, house =
Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Augustenburg
The House of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Augustenburg () was a branch of the dukes of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg of the House of Oldenburg. The line descended from Alexander, Duke of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg. Like all of the secondary ...
, father =
Frederick VIII, Duke of Schleswig-Holstein
''
, house = Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Augustenburg
, father = Christian August II, Duke of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Augustenburg
, mother = Countess Louise Sophie Danneskiold-Samsøe
, birth_date =
, birth_place = Augustenbur ...
, mother =
Princess Adelheid of Hohenlohe-Langenburg
Princess Adelheid of Hohenlohe-Langenburg (20 July 1835 – 25 January 1900) was Duchess of Schleswig-Holstein, a niece of Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom, first cousin of King Edward VII, and the mother-in-law of Emperor Wilhelm II of Ge ...
, birth_date =
, birth_place =
Dolzig Palace,
Brandenburg
Brandenburg (; nds, Brannenborg; dsb, Bramborska ) is a state in the northeast of Germany bordering the states of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Lower Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt, and Saxony, as well as the country of Poland. With an area of 29,480 sq ...
,
Kingdom of Prussia
The Kingdom of Prussia (german: Königreich Preußen, ) was a German kingdom that constituted the state of Prussia between 1701 and 1918. Marriott, J. A. R., and Charles Grant Robertson. ''The Evolution of Prussia, the Making of an Empire''. ...
(now Dłużek,
Poland
Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populous ...
)
, death_date =
, death_place =
Huis Doorn
Huis Doorn (; en, Doorn Manor) is a manor house and national museum in the town of Doorn in the Netherlands. The residence has early 20th-century interiors from the time when former German Emperor Wilhelm II resided there (1919–1941).
Huis Do ...
,
Kingdom of the Netherlands
, national_anthem = )
, image_map = Kingdom of the Netherlands (orthographic projection).svg
, map_width = 250px
, image_map2 = File:KonDerNed-10-10-10.png
, map_caption2 = Map of the four constituent countries shown to scale
, capital = ...
, burial_date = 19 April 1921
, burial_place =
Antique Temple
The Antique Temple is a small round temple in the west part of Sanssouci Park in Potsdam. Frederick the Great had the building constructed to house his collection of classical works of art, antique artifacts, coins and antique gems. Carl von Go ...
,
Potsdam
Potsdam () is the capital and, with around 183,000 inhabitants, largest city of the German state of Brandenburg. It is part of the Berlin/Brandenburg Metropolitan Region. Potsdam sits on the River Havel, a tributary of the Elbe, downstream o ...
,
Germany
Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...
Augusta Viktoria of Schleswig-Holstein (Auguste Viktoria Friederike Luise Feodora Jenny; 22 October 1858 – 11 April 1921) was the last
German Empress
The German Empire (),Herbert Tuttle wrote in September 1881 that the term "Reich" does not literally connote an empire as has been commonly assumed by English-speaking people. The term literally denotes an empire – particularly a hereditary ...
and
Queen of Prussia
The Queen of Prussia (german: Königin von Preußen) was the queen consort of the ruler of the Kingdom of Prussia, from its establishment in 1701 to its abolition in 1918. As all rulers of Prussia had to be male, there was never a Queen regnant ...
by marriage to
Wilhelm II, German Emperor
Wilhelm II (Friedrich Wilhelm Viktor Albert; 27 January 18594 June 1941) was the last German Emperor (german: Kaiser) and King of Prussia, reigning from 15 June 1888 until his abdication on 9 November 1918. Despite strengthening the German Emp ...
.
Biography
Early life and family
Augusta Victoria was born at
Dolzig Castle, the eldest daughter of
Frederick VIII, future Duke of
Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Augustenburg
The House of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Augustenburg () was a branch of the dukes of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg of the House of Oldenburg. The line descended from Alexander, Duke of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg. Like all of the secondary ...
, and
Princess Adelheid of Hohenlohe-Langenburg
Princess Adelheid of Hohenlohe-Langenburg (20 July 1835 – 25 January 1900) was Duchess of Schleswig-Holstein, a niece of Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom, first cousin of King Edward VII, and the mother-in-law of Emperor Wilhelm II of Ge ...
, a great-niece of
Queen Victoria
Victoria (Alexandrina Victoria; 24 May 1819 – 22 January 1901) was Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until her death in 1901. Her reign of 63 years and 216 days was longer than that of any previo ...
