- Duchess Marie of Mecklenburg
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Duchess Marie of Mecklenburg Princess Julius Ernst of Lippe Spouse Count George Jametel
Prince Julius Ernst of LippeIssue Count George Jametel
Countess Marie Auguste Jametel
Princess Elisabeth of Lippe
Prince Ernst August of LippeHouse House of Mecklenburg-Strelitz
House of LippeFather Adolf Friedrich V, Grand Duke of Mecklenburg-Strelitz Mother Princess Elisabeth of Anhalt Born 8 May 1878
NeustrelitzDied 14 October 1948 (aged 70)
OberkasselDuchess Marie of Mecklenburg (baptised Victoria Marie Augustine Louise Antoinette Caroline Leopoldine;[1] 8 May 1878 – 14 October 1948) was the eldest daughter of Adolf Friedrich V, Grand Duke of Mecklenburg-Strelitz and Princess Elisabeth of Anhalt.
Contents
Early life
As a young woman Marie became pregnant by a palace servant.[2] The servant, a married man named Hecht, was responsible for turning off the gas-lights in the bedrooms of the grand ducal children.[2] Several of Marie's cousins, including the future King George V of the United Kingdom and William II, German Emperor, thought that Marie had been "hypnotised", while Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom thought that Marie had been "drugged".[2] Hecht was dismissed from service on the charge of stealing; his subsequent law-suit against the grand ducal family made the details of the story public.[2] The story made radical newspaper headlines in its day.[3]
A daughter was born to Marie in 1898; she was raised under the protection of Marie's grandmother, Grand Duchess Augusta of Mecklenburg-Strelitz (born Princess Augusta of Cambridge).[4]
First marriage
Marie went to France where she met Count George Jametel (1859–1944), the son of a patent medicine manufacturer; he had received the title of Papal Count from Pope Leo XIII in 1886. Marie and George were married on 22 June 1899, at the Catholic Chapel of St. Elizabeth in Richmond Park, near White Lodge, the home of Marie's great-aunt, the Duchess of Teck (born Princess Mary Adelaide of Cambridge). There was a second Anglican wedding ceremony the same day at the Parish Church of Kew.[5] In spite of the fact that the marriage was morganatic, many members of Marie's family attended the wedding, including her grandparents, parents, and three siblings. The wedding breakfast was given by her great-uncle the Duke of Cambridge at Cambridge Cottage, Kew.[6]
Marie and George received a large financial settlement ($200,000) from Marie's father.[7] They lived in the Faubourg St. Germain in Paris. They had two children:
- Count George Jametel (3 February 1904 - 1982)
- Countess Marie Auguste Jametel (11 September 1905 – 24 September 1969)
Marie's husband George had several affairs, most notoriously with the married Infanta Eulalia of Spain.[8] In January 1908, Marie applied for a divorce from George.[7][9] The Count was found to have married Marie for her money, and to have continued his affair with Eulalia.[2] In August her nineteen-year-younger brother, Duke Karl Borwin of Mecklenburg, decided to defend her honour and challenged George to a duel in which Karl Borwin was killed.[10] Marie and George were divorced 31 December 1908.[11] Having lost her fortune due to the divorce,[2] Marie resumed the use of her Mecklenburg title and lived in the Blasewitz section of Dresden.
Second marriage
On 11 August 1914, at Neustrelitz, Marie married Prince Julius Ernst of Lippe (1873–1952), third son of Count Ernst of Lippe-Biesterfeld and uncle of Prince Bernhard of the Netherlands.[12] After their marriage Marie and Julius lived in Blasewitz. They had two children:
- Princess Elisabeth of Lippe (born 23 January 1916), married Prince Ernst-August of Solms-Braunfels
- Prince Ernst August of Lippe (1 April 1917 – 15 June 1990) a claimant to the headship of the House of Lippe.
