Alexandra von Hannover and Cumberland

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Grand Duchess Alexandra

Princess Alexandra of Hanover and Cumberland , full name Alexandra Louise Marie Olga Elisabeth Therese Vera of Hanover and Cumberland (born September 29, 1882 at Ort Castle in Gmunden ; † August 30, 1963 at Glücksburg Castle in Glücksburg ) was a member of the House of Hanover and by marriage the last Grand Duchess of Mecklenburg-Schwerin .

Life

Alexandra was the second daughter of six children of the Duke of Cumberland and last Crown Prince of the Kingdom of Hanover , Ernst August von Hanover (1845-1923) (1845-1923), and his wife of Princess Thyra of Denmark (1853-1933), the youngest Daughter of King Christian IX. from Denmark.

Wedding picture, 1904
5 mark coin for the wedding

She grew up with her siblings in Gmunden, exile in Austria. She met her future husband at one of the many family gatherings. On June 7, 1904, she married the Hereditary Grand Duke Friedrich Franz IV of Mecklenburg-Schwerin (1882–1945), the only son of Grand Duke Friedrich Franz III, at Cumberland Castle in Gmunden . and the Russian Grand Duchess Anastasia Mikhailovna Romanova .

On the occasion of the wedding in 1904, the Mecklenburg government had new two- and five-mark pieces and put them into circulation. On the front, next to their heads, is the inscription: "Friedrich Franz - Alexandra Grand Duke and Grand Duchess of Mecklenburg-Schwerin 7th VI." The reverse shows the famous imperial eagle.

Five children emerged from the mutual connection:

⚭ 1941 Karin Elisabeth von Schaper (1920–2012)
⚭ 1954 Barbara Princess of Prussia (1920–1994)
  • Olga (1916–1917), Duchess of Mecklenburg
  • Thyra Anastasia Alexandrine (1919–1981), Duchess of Mecklenburg
  • Anastasia Alexandrine Cecilie (1922–1979), Duchess of Mecklenburg
⚭ 1943 Friedrich Ferdinand of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glücksburg (1913–1989)

Due to the early death of her daughter Olga, who died at only six weeks, the Grand Duchess turned to improving medical care for children from 1917 onwards. For this purpose, the "Olga Foundation" was established, which raised funds for a "State Committee for Infant and Young Child Care". The committee, which was under the patronage of the Grand Duchess, was named after her "Alexandrawerk". The Alexandrawerk, which was close to the Diakonie, sat down u. a. for the increased training of baby nurses and aftercare midwives and built an infant home in Schwerin- Ostorf in 1919.

Alexandra was lifelong friends with her husband's younger sister, Crown Princess Cecilie (1886–1954), the wife of the last German Crown Prince . At the same time she was related by marriage to the Kaiserhaus Hohenzollern through her younger brother Ernst August (1887–1953), the last ruling Duke of Braunschweig, who married Princess Viktoria Luise of Prussia in 1913 , the only daughter of Kaiser Wilhelm II .

Name in different phases of life

  • 1882–1904 Her Royal Highness Princess Alexandra of Hanover and Cumberland, Princess of Great Britain and Ireland
  • 1884–1904 Her Royal Highness Princess Alexandra of Hanover and Cumberland, Princess of Great Britain and Ireland, Duchess of Braunschweig-Lüneburg
  • 1904–1918 Her Royal Highness Grand Duchess Alexandra of Mecklenburg-Schwerin
  • 1918–1963 Alexandra Grand Duchess of Mecklenburg

literature

  • Alison Weir: Britain's Royal Family: A Complete Genealogy . The Bodley Head, London 1999
  • Bernd Kasten : The last Grand Duke - Friedrich Franz IV. Of Mecklenburg-Schwerin (1882–1945) . In: Mecklenburgische Jahrbücher. Vol. 122, 2007, pp. 253-285.
  • Harald Jenner: Inner Mission and Diakonie in Mecklenburg , Volume 1, Wittig 1998, p. 122 f.
  • "State Committee for Infant and Young Child Care in Mecklenburg (Alexandrawerk and Olga Foundation)", Schwerin 1917 (Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania State Library)

Web links

Commons : Alexandra von Hannover and Cumberland  - Collection of pictures, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Mecklenburg wedding money In: Vaterstädtische Blätter . Year 1904, No. 41, edition of October 9, 1904, p. 167.
  2. ↑ On September 22, 1967, the couple divorced, but remarried on April 27, 1977 at Glücksburg Castle.
  3. ^ Jörg Kirschstein: Crown Princess Cecilie. A picture biography. Berlin 2004, p. 109.
  4. ^ Image of the tombstone
personal data
SURNAME Alexandra von Hannover and Cumberland
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Alexandra Louise Marie Olga Elisabeth Therese Vera of Hanover and Cumberland, as well as Princess of Great Britain and Ireland, Duchess of Braunschweig-Lüneburg; Alexandra of Mecklenburg; Alexandra of Mecklenburg-Schwerin
BRIEF DESCRIPTION last Grand Duchess of Mecklenburg-Schwerin
DATE OF BIRTH September 29, 1882
PLACE OF BIRTH Ort Castle , Gmunden
DATE OF DEATH August 30, 1963
Place of death Glücksburg Castle , Glücksburg