, through Victoria's half-sister Feodora. She grew up at Dolzig until the death of her grandfather,
Christian August II, Duke of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Augustenburg, in 1869. The family then moved to
Castle Primkenau and the estate her father had inherited. She was known within her family as "Dona"
Crown Princess
On 27 February 1881, Augusta married her second cousin
Prince Wilhelm of Prussia. Augusta's maternal grandmother
Princess Feodora of Leiningen
Princess Feodora of Leiningen (Anna Feodora Auguste Charlotte Wilhelmine; 7 December 1807 – 23 September 1872) was the only daughter of Emich Carl, Prince of Leiningen (1763–1814), and Princess Victoria of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld (1786–1861) ...
was the
half-sister
A sibling is a relative that shares at least one parent with the subject. A male sibling is a brother and a female sibling is a sister. A person with no siblings is an only child.
While some circumstances can cause siblings to be raised sepa ...
of
Queen Victoria
Victoria (Alexandrina Victoria; 24 May 1819 – 22 January 1901) was Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until her death in 1901. Her reign of 63 years and 216 days was longer than that of any previo ...
, who was Wilhelm's maternal grandmother.
Wilhelm had earlier proposed to his first cousin,
Princess Elisabeth of Hesse and by Rhine (known in the family as "Ella"), a daughter of his mother's own sister, but she declined. He did not react well, and was adamant that he would soon marry another princess.
Wilhelm's family was originally against the marriage with Augusta Victoria, whose father was not even a sovereign. However, Chancellor
Otto von Bismarck was a strong proponent of the marriage, believing that it would end the dispute between the Prussian government and Augusta's father. In the end, Wilhelm's intransigence, the support of Bismarck, and a determination to move beyond the rejection of his proposal to Ella, led the reluctant imperial family to give official consent.
Empress
Augusta was known as "Dona" within the family. She had a somewhat lukewarm relationship with her mother-in-law,
Victoria
Victoria most commonly refers to:
* Victoria (Australia), a state of the Commonwealth of Australia
* Victoria, British Columbia, provincial capital of British Columbia, Canada
* Victoria (mythology), Roman goddess of Victory
* Victoria, Seychelle ...
, who had hoped that Dona would help to heal the rift between herself and Wilhelm; this was not to be the case. The Empress was also annoyed that the title of head of the
Red Cross
The International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement is a humanitarian movement with approximately 97 million volunteers, members and staff worldwide. It was founded to protect human life and health, to ensure respect for all human beings, and ...
went to Dona, who had no nursing or charity experience or inclination (though in her memoirs,
Princess Viktoria Luise paints a different picture, stating that her mother loved charity work). Augusta often took pleasure in snubbing her mother-in-law, usually small incidents, such as telling her that she would be wearing a different dress than the one Victoria recommended, that she would not be riding to get her figure back after childbirth as Wilhelm had no intention of stopping at one son, and informing her that Augusta's daughter, Viktoria, was not named after her (though, again, in her memoirs, Viktoria Luise states that she was named after both her grandmother and her great-grandmother,
Queen Victoria
Victoria (Alexandrina Victoria; 24 May 1819 – 22 January 1901) was Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until her death in 1901. Her reign of 63 years and 216 days was longer than that of any previo ...
).
Augusta and her mother-in-law grew closer for a few years when Wilhelm became emperor, as Augusta was often lonely while he was away on military exercises and turned to her mother-in-law for the companionship of rank, although she never left her children alone with her lest they be influenced by her well-known
liberalism
Liberalism is a political and moral philosophy based on the rights of the individual, liberty, consent of the governed, political equality and equality before the law."political rationalism, hostility to autocracy, cultural distaste for c ...
. Nevertheless, the two were often seen riding in a carriage together. Augusta was at Victoria's bedside when she died of breast cancer in 1901.
Augusta also had less than cordial relationships with some of Wilhelm's sisters, particularly the recently married
Crown Princess Sophie of Greece. In 1890, when Sophie announced her intention to convert to Greek Orthodoxy, Dona summoned her and told her that if she did so, not only would Wilhelm find it unacceptable as the head of the
Evangelical State Church of Prussia's older Provinces
The Prussian Union of Churches (known under multiple other names) was a major Protestant church body which emerged in 1817 from a series of decrees by Frederick William III of Prussia that united both Lutheran and Reformed denominations in Pru ...
