To Marry for Marrying’s Sake

by Kevin R. Brady

The ill-fated engagement of Princess Viktoria of Prussia and Prince Alexander (Sandro) of Battenberg, Prince of Bulgaria, is well known.  European politicians put up many arguments and barricades to halt this romance, and the anti-cupids eventually succeeded.  The romance covered five years, and during this time, and after the romance had died, many names were put forward as possible substitutes for the dashing Sandro.  Kings, Grand Dukes & Princes, some suitable and some not so suitable as husbands, were being proposed for Her Royal Highness Princess Viktoria of Prussia, daughter of the Crown Prince and Princess.

Princess Viktoria, Moretta to her family, first became attached to Prince Alexander when he visited her grandfather, the Emperor Wilhelm I of Germany.  The Prince of Bulgaria had paid an official visit to Berlin in 1883, and it was then that the young couple became secretly engaged[1].  But while young love was blossoming, moves were already afoot to marry the young Princess off to a member of one of Germany’s minor Royal families.

Friedrich von Holstein[2], one of Bismarck’s well-informed assistants, recorded in April 1884 that “Princess Viktoria – or her mother – turned down the hereditary Prince of Anhalt last autumn.”[3] This would have been around the time of Prince Alexander’s appearance in Berlin. Hereditary Prince Leopold of Anhalt became engaged to Princess Elizabeth of Hesse-Cassel in late December 1883. The Crown Princess obviously did not inform her mother, Queen Victoria, of the Anhalt proposal, for when the Queen wrote about the Hereditary Prince’s engagement she stated, “but I regret that you have not got him en réserve for Vicky if her fond hopes cannot be realised.”[4] The Hereditary Prince and Princess Elizabeth were married on 26 May 1884 at Philippsruhe.  Unfortunately it was not to be a long marriage, as the Hereditary Prince died at Cannes in February 1886.  Princess Elizabeth, the Hereditary Princess, never remarried and died in Dessau on 1 January 1955. Moretta was linked again to the Anhalt Principality in 1886. After Leopold’s death his brother Frederick, the new Hereditary Prince, was rumoured to be a favoured suitor for Moretta’s hand by the German press.

In late April 1884 Moretta headed off with her mother to Darmstadt to attend the wedding of her cousin, Victoria of Hesse.  Victoria just happened to be engaged to Sandro’s eldest brother, Prince Louis of Battenberg.  Queen Victoria had also arrived in Darmstadt to attend the festivities, along with her daughter Beatrice and numerous other close relations. Moretta could not help but be thrown into close contact with Sandro in this situation, and even at the wedding itself she was only a few paces away from him, walking into the church on the arm of the Landgrave of Hesse while Sandro followed directly behind with Moretta’s cousin, Elisabeth of Hesse (sister of the bride), on his arm.  But while Moretta longed for Sandro, it was his other brother Henry who was to gain a wife from these wedding festivities.  Henry and Princess Beatrice fell in love, much to Queen Victoria’s surprise and initial dismay.

Just after the family returned to Berlin from Darmstadt, Sandro paid a visit to the German capital.  He had an audience with Prince Bismarck, and was at the Charlottenburg races when the Emperor was there.  The rumour mill around Berlin was in full swing, and Moretta’s name was now openly linked with the reigning Prince of Bulgaria.  At the same time the North German Gazette came up with another possible suitor for her, Prince Maximilian von Thurn und Taxis.  Unfortunately this was just pure speculation, and the poor Prince was to die unmarried just short of his 23rd birthday in June 1885.  But Sandro returned to his parents at Darmstadt, and Moretta was no closer to being officially engaged.

In her Christmas letter to her English Grandmama, Queen Victoria, Moretta wrote, “Oh! If I could but only get a glimse of him, so low in spirit I am & there seems no hope”[5].  But by the beginning of 1885, even Moretta could see that her chances of a life with Sandro were growing slim, and as her mother reported, Moretta “sees it too – and deeply as she is attached to Sandro she will not stand in the way of his interest!”[6] In September the Crown Princess took her three daughters to Venice, and from there she wrote to Sandro that Moretta “wears your pearls and your first letter sewn up in a handkerchief close to her heart.”[7] Sandro’s thoughts on  receiving this letter are unknown, but as he had already written to Moretta’s Grandfather, the Emperor, a formal  letter of renunciation, he certainly must have been surprised.

