by Susan Flantzer
© Unofficial Royalty 2017
Marie of Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen, Countess of Flanders; Credit – Wikipedia
Princess Marie of Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen was one-half of the couple who secured the future of the Belgian royal dynasty. Marie Luise Alexandrine Karoline was born on November 17, 1845, at Schloss Sigmaringen, the seat of the Principality of Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen now located in Sigmaringen in the German state of Baden-Württemberg. She was the younger of the two daughters and the youngest of the six children of Sovereign Prince Karl Anton of Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen, head of the Princely House of Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen and Prime Minister of Prussia, and Princess Josephine of Baden, daughter of Grand Duke Karl of Baden. In 1869, the Sovereign Prince of Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen also became the Sovereign Prince of Hohenzollern-Hechingen and assumed the title Prince of Hohenzollern.
Marie had five older siblings:
- Leopold, Sovereign Prince of Hohenzollern (1835–1905), married Infanta Antonia of Portugal, had three sons including King Ferdinand of Romania
- Stephanie (1837–1859), married King Pedro V of Portugal, no children, died from diphtheria at age 22
- Karl, later King Carol I of Romania (1839–1914), married Princess Elisabeth of Wied, had one daughter who died in childhood
- Anton (1841–1866), unmarried, died from wounds received during the Austro-Prussian War
- Friedrich (1843–1904), married Princess Louise of Thurn and Taxis, had no children
Marie, seated on the left, and her sister Stephanie, standing, 1858: Photo Credit – Wikipedia
Unlike the Hohenzollerns who ruled in Prussia, Marie’s family was Roman Catholic. She was considered as a wife for the future King Edward VII of the United Kingdom but her religion barred any possibility of marriage as she would not convert to the Church of England. On April 25, 1867, at St. Hedwig’s Cathedral in Berlin, Kingdom of Prussia, now in the German state of Brandenburg, Marie married Prince Philippe of Belgium, Count of Flanders, the third son but second surviving son of Leopold I of the Belgians and Marie-Louise of Orléans.
Marie on her wedding day; Photo Credit – Wikipedia
Philippe and Marie had five children:
- Prince Baudouin of Belgium (1869 – 1891), unmarried, died of influenza at the age of 21
- Princess Henriette of Belgium (1870 – 1948), twin of Joséphine Marie, married Prince Emmanuel, Duke of Vendôme, had four children
- Princess Joséphine Marie of Belgium (1870 – 1871), twin of Henriette, died in infancy
- Princess Joséphine Caroline of Belgium (1872 – 1958), married Prince Karl Anton of Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen, had four children
- Albert I, King of the Belgians (1875 – 1934), married Elisabeth of Bavaria, had three children: Leopold III, King of the Belgians; Prince Charles, Count of Flanders, Regent of Belgium; and Marie José of Belgium, Queen of Italy
Philippe and Marie settled in the Palace of the Count of Flanders in Brussels, which Philippe bought and renovated. During the first several years of the couple’s married life, there were several family tragedies. In 1867, Emperor Maximilian of Mexico, the husband of Philippe’s sister Charlotte, was deposed and executed by a firing squad. Charlotte descended into a mental illness that would plague her for the rest of her life. In 1869, ten-year-old Leopold, Duke of Brabant, the only son and heir of Philippe’s brother King Leopold II, fell into a pond, caught pneumonia, and died. Hoping for a crown prince because only males could inherit the throne, Leopold II and his wife had another child, but the long-awaited crown prince did not materialize as the child was a girl.
It was Philippe and Marie who secured the future of the Belgian dynasty. Philippe was the heir presumptive to the Belgian throne until he died in 1905. Philippe’s elder son Baudouin was second in line to the throne until he died in 1891 from influenza. Then Marie and Philippe’s younger son Albert became second in line to the throne. Eventually, Albert succeeded his uncle King Leopold II upon his death in 1909 as King Albert I.
Marie and Philippe, 1880; Credit – Wikipedia
Marie was an accomplished artist and her artwork was exhibited at the Brussels Fair and the World Exhibition of 1893 in Chicago. Her literary salon attracted many authors and was a popular part of Brussels’ social life for forty years. She was also well known for her charitable work. Marie gradually took on the role of the first lady of the court after her sister-in-law Queen Marie-Henriette left the court due to marriage problems and her sisters-in-law married. Her husband Philippe died on November 17, 1905, at the age of 68. He was buried at the Church of Our Lady of Laeken in Brussels, Belgium
Marie lived to see her son become King Albert I of Belgium in 1909. She died in Brussels, Belgium on November 26, 1912, from pneumonia and was buried with her husband at the Church of Our Lady of Laeken.
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