Moniek Bloks's Blog, page 205
October 6, 2019
Clara Ward – The Cash for Class Princess (Part one)
Clara Ward was born on 17 June 1873 in Michigan, USA. Her parents were Catherine Lyon and her husband, Captain Eber Brock Ward. Her father was known to be Michigan’s first millionaire and he made a fortune in shipbuilding, lumber and iron and steelworks.
Clara’s father died suddenly before she reached the age of two, and although he had been married previously and had seven children in that marriage, most of the fortune went to Eber’s second wife Catherine Lyon and her two children Clara and her brother Eber Jr.
With a $6 million fortune in tow (this would be $125 million today!) Catherine Lyon moved to New York with Clara and her brother Eber Jr but then moved again to Toronto when she married a Canadian lawyer.
Little is known of Clara’s childhood other than she was moved from school to school by her mother. Clara was sent to numerous finishing schools in London but she kept getting thrown out of them all. She went off to a school in Paris but only stayed there for three weeks before running away and finally she was sent to an Italian convent school because her behaviour was too shocking and extreme for the nuns. We cannot be sure how true these tales are, but it is true that Clara went from one school to another and was often expelled due to her rebellious behaviour.
A girl of Clara’s rank was always destined to seek a good marriage, and her wealth meant that she was a highly desired bride despite her oddities and troublesome nature. Her mother flaunted her to available bachelors, and she was even described in newspapers as an heiress who was as “beautiful as she is wealthy”.
In 1889 or the start of 1890, it was revealed that a man named Prince Joseph de Caraman-Chimay was due to visit the USA. Joseph was a member of the Belgian Chamber of Deputies, and his father was the Belgian foreign affairs minister. On top of this, Joseph was a Prince; his family had held the title of Prince of Caraman-Chimay for centuries. The title was a French courtesy title and did not mean that Joseph would ever become king of anywhere, but it did allow him to use the title and rank of Prince.
Clara and Joseph were quickly married by May 1890 – she was 16, and he was 31, Joseph was double Clara’s age, had little money and was not very good looking but his title was worth it for Clara. Upon marriage, Clara became the Princess of Caraman-Chimay. Prince Joseph was not taken advantage of by Clara; however, as she also had something he needed, which was money. Clara paid for repairs to Chimay castle and paid off her new husband’s debts, so the arrangement suited them both well.
Americans were obsessed with the new Princess, and Clara was always in American and European newspapers. Some people loved her, some hated her, and there were many who did not know what to make of her at all. The couple spent their time travelling around the family estates or at the Belgian court and had a son and daughter together during the first few years of marriage.
Before long, however, Clara grew tired of her new life. Even being a princess was not enough to tame her rebellious side, and the princess was often bored and isolated. It is said that village life did not stimulate Clara, who would spend time being silly and doing things such as throwing handfuls of coins over the castle walls to watch the villagers fight over them. The young and beautiful Clara was also often tangled up in affairs, but her husband was not often bothered about them. When Clara was accused of becoming involved with King Leopold II of Belgium, however, this caused a huge scandal, and the couple had to leave the court and move to Paris.
In Paris, Clara came into her own. She was dubbed the most riotous American east of the Atlantic. Pictures and postcards of her were found everywhere, and stories of her antics filled the gossip columns. Clara loved the fashion, music, dancing and champagne in Paris and was much happier there.
In November 1896, Clara had clearly had enough of her dead-end relationship with her husband and longed to escape his formal, aristocratic lifestyle. One night when out with the Prince in a bar, Clara heard a fiddler playing and fell for him immediately. The man was Rigó Jancsi – a Hungarian gypsy violinist, he was 23 years old, and a poor man who was short and not particularly handsome but Clara loved him or at least loved his free-living lifestyle. After meeting a few times in secret, the pair ran away together in December that year. Clara’s relationship with Prince Joseph was now over.
Part two coming soon.
The post Clara Ward – The Cash for Class Princess (Part one) appeared first on History of Royal Women.
October 5, 2019
The Church of Peace in Potsdam
The Church of Peace (Friedenskirche) is located on the palace grounds of Sanssouci Park in Potsdam. It was built on the orders of King Frederick William IV of Prussia. He and his wife Elisabeth Ludovika of Bavaria are buried in the church itself while a mausoleum to the side houses the remains of Emperor Frederick III and his wife Victoria, Princess Royal. While the latter can not be accessed, due to the bad state the mausoleum is in, the former can be visited.
Click to view slideshow.
The church can be accessed free of charge and the entrance to the crypt is marked on the left-hand side of the church. The church is absolutely lovely and is not quite as busy as the rest of the park is. So if you need a breather from the grand palaces, do visit this church.