In the autumn of 1884 King Luis of Portugal[8] had written to the Crown Princess inquiring about the possibility of Moretta becoming engaged to his son Carlos[9].  The Crown Princess turned him down, as the proposal included the condition that the Princess would change her religion prior to the marriage, the Royal family of Portugal being Roman Catholic.  The King of Portugal and the Crown Princess were second cousins; the King’s father was a Prince of Saxe-Coburg & Gotha, who had been created King Consort after his marriage to Maria II.  However, in June 1885 Herbert Bismarck, the Chancellor’s son, had an interview with the Portuguese Minister in Berlin.  He suggested that the only reason the proposal was turned down was the conversion before marriage condition, and that if a new proposal was made without that condition, the Crown Prince would look favourably upon it.  When Chancellor Bismarck read his son’s memorandum he recorded,  “Once the Princess becomes Portuguese, her doings no longer concern us.  I am by no means certain of the Crown Prince’s opinion.”[10] In the meantime the Crown Princess had spoken to Princess Leopold of Hohenzollern[11], sister to King Luis.  She told the Princess that the King should not send another proposal, as Princess Viktoria was promised to another.  By this she was referring to the secret engagement with the Prince of Bulgaria.  The King of Portugal was confused as to his next step, and had his Minister contact the Chancellor to clear up the matter.  Bismarck let the King’s representative know that the other engagement was no longer valid.  He informed the Emperor Wilhelm, “I have learnt from confidential sources that the Portuguese Court intends to send an official request to Your Majesty for the hand of H.R.H. Princess Viktoria, in which there would be no mention of the religious question.”[12] Bismarck went on to say “I can only respectfully repeat that I should be glad if such an alliance with a person of equal rank would put a stop once and for all to any other plans.”

n 8 July 1885 the Portuguese Minister handed the Crown Prince a letter from the King asking for the hand of Princess Viktoria in marriage to his elder son, Crown Prince Carlos.  The German Crown Prince asked for a few days to consider the proposal.  Bismarck was well aware of the letter’s arrival, and approached the Emperor to “further this marriage between people of equal rank, particularly since there has been no more mention of a change of religion.”[13] What Bismarck did not take into account was the fact that the Crown Prince would not consult his father, the Emperor, over this marriage proposal.  A couple of days prior to the arrival of the proposal, the Crown Princess had seen the Portuguese Minister herself and informed him that perhaps one of her younger daughters could be the new Crown Princess.  During this time the Crown Princess’s Chamberlain, Götz, Count von Seckendorff, had a meeting with Friedrich von Holstein where he stated, “The Crown Princess certainly does not object to the Crown Prince of Portugal.  She actually told Penafiel[14] that he could not be considered for Princess Viktoria, but might do for one of the younger princesses.” He went on, “This means that the change of religion is not an obstacle provided it is not required immediately.”

Meanwhile the Crown Prince was writing a reply to the King of Portugal.  Whether influenced by his wife or by the religious complications, he rejected the proposal outright.  Bismarck and the Emperor were unaware that the King had once again included the change of religion in the proposal.  The Crown Prince, knowing the Emperor’s views on this, did not see any need to advise his father before rejecting the proposal.  The Emperor wrote to Bismarck in mid-July asking him if he knew what the Crown Prince had written.  Bismarck was unable to tell him right away, and had to wait nearly a week before he could find out himself.  On 23 July the Crown Prince wrote to his father, “In itself it seems incomprehensible that the King should try again after the answer he received at that time [autumn 1884].  I am therefore inclined to think that someone or other has committed an indiscretion and urged him to make a further attempt.”[15]

Herbert Bismarck’s attempt at royal intrigue this time had failed, but perhaps for the benefit of Princess Viktoria.  Crown Prince Carlos of Portugal married Princess Amélie d’Orléans[16] in Lisbon on 22 May 1886, and on the death of his father in October 1889 he became King of Portugal.  Carlos ruled his kingdom until he was assassinated, along with his eldest son, on the streets of Lisbon in February 1908.

