Beatrice of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha

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Princess Beatrice of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha around 1904

Princess Beatrice Leopoldine Victoria of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha , as well as Princess of Great Britain and Ireland VA (born  April 20,  1884 in Eastwell Park , Kent , † July 13, 1966 in Sanlúcar de Barrameda , Spain ) was a member of the British royal family and through Marriage of Princess d'Orléans-Bourbon.

Early life

Princess Beatrice was the youngest daughter of Duke Alfred von Saxe-Coburg and Gotha , the second eldest son of Queen Victoria , and his wife Grand Duchess Maria Alexandrovna Romanowa , daughter of Tsar Alexander II of Russia . So she was a member of the British royal family as well as the German house of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, and finally married into the Spanish royal family. It was on 17 May 1884 by the Reverend William Lloyd on the name Beatrice Leopoldine Victoria baptized. She got her first name in honor of her aunt Beatrice , who was one of her godparents. Leopoldine after her uncle Leopold , who died in a riding accident around a month before she was born, and Victoria after her paternal grandmother.

Beatrice spent much of her youth in Malta , where her father was stationed as a naval officer. Within the family she was called "Baby Bee". After the death of her childless great-uncle, Duke Ernst II of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha on August 22, 1893, the title fell to Beatrice's father. The family then moved to their new home in Coburg .

Adulthood and marriage

Princess Beatrice with her future husband Alfonso d'Orleans-Bourbon, 1906

In 1902 Beatrice had a relationship with the Grand Duke Mikhail Alexandrowitsch Romanow , younger brother of the Russian Tsar Nicholas II and at the time in the first place of the Russian throne. However, a marriage did not materialize because the Orthodox Church forbade marriage between first cousins. It was later said that Beatrice would become King Alfonso XIII. from Spain to get married. However, when he married her cousin Princess Victoria Eugénie von Battenberg in 1906 , this turned out to be a rumor. At the wedding, however, Beatrice was to meet her future husband, Prince Alfonso d'Orléans-Bourbon , a cousin of King Alfonso. The Spanish royal family was anything but happy about this connection and made it clear early on that if a marriage were to occur, the couple would have to go into exile. The wedding took place on July 15, 1909 in Coburg, according to Catholic and Protestant rites. Until the couple was allowed to return to Spain in 1912 , Alfonso and Beatrice lived in Coburg.

Life in exile

The marriage of King Alfonso XIII. was very unhappy, he had affairs with other women and several illegitimate children. So it came about that Beatrice was also accused of having an affair with the king. Although this was never proven, the king's mother, Maria Christina , insisted on sending Beatrice again into exile . The family then lived in England. The Spanish royal family finally gave in and they were allowed to return to Spain, where they settled in Sanlúcar de Barrameda .

Prince Alfonso d'Orléans-Bourbon holds his son Alvaro, around 1910

The reaction of the Spanish people to the King Alfonso XIII. Active support of the military dictatorship Primo de Riveras led to the collapse of the Spanish monarchy in 1931 and the loss of a large part of the property of the Spanish royal family. Beatrice and Alfonso lost their residence, their son Alonso died in the Spanish Civil War .

Beatrice died on July 13, 1966 in Sanlúcar de Barrameda.

progeny

  1. Alvaro Antonio Fernando Carlos Felipe (born April 20, 1910 - † August 22, 1997)
  2. Alonso María Cristino Justo (May 28, 1912 - November 18, 1936), killed in the Spanish Civil War
  3. Ataúlfo Alejandro Isabelo Carlos (born October 20, 1913 - † October 4, 1974)

Web links

Commons : Beatrice von Sachsen-Coburg and Gotha  - Collection of images, videos and audio files