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October 4, 2019
Good Queen Anne by Judith Lissauer Cromwell Book Review
Anne, Queen of Great Britain has lately had somewhat of a resurgence in popularity – largely owing to the 2019 film The Favourite. Perhaps the least known of the British reigning Queens, Anne had a tough life. Born to a commoner mother – Anne Hyde – and the unpopular younger brother of King Charles II – the future James II – Anne was destined for a life in marriage.
Yet life would bring Anne a greater prize. Queenship. After her father and half-brother fled from the Glorious Revolution led by Anne’s brother-in-law and cousin who became King William III jointly with Anne’s sister Mary II. But with their lack of children, Anne was now the heiress presumptive to the throne. Anne’s marriage to Prince George of Denmark produced a number of pregnancies but just a single son lived to the age of 11.
Good Queen Anne focusses heavily on the years of Anne’s reign – from the death of her brother-in-law in 1702 until her own death in 1714. Which is not necessarily a bad thing but the years before that are so very interesting as well. Not much is said about the death of her son, which for Anne was perhaps her greatest tragedy and made it necessary to pass the Act of Settlement 1701 to ensure the succession of the Protestant House of Hanover.
All in all, Good Queen Anne is a lovely look at the life of an interesting woman who became Queen against all odds. It is well-written and excellently researched, with plenty of sources.
Good Queen Anne by Judith Lissauer Cromwell is available now in both the UK and the US.
The post Good Queen Anne by Judith Lissauer Cromwell Book Review appeared first on History of Royal Women.
October 3, 2019
Anne of Bavaria – The elusive Queen of Bohemia
Out of the four wives of Holy Roman Emperor Charles IV, the second, Anne of Bavaria, is the least known. It is not surprising that there is not much known of her, of Charles’ four wives; she was the only one who did not give him a child that survived past infancy. She also was the one who was married to Charles for the shortest time – just under four years.
Anne (Anna) of Bavaria, also known as Anne/Anna of the Palatinate, was born on 26 September 1329, as the only child of Rudolf II, Count Palatinate of the Rhine, and Anne of Carinthia-Tyrol. In early 1349, Charles of Luxembourg, King of Bohemia, was looking for a new wife. His first wife, Blanche of Valois had died in August 1348. By this marriage, he only had two daughters, so he was in need of a son. Charles was also a claimant to the Holy Roman Empire. He was elected as a rival King of the Romans in 1346, and in 1347, after the death of Emperor Louis IV, the road to the imperial throne became open to him. However, the Wittelsbachs, the dynasty the old Emperor belonged to, were still opposed to Charles and elected a rival king.
Since the Wittelsbachs were one of the empire’s most powerful families, Charles needed to win them over to his side in order to become emperor. Anne’s father, Rudolf, also belonged to the Wittelsbach dynasty and was a nephew of the late Emperor Louis. Charles and Rudolf soon reached a compromise, and a marriage with Rudolf’s 19-year-old daughter was arranged. Charles and Anne were married in March 1349 at Bacharach Castle on the Rhine. This marriage strengthened Charles’ claims to the imperial throne.
Queen of Bohemia
On 26 July 1349, Anne was crowned as Queen of the Romans in Aachen, Germany. She was not crowned as Holy Roman Empress, because her husband had not become emperor yet. On 1 November 1349, she was crowned as Queen of Bohemia in St. Vitus Cathedral, Prague. On 17 January 1350, Anna gave birth to a son named Wenceslaus. Charles finally had an heir, and there was much rejoicing. Immediately, Charles made marriage arrangements for the newborn. He betrothed his son to 11-year-old Anna, the heiress of the Polish territory of Swidnica, and grand-niece of the King of Poland. He decided on this so he could bring Swidnica into the Crown of Bohemia.
In the autumn of 1350, Charles suddenly fell ill with a mysterious illness. There were rumours of poisoning, and some even attributed this to Anne herself. According to a Florentine chronicler, Anne felt that Charles was losing interest in her, so she made a “drink of love” in the hope that he would return her affection. The story goes on to say that Anne mixed the drink incorrectly or used the wrong ingredients, and she accidentally poisoned him instead. It is more likely that the illness was from a spinal injury Charles suffered after falling from his horse shortly before. Charles was seriously ill for several months but eventually recovered.
Little Wenceslaus died on 28 December 1351, not yet two years old. His death was a major blow to both Charles and Anne. Anne would have no more children. She survived her son by just over a year, and died on 2 February 1353, at the age of 23. The cause of her death is uncertain: most sources say she died from a bad fall from her horse, but it has also been suggested that she died of grief from losing her only son. Anne was buried in St. Vitus Cathedral, Prague. Her father outlived her by eight months.