In August 1886 the Prince of Bulgaria was kidnapped.  His younger brother, Prince Franz Joseph, was with him when they were attacked and both were carried off by sea to the Russian territory of Reni on the Black Sea.  Sandro briefly returned to Bulgaria before leaving for good on 7 September.  He was no longer a ruling Prince, and returned to using his original title as a Prince of Battenberg.  Moretta and her mother secretly hoped that this would mean the young lovers were free to marry, but Moretta’s grandfather still stood firm on his refusal to permit the marriage.

Just before the whole family went to England in June 1887 for Queen Victoria’s Golden Jubilee, the newspapers mentioned that a rumour was doing the rounds of Vienna that a daughter of the Crown Prince was to marry Duke Albrecht, a grandson of the Austrian Archduke Albrecht.  But alas this was just a rumour and nothing more.

In late 1887, Moretta’s family headed off to northern Italy so that her father could benefit from the climate there.  His health had continued to deteriorate, and any thought of finding a suitable husband for the Princess was put on hold why the family gathered around the patient.

In March 1888 Moretta’s grandfather, the old Emperor Wilhelm, died just short of his 91st birthday.  Moretta had been staying at San Remo, on the Mediterranean, with her parents.  Her father was now the Emperor of Germany, and he alone, at last, would have the say as to whom Moretta could and could not marry.  As the Imperial Family rushed back to Germany, plans were already being made to have Sandro come to Berlin, so that the engagement could be officially announced and the wedding could follow soon after.  The reason for all this haste was that Moretta’s father, the new Emperor, was dying of throat cancer, and despite the whole family putting on brave faces, the Emperor’s days were numbered.  Chancellor Bismarck still objected to the proposed marriage and was ready to tell the new Emperor that “to his profound regret, feel obliged to ask to be relieved of his functions.”[17] The reason behind Bismarck’s threat of resignation was that the Emperor Frederick proposed to give Sandro a position in his army, and although Sandro was no longer a ruling prince, Bismarck now saw him as a threat to his own position as Chancellor.

Another rumour circulating in the courts of Europe at this time was that Herbert Bismarck himself wanted to marry Moretta.  This had even reached the ears of Queen Victoria’s Private Secretary, Sir Henry Ponsonby, and as he wrote to his wife, “meanwhile rumour at Berlin said that old Bismarck had for some time been bored with the love story till he discovered that Herbert was in love with Princess Viktoria.  He was rather pleased with the idea.”[18] Whether Moretta and her mother heard of this is not known, but it can be easily imagine what their reply would have been on receiving any proposal from the Bismarcks.

In early 1889 a Swedish Prince’s name was raised as a possible husband for Moretta.  Queen Victoria contacted the Swedish Court to see if Prince Carl[19], Duke of Västergötland, would consider a marriage with her Prussian granddaughter.  Carl was a cousin of the Queen’s widowed daughter-in-law Helena, the Duchess of Albany.  Carl’s and Helena’s mothers were sisters and were Princesses of Nassau before marriage.  Unfortunately the Queen received no interest from the young Prince, and his cousin confirmed this. “Charles of Sweden is I fear totally out of the question from what Helena wrote which in fact coincides a good deal with their letters,”[20] the Queen wrote to her daughter.  Carl finally married Princess Ingeborg of Denmark [21] in Copenhagen on 27 August 1897.

In late February Sandro secretly married Fräulien Johanna Loisinger, an opera singer, at Mentone[22]. Moretta, her mother, and her sisters were just preparing to leave England after their four-month stay with Queen Victoria.  They were heading back to Germany but stopping off at Kiel to spend a few weeks with her brother, Henry, and his wife, Irene.  They would then go back to Berlin before finally returning to Homburg, which had now become the Empress Frederick’s home base.

Queen Victoria had another royal in mind, a recently widowed Prince with young children.  The Prince was obviously a fair bit older, as Queen Victoria believed that “Moretta would be more likely to be happy with someone a good deal older than herself and who had, like herself, loved someone before.”[23] The Prince in question may well have been Prince Albert of Saxe-Altenburg.  A cousin of the Duke of Saxe-Altenburg, he was 46 and in command of a Cavalry Brigade of Guards.  His wife had been Princess Marie, one of the daughters of Prince Frederick Charles of Prussia.  She had first been married to Prince Henry of the Netherlands, who had died shortly after their marriage, and now, after having two children with Prince Albert, she too had died.  Moretta had met this Prince in England way back in July 1884.  She and her family were staying at Buckingham Palace, and attended a number of dinners and a Garden Party at Marlborough House, the home of the Prince and Princess of Wales.  Prince Albert was also a guest at these functions.  As late as April 1890 the German papers still mentioned him as a possible husband for Moretta, but nothing came of it.

