Thyra of Denmark (Princess, 1853)
Princess Thyra Amalia Caroline Charlotte Anna of Denmark (born September 29, 1853 in Copenhagen ; † February 26, 1933 in Gmunden , Austria ) was Princess of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glücksburg , Princess of Denmark and, by marriage, Princess of Great Britain and Ireland , Princess of Hanover and Duchess of Braunschweig and Lüneburg .
family
Thyra was the youngest daughter of King Christian IX. von Denmark (1818–1906) and his wife Luise von Hessen (1817–1898), daughter of the titular Landgrave Wilhelm von Hessen -Kassel-Rumpenheim and his wife Louise Charlotte of Denmark , a daughter of the Hereditary Prince Friedrich of Denmark .
Her siblings were:
- Frederick VIII , King of Denmark (1843–1912) ⚭ 1869 Princess Louise Josephine Eugenie of Sweden
- Alexandra (1844–1925) ⚭ 1863 King Edward VII of Great Britain and Ireland and Emperor of India
- Wilhelm, King George I of Greece (1845–1913) ⚭ 1867 Grand Duchess Olga of Russia
- Dagmar (Maria Feodorovna) (1847–1928) ⚭ 1866 Tsar Alexander III. from Russia
- Waldemar (1858–1939) ⚭ 1885 Princess Marie Amélie Françoise Hélène of Orléans
Early life
The princess, born on September 29, 1853 in the Yellow Palace in Copenhagen, spent a carefree and happy childhood with her family. Princess Thyra's upbringing, in spite of her class, was one of extreme modesty. From the living style to the clothes, everything was kept as simple as possible. The princess shared a bedroom with her older sisters Dagmar and Alexandra. She received training from governesses and private tutors that included foreign languages, math, geography, history, courtly conversation, and dance and riding lessons. She also learned practical things such as sewing and knitting clothes and stockings.
Thyra was ten years old when King Frederick VII died and her father succeeded him as King of Denmark. In the same year her brother Wilhelm became King of Greece and her sister Alexandra married Eduard, Prince of Wales. In 1866 her other sister Dagmar married the Tsarevich and future Tsar of Russia.
The princess was an attractive and gentle young woman, with dark hair and dark blue eyes. Queen Louise wanted her youngest daughter to have as good a match as her two older daughters did before. One of Thyras possible marriage candidates was King Wilhelm III. the Netherlands. However, since he was thirty-six years older than her, she refused to marry.
Scandal at the Danish court
Princess Thyra fell in love with a bourgeois lieutenant in the cavalry , Wilhelm Friedemann Marcher (1841–1872). When she became pregnant shortly afterwards, she traveled to her brother in Athens to avoid a scandal. The Danish press was told that the princess had jaundice . Thyra gave birth to a girl in Athens on November 8, 1871. The child was adopted by the Rasmus and Anne Marie Jørgensen family and was given the name Maria Katharina (Kate) (1871–1964). The child's father, Wilhelm Friedemann Marcher, committed suicide on January 4, 1872 after a confrontation with the king suicide .
Marriage and children
Princess Thyra married Crown Prince Ernst August von Hanover , Duke of Cumberland (1845–1923), the only son of the blind King George V of Hanover (1819–1878) and his wife Marie von Sachsen-Altenburg (1818 -1907). Six children emerged from the joint relationship:
- Marie Luise (1879–1948) ⚭ 1900 Prince Maximilian (Max) of Baden
- Georg Wilhelm (1880–1912, car accident)
- Alexandra (1882–1963) ⚭ 1904 Grand Duke Friedrich Franz IV of Mecklenburg-Schwerin
- Olga (1884-1958)
- Christian (1885–1901)
- Ernst August (1887–1953) ⚭ 1913 Viktoria Luise von Prussia , only daughter of Kaiser Wilhelm II.
After they got married in Copenhagen, they lived in exile in Gmunden in Upper Austria. Ernst August had the representative Cumberland Castle built there. In 1923, after 45 years of marriage, Thyra's husband Ernst August von Hannover died. The marriage was considered happy. Thyra outlived her husband by nine years. She died on February 26, 1933 and was buried in the mausoleum of Cumberland Castle in Gmunden.
ancestors
| Friedrich Karl Ludwig of Schleswig-Holstein (1757–1816) | |||||||||||||
| Friedrich Wilhelm of Schleswig-Holstein (1785–1831) | |||||||||||||
| Friederike von Schlieben (1757–1827) | |||||||||||||
| Christian IX King of Denmark (1818–1906) | |||||||||||||
| Karl of Hessen-Kassel (1744–1836) | |||||||||||||
| Luise Karoline of Hessen-Kassel (1789–1867) | |||||||||||||
| Louise of Denmark (1750-1831) | |||||||||||||
| Thyra of Denmark | |||||||||||||
| Friedrich von Hessen-Kassel (Rumpenheim) (1747–1837) | |||||||||||||
| Wilhelm of Hesse (Rumpenheim) (1787–1867) | |||||||||||||
| Karoline Polyxene of Nassau-Usingen (1762–1823) | |||||||||||||
| Louise of Hesse (1817–1898) | |||||||||||||
| Friedrich Hereditary Prince of Denmark (1753–1805) | |||||||||||||
| Louise Charlotte of Denmark (1789–1864) | |||||||||||||
| Sophie Friederike von Mecklenburg (1758–1794) | |||||||||||||
Web links
- Viv Rosendahl: The Fall and Rehabilitation of Princess Thyra ( Memento from June 17, 2009 in the Internet Archive )
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Thyra of Denmark |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Thyra Amalia Caroline Charlotte Anna of Denmark |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | Princess of Denmark, by marriage Crown Princess of Hanover |
| DATE OF BIRTH | September 29, 1853 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Copenhagen |
| DATE OF DEATH | February 26, 1933 |
| Place of death | Gmunden , Austria |