, but she would be barred from Germany and her soul would end up in Hell. Sophie replied that it was her business whether or not she did. Augusta became hysterical and gave birth prematurely to her son,
Prince Joachim, as a result of which she was overprotective of him for the rest of his life, believing that he was delicate. Evidently, so did Wilhelm; he wrote to his mother that if the baby died, Sophie would have murdered it.
Later life
In 1920, the shock of exile and abdication, combined with the breakdown of Joachim's marriage and his subsequent suicide, proved too much for Augusta's health. She died in 1921, in
House Doorn at
Doorn
Doorn is a town in the municipality of Utrechtse Heuvelrug in the central Netherlands, in the province of Utrecht.
History
In a document from 885 to 896, the settlement is called "Thorhem", dwelling of Thor, the God of Thunder. Vikings quart ...
in the Netherlands. Wilhelm, still reeling over the same losses, was devastated by her death. The
Weimar Republic
The Weimar Republic (german: link=no, Weimarer Republik ), officially named the German Reich, was the government of Germany from 1918 to 1933, during which it was a constitutional federal republic for the first time in history; hence it is al ...
allowed her remains to be transported back to Germany, where they still lie in the
Temple of Antiquities, not far from the New Palace, Potsdam. Because he was not permitted to enter Germany, Wilhelm could accompany his wife on her last journey only as far as the German border.
Issue
Augusta gave birth to seven children by Wilhelm II:
*
Wilhelm, German Crown Prince
Wilhelm, German Crown Prince, Crown Prince of Prussia (Friedrich Wilhelm Victor August Ernst; 6 May 1882 – 20 July 1951) was the eldest child of the last ''Kaiser'', the German Emperor, Wilhelm II, and his consort Augusta Victoria of Schles ...
(1882–1951); married
Duchess Cecilie of Mecklenburg-Schwerin
Duchess Cecilie Auguste Marie of Mecklenburg-Schwerin (20 September 1886 – 6 May 1954) was the last German Crown Princess and Crown Princess of Prussia as the wife of Wilhelm, German Crown Prince, the son of German Emperor Wilhelm II.
Cecili ...
.
*
Prince Eitel Friedrich (1883–1942); married
Duchess Sophia Charlotte of Oldenburg
Duchess Sophia Charlotte of Oldenburg (german: Sophie Charlotte; 2 February 1879 – 29 March 1964) was a member of the House of Holstein-Gottorp. She was the only surviving child of Frederick Augustus II, Grand Duke of Oldenburg by his first ...
.
*
Prince Adalbert (1884–1948); married
Princess Adelaide of Saxe-Meiningen
, house = Saxe-Meiningen
, father = Georg I, Duke of Saxe-Meiningen
, mother = Princess Louise Eleonore of Hohenlohe-Langenburg
, birth_date =
, birth_place = Meiningen, Saxe-Meiningen, Holy ...
.
*
Prince August Wilhelm (1887–1949); married
.
*
Prince Oskar (1888–1958); married
Countess Ina Marie von Bassewitz.
*
Prince Joachim (1890–1920); married
Princess Marie-Auguste of Anhalt
Princess Marie Auguste of Anhalt (10 June 1898 – 22 May 1983) was the daughter of Eduard, Duke of Anhalt, and his wife, Princess Louise Charlotte of Saxe-Altenburg. She married and divorced a son of Kaiser Wilhelm II, then married and divo ...
.
*
Princess Victoria Louise of Prussia
german: Viktoria Luise Adelheid Mathilde Charlotte
, house = Hohenzollern
, father = Wilhelm II, German Emperor
, mother = Augusta Victoria of Schleswig-Holstein
, birth_name = Princess Victoria Louise of Prussia
, ...
(1892–1980); married
Ernest Augustus, Duke of
Brunswick.
In literature
The funeral of Augusta Victoria is reflected upon in the novel by
Katherine Anne Porter
Katherine Anne Porter (May 15, 1890 – September 18, 1980) was an American journalist, essayist, short story writer, novelist, and political activist. Her 1962 novel '' Ship of Fools'' was the best-selling novel in America that year, but her sh ...
, ''
Ship of Fools
The ship of fools is an allegory, originating from Book VI of Plato's ''Republic'', about a ship with a dysfunctional crew. The allegory is intended to represent the problems of governance prevailing in a political system not based on expert kn ...
