Read Britain's Royal Families: The Complete Genealogy Online

Authors: Alison Weir

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Britain's Royal Families: The Complete Genealogy (85 page)

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Leopold married, on 27 April, 1882, at St George’s Chapel, Windsor:

Hélène Frederica Augusta

She was the daughter of George Victor, Prince of Waldeck-Pyrmont, by Helena Wilhelmina Henrietta Pauline Marianne, daughter of George William Augustus Henry, Duke of Nassau-Weilburg, and she was born on 17 February, 1861, at Arolsen, Waldeck, Germany. She died on 1 September, 1922, at Hinterris in the Austrian Tyrol, and was buried in Austria.

Issue of marriage:

(i)	Alice Mary Victoria Augusta Pauline
She was born on 25 February, 1883, at Windsor Castle. She married Alexander of Teck, Earl of Athlone (1874–1957) (great-grandson of George III and brother of Queen Mary, wife of George V), on 10 February, 1904, at St George’s Chapel, Windsor, and had issue:
1 May Helen Emma ( b .1906); she married Colonel Sir Henry Abel Smith ( b .1900), and had issue.
2 Rupert Alexander George Augustus, Viscount Trematon (1907-killed in a car accident, 1928).
3 Maurice Francis George ( b. & d .1910).
In 1917, Alexander of Teck adopted the surname Cambridge, which has since been used by his family. Princess Alice died on 3 January, 1981, at Kensington Palace, London, and was buried at Frogmore, Windsor.
(ii)	(Leopold) Charles Edward George Albert
Known as Charles, he was born on 19 July, 1884, at Claremont House, Esher, Surrey, his father’s posthumous son. He therefore succeeded at birth as Duke of Albany, Earl of Clarence and Baron Arklow. He succeeded his uncle Alfred as Duke of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha on 30 July, 1900. He was made a Knight of the Garter on 15 July, 1902. He supported Kaiser William II during the First World War, and was consequently struck off the register of the Knights of the Garter in 1915. He abdicated as Duke of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha on 14 November, 1918, and his English titles were formally removed by order of King George V in Council on 28 March, 1919. He died on 6 March, 1954, at Coburg, Germany.
Charles married, on 11 October, 1905, at Glücksburg Castle, Holstein, Germany:
Victoria Adelaide Helena Louise Marie Frederica
She was the daughter of Frederick Ferdinand George Christian Charles William, Duke of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glücksburg, by Victoria Frederica Augusta Marie Caroline Matilda, daughter of Frederick Christian Augustus, Duke of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glücksburg. She was born on 31 December, 1885, at Grünholz, Holstein, Germany. She died on 3 or 5 October, 1970, either at Coburg, Germany, or at Greinburg, Austria.
Issue of marriage:

(a)	John Leopold William Albert Ferdinand Victor (1906–1972); he married firstly Feodora Mary Alma Margaret ( b. 1907), daughter of Baron Bernard von der Horst, and had issue; they were divorced in 1962. He married secondly Maria Theresa Elizabeth (1908–72), daughter of Max Reinde.
(b)	Sybilla Calma Mary Alice Bathildis Feodora (1908–1972); she married Prince Gustavus Adolphus of Sweden (1906–killed 1947), and had issue.
(c)	Dietmar Hubert Frederick William Philip (1909–1943).
(d)	Caroline Matilda Louisa Eleanor Augusta Beatrice ( b. 1912); she married firstly Frederick Wolfgang, Count of Castell-Rudenhausen (1906–1940), and had issue; they were divorced in 1938. She married secondly Max Schnirring (1896–1944), and had issue, and thirdly Jim Andree ( b. 1912); they were divorced in 1949.
(e)	Frederick Josias Charles Edward Ernest Cyril Harold ( b. 1918); he married firstly Victoria Louisa Frederica Caroline Matilda ( b. 1921), daughter of Hans, Count of Solmsbaruth, and had issue; they were divorced in 1946. He married secondly Denise Henrietta ( b. 1923), daughter of Gaston Robert de Muralt, and had issue; they were divorced in 1964. He married thirdly Katherine ( b. 1940), daughter of Dietrich Charles Bremme.

