Princess Marie Louise of Schleswig-Holstein

Infobox British Royalty|highness
name =Princess Marie Louise
of Schleswig-Holstein
title =Princess Aribert of Anhalt

---

caption =Princess Marie Louise in the 1890's
full name =Franziska Josepha Louise Augusta Marie Christina Helena
spouse =Prince Aribert of Anhalt
titles ="HH" Princess Marie Louise
"HH" Princess Marie Louise of Schleswig-Holstein
"HH" Princess Aribert of Anhalt
"HH" Princess Marie Louise of Schleswig-Holstein
royal house =House of Oldenburg
father =Prince Christian of Schleswig-Holstein
mother =Princess Helena of the United Kingdom
date of birth =birth date|1872|8|12|df=y
place of birth =Cumberland Lodge, Windsor
date of christening =18 September 1872
date of death =death date and age|1956|12|8|1872|8|12|df=y
place of death =Berkeley Square, London
place of burial =Frogmore, Windsor
occupation =Charity work|

Princess Marie Louise (Franziska Josepha Louise Augusta Marie Christina Helena; formerly Princess Marie Louise of Schleswig-Holstein; 12 August 1872 - 8 December 1956) was a member of the British Royal Family, a granddaughter of Queen Victoria

Early life

Princess Marie Louise was born at Cumberland Lodge, in Windsor Great Park. Her father was Prince Christian of Schleswig-Holstein, the third son of Duke Christian of Schleswig-Holstein and Countess Louise of Danneskjold-Samsøe. Her mother was The Princess Helena, the fifth child and third daughter of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha. Her parents resided in the United Kingdom, and the Princess was considered a member of the British Royal Family. Under letters patent of 1866, she was styled "Her Highness Princess Marie Louise of Schleswig-Holstein". She was christened on 18 September 1872. Her godparents were The Emperor of Austria and The Queen of Hanover.

Marriage

On 6 July 1891, Princess Marie Louise married Prince Aribert of Anhalt (18 June 1866 - 24 December 1933) at St. George's Chapel in Windsor Castle. Prince Aribert was the third son of Frederick I, Duke of Anhalt, and his wife, Princess Antoinette of Saxe-Altenberg. The bride's first cousin, the German Emperor Wilhelm II, had been instrumental in arranging the match.

The marriage, however, was unhappy and childless. (Years after the fact, it was mooted that Aribelt was homosexual and had been caught in bed with a servant, either by Marie Louise or his father.) In December 1900, her father-in-law used his prerogative as reigning Duke of Anhalt to annul the marriage. Princess Marie Louise, on an official visit to Canada at the time, immediately returned to Britain. According to her memoirs, she regarded her marriage vows as binding, so she never remarried. Her memoirs do, however, indicate rage over her marital experience and an obvious dislike of her former husband [The circumstances of the end of the marriage of Princess Marie Louise and Prince Aribert are unclear. The 1903 edition of the "Almanach de Gotha" states that they were divorced on 13 December 1900. The 1904 edition of "Whitaker's Alamanac", on the other hand, states that "her marriage was dissolved by joint request on account of a new family law of that Ducal House." Marlene A. Eilers surmises that Prince Aribert had been discovered in a compromising position with another man.Fact|date=April 2007. Princess Marie Louise's uncle, Edward VII, summed up the situation, saying, "Ach, poor Louise, she has returned as she went--a virgin."] . Nevertheless, she did have a romantic male companion for many years Fact|date=February 2007.

Royal Duties

After the annulment, Princess Marie Louise devoted herself to charitable organizations and patronage of the arts. She inspired the creation of Queen Mary's Dolls' House to showcase the work of British craftsmen. She established the Girl's Club in Bermondsey that served as a hospital during World War I. She was also active in the work of the Princess Christian Nursing Home at Windsor.

World War I

In July 1917, when George V changed the name of the British Royal House from the House of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha to House of Windsor, he also requested that his numerous cousins and in-laws who were British subjects discontinue using their German titles, styles, and surnames. Never taking other titles or surnames, Princess Marie Louise and her unmarried sister, Princess Helena Victoria, became known simply as "HH Princess Marie Louise" and "HH Princess Helena Victoria," giving them the odd distinction of being Princesses but not, apparently, members of any particular Royal Family. This approach differed from the one accepted by George V's other relatives, who relinquished all Princely titles, not just their German designations, and acquired British titles of nobility. Under that precedent, Marie Louise and her sister likely would have been known as "Lady Marie Louise "New Surname" and "Lady Helena Victoria "New Surname"." Though their titles as derived from their parents' designations, as bestowed by Queen Victoria, were essentially British, they were not officially Princesses of the United Kingdom. [As a male-line granddaughter of the Duke of Schleswig-Holstein, Princess Helena Victoria would have been styled "Serene Highness". However, in May 1866, Queen Victoria granted the style of "Highness" to any children born of the marriage of Prince and Princess Christian of Schleswig-Holstein. The children were still Princes or Princess of Schleswig-Holstein and the style Highness was only in effect in the United Kingdom, not in Germany. In June 1917, a notice appeared in the Court Circular that a Royal Warrant was to be prepared permitting his cousins to stop using the "of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Augustenburg" part of their titles. However, no warrant was prepared, and they were never formally granted them the titles of Princesses of Great Britain and Ireland.] However, their unmarried status and their right to be styled "Highness" rendered their situations awkward, so that it was easier to allow them to retain their status as Princesses while avoiding the question of immediate family membership altogether.