''. In it, a German passenger silently reminisces on the funeral and its cinematic showing to a small colony of Germans living abroad in
Mexico
Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...
and describes the outpouring of public grief that was seen within that community. Augusta Victoria's passing is viewed among Germans who lived through the First World War as the ending of a great
epoch
In chronology and periodization, an epoch or reference epoch is an instant in time chosen as the origin of a particular calendar era. The "epoch" serves as a reference point from which time is measured.
The moment of epoch is usually decided by ...
, the conclusion of which forever divorces them from their maternal country and enshrines Augusta Victoria as a venerable saint and symbol of a Germany long past.
Gallery
File:German State Prussia Wedding Medal 1881 Prince Wilhelm and Auguste Victoria, obverse.jpg, left, German State Prussia, Wedding Medal 1881 Prince Wilhelm and Auguste Victoria, obverse.
File:German State Prussia Wedding Medal 1881 Prince Wilhelm and Auguste Victoria, reverse.jpg, left, The reverse shows the couple in Medieval costumes in front of 3 squires carrying the shields of Prussia, Germany, and Schleswig-Holstein.
File:Philip Alexius de Laszlo - Auguste Viktoria, Deutsche Kaiserin, 1908.jpg, Portrait of the Queen of Prussia, by Philip de Laszlo
Philip, also Phillip, is a male given name, derived from the Greek (''Philippos'', lit. "horse-loving" or "fond of horses"), from a compound of (''philos'', "dear", "loved", "loving") and (''hippos'', "horse"). Prominent Philips who popularize ...
, 1908.
File:Bundesarchiv Bild 102-00621, Kaiserin Auguste Viktoria mit Tochter.jpg, With daughter Princess Viktoria Luise of Prussia, Berlin (1911)
Honours
![Imperial Monogram of Empress Augusta Victoria of Germany](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c4/Imperial_Monogram_of_Empress_Augusta_Victoria_of_Germany.svg)
;National honours
[Hof- und Staats-Handbuch des Königreich Preußen](_blank)
(1886–87), Genealogy p. 2
* Knight Grand Cordon with Collar of the
Imperial and Royal Order of the Black Eagle
* Knight Grand Cordon of the
Imperial and Royal Order of the Red Eagle
* Grand Mistress Dame of the
Imperial and Royal Decoration of Louise, Special Class
* Knight Grand Cordon of the
Imperial and Royal Order of Saint John
* Grand Mistress Dame of the
Imperial and Royal Decoration of the Cross for Merit, Special Class
* Grand Mistress Dame of the
Imperial and Royal Decoration of the Cross of Merit, Special Class
* Knight of the
Imperial and Royal Decoration of the Red Cross, 1st Class, ''22 October 1898''
* Knight of the
Imperial and Royal Decoration of the Cross of Jerusalem
**
Bavarian Royal Family: Dame of the
Royal Decoration of Saint Elizabeth, Special Class
**
Bavarian Royal Family: Dame Grand Cross of the
Royal Order of Theresa
**
Bavarian Royal Family: Dame of the
Royal Decoration of Saint Anne, Special Class
**
Saxonian Royal Family: Dame Grand Cross of the
Royal Order of Sidonia
**
Saxonian Royal Family: Dame of the
Royal Decoration of Maria Anna, Special Class
**
Württembergian Royal Family: Dame of the
Royal Decoration of Olga, Special Class, ''1889''
**
Lippean Princely Family: Dame of the
Princely Decoration of Bertha, Special Class
;Foreign honours
*
Austrian Imperial and Royal Family:
** Dame Grand Cross of the
Imperial and Royal Order of Elizabeth, in Diamonds, ''1900''
** Dame of the
Imperial and Royal Order of the Starry Cross, 1st Class
*
Portuguese Royal Family
The Most Serene House of Braganza ( pt, Sereníssima Casa de Bragança), also known as the Brigantine Dynasty (''Dinastia Brigantina''), is a dynasty of emperors, kings, princes, and dukes of Portuguese people, Portuguese origin which reigned in ...
: Dame Grand Cross of the
Royal Order of Saint Isabel
*
Romania
Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern, and Southeast Europe, Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, S ...
: Dame Grand Cross of the
Order of Carol I
*
Russian Imperial Family
The House of Romanov (also transcribed Romanoff; rus, Романовы, Románovy, rɐˈmanəvɨ) was the reigning imperial house of Russia from 1613 to 1917. They achieved prominence after the Tsarina, Anastasia Romanova, was married to t ...