Still in need of an heir, Charles remarried just three months after Anne’s death. This time he married Anna of Swidnica, who was originally betrothed to his late son. In 1361, she would give him his much-needed surviving son, also named Wenceslaus.
Charles was finally crowned Holy Roman Emperor in 1355. Although Anne of Bavaria did not live long enough to become Holy Roman Empress, her marriage boosted Charles’ standing in Germany and paved the way for him to become Holy Roman Emperor.1
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October 2, 2019
The Year of Queen Victoria – Baroness Lehzen
Johanna Clara Louise Lehzen was born on the 3rd October 1784, and she is most remembered as the governess and companion of Queen Victoria.
Louise Lehzen was born in Hanover as the daughter of Joachim Friedrich Lehzen who was a Lutheran pastor and his wife, Melusine Palm. Louise was the youngest of the couple’s nine children, and although her father was well educated and respected, the family were not well-off financially. Not much is known about her younger years, but with her education behind her, Louise was sent off to work as a governess at a young age to help bring money in for the family.
Louise’s first position was with the von Marenholtz family who treated her like one of their own, welcoming her warmly. Louise cared for the family’s three daughters in this role and gained glowing references. It was these references and recommendations from others that led to Louise gaining her position in the household of the Duke and Duchess of Kent. Prince Edward was the son of King George III and had recently married Princess Victoria of Saxe-Coburg and Saalfeld, who was a widow with two children. Louise was hired in 1819 to care for the Duchess’ daughter Princess Feodora of Leinigen who was aged 14 at this time.
At this time, the Duke’s household was moved to England because the Duchess was pregnant and they wished to strengthen the child’s claim to the throne by raising them on English soil. On 24 May 1819, the Duke and Duchess of Kent had their first and only child together, a daughter named Princess Alexandrina Victoria of Kent. At the time of her birth, Alexandrina who became known as Victoria in later years was fifth in line to the throne.
Victoria’s father died suddenly in 1820, followed quickly by his father George III. Suddenly Victoria’s life seemed like it may pan out quite differently as she was third in line to the throne at this point, behind uncles who were childless and ageing. It was clear that the young princess needed a proper education and so once Feodora was too old to need a governess, Louise Lehzen took the five-year-old Victoria as her charge.
The Duchess of Kent and her private secretary Sir John Conroy tried to control every aspect of Victoria’s life, in the hope that they would hold influence if a regency should come about or that John would gain influential roles in government. It is believed that Lehzen was chosen as Victoria’s governess as she was German and may have been easier to control as she needed the position and was far from home. Luckily for Victoria, this was not the case and Lehzen as she was known always put Victoria first, making sure she was told to be wary of her mother and Conroy’s intentions.
Victoria had a very strict upbringing, in a system called the Kensington system which was devised by her mother and John Conroy. The system was an over the top set of rules and lessons that meant that Victoria was constantly occupied and was never allowed to be alone. Even when walking around the palace, the Princess had to hold her mother’s hand or Lehzen’s hand. The system was designed to give the Duchess of Kent complete control and influence over Victoria and meant that she was rarely seen in public and was not allowed to play with other children. The only companions she encountered were the daughters of Sir John, whom she disliked and her older sister Feodora who was much older than her. This meant that the princess came to rely on the company and friendship of her governess Lehzen and overtime in her diaries she even called Lehzen “mother”.
Over the years, Lehzen educated Victoria in a stern but caring manner. She wished the princess to grow into an educated and independent woman. The Duchess and Conroy did not like the closeness between Victoria and Lehzen and tried on many occasions to have the governess removed from the household but never succeeded due to Lehzen’s tact and devotion the child. Lehzen spent time with Victoria reading, dancing and playing elaborate games with Victoria’s doll collection.
When it became clear that Victoria was eventually going to be Queen, her uncle King George IV began to show more interest in her. A 6000-pound grant from parliament was provided for the girl’s education, and Rev. George Davy’s was hired as a tutor. From this point, Victoria left a lot of her more childish pursuits behind and studied extensively. In 1827, Princess Sophia, Victoria’s aunt, persuaded King George to make Lehzen a baroness so that the princess was not surrounded by commoners. Louise Lehzen became Baroness Lehzen of the Kingdom of Hanover, the only governess to ever receive such an honour.
In 1830, King William IV succeeded the throne and Victoria became the first in the line of succession. During a history lesson with Lehzen at this time, Princess Victoria looked at a genealogy table in one of the books, and it finally sank in that she was going to be Queen one day. Victoria burst into tears but then looked at Lehzen and said: “I will be good”.
On 24 May 1837, Victoria turned 18. Any hopes her mother and Conroy had of taking charge of a regency period were dashed. It was just weeks later that King William IV died and Victoria became Queen. The first thing the new Queen demanded was that her mother was removed from her room and Conroy was dismissed from her household.