Later life

Princess Marie Louise attended four coronations in Westminster Abbey, those of Edward VII and Queen Alexandra in 1901; George V and Queen Mary in 1911; George VI and Queen Elizabeth in 1937; and Elizabeth II in 1953. In 1956, she published her memoirs, "My Memories of Six Reigns". She died at her London home, 10 Fitzmaurice Place, Berkeley Square, a few months later and is buried at Frogmore Royal Burial Ground at Windsor Great Park.

Princess Marie Louise was a frequent visitor to the Anglican Shrine of Our Lady of Walsingham before the Second World War. A report comes in from a London Vicar saying when she visited that church she saw a shrine of Our Lady and exclaimed “Oh! Our Lady of Walsingham”. Fr. X said: “Have you been there?” “Of course I have! And I am the first of our family to visit it since Henry VIII.”

Titles, styles, honours and arms

Infobox British Nobility Styles


royal name=Princess Marie Louise
dipstyle=Her Highness
offstyle=Your Highness
altstyle=Ma'am|

Titles

*1872-1891: "Her Highness" Princess Marie Louise of Schleswig-Holstein
*1891-1900: "Her Highness" Princess Aribert of Anhalt
*1900-1917: "Her Highness" Princess Marie Louise of Schleswig-Holstein
*1917-1956: "Her Highness" Princess Marie Louise

Honours

*GBE: Dame Grand Cross of the Order of the British Empire (1919)
*GCVO: Dame Grand Cross of the Royal Victorian Order (1953)
*VA: Lady of the Order of Victoria and Albert (1893)
*CI: Lady of the Order of the Crown of India
*RRC: Member of the Royal Red Cross

Ancestry

ahnentafel-compact5
style=font-size: 90%; line-height: 110%;
border=1
boxstyle=padding-top: 0; padding-bottom: 0;
boxstyle_1=background-color: #fcc;
boxstyle_2=background-color: #fb9;
boxstyle_3=background-color: #ffc;
boxstyle_4=background-color: #bfc;
boxstyle_5=background-color: #9fe;
1= 1. Princess Marie Louise of Schleswig-Holstein
2= 2. Prince Christian of Schleswig-Holstein
3= 3. Princess Helena of the United Kingdom
4= 4. Christian, Duke of Augustenborg
5= 5. Countess Lovisa-Sophie Danneskiold-Samsøe
6= 6. Albert, Prince Consort
7= 7. Victoria of the United Kingdom
8= 8. Frederik Christian II, Duke of Augustenborg
9= 9. Louise Auguste of Denmark
10= 10. Christian Conrad Sophus, Count of Danneskiold-Samsøe
11= 11. Johanne Henriette Valentine Kaas
12= 12. Ernest I, Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha
13= 13. Princess Louise of Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg
14= 14. Prince Edward Augustus, Duke of Kent and Strathearn
15= 15. Princess Victoria of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld
16= 16. Frederik Christian I, Duke of Augustenborg
17= 17. Princess Charlotte of Holstein-Plön
18= 18. Johann Friedrich Struensee
19= 19. Caroline Matilda of Great Britain
20= 20. Frederick Christian, Count of Danneskiold-Samsøe
21= 21. Friedericke Louisa von Kleist
22= 22. Frederick Christian Kaas
23= 23. Edele Sophie Kaas
24= 24. Francis, Duke of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld
25= 25. Princess Augusta Reuss of Ebersdorf
26= 26. Augustus, Duke of Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg
27= 27. Duchess Louise Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Schwerin
28= 28. George III of the United Kingdom
29= 29. Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz
30= 30. Francis, Duke of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld (= 24)
31= 31. Princess Augusta Reuss of Ebersdorf (= 25)

Notes

ources

*Ronald Allison and Sarah Riddell, eds., "The Royal Encyclopedia" (London: Macmillan, 1992).
*Marlene A. Eilers, "Queen Victoria's Descendants" (New York: Atlantic International Publishing, 1987).
*Princess Marie Louise (nee Princess of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Augustenberg), "My Memories of Six Reigns" (London: Evans Brothers, 1956).
*"Obituary: Princess Marie Louise, Patron of Social Services," "The Times" 10 December 1956, p. 14.