Princess Helena, Duchess of Albany
Encyclopedia
Princess Helena of Waldeck and Pyrmont (Helena Frederica Augusta; later Duchess of Albany; 17 February 1861 – 1 September 1922) was the daughter of George Victor, Prince of Waldeck and Pyrmont
(regions now in Germany
) and his wife Princess Helena of Nassau
(also in Germany), who became a member of the British Royal Family
by marriage.
principality, in Germany.
She was the sister of Friedrich, last reigning Prince of Waldeck and Pyrmont; Marie
, the first wife of William II of Württemberg
; and of Emma
, Queen consort of William III of the Netherlands
(and mother of Queen Wilhelmina
).
Her maternal grandparents were William, Duke of Nassau
and his second wife Princess Pauline of Württemberg
. Pauline was a daughter of Prince Paul of Württemberg
and his wife Princess Charlotte of Saxe-Hildburghausen.
Paul was a son Frederick I of Württemberg
and his wife Duchess Augusta of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel. Augusta was the eldest daughter of Karl Wilhelm Ferdinand, Duke of Brunswick-Luneburg and Princess Augusta of Great Britain, elder sister of George III of the United Kingdom
.
Along with Emma and a third sister, Pauline, Helena was considered as a second wife for William III of the Netherlands
. She later met with Prince Leopold, Duke of Albany
, youngest son of Queen Victoria, at the suggestion of his mother. The two became engaged in November 1881. Leopold was actually a third cousin of Helena's grandmother Princess Pauline of Württemberg
, as they were both great great grandchildren of Frederick, Prince of Wales
.
On 27 April 1882, Leopold and Helena married in St. George's Chapel
, Windsor Castle
. Helena's title was now Her Royal Highness The Duchess of Albany. After their wedding, Leopold and Helena resided at Claremont House
. The couple had a brief, but happy marriage, ending in the hemophiliac Leopold's death from a fall in Cannes, France, in March 1884. At the time of Leopold's death, Helena was pregnant with their second child.
, Helena was very intelligent, had an extremely strong sense of duty, and a genuine love of welfare work. Queen Victoria, initially worried that Helena might turn out to be a stereotypically-remote German Princess, remarked in a letter to her eldest daughter Vicky
(German Empress, Queen of Prussia and Princess Royal) that she was pleased Helena liked 'to go among the people.' The Queen soon came to regard her young daughter-in-law with great respect and affection, notwithstanding her initial concerns upon hearing from the match-making Vicky that Helena was an "intellectual", being unusually well-educated for a Princess. Before her marriage, Helena's father had made her Superintendent of the infant schools in his principality, and in this position the Princess had devised the pupils' educational curriculum. Helena particularly enjoyed solving mathematical problems and reading philosophy: during their tragically brief marriage, Prince Leopold proudly introduced his wife to the circle of academics he'd befriended at Oxford University. Helena maintained these friendships for the rest of her life.
During her widowhood, Helena became the founder of the Deptford Fund, an organization originally dedicated to helping find alternative work for women and girls employed in the dangerous cattle slaughter business. The Deptford Fund is still in existence today. Helena was also involved in hospital charities and those dedicated to ending human trafficking. During World War I
, she organised much of her charity work along with that of her sister-in-law Princess Beatrice
, in order to avoid the not-uncommon problem of conflicting and occasionally misguided Royal war-work projects.
, was selected as the new heir to the German Duchy, and was parted from his mother and sister in order to take up residence there. When the First World War broke out 14 years later, Charles Edward found himself fighting in the German Army. As a result, he was stripped of his British titles by an act of Parliament in 1917
. By contrast, her daughter Alice
remained in England and made a marriage that made her the sister-in-law of George V's
consort, Queen Mary
.
In 1901, it was speculated that she would marry Archibald Primrose, 5th Earl of Rosebery
.
Princess Helena of Waldeck and Pyrmont died on 1 September 1922 of a heart attack in Hinterriss in Tyrol, Austria, while visiting her son.
Through her son Charles Edward, Helena is the great-grandmother of Carl XVI Gustav
, the current King of Sweden
.
VA: Lady of the Royal Order of Victoria and Albert
RRC: Member of the Royal Red Cross
DJStJ: Dame of Justice of St John
George Victor, Prince of Waldeck and Pyrmont
George Victor was the 3rd sovereign Prince of the German state of Waldeck and Pyrmont.He was born in Arolsen the son of George II, Prince of Waldeck and Pyrmont and his wife Princess Emma of Anhalt-Bernburg-Schaumburg-Hoym...