Lehzen continued on as Victoria’s companion once she was too old to need a governess. She was named Victoria’s “lady attendant”, but in reality, she was much more than an attendant. Lehzen carried the household keys like a first lady of the bedchamber and controlled household finances. Lehzen had rooms which joined onto the young Queen’s and had her total confidence and respect, yet she never misused her position.
It was only when Queen Victoria married Prince Albert that things began to change. Lehzen had wished for Victoria to remain unmarried like Queen Elizabeth I and Lehzen and Albert never saw eye-to-eye. Lehzen did not like Albert and Albert did not like the influence Lehzen had on his wife, calling her ‘the hag’. After Victoria and Albert’s first child, Vicky was born, she became ill, and Lehzen was blamed for the choice of medical staff and the fact that the baby was not treated correctly. After this incident, Victoria finally gave in to Albert’s demands and dismissed Lehzen. After over two decades with Victoria, Lehzen was sadly sent back to Germany.
Queen Victoria said that it was “very painful” to be without Lehzen, a woman who had been like a mother to her. The Queen clearly loved Lehzen and provided an £800 a year pension for her to live on in Germany. Victoria and Lehzen continued to write to each other for the rest of Lehzen’s life and while in Germany, Victoria visited Lehzen on two occasions. When in 1870, Baroness Lehzen passed away aged 85, Victoria had a memorial erected in her honour and she spoke of their relationship with fondness.
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October 1, 2019
Sophie Charlotte in Bavaria – Between duty and love
Sophie Charlotte in Bavaria was born on 22 February 1847 at 5.20 in the morning as the daughter of Duke Maximilian Joseph in Bavaria and Princess Ludovika of Bavaria. She would be one of eight (surviving) siblings, and her sisters included Empress Elisabeth of Austria, Helene, Marie Sophie and Mathilde Ludovika. She was their penultimate child.
In November 1851, Amalie Tänzl von Tratzberg was appointed as governess for the three youngest girls – Marie Sophie, Mathilde Ludovika and Sophie Charlotte. When her elder sister Elisabeth married their first cousin Emperor Franz Joseph I of Austria in 1854, a painting was made with all the siblings. Sophie Charlotte was portrayed with her favourite doll.

Plans for marriage for Sophie Charlotte were soon in the works as well. By 1861, she was the youngest unmarried daughter. During this time she was mostly a companion to her mother, who also dictated letters to her when her headaches became so severe that she could not write. Her greatest passion was music. She played the piano, and she had a soprano voice. She received voice training from Julius Hey. She had fallen in love with her teacher who was not only 15 years older, but also a commoner and he was already engaged. She desperately wrote in her journal, “My heart is bleeding with love and longing. I feel abandoned, can I find peace?” Several prospective bridegrooms were considered for Sophie Charlotte, including royals from Portugal and Spain. In April 1866, her first cousin and the younger brother of Emperor Franz Joseph, Archduke Ludwig Viktor of Austria came up in the plans. Sophie Charlotte was not happy about this and rejected him. Elisabeth was disappointed not to see her younger sister marry him as it would have meant that Sophie Charlotte would live in Vienna. Another offer soon came her way – her cousin King Ludwig II of Bavaria.
Sophie Charlotte and Ludwig were friends and were only a year apart in age. They both loved music, and during the summer of 1866, Ludwig made several visits to Possenhofen, but when Ludovika inquired after his intentions, he became annoyed. As long as Ludwig was coming over, no other marriage candidate could. He wrote a letter to Sophie Charlotte wishing her a happy summer but that he did not wish to come over any more. Early the following year – perhaps shortly after his male favourite was dismissed – Ludwig suddenly proposed marriage to Sophie Charlotte. He wrote to her, “Do you want to become my goddess?” The wedding was set to take place later that same year. At the end of February, an engagement ball was organised during which Sophie Charlotte wore a dress in the national colours of white and blue. Ludwig tired of the ball in an hour and left Sophie Charlotte alone. When her sister-in-law Sophie (of Saxony – the wife of Karl Theodor, Duke in Bavaria) died suddenly in early March, the family was shocked by Ludwig’s lack of empathy. He even drew an awkward skull on a letter to Sophie Charlotte. When her brother-in-law Maximilian Anton Lamoral, Hereditary Prince of Thurn and Taxis – Helene’s husband – also passed away that June, Possenhofen was truly in deep mourning.
