused of having sex with two underage girls who worked at his factory. One of the girls, just 15-years-old, became pregnant. Calma did not want to lose Glascow and became involved in the situation. She arranged for one of her sons to be named the father and further arranged for the pregnant girl to have an abortion, which was illegal. Unfortunately, the girl died during the abortion. Calma and Glascow were charged with committing a “continuing crime of acquiescence to a serious abortion crime”. On December 21, 1956, both Calma and Glascow were convicted and both spent about six months in prison.

Calma died on September 5, 1983, at the age of 71 in Erlangen, Germany. She was buried in the family cemetery in the forest of Schloss Callenberg.

The Saxe-Coburg and Gotha family cemetery in the forest of Callenberg Castle; 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

  • Australia, K., profile, V. and Australia, K. (n.d.). H.H. Princess Caroline Mathilde of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha (1912 – 1983). [online] Royalchristenings.blogspot.gr. Available at: http://royalchristenings.blogspot.gr/2014/08/hh-princess-caroline-mathilde-of-saxe.html [Accessed 23 Jan. 2019].
  • En.wikipedia.org. (2018). Princess Caroline Mathilde of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha. [online] Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Princess_Caroline_Mathilde_of_Saxe-Coburg_and_Gotha [Accessed 23 Jan. 2019].
  • Es.wikipedia.org. (n.d.). Carolina Matilde de Sajonia-Coburgo-Gotha. [online] Available at: https://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carolina_Matilde_de_Sajonia-Coburgo-Gotha [Accessed 23 Jan. 2019].
  • Parow-info.de. (n.d.). Flugkapitän Max Otto Schnirring. [online] Available at: https://www.parow-info.de/c/Schnirring.html [Accessed 23 Jan. 2019].
  • Stegemann, W. (2013). Caroline Prinzessin von Sachsen-Coburg und Gotha saß 1956 im Dorstener Amtsgerichtsgefängnis | DORSTEN-transparent.de. [online] Dorsten-transparent.de. Available at: http://www.dorsten-transparent.de/2013/01/caroline-prinzessin-von-sachsen-coburg-und-gotha-sas-1956-im-dorstener-amtsgerichtsgefangnis/ [Accessed 23 Jan. 2019].

Prince Hubertus of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha

by Susan Flantzer
© Unofficial Royalty 2019

Prince Hubertus of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha; Credit – Wikipedia

Prince Hubertus of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha was born on August 24, 1909, at Reinhardsbrunn Castle, now in Friedrichroda, Duchy of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, near Gotha, in Thuringia, Germany. Christened with the names Dietmar Hubertus Friedrich Wilhelm Philip, he was the third of the five children and the second of the three sons of Charles Edward, Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha and his wife Viktoria Adelheid of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glücksburg. Hubertus’ father was the posthumous son of Queen Victoria’s youngest son Prince Leopold, Duke of Albany. Therefore, Hubertus was a great-grandchild of Queen Victoria.  His mother was the daughter of Friedrich Ferdinand, Duke of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glücksburg and his wife Princess Karoline Mathilde of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Augustenburg. Her father was the eldest son of Friedrich, Duke of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glücksburg and a nephew of King Christian IX of Denmark. Her mother was a granddaughter of Princess Feodora of Leiningen, the half-sister of Queen Victoria from her mother’s first marriage.

Hubertus and his family in 1918: (left to right) Hubertus, his mother Viktoria Adelheid, his sister Sibylla, his sister Karoline Mathilde, his father Charles Edward, and his brother Johann Leopold. His youngest brother was not yet born; Credit – Wikipedia

Hubertus had four siblings:

Hubertus and his sister Sibylla; Credit – Wikipedia

Hubertus was first educated by tutors at home, and then attended the Casimirianum Coburg in Coburg, Bavaria, Germany. On November 9, 1918, the Workers’ and Soldiers Council of Gotha, deposed Hubertus’ father as Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha. Five days later, Charles Edward signed a declaration relinquishing his rights to the throne but remained Head of the House of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha. In 1932, Hubertus’ elder brother Johann Leopold made an unequal marriage against the Saxe-Coburg and Gotha House Act of March 1, 1855 and renounced succession rights for himself and any children from the marriage. As the next son, Hubertus was designated the heir to his father as Head of the House of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha.

Hubertus became a member of the Nazi Party on October 1, 1939. He saw action with the German Army on the Eastern Front during World War II. He served as a first lieutenant on the High Command of the Army and was deployed as a Luftwaffe pilot serving as a squadron leader. Hubertus was killed in action in an airplane crash at the age of 34 on November 26, 1943, in Velyki Mosty, in present-day Ukraine. His funeral took place on November 30, 1943, at the German Luftwaffe base in Lötzen in East Prussia, now Giżycko, Poland. Hubertus was buried in the family cemetery in the forest of Callenberg Castle in Coburg, Bavaria, Germany.

The Saxe-Coburg and Gotha family cemetery in the forest of Callenberg Castle; Credit – Wikipedia

Works Cited

  • De.wikipedia.org. (2019). Hubertus von Sachsen-Coburg und Gotha. [online] Available at: https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hubertus_von_Sachsen-Coburg_und_Gotha [Accessed 22 Jan. 2019].
  • En.wikipedia.org. (2019). Prince Hubertus of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha (1909–1943). [online] Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prince_Hubertus_of_Saxe-Coburg_and_Gotha_(1909%E2%80%931943) [Accessed 22 Jan. 2019].
  • Petropoulos, Jonathan. (2009) Royals and the Reich. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

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.

Johann Leopold, Hereditary Prince of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha

by Susan Flantzer  © Unofficial Royalty 2019

Johann Leopold, Hereditary Prince of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha; Credit – Wikipedia

Johann Leopold was the eldest of the five children and the eldest of the three sons of Charles Edward, Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha and his wife Viktoria Adelheid of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glücksburg. He was born on August 2, 1906, at Callenberg Castle now in Coburg, Bavaria, Germany. On September 19, 1906, Johann Leopold was christened Johann Leopold Wilhelm Albrecht Ferdinand Viktor with his father’s first cousin Wilhelm II, German Emperor and his wife Empress Augusta Victoria serving as godparents. Because he was the firstborn son, Johann Leopold was the heir to the Duchy of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha and was styled Hereditary Prince of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha.

Charles Edward, Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha and his wife with their son Johann Leopold: Credit – Wikipedia

Johann Leopold had four younger siblings:

Johann Leopold and his sister Sybilla in the park of Castle Reinhardsbrunn: Credit – Wikipedia

Johann Leopold’s mother was the daughter of Friedrich Ferdinand, Duke of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glücksburg and his wife Princess Karoline Mathilde of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Augustenburg. Her father was the eldest son of Friedrich, Duke of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glücksburg and a nephew of King Christian IX of Denmark. Her mother was a granddaughter of Princess Feodora of Leiningen, the half-sister of Queen Victoria from her mother’s first marriage.

Johann Leopold’s parents in 1905; Credit – Wikipedia

Charles Edward, Johann Leopold’s father, was the posthumous son of Queen Victoria’s youngest son Prince Leopold, Duke of Albany. Therefore, Johann Leopold was a great-grandchild of Queen Victoria. At the time of Johann Leopold’s birth, his father also held the British title Duke of Albany. However, due to his participation in World War I with the German Imperial Army, Charles Edward lost his British title via the 1917 Titles Deprivation Act. Charles Edward and his children also lost their titles of Prince and Princess of the United Kingdom and the styles Royal Highness and Highness. According to the Titles Deprivation Act, the male heirs of those deprived of their titles have the right to ask the British Crown to reinstate their titles. Johann Leopold remained heir to the title Duke of Albany and was eligible to apply for its reinstatement, though he did not do so and neither have any heirs since then.

At 11 AM on November 11, 1918 – “the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month” – a ceasefire ending World War I went into effect. On November 9, 1918, the Workers’ and Soldiers Council of Gotha, deposed Charles Edward as Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha. Five days later, he signed a declaration relinquishing his rights to the throne.

In 1926, Johann Leopold completed his studies at the Ritterakademie in Brandenburg. He then studied economics, art history, and constitutional law at the Rheinische Friedrich-Wilhelms University in Bonn, now the University of Bonn. During this period, Johann Leopold had many conflicts with his father. The conflicts came to a head when Johann Leopold wanted to marry against the Saxe-Coburg and Gotha House Law of March 1, 1855, which stated that members of the House of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha could make only equal marriages with members of princely or royal houses. His intended bride was Feodora Freiin von der Horst, from a noble family – Freiin means Baroness – but not from a princely or royal house. If Johann Leopold and Feodora married, Johann Leopold would have to renounce his succession rights for himself and any children from the marriage. The couple married civilly on March 9, 1932, in Niedersedlitz near Dresden, Germany, and religiously on March 14, 1932, at a church in Dresden. Johann Leopold was allowed to keep his title of Prince of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha.

Johann Leopold and Feodora had three children:

  • Princess Marianne of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha (born 1933), married Michael Nielsen, had two daughters
  • Prince Ernst Leopold of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha (1935 – 1996), married (1) Ingeborg Henig, divorced 1963, had one son (2) Gertraude Monika Pfeiffer, divorced 1985, had two daughters and three sons (3) Sabine Biller, with whom he died by suicide, no children
  • Prince Peter of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha (born 1939), married Roswitha Henriette Breuer; had two sons

On April 1, 1932, Johann Leopold joined the Nazi Party but his loyalty to the party was repeatedly questioned. During World War II, he served as a sergeant in an anti-aircraft regiment but was released in 1943 because of political unreliability. After World War II, proceedings against him in a denazification appeals court were discontinued on February 20, 1947.

In 1948, Johann Leopold made headlines when he was sentenced to two years in prison by a criminal court in Amberg, Bavaria, Germany on charges of indecency with children. After this, he broke off all connections with his family. He did not attend the funeral of his father in Coburg in 1954.

On February 27, 1962, his marriage to Feodora ended in divorce. Johann Leopold married again on May 3, 1963, to a divorced commoner Maria Theresia Reindl. The two lived in Karlstein near Maria’s hometown of Bad Reichenhall in Bavaria, Germany. On May 4, 1972, Johann Leopold died at the age of 65 from cancer in Grein, Austria. He was buried in his second wife’s family grave at the Roman Catholic Church of St. Zeno in Bad Reichenhall, Bavaria, Germany. His second wife Maria survived him by 24 years, dying in 1996 at the age of 88.

Ill-fortune also followed Johann Leopold’s elder son Ernst Leopold. In 1986, Ernst Leopold married for a third time to Sabine Biller, a journalist. The couple began to have money problems as they were living beyond their means. On June 27, 1996, in the parking lot of a chalet restaurant in Bad Wiessee, Bavaria, Germany, the bodies of Ernst Leopold and Sabine were found in their car, dead from gunshot wounds from hunting rifles. Apparently, they had simultaneously shot themselves.

The Church of St. Zeno where Johann Leopold is buried; Credit – Von Wolfgang Sauber – Eigenes Werk, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=11612030

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

  • “Johann Leopold, Hereditary Prince of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha.” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 29 May 2018, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Johann_Leopold,_Hereditary_Prince_of_Saxe-Coburg_and_Gotha.
  • “Johann Leopold Von Sachsen-Coburg Und Gotha.” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 4 Jan. 2019, de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Johann_Leopold_von_Sachsen-Coburg_und_Gotha.
  • Karacs, Decca Aitkenhead/Imre. “Royal Couple Could Not Afford Lavish Life.” The Independent, Independent Digital News and Media, 23 Oct. 2011, www.independent.co.uk/news/world/royal-couple-could-not-afford-lavish-life-1339488.html.

Antoinette of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld, Duchess of Württemberg

by Susan Flantzer  © Unofficial Royalty 2019

Antoinette of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld, Duchess of Württemberg; Credit – Wikipedia

Princess Antoinette of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld was the sister of Leopold I, the first King of the Belgians and an aunt to both Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom and her husband Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha. She was the second of the nine children and the second of the five daughters of Franz Friedrich Anton, Duke of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld and second wife Augusta Reuss of Ebersdorf. Antoinette Ernestine Amalie was born in Coburg, Duchy of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld, now in Bavaria, Germany on August 28, 1779.

In 1794, the Russian Empress Catherine the Great sent Count Andrei Budberg, a Russian diplomat, off to the courts of Europe to search for a potential bride for her grandson, Grand Duke Konstantin Pavlovich of Russia. Konstantin was the second son of the future Paul I, Emperor of All Russia and Sophie Dorothea of Württemberg. While traveling, Budberg became ill and stopped in Coburg where he was treated by Baron von Stockmar, the Coburg court’s physician. Stockmar learned of Budberg’s mission and suggested the daughters of the Duke of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld.

Antoinette in a painting sent to Russia for her possible groom Grand Duke Konstantin Pavlovich; Credit – Wikipedia

Once the prospect of a Coburg bride was approved by Catherine the Great, Antoinette and her elder sister Sophie and her next younger sister Juliane, accompanied by their mother, traveled to Saint Petersburg in August 1795. Her elder sister Sophie had all the prerequisites to be selected. She was the eldest and her mother wrote in the diary of the St. Petersburg trip that Empress Catherine liked Sophie the best. After several weeks, Konstantin chose her younger sister, 14-year-old Juliane, and the two became engaged. However, the marriage did not last long. By 1801, Juliane and Konstantin were living apart and eventually, their marriage was annulled.