(regions now in Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
) and his wife Princess Helena of Nassau
Princess Helena of Nassau
Princess Helena of Nassau was daughter of William, Duke of Nassau , and consort of George Victor, Prince of Waldeck and Pyrmont.-Early life:...
(also in Germany), who became a member of the British Royal Family
British Royal Family
The British Royal Family is the group of close relatives of the monarch of the United Kingdom. The term is also commonly applied to the same group of people as the relations of the monarch in her or his role as sovereign of any of the other Commonwealth realms, thus sometimes at variance with...
by marriage.
Family
She was born in Arolsen, capital of WaldeckWaldeck (state)
Waldeck was a sovereign principality in the German Empire and German Confederation and, until 1929, a constituent state of the Weimar Republic. It comprised territories in present-day Hesse and Lower Saxony, ....
principality, in Germany.
She was the sister of Friedrich, last reigning Prince of Waldeck and Pyrmont; Marie
Marie of Waldeck-Pyrmont
Georgine Henriette Marie, Princess of Waldeck and Pyrmont was the third daughter of George Victor, Prince of Waldeck and Pyrmont and his wife Princess Helena of Nassau, younger half-sister of Adolphe, Grand Duke of Luxembourg.-Family:Marie was born in Arolsen, then part of the German Principality...
, the first wife of William II of Württemberg
William II of Württemberg
William II was the fourth King of Württemberg, from 6 October 1891 until the abolition of the kingdom on 30 November 1918...
; and of Emma
Emma of Waldeck and Pyrmont
Princess Emma of Waldeck and Pyrmont was Queen consort of William III, King of the Netherlands and Grand Duke of Luxembourg...
, Queen consort of William III of the Netherlands
William III of the Netherlands
William III was from 1849 King of the Netherlands and Grand Duke of Luxembourg until his death and the Duke of Limburg until the abolition of the Duchy in 1866.-Early life:William was born in Brussels as son of William II of the Netherlands and...
(and mother of Queen Wilhelmina
Wilhelmina of the Netherlands
Wilhelmina was Queen regnant of the Kingdom of the Netherlands from 1890 to 1948. She ruled the Netherlands for fifty-eight years, longer than any other Dutch monarch. Her reign saw World War I and World War II, the economic crisis of 1933, and the decline of the Netherlands as a major colonial...
).
Her maternal grandparents were William, Duke of Nassau
William, Duke of Nassau
Wilhelm, Duke of Nassau, Prince of Nassau-Weilburg was the father of Adolphe, Grand Duke of Luxembourg and Queen Sophia .-Biography:Wilhelm was the eldest son of Frederick...
and his second wife Princess Pauline of Württemberg
Princess Pauline of Württemberg
Princess Pauline Friederike Marie of Württemberg, full German name: Pauline Friederike Marie, Prinzessin von Württemberg was a member of the House of Württemberg and a Princess of Württemberg by birth...
. Pauline was a daughter of Prince Paul of Württemberg
Prince Paul of Württemberg
Prince Paul of Württemberg was a German prince and the fourth child and second son of Frederick I of Württemberg and Augusta of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel.-Early life:...
and his wife Princess Charlotte of Saxe-Hildburghausen.
Paul was a son Frederick I of Württemberg
Frederick I of Württemberg
Frederick I William Charles of Württemberg was the first King of Württemberg. He was known for his size: at and about , he was in contrast to Napoleon, who recognized him as King of Württemberg.-Biography:...
and his wife Duchess Augusta of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel. Augusta was the eldest daughter of Karl Wilhelm Ferdinand, Duke of Brunswick-Luneburg and Princess Augusta of Great Britain, elder sister of George III of the United Kingdom
George III of the United Kingdom
George III was King of Great Britain and King of Ireland from 25 October 1760 until the union of these two countries on 1 January 1801, after which he was King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland until his death...
.
Marriage
- See also: Wedding dress of Princess Helena of Waldeck and PyrmontWedding dress of Princess Helena of Waldeck and PyrmontThe wedding dress of Princess Helena of Waldeck and Pyrmont refers to the wedding gown of Princess Helena of Waldeck and Pyrmont, Duchess of Albany....
Along with Emma and a third sister, Pauline, Helena was considered as a second wife for William III of the Netherlands
William III of the Netherlands
William III was from 1849 King of the Netherlands and Grand Duke of Luxembourg until his death and the Duke of Limburg until the abolition of the Duchy in 1866.-Early life:William was born in Brussels as son of William II of the Netherlands and...