Sophie Charlotte continued to have – chaperoned – meetings with her fiance, but it’s becoming increasingly clear that he did not want to marry at all. After one of these meetings, Sophie Charlotte threw herself into the arms of Natalie von Sternbach sobbing, “He does not love me!” The first scheduled wedding date was 25 August, but it was postponed to October, and then to November. Then finally on 7 October, he wrote to her, “My brotherly love for you is deeply rooted in my soul, but it is not the love that is required for unification in marriage.” He then asked her for a separation “without resentment and bitterness.” Just then, Sophie Charlotte’s father also wrote a letter asking him to either marry his daughter in November or to release her. Ludwig now had an easy way out and blamed her father for tearing them apart. When Sophie Charlotte learned the news, she fainted.
After giving her daughter some time to recover from the broken engagement, Ludovika set to matchmaking once more. She made contact with the Duke of Nemours and arranged for his son Ferdinand, Duke of Alençon, to meet with Sophie Charlotte in June 1868. The two immediately hit it off, and their wedding was planned for September at Possenhofen. On 28 September, Sophie Charlotte walked down the aisle in a white silk dress adorned with orange blossoms.
Ferdinand’s father was the second son of the exiled King Louis-Philippe I of France and the year after Sophie Charlotte married Ferdinand, they moved into Bushy House in London where the family was living in exile. Their first child – a daughter named Louise – was born there in July 1869. After the birth, Sophie Charlotte was very depressed, and she became very thin. The family travelled to Italy to allow Sophie Charlotte to recover. A son named Prince Emmanuel followed in 1872. Sophie Charlotte became restless – it seemed to run in the family – and met with her sisters as often as she could. She spent little time with her children, who were being raised by governesses. When Louise became older, she sometimes joined her mother in her travels.
Despite this, they celebrated their 10th wedding anniversary in September 1878 with a grand party. In 1880, Sophie Charlotte joined the Third Order of Saint Dominic which was a lay order and Sophie Charlotte received the name Sister Marie Madeleine as she worshipped Mary Magdelene. When the family was finally allowed to return to France, Sophie Charlotte devoted herself to relieving the misery she saw in the slums of Paris.
In 1886, shortly after the death of King Ludwig II, Sophie Charlotte travelled home where she fell seriously ill with scarlet fever. Her life was feared for, and her husband and children were not allowed to have any contact with her for fear of infection. She survived but took a long time to recover. She went to Munich for further treatment, where she reportedly fell in love with her physician Dr Glaser. She announced to her family that she wanted a divorce, and they were shocked and tried to have her declared insane. When her husband was brought to her, she looked at him and asked him if she was ill and if he wanted her to leave. He responded that if she wanted to be his faithful wife, she should stay. She declared that she wanted a divorce still. She was admitted to a sanatorium and would only be allowed to leave if she gave up her plans for a divorce. She did not speak to her mother for several months. In early 1888, her treatment was considered successful, and she returned to her husband. Her mother’s following 80th birthday party was an awkward one for the family, though Sophie Charlotte and Ludovika did embrace.
In 1892, Sophie Charlotte was present at her mother’s deathbed. She barely recognised Sophie Charlotte but sighed “Oh my good Sophie” when she was told who she was and put her hands on her daughter’s head. Sophie Charlotte stayed by her mother’s bedside and was with her when she passed away around 4 in the morning of 25 January.
When Sophie Charlotte wrote her last will and testament in October 1896, she had no idea how soon it would come into force. Like every year, the Third Order of Saint Dominic organised a charity bazaar in Paris from the 3rd to the 6th of May. Sophie Charlotte was one of their most prominent patrons. In the afternoon of the 4th of May, Sophie Charlotte visited the bazaar with her husband when the projectionist’s equipment, which was using a system of ether and oxygen rather than electricity, caught fire. During the resulting fire, Sophie Charlotte rushed to help, even as her husband tried to hold her back. She led several people to safety and insisted on being the last to leave. “Leave quickly. Do not mind me. I leave the last.” Reportedly her last words were, “Yes, but in a few minutes, think that we will be in heaven!” Her body was burned beyond recognition and was identified by her teeth. Her husband sustained injuries from a falling beam.
Her last moments were described, “She died as nobly as she lived. She perished, burnt alive in the terrible catastrophe of the Bazar de la Charité in Paris, in May 1897. The cinematography was at that time a novel institution, and the operator, with inconceivable clumsiness, set fire to a room above the one in which the bazaar was held. The ceiling was all in flames before any attempt was made to clear the hall. There was a horrible struggle, in which the strongest had the advantage.