In May Queen Victoria came up with two Russian Grand Dukes.  The Queen thought that Grand Duke Alexander Mikhailovich[24] would be a catch, but her daughter-in-law, Grand Duchess Marie Alexandrovna, Duchess of Edinburgh, suggested Grand Duke Peter Nikolaevich.[25] The Princess of Leiningen was staying with the Queen at the time, and she just happened to be the aunt of Grand Duke Alexander.  More letters and inquiries flowed in and out of Windsor Castle. Could one of these Russian options be Moretta’s future husband?

Moretta’s younger sister Sophie had become engaged to the young Duke of Sparta, Crown Prince of Greece.  The Prussian Court’s rules of etiquette were that an engaged Princess held rank over a single Princess, and to save her daughter the embarrassment of having to give precedence to her younger sister at Court, the Empress Frederick arranged for Moretta to visit her grandmother in England for a month. The Empress sent Moretta off to England with a letter for her mother, “As for her prospects, should it fail with this young Grand Duke (which is possible, but of which I trust I may hear more from you).” She included an extra snippet of information in this letter: “I hear much praise of this Prince of Schaumburg-Lippe (Adolf) – in a regiment in Berlin.”[26]

Moretta arrived at Windsor Castle on 1 June 1889, “Here I am & safely arrived, & before anything else I must just send you these lines to say how horribly & terribly I miss you,”[27] she advised her mother.  Also staying at the Castle with the Queen was the Princess of Erbach-Schönberg, sister to Sandro. “How charming Marie Erbach is.”[28] Moretta’s young aunt Beatrice was there to, with her husband, Sandro’s younger brother Henry (known in the family as Liko). The Battenbergs were coming to terms with the news of Sandro’s secret marriage, “She can not get over all that has happened lately – they all try to cheer her up, but its no good.”[29] Moretta reported back to her mother.  It cannot have been easy for Moretta, either, to be amongst these constant reminders of her former love.

With the Princess of Leiningen (Grand Duke Alexander’s Aunt Molly)[30]among those staying at the Castle, Moretta found herself more and more intrigued by the tales she heard of him, but she was not so eager to give her heart away as she had been with Sandro.  “Here they all rave about her nephew, the sailor boy, I wish I could have seen him – never mind me, Mother dear – I shall never marry – I always said so,”[31] On the evening of 6 June the Royal party left Windsor Castle for Balmoral, Queen Victoria’s retreat in Scotland.  Moretta spent the night on the train with the Queen in her private carriage, the first time anyone apart from one the Queen’s daughters had done so.  “Moretta was as still as anyone could be & never moved,” the Queen told her daughter, “I was pleased to think your dear, good Child, His gt. Favourite – shd be the one to go with me in this way 1^st.”[32] The Queen was thinking of the late Emperor Frederick’s death when she wrote to her daughter.  It was now a year since he had passed away.

It seemed that the Princess of Leiningen had taken it on herself to decide that Moretta was perfect for her nephew, “Aunt Molly plays so charmingly on the piano.  She is such a dear good creature, so modest & gentle.  For fun the other day she said she thought that a certain young sailor – would be rather a good thing for me.”  But Moretta was perhaps not as hasty to get married as those around her thought she was, “Perhaps she could give you better information about him – but I do not want to marry & leave you – husbands are not always the best thing for one!”[33] It was drawing close to the first anniversary of Moretta’s father’s death, and she planned to spend this day visiting Braemar, where the late Emperor had stayed in August 1887.  In the meantime, her head was still being filled with thoughts of Russia: “I shall soon hear more about the ‘sailor-boy’ & will then write & tell you – Aunt Molly is so good about it,”[34] she wrote on 11 June.  The Queen, too, had Russia on her mind, as she wrote to her daughter, “I hope & trust that something will come out of our efforts in this new direction for poor dear Moretta.  I think with you she wld not be unhappy in Russia – with Ella & Minnie &c.”[35] Ella was Moretta’s cousin Elisabeth of Hesse, who had married the Grand Duke Serge in 1884, and Minnie was the Princess Dagmar of Denmark, the wife of Emperor Alexander III.

