Viktoria of Baden
Viktoria von Baden - born Princess Sophie Marie Viktoria von Baden (Swedish spelling Victoria av Baden; * August 7, 1862 at Karlsruhe Palace , Karlsruhe , † April 4, 1930 in Rome ) was a princess from the House of Baden and Queen of Sweden by marriage .
Life
Viktoria, called Vicky , was born in Karlsruhe as the second child of Grand Duke Friedrich I of Baden and his wife Luise of Prussia , the daughter of the future Emperor Wilhelm I.
Viktoria married the Crown Prince Gustav of Sweden and Norway on September 20, 1881 , who became King Gustav V of Sweden in 1907. The couple had three sons:
- Gustav Adolf (born November 11, 1882; † September 15, 1973); Duke of careful drying , as Gustav VI. Adolf King of Sweden
- Wilhelm (June 17, 1884 - June 5, 1965); Duke of Södermanland ⚭ Marija Pavlovna Romanowa of Russia
- Erik (April 20, 1889 - September 20, 1918); Duke of Westermanland
She was Lady of the Seraphine Order and chief of the Royal Prussian Fusilier Regiment "Queen Victoria of Sweden" (Pomeranian) No. 34 . Her cousin Prince Max von Baden was the last Chancellor of the German Empire in the final phase of the First World War.
After the difficult birth of their third son Erik and a subsequent illness, the Crown Prince couple went to Egypt to relax . The following autumn she returned for health reasons. During this time she developed an interest in archeology , had excavations carried out and began collecting Egyptian antiquities, which she later donated with other foundations to the Egyptological Institute of Uppsala University . In 1895, the institute received permission from the royal family, in recognition of these donations, to manage its collections under the name Victoriamuseet för egyptiska fornsaker ( Victoria Museum of Egyptian Antiquities ), under which the museum is still a permanent collection of the Gustavianum Museum at Uppsala University operates.
After Erik's birth, their marriage increasingly existed only on paper, since Gustav no longer made a secret of his homosexuality. In 1890, during a visit to Capri , the then Crown Princess met the Swedish doctor Axel Munthe , with whom she subsequently shared a lifelong love and friendship. The exact nature of their relationship is controversial, at least there is no evidence of a sexual affair. Up until the First World War, Victoria regularly spent long stays on the island. In 1893 Munthe became her personal physician. She rarely returned to Sweden, but between 1903 and 1906 she had Villa Solliden built as a summer residence on the grounds of Borgholm Castle on the island of Öland , modeled on Munthes Villa San Michele on Capri. The villa is still inhabited by the Swedish royal family during the summer holidays.
The world war separated Munthe and Victoria for seven long years, during which they only kept in touch by letter. In the twenties, the queen lived mostly in Rome in the Villa Svezia. There she died in 1930 in the presence of Munthes. In 1928 the doctor published “ The Book of San Michele ” about his life and the construction of his villa on Capri. He kept his real relationship with Victoria a secret.
In 1928 the Queen inherited the island of Mainau from her childless brother, Grand Duke Friedrich II of Baden , whose gardens go back to her father. However, like her brother, she hardly cared about the island and bequeathed the overgrown island to her younger son Prince Wilhelm , whose son Lennart Bernadotte took it over in 1932 and finally turned it back into a "flower island".
The current Crown Princess Victoria of Sweden was baptized after her.
ancestors
| Pedigree of Viktoria von Baden | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Great-great-grandparents |
Hereditary Prince Friedrich of Baden-Durlach |
Baron |
King |
Karl Ludwig von Baden |
Grand Duke |
King |
Grand Duke |
Tsar |
| Great grandparents |
Grand Duke |
King |
King |
Grand Duke |
||||
| Grandparents |
Grand Duke Leopold of Baden (1790–1852) |
Kaiser Wilhelm I (1797–1888) |
||||||
| parents |
Grand Duke Friedrich I of Baden (1826–1907) |
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|
Viktoria von Baden (1862–1930) |
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literature
- Bengt Jangfeldt: The Road to San Michele. London New York 2008.
- Thomas Steinfeld: The doctor from San Michele, Axel Munthe and the art of giving life a meaning. Munich 2007.
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ During this trip, their marriage worsened because of a liaison with the adjutant of Crown Prince Baron Gustav von Blixen-Finecke (1857–1909). The marriage remained cool, but she did not forget her duties as Crown Princess and Queen. Source: Bakom den Gyllene fasaden - Gustav V och drottning Victoria - ett äktenskap och en epok. Gustav von Platen, Bonniers förlag 2002, ISBN 91-0-058048-1 .
- ↑ Stig Hadenius: Drottning Victoria av Sverige. Norstedts, Stockholm 2010.
| predecessor | Office | Successor |
|---|---|---|
| Sophia of Nassau |
Queen of Sweden 1907–1930 |
Louise Mountbatten |
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Baden, Viktoria von |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Baden, Victoria av |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | Queen of Sweden |
| DATE OF BIRTH | August 7, 1862 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Karlsruhe |
| DATE OF DEATH | April 4, 1930 |
| Place of death | Rome |