However, among the men whose brutal selfishness seems to have stifled all chivalrous feeling, there were a few who thought of the Duchess. They hastened to her help, imploring her to escape, even trying to drag her away by force; but she refused. “I shall stay to the last,” she replied. “Save the others first.” Some Sisters of the Order of S. Vincent de Paul would not leave her, determined to sacrifice their lives also, if need be. The Duchess remained standing; the Sisters knelt around her, praying. As the fire drew close to her, she loosened her magnificent hair, which covered her like a cloak. And it was so that those who survived the disaster saw her for the last time.”1
The funeral mass was held on 14 May at the Church of Saint-Philippe du Roule, and she was buried in the Royal Chapel at Dreux.2
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September 30, 2019
Viktoria of Prussia – An unfulfilled life (Part two)
Adolf was often away for his military duties and Viktoria disliked his absences. She fell back into her old habits of diet and exercise to the extreme. Adolf was a supportive husband and tried to spend more time at home. Viktoria recognised his efforts, but their mutual disappointment in not having a family was great, especially as her siblings continued to have children. Her mother wrote to Sophie, “How poor Vicky and Adolf long for a baby, I see a shadow of sadness pass over their faces when they look at a photo of you and the baby.” Adolf built a tennis court for Viktoria, and they regularly travelled to the seaside town of Scheveningen in The Netherlands for sea baths, and they would call on Queen Wilhelmina and Queen Emma.
In 1892 or early 1893, Viktoria underwent treatment at a clinic in Bad Schwalbach for anaemia, weight loss and stomach cramps. She was also heartbroken to hear of the death of Alexander in October 1893. Her mother wrote, “Happy as she is with Adolf, the death of the one she first hoped to marry cannot but make a deep impression on her.”
In 1895, Woldemar, Prince of Lippe died without issue, however, his successor Prince Alexander had been declared insane and Waldemar’s will named Adolf as his regent. He accepted the position, hoping that it would give them some direction in life. Viktoria was quite excited about the prospect and loved living in Detmold. However, the will was challenged by Count Ernst of Lippe-Biesterfeld, and two years later Adolf had to relinquish the regency to Ernst, whose son would also eventually succeeded Prince Alexander as Prince of Lippe. Her mother wrote to Sophie, “Poor Vicky is most unlucky in life; if only she had had children, she would not mind so much.”
Christmas 1900 was spent at Friedrichshof, the home of Empress Frederick. It was a sad time with both Queen Victoria and the Empress Frederick likely to die soon. Queen Victoria died on 22 January 1901. Viktoria and Adolf attended the funeral as Empress Frederick was too ill to travel and returned to Friedrichshof to be with the Empress afterwards. Viktoria spent her days by her mother’s side and was just outside taking in some fresh air when the Empress died on 5 August 1901. Viktoria later wrote, “She had been my dearest friend, and all through my life I had looked up to her as possessing most wonderful qualities of mind and heart. Her loss has left a blank in my life, which nothing and nobody can ever fill.”
The First World War was difficult for the family – including Viktoria. She may not have had any children to lose, but she was saddened by her blood relations fighting on opposite sides. When she visited hospitals, she spoke to German and British wounded soldiers alike. Adolf was still in the army, and he left with them a few days after the outbreak of war. Viktoria established a nursing home attached to the German Red Cross. They spent their silver wedding anniversary in 1915 apart. In late 1915, Adolf became seriously ill and was sent to a sanatorium in Godesberg for treatment. He suddenly deteriorated in June and developed pneumonia. He died on 9 July 1916 – still only 57 years old. Viktoria was now a 50-year-old widow, and she quickly became lonely.
In 1917, Viktoria visited her aunt Louise of Prussia, the Dowager Grand Duchess of Baden, at Karlsruhe and she found a city that had been bombed twice and had barely recovered. She was invited by Daisy, Princess of Pless, to spent some time at Berchtesgaden later that year. It was a lovely break for her. As the war violence continued, Viktoria tried to play her part by supporting charities and even lending her car for the transportation of the wounded. As the war came to an end and her brother abdicated his throne, Viktoria stood her ground even as her home was being threatened. As sailors mobbed her house in Bonn, Viktoria went downstairs and demanded to know what they wanted. They asked for cigarettes which she gave them. When they asked for her car, she told them they could borrow it until the morning because she needed it to transport wounded soldiers. They saluted her and promised to send it back in the morning. She was surprised to learn the following morning that they had kept their promise. When Canadians troops occupied the town, Viktoria was forced to hand over part of her home to them.

In 1922, Viktoria was one of the few family members who came over to Doorn to witness the wedding of her brother – the abdicated and recently widowed Emperor Wilhelm II – to Hermine Reuss of Greiz. It was her only visit to Doorn. During the years after the war, Viktoria lived quietly. In September 1927, Viktoria was introduced to the 27-year-old Alexander Zoubkoff, and she became smitten with him and his embellished stories. She was by then 60 years old and desperately lonely. Their engagement was announced not much later. Her family was aghast that she was throwing her life away because of a crook. Viktoria was well beyond caring what her family thought. On 19 November 1927, they were married at the registry office in Bonn. She trusted her new husband with her financial affairs, and he quickly began to spend it all. When he tried to persuade her to have their story made into a Hollywood film, Viktoria was done with her husband’s spending habits. This was also probably the last time they saw each other. He was arrested the following April due to irregularities with his passport.