The day of the anniversary, 15 June 1889, arrived and Moretta set off with Lady Ampthill and Miss Cadogan, two of the Queen’s Household, to visit the Fife Arms and the room where her beloved Papa had stayed.  Added to this day of mourning came the news that Russia was not to be: “My hopes about the sailor boy are gone to nothing, they won’t hear of it in Russia.”  Moretta could not help but be upset at this disappointment. With her sister Sophie engaged to be married the following October, her mind could not help but dwell on how she could not find a husband.  “Each time, I hope for a thing, it’s sure not to take place & I shall never, never marry – all my relations, sisters, friends do, except my stupid self.  I am too ugly & nobody will have me,”[36] Queen Victoria took this as a sign that perhaps they needed to let Moretta relax and not push her towards just anyone for the sake of marriage.  The Grand Duke Peter, who had been mentioned earlier in the year by the Duchess of Edinburgh, turned out also not to be interested, and as the Queen said to her daughter, “I think, it is a Wink that Russia is not to be, for this is the second failure.”[37] The Queen knew that it was not good for her granddaughter to be constantly disappointed, so she urged her daughter (Moretta’s mother) not to force more suitors on the young Princess, “Moretta has expressed a strong wish not to marry now and I own I think you should let it alone for the present.  Let her see people, but pray don’t force it on, for if she has no inclination, if she don’t like anyone, it would never do.”[38]

Moretta’s visit to her grandmother was drawing to a close, and as she prepared to return to Windsor with the Queen, she heard that the recently married Sandro was happy with his new wife, “I thought he would never be happy again!”[39] There were constant reminders of weddings, including Russian ones, “Today is Paul of Russia’s wedding – yet another happy couple!”[40] and Prussian ones, “Today is also the famous wedding of Fritz & Ja-Ja – I try to think of it as little as possible – its painful in so many ways.”[41] The Grand Duke Paul of Russia had married the young Princess Alexandra of Greece on 16 June, and Moretta’s second cousin Prince Friedrich Leopold of Prussia had married Princess Luise of Schleswig-Holstein, sister-in-law of her brother William, on 24 June in Berlin.  The Royal party returned to Windsor Castle on 26 June, but even there Moretta could not get away from the thought of more weddings.  Princess Louise of Wales, the Prince of Wales’ eldest daughter and Moretta’s cousin, became engaged to the Earl of Fife on 27 June: “Nothing but engagements all round – each house or place I go to – I see nothing but bright, radiant faces – one after another they marry – younger than myself – & I!!”[42] Within a month, one of the Russian Grand Dukes was married.  Grand Duke Peter married Militza,[43] daughter of the Prince of Montenegro on 26 July in Peterhof.  Grand Duke Alexander married his cousin, the Grand Duchess Xenia of Russia,[44] who he had been in love with for many years, on 6 August 1894 at Peterhof.

While her daughter was in England, the Empress Frederick was still hard at work looking for more potential husbands for her.  When she heard that the Russia option was definitely off, she wrote to the Queen that she was now down to just two princes.  “One, Philippe Württemberg’s son – in spite of his being a Catholic, & the other Pce Adolf of Schaumburg-Lippe! This latter is at Bonn – is so much praised – & is good looking & agreeable bit of course – not much of a parti!”[45] The Empress did not necessarily agree with her mother’s views on Princesses marrying, “I should never never press her to marry for marrying’s sake!  I dote on her far too much for that, – and it is only reluctantly that I should ever give her up! …….Still I must consider & weigh, – what chances there might be for her, – so that she may not later reproach me; – but certainly I would not press her to anything she did not like, besides she is not a girl to let herself be pressed!”[46] The Queen was still determined to get her point across to her daughter, so just before Moretta left England, to return home to Germany, she wrote a quick note for the Empress: “I did tell her that she shld not refuse to make the acquaintance of people but if she does not like them when she knows them – we cannot help it! – I will also tell her, it is her duty not to refuse to make Princes’ acquaintance, & I hope, that as you are so anxious abt it, that something will succeed.”[47] The marriage prospects of Moretta were not only discussed among her family; even the London Times[48] mentioned a rumour that she had become secretly engaged to her cousin, Prince Albert Victor of Wales, while holidaying in Balmoral.  The rumour, of course, was false.