. She later met with Prince Leopold, Duke of Albany
Prince Leopold, Duke of Albany
The Prince Leopold, Duke of Albany was the eighth child and fourth son of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha. Leopold was later created Duke of Albany, Earl of Clarence, and Baron Arklow...
, youngest son of Queen Victoria, at the suggestion of his mother. The two became engaged in November 1881. Leopold was actually a third cousin of Helena's grandmother Princess Pauline of Württemberg
Princess Pauline of Württemberg
Princess Pauline Friederike Marie of Württemberg, full German name: Pauline Friederike Marie, Prinzessin von Württemberg was a member of the House of Württemberg and a Princess of Württemberg by birth...
, as they were both great great grandchildren of Frederick, Prince of Wales
Frederick, Prince of Wales
Frederick, Prince of Wales was a member of the House of Hanover and therefore of the Hanoverian and later British Royal Family, the eldest son of George II and father of George III, as well as the great-grandfather of Queen Victoria...
.
On 27 April 1882, Leopold and Helena married in St. George's Chapel
St. George's Chapel, Windsor Castle
St George's Chapel is the place of worship at Windsor Castle in England, United Kingdom. It is both a royal peculiar and the chapel of the Order of the Garter...
, Windsor Castle
Windsor Castle
Windsor Castle is a medieval castle and royal residence in Windsor in the English county of Berkshire, notable for its long association with the British royal family and its architecture. The original castle was built after the Norman invasion by William the Conqueror. Since the time of Henry I it...
. Helena's title was now Her Royal Highness The Duchess of Albany. After their wedding, Leopold and Helena resided at Claremont House
Claremont (country house)
Claremont, also known historically as 'Clermont', is an 18th-century Palladian mansion situated less than a mile south of Esher in Surrey, England...
. The couple had a brief, but happy marriage, ending in the hemophiliac Leopold's death from a fall in Cannes, France, in March 1884. At the time of Leopold's death, Helena was pregnant with their second child.
Personality and Social Work
According to the memoirs of Helena's daughter, Princess Alice, Countess of AthlonePrincess Alice, Countess of Athlone
Princess Alice, Countess of Athlone was a member of the British Royal Family. She was the longest-lived Princess of the Blood Royal of the British Royal Family and the last surviving grandchild of Queen Victoria...
, Helena was very intelligent, had an extremely strong sense of duty, and a genuine love of welfare work. Queen Victoria, initially worried that Helena might turn out to be a stereotypically-remote German Princess, remarked in a letter to her eldest daughter Vicky
Victoria, Princess Royal
The Princess Victoria, Princess Royal was the eldest child of Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom and Prince Albert. She was created Princess Royal of the United Kingdom in 1841. She became German Empress and Queen of Prussia by marriage to German Emperor Frederick III...
(German Empress, Queen of Prussia and Princess Royal) that she was pleased Helena liked 'to go among the people.' The Queen soon came to regard her young daughter-in-law with great respect and affection, notwithstanding her initial concerns upon hearing from the match-making Vicky that Helena was an "intellectual", being unusually well-educated for a Princess. Before her marriage, Helena's father had made her Superintendent of the infant schools in his principality, and in this position the Princess had devised the pupils' educational curriculum. Helena particularly enjoyed solving mathematical problems and reading philosophy: during their tragically brief marriage, Prince Leopold proudly introduced his wife to the circle of academics he'd befriended at Oxford University. Helena maintained these friendships for the rest of her life.
During her widowhood, Helena became the founder of the Deptford Fund, an organization originally dedicated to helping find alternative work for women and girls employed in the dangerous cattle slaughter business. The Deptford Fund is still in existence today. Helena was also involved in hospital charities and those dedicated to ending human trafficking. During World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
, she organised much of her charity work along with that of her sister-in-law Princess Beatrice
Princess Beatrice of the United Kingdom
The Princess Beatrice was a member of the British Royal Family. She was the fifth daughter and youngest child of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert. Juan Carlos, King of Spain, is her great-grandson...
, in order to avoid the not-uncommon problem of conflicting and occasionally misguided Royal war-work projects.
Later life
After Leopold's death, Helena and her two children, Alice and Charles Edward, continued to reside at Claremont House. After the death of Alfred, Hereditary Prince of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha in 1900, Helena's sixteen-year-old son, Charles EdwardCharles Edward, Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha
Charles Edward, Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha was the fourth and last reigning Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, two duchies in Germany , and the head of the House of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha from 1900 until his death in 1954...