During this time Viktoria fell seriously ill at Schaumburg Palace, and she was confined to her bed. In early 1929, creditors came knocking and took a full inventory of the palace. She was allowed to remain in her room. In September, a judge ruled that the contents of the palace should be sold at auction and that she should be evicted. The auction took place in October, and a room was found for her in Mehlem. With her final strength, Viktoria began divorce proceedings against her husband. Not being able to pay her, Viktoria sent her last maid away. She was now truly alone and often cried herself to sleep. In early November, she fell ill with pneumonia, and a doctor had her admitted to St. Francis’s Hospital in Bonn. Wilhelm – unable to travel to Germany – called the hospital several times a day to hear how she was doing.
Viktoria died at the hospital on 13 November 1929 at the age of 63. Her body was taken to Friedrichshof where her body was laid to rest in the chapel with some of her nephews who had perished in the First World War. It was a sad end for such a promising Princess.1
The post Viktoria of Prussia – An unfulfilled life (Part two) appeared first on History of Royal Women.
September 29, 2019
Viktoria of Prussia – An unfulfilled life (Part one)
Princess Viktoria was born on 12 April 1866 as the daughter of Victoria, Princess Royal and the future Frederick III, German Emperor, at the Neue Palais in Potsdam. Her mother had only just travelled from Berlin to Potsdam, and her labour began during the train journey. On 24 May 1866 – the birthday of the baby’s grandmother Queen Victoria – she was christened Frederica Amalia Wilhelma Viktoria.
A few weeks later, Viktoria’s elder brother Sigismund died at the age of 21 months of meningitis. Her mother wrote to Queen Victoria a few weeks later, “I am calm now, for Fritz’s sake and my little ones – but oh! how bitter is the cross.” Her other siblings were the future Wilhelm II (born 1859), Charlotte (born 1860), Henry (born 1862), Waldemar (born 1868), Sophie (born 1870) and Margaret (born 1872). A few weeks later, her mother sent her photo to Queen Victoria with a letter saying that she was “such a dear, pretty, little thing, and so lively; she crows, laughs and jumps and begins to sit up and has short petticoats. If I was not continually reminded of what we had lost, I should enjoy her so much and be proud of her too.” Young Viktoria was placed under the care of Mrs Hobbs, a British nurse, and she learned to speak English before German.
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Viktoria and her siblings were raised between the Palace at Unter den Linden in Berlin and the Neue Palais in Potsdam. She had a loving mother, though she could be quite demanding too. At the age of four or five, lessons began and also included periods of exercise such as tennis. Viktoria would learn to ride, which she loved. She received a little Shetland pony named Alfred from Queen Victoria. Viktoria was confirmed in March 1878. The death of Waldemar from diptheria in 1879 was a huge blow. The division between the three elder and the three younger siblings became even greater and Viktoria, Sophie and Margaret grew very close to each other and their parents. Their mother dubbed them “my three sweet girls.”
Viktoria became the tallest of the three younger sisters, and soon a suitable husband would have to be found. Queen Victoria was apparently the first to suggest Prince Alexander of Battenberg, who had been elected as Sovereign Prince of Bulgaria. He first met Viktoria in Berlin in 1882. The following year, they apparently came to some kind of agreement, but it was not announced publicly. Her paternal grandmother Empress Augusta was vehemently against the match saying that as long as she lived, a Hohenzollern Princess would never marry a Battenberg. His position in Bulgaria was also still very unstable. Viktoria wrote to her grandmother, “My thoughts are not here tonight but far away where they always are. You know where, dearest Grandmama. Oh, if I can but only get a glimpse of him, so low in spirits am I, and there seems no hope.”
Throughout the illness of her father – who briefly succeeded as Emperor Frederick III – Viktoria and her two younger sisters were the constant companions of their parents. They accompanied them to the Golden Jubilee celebrations for Queen Victoria and then on to San Remo. She was there when Alexander wrote to her mother that circumstances had forced him to “request her to dispose of her daughter’s hand without any regard to himself.” He had abdicated the Bulgarian throne in 1886. According to Viktoria’s memoirs, upon their return to Berlin, her father personally gave his permission for her marriage to Alexander.