Duke Albrecht of Württemberg[49], the eldest son of Duke Philippe, was more than likely to succeed to the throne of the Kingdom of Württemburg, since the current King was childless, as was the heir, the King’s second cousin Prince William. His name had been linked to Moretta’s  in the papers back in mid-1887.  This was the type of match that the Empress had dreamed of, but as she had informed her mother, the young Duke was a Roman Catholic: “the former is a better marriage – but has the disadvantage of being a catholic – still as the country& the family are protestant, it does not matter so much, – that this branch should be catholic!”[50] The religious aspect of the match was a bigger hurdle than the Empress had imagined, and the idea came to nothing.  Duke Albrecht later married Archduchess Margarete Sophie of Austria[51] in Vienna on 24 January 1893.

In September the Empress headed off to Copenhagen, taking her three daughters with her.  The visit was to introduce Princess Sophie to the Danish grandparents of her future husband, Crown Prince Constantine of Greece. The King and Queen of Denmark welcomed them all with open arms and made the Empress feel completely relaxed amongst their extended family. Also visiting the Copenhagen royals at that time was King Oscar of Sweden with two of his sons, the Crown Prince and his youngest son, Prince Eugen. Luckily no embarrassment was caused for Moretta, as it was the King’s third son, Prince Carl, who had been suggested as a possible marriage partner for her.

In mid-October Moretta, along with all her family, left for Greece to be at the wedding of her younger sister Sophie.  At the recent visit to Berlin of the Emperor of Russia, Moretta had to give precedence to her younger sister as an engaged Princess. “For poor Moretta it was intensely painful, walking behind Sophie all the while, but she bore it with a smiling countenance and great good humour.”[52] Now Moretta had to stand during the lengthy Orthodox wedding service and watch her younger sister marry the Prince of her choice.

On leaving Greece with her mother and younger sister, Moretta visited Italy, staying in Naples and Rome. Moretta’s other grandmother, the Dowager Empress Augusta of Germany, passed away in mid-January 1890, and Moretta headed back to Berlin to attend the funeral. The Empress and her two remaining daughters stayed in Berlin until mid-April, when they headed off to Homburg, not planning on returning to the capital until June when the mausoleum for the Emperor Frederick was expected to be consecrated.

At the beginning of June the Empress, accompanied by her two unmarried daughters, Moretta and Mossy, paid a visit to the Princess of Weid at Neuweid. Amongst the Princess’s other guests was Prince Adolf of Schaumburg-Lippe. The visit was plagued by continual rain, and all parties spent the time within the palace walls. This must have brought Moretta in closer contact with the Prince, for he paid a visit to the Empress at Homburg shortly after.  “What will come of this I do not know.”[53] the Empress wrote to her daughter Sophie in Athens, “Perhaps he and Vicky will fancy each other, perhaps not, we must wait and see.”

The rainy weather worked, for on the 11th Moretta and Adolf became engaged.  While her mother was happy for her, she could not help commenting to Moretta’s grandmother, “In her depression and discouragement, feeling that the happiness she had hoped for is not to be hers, she accepts this.”[54] The effect of the engagement on Moretta was immediate, “darling Vicky looks rested and her face wears a peaceful and satisfied expression.”[55]

Finally on 17 June 1890 in the Marble Hall of the Royal Schloss in Berlin, with all the members of the Prussian Royal family and the German Chancellor surrounding Moretta, her brother, the Emperor Wilhelm II, officially announced the engagement.  Moretta’s fate was sealed.  She was to become Her Royal Highness Princess Adolf of Schaumburg-Lippe.  The Empress Frederick’s thoughts at the time were expressed in a letter to her daughter Sophie, “Let us hope that it may be for her lasting happiness, and that she may be repaid in her married life for all the sorrow and bitter disappointments she has gone through.”[56]

First published in Royalty Digest March 2003. Reprinted with author’s permission. All rights reserved.