Marie died at the age of seventy in Oberkassel near Bonn. She is buried with her second husband in the Lippe family mausoleum at Heisterbach Abbey.[13]
Ancestors
Ancestors of Duchess Marie of Mecklenburg 16. Charles II, Grand Duke of Mecklenburg-Strelitz 8. George, Grand Duke of Mecklenburg-Strelitz 17. Princess Friederike of Hesse-Darmstadt 4. Frederick William, Grand Duke of Mecklenburg-Strelitz 18. Landgrave Frederick of Hesse-Cassel 9. Princess Marie of Hesse-Cassel 19. Princess Caroline of Nassau-Usingen 2. Adolphus Frederick V, Grand Duke of Mecklenburg-Strelitz 20. George III of the United Kingdom 10. Prince Adolphus, Duke of Cambridge 21. Duchess Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz 5. Princess Augusta of Cambridge 22. Landgrave Frederick of Hesse-Cassel (= 18) 11. Princess Augusta of Hesse-Cassel 23. Princess Caroline of Nassau-Usingen (= 19) 1. Duchess Marie of Mecklenburg-Strelitz 24. Frederick, Hereditary Prince of Anhalt-Dessau 12. Leopold IV, Duke of Anhalt 25. Landgravine Amalie of Hesse-Homburg 6. Frederick I, Duke of Anhalt 26. Prince Louis Charles of Prussia 13. Princess Frederica Wilhelmina of Prussia 27. Duchess Frederica of Mecklenburg-Strelitz 3. Princess Elisabeth of Anhalt 28. Frederick, Duke of Saxe-Altenburg 14. Prince Eduard of Saxe-Altenburg 29. Duchess Charlotte Georgine of Mecklenburg-Strelitz 7. Princess Antoinette of Saxe-Altenburg 30. Charles, Prince of Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen 15. Princess Amalie of Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen 31. Marie Antoinette Murat Footnotes
- ^ The Peerage – Duchess Marie
- ^ a b c d e f Pope-Hennessy, pp. 340-343.
- ^ Pope-Hennessy, p. 339.
- ^ Le Royaume-Uni de Grande-Bretagne et Irlande du Nord (Paris : Cercle d'Études des Dynasties Royales Européennes, 1989): II, 145.
- ^ "A Morganatic Marriage", The New York Times ( 23 June 1899): 7.
- ^ "Court Circular", The Times ( 23 June 1899): 6.
- ^ a b "Countess Wants Divorce", The New York Times ( 9 February 1908): C1.
- ^ Ricardo Mateo Sainz de Medrano, "L'Affaire Jametel", Royalty Digest (vol. 8, no. 96): 360.
- ^ "Royal Divorce Probable", The New York Times ( 1 February 1908): 4.
- ^ Erstling, Frank; Frank Saß, Eberhard Schulze (April 2001). "Das Fürstenhaus von Mecklenburg-Strelitz" (in German). Mecklenburg-Strelitz, Beiträge zur Geschichte einer Region. Friedland: Steffen. p. 184. ISBN 3980753204.
- ^ Almanach de Gotha, 1910, 61.
- ^ "German Royal Engagement", The Times ( 29 April 1914): 7.
- ^ Royalty (Travel) Guide
Sources
- Pope-Hennessy, James (1959). Queen Mary 1867-1953. London: George Allen and Unwin Unlimited. ISBN 0049230255.
External links
House of Mecklenburg-Strelitz Founded by Adolphus Frederick II, Duke of Mecklenburg 1st generation Adolphus Frederick III · Magdalene · Marie · Eleonore · Gustave Caroline · Sophie Charlotte · Charles Louis Frederick2nd generation Marie Sophie · Magdalene · Christiane · Caroline · Adolphus Frederick IV · Elisabeth · Sophie Luise · Charles II · Ernst Gottlob · Charlotte · Gotthilf · George Augustus3rd generation Charlotte Georgine · Caroline Auguste · Georg Carl · Therese · Friedrich Carl · Louise · Frederica · George · Carl · Auguste Albertine · Charles4th generation Luise · Frederick William · Caroline · George5th generation 6th generation 7th generation 8th generation 9th generation Olga · Alexander · MichaelCategories:- 1878 births
- 1918 deaths
- House of Mecklenburg-Strelitz
- House of Lippe
- People from Neustrelitz
- Duchesses of Mecklenburg-Strelitz
- Princesses of Lippe
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