On 15 June 1888, Viktoria’s father died after a reign of 99 days and her elder brother became Emperor Wilhelm II. Viktoria witnessed how her brother ordered every inch of the Neue Palais to be searched for their mother’s private correspondence, but she had removed it all already. Her mother – now known as Empress Frederick – took her three sweet girls to her farmhouse at Bornstadt. In November, Viktoria made one final appeal to her brother to be allowed to marry Alexander, but he was against it. It was finally over. Viktoria began to fear that she had grown too old for marriage and started to exercise and diet. Her mother became worried and wrote to Queen Victoria, “She starves completely, touches no milk, no sugar, no bread, no sweets, no soup, no butter, nothing but a scrap of meat & apples which is not enough. She will ruin her health.”
On 27 October 1889, Sophie married the future Constantine I of Greece, breaking up the trio. The search for a husband for Viktoria continued, and she met several potential suitors. At Segenhaus, Viktoria and her mother visited the Princess of Wied (born Marie of the Netherlands) where Prince Adolf of Schaumburg-Lippe was also staying as a guest. Within days, he proposed to Viktoria and she accepted him. She later wrote that it was love at first sight. Queen Victoria was happy for her and was “so very thankful that the dear child has at last found a good husband and I am sure she will be a good and affectionate and dutiful wife and that the restlessness will cease.” The wedding was set for 19 November 1890, but in the months leading up to it, Viktoria was depressed and often burst into tears. The wedding took place in the chapel of the Stadtschloss in Berlin. Viktoria fell pregnant during her honeymoon but tragically miscarried and never conceived again. It was a huge blow for Viktoria.1
Part two coming soon.
The post Viktoria of Prussia – An unfulfilled life (Part one) appeared first on History of Royal Women.
September 28, 2019
A memorandum by Queen Victoria – 29 September 1855
A memorandum by Queen Victoria – 29 September 1855
I must write down at once what has happened – what I feel and how grateful I am to God for one of the happiest days of my life! When we got off our ponies this afternoon Fritz1 gave me a look which implied that his little proposal to Vicky2, which he had begged us to let him make – had succeeded… He said in answer to my question whether anything had occurred, yes – that while riding with her – just at the very beginning, he began of Germany, his hope that he would come there and stay there. They were interrupted in fact 3 times, upon one occasion by the picking up of some white heather, which he said was good luck – which he wished – and she him. At last towards the end of the ride he repeated again his observation about Prussia; she answered she would be happy to stay there for a year. He added he hoped always always – on which she became very red. He continued he hoped he had said nothing which annoyed her – to which she replied ‘Oh! No.’ He added might he tell her parents? Which then she expressed a wish to do herself. He then shook hands with her – said this was one of the happiest days of his life. I tell this all in a hurry. We approved all this…
Vicky came into my room, where we both were… seemed very much agitated… her Papa asked her if she had nothing more to say. “Oh yes, a great deal!’ We urged her to speak and she said: ‘Oh! It is that I am very fond of the Prince.” We kissed and pressed the poor dear child in our arms and Albert then told her how the Prince… on the 20th had spoken to us… [how he] wished to see more and more of her. I asked did she wish the same? ‘Oh yes, every day.’ Looking up joyously and happily in my face – she was kneeling. Had she always loved him? ‘Oh always!’… Albert came in to say that Fritz was there, and I took her in. She was nervous but did not hesitate or falter in giving her very decided answer… He kissed her hand twice, I kissed him and when he kissed her hand again… she threw herself into his arms, and kissed him with a warmth which was responded to by Fritz again and again and I would not for the world have missed so touching and beautiful sight… It is his first love! Vicky’s great youth makes it even more striking, but she behaved as a girl of 18 would, so naturally, so quietly and modestly and yet showing how very strong her feeling are.3
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September 27, 2019
Bad Berleburg Castle – Home of a Danish Princess
Bad Berleburg Castle was built in 1258 by Count Siegfried I of Wittgenstein. Von Sayn was added to the family name when the Wittgensteiner counts died out and the castle was inherited by Salentin von Sayn, who was married to Countess Adelaide of Wittgenstein. A partition in the 1600s meant the family name evolved into Sayn-Wittgenstein-Berleburg, with three other branches. The castle underwent several building projects over the years and it evolved into the castle that you see here today.
Perhaps the most famous royal woman associated with the castle actually still lives there. The sister of Queen Margrethe II of Denmark, Princess Benedikte, was married to Richard, 6th Prince of Sayn-Wittgenstein-Berleburg in 1968. They had three children together before his death in 2017. Princess Benedikte and her daughter Princess Nathalie still live in the castle, alongside her son Gustav, 7th Prince of Sayn-Wittgenstein-Berleburg and his longtime partner Carina Axelsson.
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Guided tours through the castle are available twice a day throughout the summer (in German only). The tour was actually quite nice and there are many amazing portraits to see. Unfortunately, photography was not allowed inside. See more information about visiting the castle here.
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