References

[1] My Memoirs, Princess Viktoria of Prussia, 1929, page 67
[2] Senior Counsellor in the Political Division of the German foreign Ministry
[3] The Holstein Papers, Volume II Diaries, edited by Norman Rich & M.H. Fisher, 1957, page 112
[4] Beloved Mama, edited by Roger Fulford, 1981, page 155
[5] An Uncommon Woman, Hannah Pakula, 1996, page 415
[6] Ibid, page 415
[7] Ibid, page 420
[8] Luis, King of Portugal and the Algarves (Lisbon 31 Oct 1838-Cascais 19 Oct 1889)
[9] Born Lisbon 28 Sep 1863
[10] The Holstein Papers, Volume II Diaries, edited by Norman Rich & M.H. Fisher, 1957, page 205
[11] Princess Antónia of Portugal (Lisbon 17 Feb 1845-Sigmaringen 27 Dec 1913)
[12] The Holstein Papers, Volume II Diaries, edited by Norman Rich & M.H. Fisher, 1957, page 205
[13] Ibid, page 214
[14] The Portuguese Minister
[15] The Holstein Papers, Volume II Diaries, edited by Norman Rich & M.H. Fisher, 1957, page 225
[16] Born Twickenham 28 Sep 1864, died Château de Bellevue 25 Oct 1951
[17] The Holstein Papers, Volume II Diaries, edited by Norman Rich & M.H. Fisher, 1957, page 367
[18] Henry Ponsonby, His Life From His Letters, edited by Arthur Ponsonby, 1942, page 294
[19] Born Stockholm 27 Feb 1861, died Stockholm 25 Oct 1951
[20] Beloved and Darling Child, edited by Agatha Ramm, 1990, page 83
[21] Born Charlottenlund 2 Aug 1878, died Stockholm 12 Mar 1958
[22] Prince Alexander was married at Mentone on 6^th February 1889 to Johanna Loisinger (Preßburg 18 Apr 1865-Vienna 20 Jul 1951).  He died on 17^th November 1893 at Graz.
[23] Beloved and Darling Child, edited by Agatha Ramm, 1990, page 83
[24] Born Tiflis 13 Apr 1866, died Roquebrune 26 Feb 1933
[25] Born St.Petersburg 22 Jan 1864, died Cap d’Antibes 17 Jun 1931
[26] Beloved and Darling Child, edited by Agatha Ramm, 1990, page 89
[27] Queen Victoria at Windsor and Balmoral – Letters from her Granddaughter Princess Victoria of Prussia, edited by James Pope-Hennessy, 1959, page 28
[28] Ibid, page 33
[29] Ibid, page 33
[30] Princess Marie of Leiningen, nee Princess of Baden
[31] Queen Victoria at Windsor and Balmoral – Letters from her Granddaughter Princess Victoria of Prussia, edited by James Pope-Hennessy, 1959, page 48
[32] Ibid, page 50
[33] Ibid, page 55
[34] Ibid, page 59
[35] Ibid, page 66
[36] Ibid, page 71<
[37] Beloved and Darling Child, edited by Agatha Ramm, 1990, page 90
[38] Ibid, page 90
[39] Ibid, page 81
[40] Ibid, page 71
[41] Ibid, page 86
[42] Ibid, page 91
[43] Born Cetinje 26 Jul 1866, died Alexandria, Egypt 5 Sep 1951
[44] Born St.Petersburg 6 Apr 1875, died Wilderness House, Hampton Court 20 Apr 1960
[45] Queen Victoria at Windsor and Balmoral – Letters from her Granddaughter Princess Victoria of Prussia, edited by James Pope-Hennessy, 1959, page 95
[46] Ibid, page 96
[47] Ibid, page 97
[48]The Times, July 5, 1889
[49] Born Vienna 23 Dec 1865, died Schloß Altshausen 29 Oct 1939
[50] Queen Victoria at Windsor and Balmoral – Letters from her Granddaughter Princess Victoria of Prussia, edited by James Pope-Hennessy, 1959, page 95
[51] Born Artstetten 13 May 1870, died Gmunden 24 Aug 1902
[52] Beloved and Darling Child, edited by Agatha Ramm, 1990, page 95
[53] The Empress Frederick Writes To Sophie, edited by Arthur Gould Lee, 1955, page 66
[54] Beloved and Darling Child, edited by Agatha Ramm, 1990, page 111
[55] The Empress Frederick Writes To Sophie, edited by Arthur Gould Lee, 1955, page 67
[56] Ibid, page 67

Photo Credits

All photos are in the public domain.