by Scott Mehl
© Unofficial Royalty 2018
Schloss Primkenau
In November 1863, Prince Friedrich of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Augustenburg claimed the twin duchies as Friedrich VIII, Duke of Schleswig-Holstein after the death without a male heir of King Frederick VII of Denmark, who was also the Duke of Schleswig and the Duke of Holstein. In 1864, following the Second Schleswig War, the Duchy of Holstein and the Duchy of Schleswig became occupied territories of the German Confederation and two years later, following the Austro-Prussian War, part of the new Prussian Province of Schleswig-Holstein. However, Prussia recognized the head of the House of Oldenburg as the *mediatized duke of these two duchies, with the rank and all the titles. The Duchy of Schleswig and the Duchy of Holstein are now the German state of Schleswig-Holstein.
*mediatize – to annex a state (usually a monarchy) to another state (usually another monarchy), while allowing certain rights to its former sovereign and heirs
The Dukes of Schleswig-Holstein are buried in the Ducal Graveyard, located in the park at Primkenau Castle in Silesia. Primkenau is now part of Poland and is called Przemków. The castle was destroyed by fire in 1945, and the ruins were demolished in the 1970s. The last duke, Albert, is buried near the church which still survives in the park.
Dukes of Schleswig-Holstein
- Friedrich VIII – reigned 1863 – January 14, 1880
- Ernst Günther – reigned January 14, 1880 – February 22, 1921
- Albert – reigned February 22, 1921 – April 27, 1931
Unofficial Royalty: Duchy of Schleswig-Holstein Index
Friedrich VIII
Duke of Schleswig-Holstein
(mediatized Duke 1863-1880)
Unofficial Royalty: Friedrich VIII, Duke of Schleswig-Holstein
Friedrich VIII was born July 6, 1829, to Christian August II, Duke of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Augustenburg and Countess Louise Sophie of Danneskiold-Samsøe. He married Adelheid of Hohenlohe-Langenburg on September 11, 1856, and had seven children. He became the titular Duke of Schleswig-Holstein in 1863 and reigned until his death on January 14, 1880. He is buried in the Ducal Graveyard in Primkenau.
Adelheid of Hohenlohe-Langenburg
Duchess of Schleswig-Holstein
Unofficial Royalty: Adelheid of Hohenlohe-Langenburg, Duchess of Schleswig-Holstein
Princess Adelheid of Hohenlohe-Langenburg was born on July 20, 1835, the fifth of six children of Ernst I, Prince of Hohenlohe-Langenburg and Princess Feodora of Leiningen (the half-sister of Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom). She married Friedrich VIII of Schleswig-Holstein in 1856 and had seven children. Adelheid died in Dresden on January 25, 1900, and is buried in the Ducal Graveyard in Primkenau.
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Children of Friedrich VIII
Prince Friedrich
August 3, 1857 – October 29, 1858
Prince Friedrich died a few months after his first birthday. He is buried in the Ducal Graveyard in Primkenau.
Princess Auguste Viktoria
October 22, 1858 – April 11, 1921
Unofficial Royalty: Auguste Viktoria of Schleswig-Holstein, German Empress
Princess Auguste Viktoria married the future Kaiser Wilhelm II of Germany on February 27, 1881, and had seven children. She was the last German Empress, following her husband into exile in the Netherlands in 1918. She died at their home there, Huis Doorn, on April 11, 1921, and is buried in the Antique Temple in the park of Sanssouci Palace in Potsdam.
Princess Karoline Mathilde
January 25, 1860 – February 20, 1932
Wikipedia: Karoline Mathilde of Schleswig-Holstein
Princess Karoline Mathilde married Friedrich Ferdinand, Duke of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glücksburg on March 19, 1885, and had six children. She died on February 20, 1932, and is buried in the family cemetery in Luisenlund.
Prince Gerhard
January 20, 1862 – April 11, 1862
Prince Gerhard died in infancy. He is buried in the Ducal Graveyard in Primkenau.
Ernst Gunther, Duke of Schleswig-Holstein (below)
Princess Luise Sophie
April 8, 1866 – April 28, 1952
Wikipedia: Luise Sophie of Schleswig-Holstein
Princess Luise Sophie married Prince Friedrich Leopold of Prussia on June 24, 1889, and had four children. She died in Bad Nauheim on April 28, 1952, and is buried with her husband in the cemetery there.
Princess Feodora Adelheid
July 3, 1874 – June 21, 1910
Princess Feodora Adelheid never married. She died just before her 36th birthday in 1910 and is buried in the Ducal Graveyard in Primkenau.
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Ernst Gunther
Duke of Schleswig-Holstein
(mediatized Duke 1880-1921)
Unofficial Royalty: Ernst Gunther, Duke of Schleswig-Holstein
Ernst Gunther was born August 11, 1863, to Friedrich VIII, Duke of Schleswig-Holstein and Princess Adelheid of Hohenlohe-Langenburg. He married Princess Dorothea of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha on August 2, 1898, but they had no children. He became Duke of Schleswig-Holstein upon his father’s death in 1880 and reigned until his own death on February 22, 1921. Ernst Gunther is buried in the Ducal Graveyard in Primkenau.
Dorothea of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha
Duchess of Schleswig-Holstein
Unofficial Royalty: Dorothea of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, Duchess of Schleswig-Holstein
Princess Dorothea was born April 30, 1881, to Prince Philipp of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha and Princess Louise of Belgium. She married Ernst Gunther in 1898 but had no children. Dorothea survived her husband by nearly 46 years, dying at Schloss Taxis in Dischingen on January 21, 1967. She is buried in the St. Augustin Church in Coburg.
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Albert
Duke of Schleswig-Holstein
(mediatized Duke 1921-1931)
Unofficial Royalty: Albert, Duke of Schleswig-Holstein
Albert was born February 26, 1869, the second son of Prince Christian of Schleswig-Holstein and Princess Helena of the United Kingdom, a daughter of Queen Victoria. He succeeded as Duke of Schleswig-Holstein upon the death of his cousin, Ernst Gunther, in 1921. Albert never married, but shortly before his death, he acknowledged fathering a daughter in 1900. Albert died on April 27, 1931, and is buried near the church in Primkenau.
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