Antoinette married Duke Alexander of Württemberg in Coburg, Duchy of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld on November 17, 1798. Alexander was the eleventh of the twelve children and seventh of eight sons of Friedrich II Eugen, Duke of Württemberg and Friederike of Brandenburg-Schwedt, a niece of Friedrich II (the Great), King of Prussia. Among Alexander’s siblings were his eldest brother Friedrich who would become the first King of Württemberg, his eldest sister Sophie Dorothea (Empress Maria Feodorovna) who was the second wife of Paul I, Emperor of All Russia and his sister Elisabeth who was the first of the four wives of the future Franz I, Emperor of Austria. Sadly, Elisabeth died at the age of 22 in childbirth.

Alexander of Württemberg; Credit – Wikipedia

Antoinette and Alexander had one daughter and four sons:

Alexander and Antoinette are the ancestors of the fifth branch of the House of Württemberg. When the eldest branch died out upon the death of King Wilhelm II of Württemberg in 1921, the ducal line became the new dynasty of the House of Württemberg.

Alexander began his military service in the Württemberg army in 1791 and then transferred to the Austrian army, serving in the campaign against France in 1796-1799. In 1799, on the recommendation of Alexander Vasilyevich Suvorov, a Russian military leader and a national hero, Alexander joined the Russian army. Antoinette and Alexander settled in Russia where he had a military and diplomatic career. Two of his sons, Alexander and Ernst, were generals in the Russian army.

Alexander’s sister Empress Maria Feodorova of Russia; Credit – Wikipedia

Alexander was the brother of Empress Maria Feodorova (born Sophie Dorothea of Württemberg), the wife of Emperor Paul I, and the maternal uncle of two future Emperors of All Russia, Alexander I and Nicholas I. A year after their arrival in Russia, Emperor Paul was assassinated and his son Alexander became Emperor. Antoinette took an active part in the life of the Russian Imperial Family. She was very friendly with Alexander I’s wife Empress Elizabeth Alexeievna, born Louise of Baden.

In the marital conflict between her sister Juliane, now Grand Duchess Anna Fedorovna, and her husband Grand Duke Konstantin Pavlovich, Antoinette sided with Konstantin, calling her sister “the shame of the family.” In 1817, Antoinette and her daughter Maria were among those who met Princess Charlotte of Prussia, the bride of Grand Duke Nicholas Pavlovich, the future Nicholas I, Emperor of All Russia.

Antoinette in later life; Credit – Wikipedia

Antoinette and her family traveled to Austria and Germany between 1819 – 1821 where they visited family and friends. When they returned to Russia, they settled in a magnificent palace in the Yusupov Garden in St. Petersburg.

Antoinette died from erysipelas at the age of 44 on March 14, 1824, in St. Petersburg, Russia. She was buried in Gotha, Duchy of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, now in the German state of Thuringia, at Castle Friedenstein (link in German) in the Prince’s Crypt at the castle church next to her two sons who had died in childhood. Alexander survived his wife by nine years, dying on July 4, 1833, aged 62, at the Gotha residence of his son-in-law Ernst I of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha. He was buried next to his wife Antoinette and their two sons who had died in childhood.

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

  • De.wikipedia.org. (2019). Antoinette von Sachsen-Coburg-Saalfeld. [online] Available at: https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antoinette_von_Sachsen-Coburg-Saalfeld [Accessed 4 Feb. 2019].
  • De.wikipedia.org. (2019). Alexander Friedrich Karl von Württemberg. [online] Available at: https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alexander_Friedrich_Karl_von_W%C3%BCrttemberg [Accessed 4 Feb. 2019].
  • En.wikipedia.org. (2019). Princess Antoinette of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld. [online] Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Princess_Antoinette_of_Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld [Accessed 4 Feb. 2019].
  • En.wikipedia.org. (2019). Duke Alexander of Württemberg (1771–1833). [online] Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Duke_Alexander_of_W%C3%BCrttemberg_(1771%E2%80%931833) [Accessed 4 Feb. 2019].
  • Ru.wikipedia.org. (2019). Антуанетта Саксен-Кобург-Заальфельдская. [online] Available at: https://ru.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D0%90%D0%BD%D1%82%D1%83%D0%B0%D0%BD%D0%B5%D1%82%D1%82%D0%B0_%D0%A1%D0%B0%D0%BA%D1%81%D0%B5%D0%BD-%D0%9A%D0%BE%D0%B1%D1%83%D1%80%D0%B3-%D0%97%D0%B0%D0%B0%D0%BB%D1%8C%D1%84%D0%B5%D0%BB%D1%8C%D0%B4%D1%81%D0%BA%D0%B0%D1%8F [Accessed 4 Feb. 2019].