, was selected as the new heir to the German Duchy, and was parted from his mother and sister in order to take up residence there. When the First World War broke out 14 years later, Charles Edward found himself fighting in the German Army. As a result, he was stripped of his British titles by an act of Parliament in 1917
Titles Deprivation Act 1917
The Titles Deprivation Act 1917 is an Act of Parliament of the United Kingdom which authorised enemies of the United Kingdom during the First World War to be deprived of their British peerages and royal titles. -Background:...
. By contrast, her daughter Alice
Princess Alice, Countess of Athlone
Princess Alice, Countess of Athlone was a member of the British Royal Family. She was the longest-lived Princess of the Blood Royal of the British Royal Family and the last surviving grandchild of Queen Victoria...
remained in England and made a marriage that made her the sister-in-law of George V's
George V of the United Kingdom
George V was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Emperor of India, from 6 May 1910 through the First World War until his death in 1936....
consort, Queen Mary
Mary of Teck
Mary of Teck was the queen consort of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Empress of India, as the wife of King-Emperor George V....
.
In 1901, it was speculated that she would marry Archibald Primrose, 5th Earl of Rosebery
Archibald Primrose, 5th Earl of Rosebery
Archibald Philip Primrose, 5th Earl of Rosebery, KG, PC was a British Liberal statesman and Prime Minister. Between the death of his father, in 1851, and the death of his grandfather, the 4th Earl, in 1868, he was known by the courtesy title of Lord Dalmeny.Rosebery was a Liberal Imperialist who...
.
Princess Helena of Waldeck and Pyrmont died on 1 September 1922 of a heart attack in Hinterriss in Tyrol, Austria, while visiting her son.
Through her son Charles Edward, Helena is the great-grandmother of Carl XVI Gustav
Carl XVI Gustaf of Sweden
Carl XVI Gustaf is the reigning King of Sweden since 15 September 1973, succeeding his grandfather King Gustaf VI Adolf because his father had predeceased him...
, the current King of Sweden
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
.
Titles and styles
- 17 February 1861 – 27 April 1882: Her Serene Highness Princess Helena of Waldeck-Pyrmont
- 27 April 1882 – 1 September 1922: Her Royal Highness The Duchess of Albany
Honours
CI: Companion of the Order of the Crown of IndiaOrder of the Crown of India
The Imperial Order of the Crown of India is an order in the British honours system.The Order was established by Queen Victoria in 1878, when she became Empress of India. The Order is open only to women; no new appointments have been made after the Partition of India in 1947...
VA: Lady of the Royal Order of Victoria and Albert
Royal Order of Victoria and Albert
The Royal Order of Victoria and Albert was a British Royal Family Order instituted in on 10 February 1862 by Queen Victoria, and enlarged on 10 October 1864; 15 November 1865; and 15 March 1880. No awards were made after the death of Queen Victoria....
RRC: Member of the Royal Red Cross
Royal Red Cross
The Royal Red Cross is a military decoration awarded in the United Kingdom and Commonwealth for exceptional services in military nursing.The award was established on 27 April 1883 by Queen Victoria, with a single class of Member...
DJStJ: Dame of Justice of St John
Venerable Order of Saint John
The Most Venerable Order of the Hospital of Saint John of Jerusalem , is a royal order of chivalry established in 1831 and found today throughout the Commonwealth of Nations, Hong Kong, Ireland and the United States of America, with the world-wide mission "to prevent and relieve sickness and...
Issue
| Image | Name | Birth | Death | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Princess Alice of Albany Princess Alice, Countess of Athlone Princess Alice, Countess of Athlone was a member of the British Royal Family. She was the longest-lived Princess of the Blood Royal of the British Royal Family and the last surviving grandchild of Queen Victoria... |
25 February 1883 | 3 January 1981 | later HRH Princess Alice, Countess of Athlone (sister-in-law to Queen Mary Mary of Teck Mary of Teck was the queen consort of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Empress of India, as the wife of King-Emperor George V.... ) |
|
 |
Prince Charles Edward, Duke of Albany Charles Edward, Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha Charles Edward, Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha was the fourth and last reigning Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, two duchies in Germany , and the head of the House of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha from 1900 until his death in 1954... |
19 July 1884 | 6 March 1954 | Born four months after his father's death; known as 'Charlie'; Leopold Charles Edward George Albert; later reigning Duke of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha |