Louise of Great Britain and Ireland
Princess Louise Victoria Alexandra Dagmar of Great Britain and Ireland VA (born February 20, 1867 in Marlborough House , London , † January 4, 1931 in London) was a British princess. Her father was the Prince of Wales, later Edward VII , her mother Princess Alexandra of Denmark ; her brother became King of Great Britain as George V. She was the fifth daughter of a British monarch who was bestowed the title Princess Royal .
Childhood and youth
During her third pregnancy, Princess Alexandra fell ill with rheumatic fever . Her condition worsened, so the doctors recommended that she be treated with chloroform . Alexandra refused to take any form of pain medication to protect her unborn child. After the birth of her daughter Louise on February 20, 1867, Alexandra suffered violent attacks of fever and struggled with severe pain. The fever threatened her life, but she recovered. However, the disease left her with a stiff or paralyzed leg. Louise, the third child and the eldest daughter of her parents, had survived the birth well.
On May 10, 1867, she was baptized at Marlborough House by Archbishop of Canterbury Charles Longley. She was named Louise Victoria Alexandra Dagmar . Your godparents were u. a. King George I of Greece , Crown Prince Friedrich of Prussia (later Emperor Friedrich III), Queen Louise of Denmark , Princess Augusta Karoline of Cambridge , Princess Dagmar of Denmark (later Tsarina Maria Fyodorovna of Russia) and the princesses Alice , Helena and Louise , her father's sisters.
The princess spent happy and sheltered childhood and youth with her closest family. She spent most of her childhood at Sandringham House , her parents' country home in Norfolk . In addition, she often stayed in Denmark with her maternal grandparents. Contrary to the customs of the time, her mother Alexandra looked after her children intensively. She wanted her daughters to stay at home for as long as possible. Because of this, Louise developed into a shy young girl who had little contact with her peers. She maintained a close relationship with her younger sisters Victoria and Maud . The three girls formed a unit and always did many things together. This earned them the nickname "Whispering Wales Girls" .
Unlike her mother, who was considered one of the most beautiful women of her time, Louise was rather unattractive. The princess got the nasty nickname "The Hag." In public she was perceived as fearful and reluctant. Plus, Louise didn't like talking to complete strangers. At home she was much more exuberant and overcame her shyness.
Like her younger sisters, Louise received limited tutoring from private tutors. Their upbringing was relaxed and cheerful, there was a lack of discipline. Although she studied music, she was otherwise uneducated. The grandmother Queen Victoria often complained about the poor education of her grandchildren and their immoral manners.
When Louise was of marriageable age, Alexandra tried to prevent her daughter from finding a husband. If it had gone according to her wishes, none of her daughters would have ever married, but all would have stayed with her as companions and companions. Just like Louise, the youngest sister Maud managed to evade this mother's influence. She married Prince Carl of Denmark, who later became King Haakon VII of Norway . Victoria, the middle sister, never married and stayed with Alexandra until her death in 1925.
marriage
As a young woman, Louise followed the example of her aunt of the same name, the Duchess of Argyll, to marry a British nobleman. On July 27, 1889, Princess Louise married Alexander Duff, 6th Earl Fife (1849-1912), in the private chapel of Buckingham Palace . He was 18 years older than her and a friend of her father's. Two days after the marriage, the princess's grandmother, Queen Victoria , elevated her husband to the rank of Duke of Fife and Marquess of Macduff, both in the Peerage of the United Kingdom . As usual, the title could initially only be transferred to male biological descendants. When it became clear that the couple would not have a corresponding title heir, Queen Victoria awarded the duke the title again, now with the provision that he could also pass on to his daughters and their male biological descendants.
Despite the age difference, the two were happily married. Her husband seemed to be a source of strength for her and gave her completely new experiences. The couple spent a lot of time in Scotland. Louise got involved in her husband's leisure activities. For example, she often went salmon fishing with him.
The Duke and Princess Louise, Duchess of Fife, had three children. On June 16, 1890, their son Alastair, Marquess of Macduff, was stillborn. A year later, daughter Alexandra (1891–1959) was born. In 1913 she married a cousin of her mother, Prince Arthur of Connaught (1883-1938) and was the mother of son Alastair (1914-1943). Maud (1893–1945) was born the youngest child. In 1923 she married Charles Alexander Carneige, who later became the 11th Earl of Southesk (1893-1992). Their son James († 2015) was born in 1929 .
Princess Royal
On November 9, 1905, her father, who had meanwhile become king, bestowed Princess Louise with the title Princess Royal . It is the highest honor a non-ruling female member of the British Royal Family can receive.
At the same time, the two daughters of Louise were made princesses of Great Britain and Ireland, in deviation from the general rules according to which this privilege is only available to children of the monarch's sons. They received the nobility predicate Highness , and in the protocol order of precedence they immediately followed the inner royal family in front of all other nobles in the country.
Louise and her family were shipwrecked off the coast of Morocco on a trip to Egypt in December 1911. Although no one was directly injured, the duke contracted pleurisy in Egypt, possibly because of this . He died in Aswan in January 1912. The title passed to the daughter Alexandra, who carried the title in her own right.
In 1914, Louise became an Honorary Colonel of the 7th Dragoon Guards .
After the death of her husband, Louise withdrew more and more. She died on January 4, 1931 in her London home in Portman Square. She was first buried in St George's Chapel in Windsor Castle . Her remains were later transferred to the private chapel of the Mar Lodge Mausoleum, Braemar , Aberdeenshire .
Title and medal
Title from birth to death
- Princess Louise of Wales (February 20, 1867 - June 27, 1889)
- Princess Louise, Countess Fife (June 27-29, 1889)
- Princess Louise, Duchess of Fife (June 29, 1889 - November 9, 1905)
- Princess Royal (November 9, 1905 - January 4, 1931)
medal
- Royal Order of Victoria and Albert First Class (1885)
- Order of the Crown of India (1887)
- Order of St. John , Lady (1888), Dame Grand Cross (1929)
Web links
- Readers' Top 15 Tiaras: # 3. The Fife Tiara
- Louise, Princess Royal and Duchess of Fife
- The Wedding Jewels of Princess Louise of Wales, Duchess of Fife
- The stories of Queen Victoria's granddaughters: Princess Louise of Wales
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b c Princess Louise, Princess Royal. In: Unofficial Royalty. Retrieved April 11, 2016 (American English).
- ↑ Yvonne's Royalty Home Page: Royal Christenings. (No longer available online.) In: users.uniserve.com. Archived from the original on August 27, 2011 ; Retrieved April 11, 2016 . Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ a b Louise, Princess Royal, Duchess of Fife. In: www.englishmonarchs.co.uk. Retrieved April 11, 2016 .
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Louise of Great Britain and Ireland |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Louise Victoria Alexandra Dagmar of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha; Louise, Duchess of Fife |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | Princess of Great Britain and Ireland |
| DATE OF BIRTH | February 20, 1867 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Marlborough House, London |
| DATE OF DEATH | January 4, 1931 |
| Place of death | London |