January 8, 1864: Birth of Prince Albert Victor, Duke of Clarence and Avondale.

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Pope Leo XIII, Prince Albert Victor, Prince Albert-Victor of Wales, Prince of Wales, Princess Alexandra of Denmark, Princess Alix of Hesse and by Rhine, Princess Dagmar of Denmark, Princess Hélène of Orléans, Princess Margaret of Prussia, Princess of Wales, Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom, The Duke of Clarence and Avondale

Prince Albert Victor, Duke of Clarence and Avondale (January 8, 1864 – January 14, 1892)

Prince Albert Victor was born two months prematurely on January 8, 1864 at Frogmore House, Windsor, Berkshire. He was the first child of Albert Edward, Prince of Wales, and his wife Princess Alexandra of Denmark.

The Prince and Princess of Wales, Albert Edward and Alexandra, with their new-born son, Albert Victor, 1864

Following his grandmother Queen Victoria’s wishes, he was named Albert Victor, after herself and her late husband, Albert. Albert Victor was known to his family, and many later biographers, as “Eddy”. As a grandchild of the reigning British monarch in the male line and a son of the Prince of Wales, he was formally styled His Royal Highness Prince Albert Victor of Wales from birth.

The Prince and Princess of Wales

When young, he travelled the world extensively as a naval cadet, and as an adult he joined the British Army but did not undertake any active military duties.

Prince Albert Victor’s intellect, sexuality, and mental health have been the subject of speculation. Rumours in his time linked him with the Cleveland Street scandal, which involved a homosexual brothel; however, there is no conclusive evidence that he ever went there, or was indeed homosexual.

Prince Albert Victor of Wales

Some authors have argued that he was the serial killer known as Jack the Ripper, or that he was otherwise involved in the murders, but contemporaneous documents show that Albert Victor could not have been in London at the time of the murders, and the claim is widely dismissed.

Though he learned to speak Danish, progress in other languages and subjects was slow. Sir Henry Ponsonby thought that Albert Victor might have inherited his mother’s deafness. Albert Victor never excelled intellectually.

Possible physical explanations for Albert Victor’s inattention or indolence in class include absence seizures or his premature birth, which can be associated with learning difficulties, but Lady Geraldine Somerset blamed Albert Victor’s poor education on Dalton, whom she considered uninspiring.

Prince Albert Victor of Wales

On his return from a tour of India, Albert Victor was created Duke of Clarence and Avondale and Earl of Athlone on May 24, 1890, Queen Victoria’s 71st birthday.

Potential brides

Albert Victor with Princess Victoria Mary of Teck, his fiancée, photographed in 1891

In 1889, Albert Victor’s grandmother Queen Victoria expressed her wish that he marry his paternal cousin Princess Alix of Hesse and by Rhine, who was one of her favorite granddaughters.

Princess Alice of Hesse and by Rhine

In Balmoral Castle, he proposed to Alix, but she did not return his affections and refused his offer of engagement. He persisted in trying to convince Alix to marry him, but he finally gave up in 1890 when she sent him a letter in which she told him “how it grieves her to pain him, but that she cannot marry him, much as she likes him as a Cousin.”

In 1894, she married Emperor Nicholas II of Russia, another of Albert Victor’s cousins. Nicholas’s mother, Princess Dagmar of Denmark and Prince Albert Victor’s mother, Princess Alexandra of Denmark, were sisters.

After her proposed match with Alix fell through, Victoria suggested to Albert Victor that he marry another first cousin, Princess Margaret of Prussia.

Princess Margaret of Prussia was the youngest child of Friedrich III, German Emperor, and Victoria, Princess Royal of the United Kingdom. As such, she was the younger sister of Emperor Wilhelm II and a granddaughter of Queen Victoria.

Princess Margaret of Prussia

On May 19, 1890, she sent him a formal letter in which she expressed her opinions about Margaret’s suitability to become Queen: “Of the few possible Princess (for of course any Lady in Society would never do) I think no one more likely to suit you and the position better than your Cousin Mossy … She is not regularly pretty but she has a very pretty figure, is very amiable and half English with great love for England which you will find in very few if any others.”

Although Albert Victor’s father approved, Queen Victoria’s secretary Henry Ponsonby informed her that Albert Victor’s mother “would object most strongly and indeed has already done so.” Because of Alexandra’s strong anti-German feelings, which she had after Denmark was defeated in a war against Prussia in 1864, she didn’t want any of her children to marry Germans. Nothing came of Queen Victoria’s suggestion.

Princess Margaret married Prince Friedrich Charles of Hesse (formerly Hesse-Cassel), the elected King of Finland, making her the would-be Queen of Finland had he not decided to renounce the throne on December 14, 1918.

By this time however, Albert Victor was falling in love with Princess Hélène of Orléans, a daughter of Prince Philippe, Count of Paris, a pretender to the French throne and his wife Princess Marie Isabelle of Orléans was the daughter Prince Antoine, Duke of Montpensier and Infanta Luisa Fernanda of Spain. Antoine was the youngest son of Louis-Philippe I, the last King of France, and Maria Amalia of Naples and Sicily. Infanta Luisa Fernanda was the daughter of King Fernando VII of Spain and his fourth wife Princess Maria Christina of Bourbon-Two Sicilies. All four of her grandparents and seven of her eight great-grandparents were members of the French Royal House of Bourbon.

The Count and Countess of Paris and thier children were living in England after being banished from France in 1886.

Princess Hélène of Orléans

At first, Queen Victoria opposed any engagement because Hélène was Roman Catholic. Once Albert Victor and Hélène confided their love to her, the Queen relented and supported the proposed marriage. Hélène offered to convert to the Church of England, and Albert Victor offered to renounce his succession rights to marry her.

To the couple’s disappointment, her father refused to countenance the marriage and was adamant she could not convert. Hélène travelled personally to intercede with Pope Leo XIII, but he confirmed her father’s verdict, and the courtship ended.