9
Beatrice Mary Victoria Feodore

She was born on 14 April, 1857, at Buckingham Palace. She married Prince Henry Maurice of Battenberg (1858–1896) on 23 July, 1885, at Whippingham Church, Isle of Wight, and had issue:

1 Alexander Albert, Marquess of Carisbrooke (1886–1960); he married Irene Frances Adza (1890–1956), daughter of William Denison, 3rd Earl of Londesbrough, and had issue.

2 Victoria Eugénie Julia Ena (who took the additional names Maria Christina upon entering the Roman Catholic Faith) (1887–1969); she married Alfonso XIII, King of Spain (1886–1941), and had issue.

3 Leopold Arthur Louis (1889–1922).

4 Maurice Victor Donald (1891–killed at the Battle of Mons, 1914).

Beatrice died on 26 October, 1944, at Brantridge Park, Balcombe, Sussex, and was buried in St George’s Chapel, Windsor. Her remains were later removed to St Mildred’s Church, Whippingham, Isle of Wight.

QUEEN VICTORIA

She died on 22 January, 1901, at Osborne House, Isle of Wight, and was buried in the Royal Mausoleum, Frogmore, Windsor.

She was succeeded by her son Albert, who styled himself Edward VII.

CHAPTER NINE

The House of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha becomes the House of Windsor

The Hanoverian line officially ended with the death of Queen Victoria. Her son, Edward VII, was the first sovereign of the short-lived royal House of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha, as the son of the Prince Consort. At the turn of the 20th century, the British royal family was enjoying its greatest pinnacle of prestige, with the British Empire – which had vastly expanded during the reign of Victoria – covering much of the globe. The Monarchy now had imperial status, and Victoria herself embodied all its highest ideals.

This state of affairs could not last. The 20th century has seen the most sweeping changes in our history, as well as two world wars. The great Empire did not long survive the Second World War, and became the British Commonwealth of Nations, although many have since become independent.

It was one of the supreme ironies of history that the monarchy which led Britain and the Empire through two wars against Germany should itself be of German origin, and its members closely intermarried with high-ranking supporters of Kaiser William II or Adolf Hitler. Queen Victoria herself spoke English with a strong German accent, and German at home with Albert. The royal family of Hanover and that of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha were British by birth, closely related to the British royal house. Yet so strong was the monarchy’s identification with its people, and so anti-German was the popular feeling of its subjects, that in 1917 King George V decided to expunge all German names and titles from his House and family. Thus the House of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha became the House of Windsor; their Serene Highnesses the Prince and Princess of Teck became transformed by the surname Cambridge; and Battenberg – the name of one of the
most illustrious families of 19th- and 20th-century Europe – became Mountbatten.

Thirty years later, Mountbatten and Windsor were to become linked by marriage, when the present Queen married Lieutenant Philip Mountbatten, formerly Prince Philip of Greece. Since Elizabeth II’s accession, it has become clear that, while the Queen’s House and family are still known as Windsor, her children are surnamed Mountbatten-Windsor. George V decreed also that the title Prince or Princess might be borne, not only by the sons and daughters of the monarch, but also by the children of sons of the sovereign. Great-grandchildren in the male line are styled Lord (name) or Lady (name) Windsor. Primogeniture, as practised by the Plantagenets centuries ago, is still used to determine the order of succession to the throne.

Of course, the monarchy has adapted to change, and also to an age in which media intrusion has – rather dangerously, on occasions – sometimes reduced it to the level of a soap opera. This is perhaps the greatest threat it has faced since 1936, when Edward VIII abdicated for love, to marry a twice-divorced woman. That event shook the throne, and it was only the dedication and devotion to duty of King George VI and the late Queen Mother that restored its prestige. Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II has maintained that tradition; as a sovereign reigning in an age that has seen great changes in the moral and social climate, she continues to embody all the domestic, and now sometimes unfashionable, virtues that made Queen Victoria so successful a monarch; yet, unlike Victoria in her later years, Elizabeth II is a very visible monarch, seen to be performing her duties with sincerity and dedication, in full glare of the media. She is a constitutional monarch
par excellence,
whose long experience in politics and public life has earned her the respect of political leaders worldwide.

For all the rumours, it is unthinkable that the Queen will abdicate. The memory of Edward VIII is too fresh in the public mind. The succession is assured well into the 21st century, and we may confidently hope that the traditions of a thousand years of British monarchy will continue long into the future.