: Dame Grand Cordon of the
Imperial Order of Saint Catherine
*
Spanish Royal Family: 830th Dame Grand Cross of the
Royal Order of Queen Maria Luisa, ''16 May 1881''
* : Dame Grand Cordon of the
Order of the Precious Crown
The is a Japanese order, established on January 4, 1888 by Emperor Meiji of Japan. Since the Order of the Rising Sun at that time was an Order for men, it was established as an Order for women. Originally the order had five classes, but on Apr ...
, ''13 April 1902''
*
Turkey
Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a list of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolia, Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with ...
: Dame Grand Cordon with Chain of the
Order of Charity, Special Class
* : Dame of the
Royal Order of Victoria and Albert, 1st Class
* : Recipient of the
Queen Victoria Diamond Jubilee Medal
The Diamond Jubilee Medal was instituted in 1897 by Royal Warrant as a British decoration. The medal was awarded to members of the Royal Family and the court, guests and dignitaries present at the celebrations of Queen Victoria's diamond jubilee ...
Arms
File:Coat of Arms of Empress Augusta Victoria.svg, Coat of Arms
A coat of arms is a heraldry, heraldic communication design, visual design on an escutcheon (heraldry), escutcheon (i.e., shield), surcoat, or tabard (the latter two being outer garments). The coat of arms on an escutcheon forms the central ele ...
of Empress Augusta Victoria
File:Imperial Monogram of Empress Augusta Victoria of Germany, Variant 2.svg, Imperial Monogram of Empress Augusta Victoria
File:Imperial Monogram of Empress Augusta Victoria of Germany.svg, Variation of Empress Augusta Victoria's Monogram
File:Imperial Monogram of Empress Augusta Victoria of Germany, Variant.svg, Monogram of the Königin Augusta Garde-Grenadier-Regiment Nr.4
Ancestry
See also
![Kaiserin Auguste Viktoria Lambert 1891 IMG 5719](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/e1/Kaiserin_Auguste_Viktoria_Lambert_1891_IMG_5719.jpg)
*
Empress Augusta Bay
Empress Augusta Bay is a bay on the western side of the island of Bougainville Island, within the Autonomous Region of Bougainville in northeastern Papua New Guinea.
It is a subsistence fishing area for the people of Bougainville.
History
Emp ...
on
Bougainville Island is named after the Empress.
* The
Empress of Germany's bird of paradise
The Empress of Germany's bird of paradise, ''Paradisaea raggiana augustavictoriae'', is a large, up to 34 cm long, maroon brown bird in the family Paradisaeidae, one of three families of birds known as birds of paradise. The male has a dar ...
, ''Paradisaea raggiana augustavictoriae'', was named in her honour.
* The
Augusta Victoria Hospital
Augusta Victoria Compound is a church-hospital complex on the northern side of Mount of Olives in East Jerusalem and one of six hospitals in the East Jerusalem Hospitals Network. The compound was built in 1907–1914 by the Empress Augusta Vi ...
in Jerusalem was built by Wilhelm II and named after his wife.
* There is a white
rose
A rose is either a woody perennial flowering plant of the genus ''Rosa'' (), in the family Rosaceae (), or the flower it bears. There are over three hundred species and tens of thousands of cultivars. They form a group of plants that can be ...
cultivar named after her, the ''Kaiserin Auguste Viktoria'' (
Peter Lambert, 1891).
References
Sources
*
*Van der Kiste, John: ''The last German Empress: A life of Empress Augusta Victoria, Consort of Emperor William II''. CreateSpace, 2015
*Thomas Weiberg: ''… wie immer Deine Dona. Verlobung und Hochzeit des letzten deutschen Kaiserpaares''. Isensee-Verlag, Oldenburg 2007, .
External links
Historical footage of the burial of Auguste Viktoria in April 1921 filmportal.de
*
*
{{Authority control
1858 births
1921 deaths
People from Lubsko
People from the Province of Brandenburg
House of Augustenburg
Dames of the Order of Saint Isabel
Ladies of the Royal Order of Victoria and Albert
Grand Cordons of the Order of the Precious Crown
German empresses
Princesses of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Augustenburg
Prussian princesses
Prussian royal consorts
Wilhelm II, German Emperor