When Albert Victor died, his sisters Maud and Louise sympathized with Hélène and treated her, not his fiancée Princess Victoria Mary of Teck, as his true love. Maud told her that “he is buried with your little coin around his neck” and Louise said that he is “yours in death”. Hélène later became Duchess of Aosta.

By 1891, another potential bride, Princess Victoria Mary of Teck, was under consideration. Mary was the daughter of Queen Victoria’s first cousin Princess Mary Adelaide of Cambridge, Duchess of Teck. Queen Victoria was very supportive, considering Mary ideal—charming, sensible and pretty.

The Duke of Clarence and Avondale and Princess Victoria Mary of Teck

On December 3, 1891 Albert Victor, to Mary’s “great surprise”, proposed to her at Luton Hoo, the country residence of the Danish ambassador to Britain. The wedding was set for February 27, 1892.

Just as plans for both his marriage to Mary and his appointment as Viceroy of Ireland were under discussion, Albert Victor fell ill with influenza in the pandemic of 1889–1892. He developed pneumonia and died at Sandringham House in Norfolk on 14 January 14, 1892, less than a week after his 28th birthday.

His parents the Prince and Princess of Wales, his sisters Princesses Maud and Victoria, his brother Prince George, his fiancée Princess Mary, her parents the Duke and Duchess of Teck, three physicians (Alan Reeve Manby, Francis Laking and William Broadbent) and three nurses were present. The Prince of Wales’s chaplain, Canon Frederick Hervey, stood over Albert Victor reading prayers for the dying.

The Duke of Clarence and Avondale

The nation was shocked. Shops put up their shutters. The Prince of Wales wrote to Queen Victoria, “Gladly would I have given my life for his”. Princess Mary wrote to Queen Victoria of the Princess of Wales, “the despairing look on her face was the most heart-rending thing I have ever seen.” His younger brother Prince George wrote, “how deeply I did love him; & I remember with pain nearly every hard word & little quarrel I ever had with him & I long to ask his forgiveness, but, alas, it is too late now!”

The Duke of Clarence and Avondale

George took Albert Victor’s place in the line of succession, eventually succeeding to the throne as George V in 1910. Drawn together during their shared period of mourning, Prince George later married Mary himself in 1893. She became queen consort on George’s accession.

Albert Victor’s mother, Alexandra, never fully recovered from her son’s death and kept the room in which he died as a shrine.

December 16, 1485: Birth of Infanta Catherine of Aragon, Queen of England.

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Arthur Tudor, Infanta Catherine of Aragon, Kimbolton Castle, King Fernando II of Aragon, Prince of Wales, Princess of Wales, Queen Isabella I of Castile, Queen Mary I of England, Queen of England, Thomas Cromwell

Infanta Catherine of Aragon (December 16, 1485 – January 7, 1536) was Queen of England as the first wife of King Henry VIII from their marriage on June 11, 1509 until their annulment on May 23, 1533. She was previously Princess of Wales as the wife of Henry’s elder brother, Arthur, Prince of Wales.

The daughter of Queen Isabella I of Castile and King Fernando II of Aragon, Infanta Catherine was three years old when she was betrothed to Prince Arthur, heir apparent to the English throne.

Infanta Catherine of Aragon, Queen of England

They married in 1501, but Arthur died five months later. Catherine spent years in limbo, and during this time, she held the position of ambassador of the Aragonese crown to England in 1507, the first known female ambassador in European history.

She married Arthur’s younger brother, the recently ascended King Henry VIII, in 1509. For six months in 1513, she served as regent of England while Henry VIII was in France. During that time the English crushed and defeated a Scottish invasion at the Battle of Flodden, an event in which Catherine played an important part with an emotional speech about English courage and patriotism.

By 1525, Henry VIII was infatuated with Anne Boleyn and dissatisfied that his marriage to Catherine had produced no surviving sons, leaving their daughter Mary as heir presumptive at a time when there was no established precedent for a woman on the throne.

King Henry VIII sought to have their marriage annulled, setting in motion a chain of events that led to England’s schism with the Catholic Church. When Pope Clement VII refused to annul the marriage, Henry defied him by assuming supremacy over religious matters.

In 1533 their marriage was consequently declared invalid and Henry VIII married Anne on the judgement of clergy in England, without reference to the pope. Catherine refused to accept Henry as supreme head of the Church in England and considered herself the king’s rightful wife and Queen, attracting much popular sympathy.

Portrait by Juan de Flandes thought to be of 11-year-old Catherine. She resembles her sister Joanna of Castile.

Despite this, Henry acknowledged her only as dowager Princess of Wales. After being banished from court by Henry, Catherine lived out the remainder of her life at Kimbolton Castle, dying there in January 1536 of cancer. The English people held Queen Catherine in high esteem, and her death set off tremendous mourning. Her daughter Mary would become the first undisputed English Queen Regnant in 1553.

Catherine commissioned The Education of a Christian Woman by Juan Luis Vives, who dedicated the book, controversial at the time, to the Queen in 1523.

Portrait of a noblewoman, possibly Mary Tudor c. 1514 or Catherine of Aragon c. 1502, by Michael Sittow. Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna.

Such was Catherine’s impression on people that even her adversary Thomas Cromwell said of her, “If not for her sex, she could have defied all the heroes of History.”

She successfully appealed for the lives of the rebels involved in the Evil May Day, for the sake of their families, and also won widespread admiration by starting an extensive programme for the relief of the poor. Catherine was a patron of Renaissance humanism, and a friend of the great scholars Erasmus of Rotterdam and Thomas More.

Are Diana Supporters Stuck In the Past?

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Diana, King Charles III of the United Kingdom, Lady Diana Spencer, Moving On, Prince Charles, Prince of Wales, Princess of Wales, Queen Camilla

From the Emperor’s Desk: I tend not to address to much controversy or even controversial topics. However, I want to address one and that is connected to the hatred toward Queen Camilla from people who loved and admired Diana, Princess of Wales. I see this brought up again and again across social media.

My educational background isn’t just in European History, I have a Master’s Degree in Mental Health Counseling. So today I am wearing that hat.

For people that are upset over Queen Camilla’s role in the demise of the marriage of Diana and Charles, her death is keeping people stuck.

The tragic death of Diana has prevented some people from moving on. They’re stuck back in the past of the divorce between Diana and Charles.

Diana was in a relationship when she died so it looks like she had moved on. But had she lived, she most likely would have remarried and would be having a very meaningful life right now. If that had happened…Diana living a full life… I’m sure all those who loved and admired her would have been able to have closure and move on. They would be able to let go of their anger and resentments towards Camilla, because with Diana alive and happy, there would be no reason to hold onto their anger and resentments.

Also, even though Diana never did live a full life, or longer life, still is not justification for holding onto anger and resentments towards Camilla. The main reason being holding on to anger hurts nobody but yourself. There is an old saying that anger is like holding a hot coal in your hand, it only Burns you. Also, another old saying is, that hanging onto resentment is like drinking poison and hoping the other person dies. Again hanging onto anger and resentment will only harm yourself. Aren’t you important enough to let go of the resentment?

Many divorced couples, though not all, do have a reconciliation where the ex-wife and ex-husband forgive one another and even form a friendship. I know that happened with my ex-wife and I. I firmly believe that Charles and Diana would have arrived at that point too….but sadly her death prevented that which is another component keeping people stuck. If people witnessed Diana and Charles putting the past behind them and moving forward then those who supported Diana would be able to do the same.

So sadly, because people never saw Diana move on and have a full life, many are stuck back in the past unable to move forward. That’s not a good place to be.

August 31, 1997: 25th Anniversary of the Death of Diana, Princess of Wales

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Althorp, Diana Spencer, Earl Spencer, George III of the United Kingdom, Prince Charles, Prince Henry, Prince William, Princess of Wales, Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom, the prince of Wales

Diana, Princess of Wales (July 1, 1961 – August 31, 1997). Diana Frances Spencer was born on July 1, 1961, in Park House, Sandringham, Norfolk. She was the fourth of five children of John Spencer, 8th Earl Spencer (1924–1992), and Frances Spencer, Viscountess Althorp (née Roche; 1936–2004). The Spencer family has been closely allied with the British royal family for several generations; Diana’s grandmothers had served as ladies-in-waiting to Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother.

The Spencers were hoping for a boy to carry on the family line, and no name was chosen for a week, until they settled on Diana Frances. The name Frances was chosen after her mother. Diana was the name chosen after Lady Diana Spencer (1710-1735) daughter of Charles Spencer, 3rd Earl of Sunderland (1675-1722) and his second wife, Anne Spencer, Countess of Sunderland (née Lady Anne Churchill) (1683-1716). This Lady Diana Spencer was a many-times-great-aunt and she was chiefly remembered for the unsuccessful attempt to arrange a marriage between her and Frederick Louis, Prince of Wales (1707-1751) eldest son of King George III of the United Kingdom.

My favorite picture of Diana, Princess of Wales)

As Princess of Wales, Diana undertook royal duties on behalf of the Queen and represented her at functions across the Commonwealth realms. She was celebrated in the media for her unconventional approach to charity work. Her patronages initially centered on children and youth but she later became known for her involvement with AIDS patients and campaign for the removal of landmines.

She also raised awareness and advocated ways to help people affected with cancer and mental illness. As princess, Diana was initially noted for her shyness, but her charisma and friendliness endeared her to the public and helped her reputation survive the acrimonious collapse of her marriage.

Exceptionally photogenic, she was a leader of fashion in the 1980s and 1990s. Media attention and public mourning were extensive after her death in a car crash in a Paris tunnel in 1997 and subsequent televised funeral. Her legacy has had a deep impact on the royal family and British society.

July 1, 1961: Anniversary of the birth of Diana, Princess of Wales

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Earl Spencer, Lady Diana Spencer, Prince Charles, Prince Henry (Harry), Prince William, Princess of Wales, Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother, the prince of Wales

Diana, Princess of Wales (July 1, 1961 – August 31, 1997). Diana Frances Spencer was born on 1 July 1961, in Park House, Sandringham, Norfolk. She was the fourth of five children of John Spencer, 8th Earl Spencer (1924–1992), and Frances Spencer, Viscountess Althorp (née Roche; 1936–2004). The Spencer family has been closely allied with the British royal family for several generations; Diana’s grandmothers had served as ladies-in-waiting to Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother.

The Spencers were hoping for a boy to carry on the family line, and no name was chosen for a week, until they settled on Diana Frances. The name Frances was chosen after her mother. Diana was the name chosen after Lady Diana Spencer (1710-1735) daughter of Charles Spencer, 3rd Earl of Sunderland (1675-1722) and his second wife, Anne Spencer, Countess of Sunderland (née Lady Anne Churchill) (1683-1716). This Lady Diana Spencer was a many-times-great-aunt and she was chiefly remembered for the unsuccessful attempt to arrange a marriage between her and Frederick Louis, Prince of Wales (1707-1751) eldest son of King George III of the United Kingdom.

(My favorite picture of Diana, Princess of Wales)

As Princess of Wales, Diana undertook royal duties on behalf of the Queen and represented her at functions across the Commonwealth realms. She was celebrated in the media for her unconventional approach to charity work. Her patronages initially centered on children and youth but she later became known for her involvement with AIDS patients and campaign for the removal of landmines.

She also raised awareness and advocated ways to help people affected with cancer and mental illness. As princess, Diana was initially noted for her shyness, but her charisma and friendliness endeared her to the public and helped her reputation survive the acrimonious collapse of her marriage.

Exceptionally photogenic, she was a leader of fashion in the 1980s and 1990s. Media attention and public mourning were extensive after her death in a car crash in a Paris tunnel in 1997 and subsequent televised funeral. Her legacy has had a deep impact on the royal family and British society.

May 2nd, 1816: Marriage of Princess Charlotte of Wales and Prince Leopold of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld. Conclusion

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August of Prussia, Carlton House, Duke of Sussex, Friedrich of Prussia, Marlborough House, Prince Augustus, Prince Leopold of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld, Princess Caroline of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel, Princess Charlotte of Wales, Princess of Wales, The Prince Regent

Negotiations over the marriage contract took several months, with Charlotte insisting that she not be required to leave Britain. The diplomats had no desire to see the two thrones united, and so the agreement stated that Britain would go to the couple’s oldest son, while the second son would inherit the Netherlands; if there was only one son, the Netherlands would pass to the German branch of the House of Orange.

On June 10, 1814, Charlotte signed the marriage contract. Charlotte had become besotted with a Prussian prince whose identity is uncertain; according to Charles Greville, it was Prince August, although historian Arthur Aspinall disagreed, thinking that her love interest was the younger Prince Friedrich.

August hi of Prussia (September 19, 1779 – July 19, 1843) was a Prussian royal and general and was the youngest son of Prince Augustus Ferdinand of Prussia and Margravine Elisabeth Louise of Brandenburg-Schwedt. He was also the brother of King Friedrich II the Great of Prussia.

Her suitor Prince Friedrich of Prussia (October 30, 1794 – July 27, 1863) was a Prussian prince and military officer, and the son of Prince Ludwig Charles of Prussia and Duchess Frederica of Mecklenburg-Strelitz, later Queen of Hanover, nephew of King Friedrich Wilhelm III of Prussia and stepson of Ernest Augustus, King of Hanover.

Princess Charlotte of Wales was interested in Friedrich in 1814 and hoped to marry him. The pair met several times. However, the Prince suddenly got engaged to the daughter of Alexius Friedrich Christian, Duke of Anhalt-Bernburg, Princess Louise of Anhalt-Bernburg, whom he married on November 21, 1817 at Ballenstedt.

At a party at the Pulteney Hotel in London, Charlotte met a Lieutenant-General in the Russian cavalry, Prince Leopold of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld. The Princess invited Leopold to call on her, an invitation he took up, remaining for three quarters of an hour, and writing a letter to the Prince Regent apologising for any indiscretion. This letter impressed George very much, although he did not consider the impoverished Leopold as a possible suitor for his daughter’s hand.

Leopold (December 16, 1790 – December 10, 1865) was the youngest son of Duke Franz of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld, Leopold took a commission in the Imperial Russian Army and fought against Napoleon after French troops overran Saxe-Coburg during the Napoleonic Wars. After Napoleon’s defeat, Leopold moved to the United Kingdom.

The Princess of Wales opposed the match between her daughter and the Prince of Orange, and had great public support: when Charlotte went out in public, crowds would urge her not to abandon her mother by marrying the Prince of Orange.

Charlotte informed the Prince of Orange that if they wed, her mother would have to be welcome in their home—a condition sure to be unacceptable to the Prince Regent.When the Prince of Orange would not agree, Charlotte broke off the engagement. Her father’s response was to order that Charlotte remain at her residence at Warwick House (adjacent to Carlton House) until she could be conveyed to Cranbourne Lodge at Windsor, where she would be allowed to see no one except the Queen.

When told of this, Charlotte raced out into the street. A man, seeing her distress from a window, helped the inexperienced Princess find a hackney cab, in which she was conveyed to her mother’s house. Caroline was visiting friends and hastened back to her house, while Charlotte summoned Whig politicians to advise her.

A number of family members also gathered, including her uncle, the Duke of York—with a warrant in his pocket to secure her return by force if need be. After lengthy arguments, the Whigs advised her to return to her father’s house, which she did the next day.

Isolation and Courtship

The story of Charlotte’s flight and return was soon the talk of the town; Henry Brougham, a former MP and future Whig Lord Chancellor, reported “All are against the Prince”, and the Opposition press made much of the tale of the runaway Princess. Despite an emotional reconciliation with his daughter, the Prince Regent soon had her conveyed to Cranbourne Lodge, where her attendants were under orders never to let her out of their sight.

She was able to smuggle a note out to her favourite uncle, Prince Augustus, Duke of Sussex. The Duke responded by questioning the Tory Prime Minister, Lord Liverpool, in the House of Lords.

He asked whether Charlotte was free to come and go, whether she was allowed to go to the seaside as doctors had recommended for her in the past, and now that she was eighteen, whether the government planned to give her a separate establishment. Liverpool evaded the questions, and the Duke was summoned to Carlton House and castigated by the Prince Regent, who never spoke with his brother again.

Despite her isolation, Charlotte found life at Cranbourne Lodge surprisingly agreeable, and slowly became reconciled to her situation. At the end of July 1814, the Prince Regent visited Charlotte in her isolation and informed her that her mother was about to leave England for an extended stay on the Continent.This upset Charlotte, but she did not feel that anything she might say could change her mother’s mind, and was further aggrieved by her mother’s casualness in the leavetaking, “for God knows how long, or what events may occur before we meet again”. Charlotte would never see her mother again.

In late August, Charlotte was permitted to go to the seaside. She had asked to go to fashionable Brighton, but the Prince Regent refused, sending her instead to Weymouth. As the Princess’s coach stopped along along the way, large, friendly crowds gathered to see her; according to Holme, “her affectionate welcome shows that already people thought of her as their future Queen”.

On arrival in Weymouth, there were illuminations with a centrepiece “Hail Princess Charlotte, Europe’s Hope and Britain’s Glory”. Charlotte spent time exploring nearby attractions, shopping for smuggled French silks, and from late September taking a course of heated seawater baths. She was still infatuated with her Prussian, and hoped in vain that he would declare his interest in her to the Prince Regent.

If he did not do so, she wrote to a friend, she would “take the next best thing, which was a good tempered man with good sence [sic] … that man is the P of S-C” [Prince of Saxe-Coburg, i.e. Leopold]. In mid-December, shortly before leaving Weymouth, she “had a very sudden and great shock” when she received news that her Prussian had formed another attachment. In a long talk after Christmas dinner, father and daughter made up their differences.

In the early months of 1815, Charlotte fixed on Leopold (or as she termed him, “the Leo”) as a spouse. Her father refused to give up hope that Charlotte would agree to marry the Prince of Orange. However, Charlotte wrote, “No arguments, no threats, shall ever bend me to marry this detested Dutchman.”Faced with the united opposition of the Royal Family, George finally gave in and dropped the idea of marriage to the Prince of Orange, who became engaged to Grand Duchess Anna Pavlovna of Russia that summer.

Charlotte contacted Leopold through intermediaries, and found him receptive, but with Napoleon renewing the conflict on the Continent, Leopold was with his regiment fighting.In July, shortly before returning to Weymouth, Charlotte formally requested her father’s permission to marry Leopold. The Prince Regent replied that with the unsettled political situation on the Continent, he could not consider such a request.

To Charlotte’s frustration, Leopold did not come to Britain after the restoration of peace, even though he was stationed in Paris, which she deemed to be only a short journey from Weymouth or London.In January 1816, the Prince Regent invited his daughter to the Royal Pavilion in Brighton, and she pleaded with him to allow the marriage.

On her return to Windsor, she wrote her father, “I no longer hesitate in declaring my partiality in favour of the Prince of Coburg—assuring you that no one will be more steady or consistent in this their present & last engagement than myself.”George gave in and summoned Leopold, who was in Berlin en route to Russia, to Britain. Leopold arrived in Britain in late February 1816, and went to Brighton to be interviewed by the Prince Regent. After Charlotte was invited as well, and had dinner with Leopold and her father, she wrote:

I find him charming, and go to bed happier than I have ever done yet in my life … I am certainly a very fortunate creature, & have to bless God. A Princess never, I believe, set out in life (or married) with such prospects of happiness, real domestic ones like other people.

The Prince Regent was impressed by Leopold, and told his daughter that Leopold “had every qualification to make a woman happy”. Charlotte was sent back to Cranbourne on March 2, leaving Leopold with the Prince Regent.

On 14 March, an announcement was made in the British House of Commons to great acclaim, with both parties relieved to have the drama of the Princess’s romances at an end. Parliament voted through a bill naturalising Leopold as a British citizen, awarded him £50,000 per year (equivalent to £3.91 million in 2020), purchased Claremont House for the couple, and allowed them a generous single payment to set up house.

George also contemplated making Leopold a Royal Duke, the Duke of Kendal, though the plan was abandoned due to government fears that it would draw Leopold into party politics and suggestions that becoming a ‘mere duchess’ would be viewed as a demotion for Charlotte.

Fearful of a repetition of the Orange fiasco, George limited Charlotte’s contact with Leopold; when Charlotte returned to Brighton, he allowed them to meet only at dinner, and never let them be alone together.

The marriage ceremony was set for May 2, 1816. On the wedding day, huge crowds filled London; the wedding participants had great difficulties in travelling. At nine o’clock in the evening in the Crimson Drawing Room at Carlton House, with Leopold dressing for the first time as a British General (the Prince Regent wore the uniform of a Field Marshal), the couple were married.Charlotte’s wedding dress cost over £10,000 (equivalent to £782,579 in 2020).

The only mishap was during the ceremony, when Charlotte was heard to giggle when the impoverished Leopold promised to endow her with all his worldly goods.MarriageThe couple honeymooned at Oatlands Palace, the Duke of York’s residence in Surrey. Neither was well and the house was filled with the Yorks’ dogs and the odour of animals. Nevertheless, the Princess wrote that Leopold was “the perfection of a lover”.

Two days after the marriage, they were visited by the Prince Regent at Oatlands; he spent two hours describing the details of military uniforms to Leopold, which according to Charlotte “is a great mark of the most perfect good humour”.

Princess Charlotte and her husband returned to London for the social season, and when they attended the theatre, they were invariably treated to wild applause from the audience and the singing of “God Save the King” from the company.

The couple lived initially at Camelford House on Park Lane, and then at Marlborough House on Pall Mall.

The Life of Augusta of Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg, Dowager Princess of Wales. Conclusion

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Augusta of Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg, Carlton House, Caroline Matilda of Great Britain, King Christian VII of Denmark and Norway, King George III of Great Britain, Lord Bute, Louise von Plessen, Princess of Wales

Augusta had an acknowledged political influence upon her son when he first came to the thronein 1760. The King “strove to follow the counsels she gave”, and in which he trusted. Reportedly, she was in turn influenced by Lord Bute, who was appointed prime minister with her support in 1762. His appointment caused a serious crisis and exposed both Augusta and Bute to such public hostility that Bute had to resign from his post the following year.

Thackeray described the public sentiments and the circulating rumours: “Bute was hated with a rage there have been few examples in English history. He was the butt for everybody’s abuse; for Wilkes, for Churchill’s slashing satire, for the hooting of the mob who roasted his booth, his emblem, in a thousand bonfires; that hated him because he was a favourite and a Scotsman, calling him Mortimer, Lothario, and I known not what names, and accusing his royal mistress of all kinds of names – the grave, lean, demure, elderly woman, who, I dare say, was quite as good as her neighbours.

Chatham lent the aide of his great malice to influence the popular sentiment against her. He assailed, in the House of Lords, ‘The secret influence, more mighty than the throne itself, which betrayed and dogged every administration’. The most furious pamphlets echoed the cry ‘Impeach the King’s mother’, was scribbled over every wall at the Court end of the town”.

When the King had a first, temporary, bout of mental illness in 1765, Augusta and Lord Bute kept Queen Charlotte unaware of the situation. The Regency Bill of 1765 stated that if the King should become permanently unable to rule, Charlotte was to become Regent. Augusta was suggested as regent, but there was fierce opposition to her appointment, as there were concerns of the influence of Lord Bute in her potential regency, and fears that should she become regent, Bute would de facto rule as “King”.

Augusta reportedly resented the marriages of her younger sons, which took place without her consent.

In 1769, Christian VII of Denmark, the spouse of her daughter Caroline Matilda, visited Great Britain. During his visit, Augusta, upon the initiative of Caroline Matilda, asked him publicly during a dinner to reinstate Louise von Plessen, a favourite of Caroline Matilda whom Christian had fired, to her position.

King Christian answered that he had made a sacred vow never to do so, but that if Caroline Matilda preferred von Plessen’s company over his, so be it. In the end, Louise von Plessen was not reinstated, and Augusta apparently asked Caroline Matilda not to press the matter and to show more affection to Christian.

In 1770, rumors about Caroline Matilda, the Queen of Denmark, began to circulate. In particular these concerned the mental state of her spouse as well as the fall of prime minister Bernstorff, in which Caroline Matilda was rumoured to have participated.

When Augusta visited her eldest daughter in Brunswick that year, she also took the opportunity to see Caroline Matilda, who received her in breeches, which at that time was regarded as scandalous. Upon Augusta’s lamentations, her daughter answered: “Pray, madam, allow me to govern my own kingdom as I please!”

Augusta died of cancer of the throat at age 52 at Carlton House.

The life of Princess Augusta of Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg, Princess of Wales

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Augusta of Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg, Caroline of Brandenburg-Ansbach, Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz., Dowager Princess of Wales, George II of Great Britain, George III of Great Britain, Princess of Wales, William of Cumberland

When Augusta’s first pregnancy was announced, Queen Caroline stated that she would be sure to witness the birth, to be assured that the pregnancy was indeed genuine. She reportedly wished the succession to pass to her second son, Prince William, Duke of Cumberland.

The birth of their first daughter, Princess Augusta, on July 31, 1737, took place at St James’s after Princess Augusta was forced by Frederick Louis to travel from Hampton Court Palace while in labour, in order to prevent his hated parents from being present at the birth. The delivery was traumatic: St James palace was not ready to receive them, no bed was prepared, no sheets could be found, and Augusta was forced to give birth on a tablecloth. Queen Caroline once said of her daughter-in-law and the inconveniences she had inflicted on her: “Poor creature, were she to spit in my face, I should only pity her for being under such a fool’s direction, and wipe it off.”

The circumstances of the birth of Princess Augusta led to a dispute between the Prince and Princess of Wales and the King and Queen, who were not reconciled until public opinion during the Jacobite rebellion on 1745 pressured them to. After the reconciliation, the couple became less isolated from high society, allowing courtiers to appear at both courts without giving offence. Augusta made a good impression in society life, where she was described as pretty, elegant, and a gracious hostess. On some occasions, the children of Augusta were made to give amateur theater performances for their guests, notably on January 4, 1749, when George, Augusta, Elizabeth, Edward and some of their playmates acted in the tragedy of Cato.

Princess Dowager

On March 31, 1751, Frederick Louis unexpectedly died, making Augusta a widow. Dr. Doran described her at the death of her spouse: “She had, throughout her married life exhibited much mental superiority, with great kindness of disposition, and that under circumstances of great difficulty, and sometimes of a character to inflict vexation on the calmest nature.

She was then the mother of eight children, expecting shortly to be the mother of a ninth, and she was brought reluctantly to knowledge that their father was no more. It was six in the morning before her attendants could persuade her to retire to bed; but she arose again at eight, and then, with less thought for her grief than her anxiety for the honor of him whose death was the cause of it, she proceeded to the Prince’s room, and burned all of his private papers. By this the world lost some rare supplementary chapters to the Cronique Scandaleuse!”

King George II reportedly did not show much feeling upon the death of his son and the funeral was simple. On receiving the king’s condolences, Augusta replied that she placed herself and her children upon his mercy and protection, and he was evidently touched by her widowhood and minor children, and was willing to show them consideration.

Following Frederick Louis’ death, her role as mother of the heir-apparent to the throne became a more prominent one, and she was named prospective regent by the king and the parliament, should the king die during the minority of Augusta’s eldest son, the Prince of Wales.

This caused a controversy and opposition from Prince William, Duke of Cumberland, who had expected to be given that role instead.

During the remaining years of the reign of George II, Augusta chose to live in seclusion with her children, devoting herself to their care. The few occasions when she did appear in public, the king gave her the same ceremonial role and honours previously given to the queen, and she was honored the same way by the public as well as the court.

However, Augusta suffered a loss of popularity as a widow. She was to be criticised for her manner of raising her children, as she isolated them from the outside world into a secluded family environment, seldom meeting people outside the family.

Shortly after being widowed, she began to be influenced by John Stuart, 3rd Earl of Bute, her son’s tutor, and rumours spread that they were having an affair. This was due to her being adamant that Bute was visiting her, and not her son, during his back door visits to tutor the prince. Both were pilloried in the press.

As her eldest son came of age, the king attempted to arrange a marriage. His favoured choice was Princess Sophie Caroline of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel, but Augusta refused, favouring a member of her own family, the House of Saxe-Gotha. Sophie Caoline married Friedrich, Margrave of Bayreuth, instead.

On October 25, 1760, her son succeeded his grandfather as George III. The year after his succession, he married Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz. Charlotte was the youngest daughter of Duke Charles Ludwig Friedrich of Mecklenburg, Prince of Mirow (1708–1752) and of his wife Princess Elisabeth Albertine of Saxe-Hildburghausen (1713–1761).

Augusta’s relationship with her daughter-in-law was not a good one. Augusta reportedly made it difficult for Charlotte to establish social contacts by referring to court etiquette. Furthermore, she initially appointed a large part of Charlotte’s court staff, several of whom were suspected of reporting to Augusta about Charlotte’s behaviour. When Charlotte turned to her German companions for friends, she was criticised by Augusta for keeping favourites, notably her close confidant Juliane von Schwellenberg.

November 30, 1719: Birth of Princess Augusta of Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg, Princess of Wales. Part I

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Elector of Hanover, Frederick Louis of Great Britain, Frederick the Great of Prussia, Frederick William I of Prussia, George II, King of Great Britain, Lady Diana Spencer, Prince of Wales, Princess Augusta of Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg, Princess of Wales

Princess Augusta of Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg (November 30, 1719 – 8 February 8, 1772) was Princess of Wales by marriage to Frederick Louis, Prince of Wales, son and heir of King George II of Great Britain. She never became queen consort, as Frederick Louis predeceased his father in 1751. Augusta’s eldest son succeeded her father-in-law as King George III in 1760. After her spouse died, Augusta was presumptive regent of Great Britain in the event of a regency until her son reached majority in 1756.

Early life

Princess Augusta was born in Gotha to Friedrich II, Duke of Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg (1676–1732) and Magdalena Augusta of Anhalt-Zerbst (1679–1740). Her paternal grandfather was Friedrich I, Duke of Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg, eldest surviving son of Ernst I, Duke of Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg.

In 1736, it was proposed that she marry 29-year-old Frederick Louis, Prince of Wales, eldest son of George II of Great Britain and his queen consort Caroline of Brandenburg-Ansbach. Originally, Frederick Louis intended to marry the eldest daughter of the King Friedrich Wilhelm I in Prussia.

A marriage alliance between Great Britain and Prussia had been an ambition for many years. However, when George II suggested that his eldest son would marry Louisa Ulrika of Prussia the eldest (unmarried) daughter of the King Friedrich Wilhelm I in Prussia, while George II’s second (unmarried) daughter, Amelia, would marry the eldest son of the Prussian king, future Friedrich II the Great, and King Friedrich Wilhelm I in Prussia demanded that his eldest son should likewise marry the eldest (unmarried) daughter, Anne, of the King of Great Britain, and George II refused to agree to this demand.

Princess Louisa Ulrika of Prussia ended up marying Adolf Fredrik, King of Sweden. Princess Amelia of Great Britain remained unmarried, while her sister Princess Anne married Willem IV, Prince of Orange. Friedrich II the Great of Prussia marriage Duchess Elisabeth Christine of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel-Bevern, daughter of Duke Ferdinand Albert II Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel and his cousin Duchess Antoinette of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel in 1733. Elisabeth was the niece of Empress Elisabeth Christine of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel, wife of Holy Roman Emperor Charles VI.

Around the time the Prussian plan was cancelled, there were rumours that Frederick Louis might marry Lady Diana Spencer, granddaughter of the Duchess of Marlborough, and that such a marriage had been proposed when he visited the duchess’s lodge at Richmond. Queen Caroline felt a need to arrange a marriage for her son quickly, in order to preempt any possibility of such a mésalliance. She therefore suggested to the king that, when he next visited Hanover, he should also visit Saxe-Gotha and view the princesses there.

The king did so, and informed the queen that he considered Augusta suitable. When the matter was broached with Frederick, he simply replied that he would accept any bride his father decided was suitable for him. His attitude arose from a desire to obtain an additional allowance from Parliament to be financially independent of his father.

Augusta did not speak French or English, and it was suggested that she be given lessons before the wedding, but her mother did not consider it necessary as the British royal family were from Germany. She arrived in Britain, speaking virtually no English, for a wedding ceremony which took place almost immediately, on May 8, 1736, at the Chapel Royal in St James’s Palace, London.

Princess of Wales

Augusta of Saxe-Gotha left Hellevoetsluis April 17, 1736 and arrived at Greenwich on the royal yacht William and Mary on the 25th, where she was welcomed by her groom. On April 27, 1736, she was escorted to St James’s Palace, London, where she met the rest of the royal family, followed by the wedding ceremony at the Royal Chapel. When she was introduced to the royal family, she made a favorable impression on the king and queen by throwing herself on the floor before them in a gesture of submission.

During the first year of marriage, Augusta could be seen playing with her doll in the windows of her residence, until her sister-in-law, Princess Caroline, told her to stop. Frederick Louis took advantage of her inexperience when he had his then lover, Lady Archibald Hamilton, employed as her lady of the bedchamber after convincing her that there was no truth in the rumour of his affair. Augusta and Frederick Louis had nine children, the last born after Frederick Louis’s death.

Frederick Louis once stated that he would never allow himself to be influenced by his consort as his father was, and he thus never made Augusta his confidante. He did, however, instruct her to act in accordance with his wishes in his feud with his parents, and on several occasions, Frederick Louis reportedly instructed her to snub them.

When she attended the service of the German Lutheran Chapel, for example, which was also attended by the queen, Frederick instructed Augusta to make sure she always arrived after the queen, so that she would be forced to push in front of the queen to reach her place. This eventually made the queen insist that Augusta should be directed to her place by another entrance, which in turn caused Frederick Louis to instruct Augusta to refuse to enter the Chapel if the queen had arrived before her.

October 13, 1928: Death of Empress Maria Feodorovna of Russia. The former Dagmar of Denmark. Part I.

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Alexandra of Denmark, Dagmar of Denmark, Emperor Alexander III of Russia, Emperor Nicholas II of Russia, Empress Maria Feodorovna of Russia, George I of the Hellenes, King Christian IX of Denmark, Louise of Hesse-Cassel, Princess of Wales, Russian Empire, Tsarevich Nicholas Alexandrovich of Russia

Maria Feodorovna (November 26, 1847 – October 13, 1928), known before her marriage as Princess Dagmar of Denmark, was a Danish princess who became Empress of Russia as spouse of Emperor Alexander III (reigned 1881–1894).

She was the second daughter and fourth child of King Christian IX of Denmark (r. 1863–1906) and of Louise of Hesse-Cassel. Louise was born as the daughter of Prince Wilhelm of Hesse-Cassel and Princess Charlotte of Denmark. Charlotte of Denmark watithe daughter of Frederik, Hereditary Prince of Denmark and Norway, and Sophia Frederica of Mecklenburg-Schwerin.

From L to R. Dagmar, Wilhelm, Alexandra. Seated King Christian IX of Denmark

Charlotte played some part in the succession crisis which occurred because her half first cousin, King Frederik VI of Denmark, lacked a male heir. In 1839, her brother Christian VIII of Denmark succeeded their cousin on the throne, and during his reign, Charlotte had an important position at the Danish royal court in Copenhagen because her brother favored that her line of the family should succeed to the throne after his male line had died out. This meant Louise of Hesse-Cassel had a better hereditary claim to the throne than her husband King ChristianIX of Denmark. But I digress. I have written about this elsewhere on the blog.

Due to the brilliant marital alliances of his children, King Christian IX became known as the “Father-in-law of Europe.” Dagmar’s eldest brother would succeed his father as King Frederik VIII of Denmark (one of whose sons would be elected as King Haakon VII of Norway).

Dagmar’s elder, and favourite, sister, Alexandra married Albert Edward, the Prince of Wales (the future King Edward VII) in March 1863. Alexandra, along with being queen consort of King Edward VII, was also mother of George V of the United Kingdom, which helps to explain the striking resemblance between their sons Nicholas II and George V.

Within months of Alexandra’s marriage, Dagmar’s second older brother, Wilhelm, was elected as King George I of the Hellenes. Wilhelm actually became King a few months before his father succeeded to the Danish throne. Her younger sister was Princess Thyra, who became Duchess of Cumberland with her marriage to Ernst August of Hanover, Duke of Cumberland and a straight male line descendant of George III, King of the United Kingdom and Hanover.

Princess Dagmar of Denmark

Dagmar also had another younger brother, Valdemar. He had a lifelong naval career. He was paternal uncle of Prince Andrew of Greece and Denmark, father of Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh. He married Princess Marie d’Orleans on October 22, 1885 at the Château d’Eu, the residence of Prince Philippe, Count of Paris. Marie was the eldest child of Robert, duke of Chartres, and his wife, Princess Françoise d’Orléans. I will write more on Prince Valdemar later this month.

Dagmar was known for her beauty. Princess Mary Adelaide of Cambridge said that Dagmar was “sweetly pretty” and commented favorably on her “splendid dark eyes.” Her fiancee Tsarevich Nicholas Alexandrovich was enthusiastic about her beauty. He wrote to his mother that “she is even prettier in real life than in the portraits that we had seen so far. Her eyes speak for her: they are so kind, intelligent, animated.”

Due to the rise of Slavophile ideology in the Russian Empire, Alexander II of Russia searched for a bride for the heir apparent, Tsarevich Nicholas Alexandrovich, in countries other than the German states that had traditionally provided consorts for the tsars. In 1864, Nicholas, or “Nixa” as he was known in his family, went to Denmark and proposed to Dagmar. Her future mother-in-law Maria Alexandrovna (Marie of Hesse) gave her a pearl necklace and Nicholas gave her diamonds. In total, the betrothal gifts Dagmar received from her future in-laws cost 1.5 million rubles.

Dagmar of Denmark and Tsarevich Nicholas Alexandrovich

In April, Nicholas grew gravely ill with cerebrospinal meningitis. Alexander II of Russia sent a telegram to Dagmar: “Nicholas has received the Last Rites. Pray for us and come if you can.” On April 22, 1865, Nicholas died in the presence of his parents, brothers, and Dagmar. His last wish was that Dagmar would marry his younger brother, the future Alexander III.

Dagmar was devastated by Nicholas’ death. Nicholas’ parents struggled to “pull Princess Dagmar away from the corpse and carry her out.” She was so heartbroken when she returned to her homeland that her relatives were seriously worried about her health.

She had already become emotionally attached to Russia and often thought of the huge, remote country that was to have been her home. Many were sympathetic towards Dagmar. Princess Mary Adelaide of Cambridge wrote of “poor dear Minny’s sorrow and the blight which has fallen upon her young life.” Queen Victoria wrote “how terrible for poor Dagmar… the poor parents and bride are most deeply to be pitied.”

Princess Dagmar of Denmark

Alexander II of Russia and Maria Alexandrovna had grown fond of Dagmar, and they wanted her to marry their new heir, Tsarevich Alexander. In an affectionate letter, Alexander II told Dagmar that he hoped she would still consider herself a member of their family. Maria Alexandrovna tried to convince Louise of Hesse-Kassel to send Dagmar to Russia immediately, but Louise insisted that Dagmar must “strengthen her nerves… [and] avoid emotional upsets.”

In June 1866, Tsarevich Alexander visited Copenhagen with his brothers Grand Duke Vladimir and Grand Duke Alexei. While looking over photographs of Nicholas, Alexander asked Dagmar if “she could love him after having loved Nixa, to whom they were both devoted.” She answered that she could love no one but him, because he had been so close to his brother. Alexander recalled that “we both burst into tears… [and] I told her that my dear Nixa helped us much in this situation and that now of course he prays about our happiness.”

Dagmar converted to Orthodoxy and became Grand Duchess Maria Feodorovna of Russia. The lavish wedding took place on November 9, 1866 in the Imperial Chapel of the Winter Palace in Saint Petersburg. Financial constraints had prevented her parents from attending the wedding, and in their stead, they sent her brother, Crown Prince Frederick. Her brother-in-law, the Prince of Wales, had also travelled to Saint Petersburg for the ceremony; pregnancy had prevented the Princess of Wales from attending.

Dagmar of Denmark and Tsarevich Alexander Alexandrovich

After the wedding night, Alexander wrote in his diary, “I took off my slippers and my silver embroidered robe and felt the body of my beloved next to mine… How I felt then, I do not wish to describe here. Afterwards we talked for a long time.” After the many wedding parties were over the newlyweds moved into the Anichkov Palace in Saint Petersburg where they were to live for the next 15 years, when they were not taking extended holidays at their summer villa Livadia in the Crimean Peninsula.

Maria and Alexander had an exceptionally happy marriage. She was widely recognized as “the only person on the face of the earth in whom the Autocrat of all the Russias puts any real trust. In his gentle consort, he has unlimited confidence.” Despite her anti-Russian sentiments, Queen Victoria wrote favorably about Maria and Alexander’s marriage. She wrote that “[Maria] seems quite happy and contented with her fat, good-natured husband who seems far more attentive and kind to her than one would have thought….I think they are very domestic and happy and attached to each other; he makes a very good husband.”