Louise, Princess Royal and Duchess of Fife (Louise Victoria Alexandra Dagmar; 20 February 1867 – 4 January 1931) was the third child and eldest daughter of
King Edward VII
Edward VII (Albert Edward; 9 November 1841 – 6 May 1910) was King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and Emperor of India, from 22 January 1901 until his death in 1910.
The second child and eldest son of Queen Victoria a ...
and
Queen Alexandra
Alexandra of Denmark (Alexandra Caroline Marie Charlotte Louise Julia; 1 December 1844 – 20 November 1925) was List of British royal consorts, Queen of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Empress of India, from 22 January 1901 t ...
of the United Kingdom; she was a younger sister of
King George V
George V (George Frederick Ernest Albert; 3 June 1865 – 20 January 1936) was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Emperor of India, from 6 May 1910 until his death in 1936.
Born during the reign of his grandmother Qu ...
. Louise was given the title of
Princess Royal
Princess Royal is a style customarily (but not automatically) awarded by a British monarch to their eldest daughter. Although purely honorary, it is the highest honour that may be given to a female member of the royal family. There have been se ...
in 1905.
Known for her shy and quiet personality, Louise remained a low-key member of the royal family throughout her life.
Early life
Louise was born on 20 February 1867 at
Marlborough House
Marlborough House, a Grade I listed mansion in St James's, City of Westminster, London, is the headquarters of the Commonwealth of Nations and the seat of the Commonwealth Secretariat. It was built in 1711 for Sarah Churchill, Duchess of Marl ...
, the London residence of her parents, the
Prince
A prince is a male ruler (ranked below a king, grand prince, and grand duke) or a male member of a monarch's or former monarch's family. ''Prince'' is also a title of nobility (often highest), often hereditary, in some European states. T ...
and
Princess of Wales.
Louise's father was the eldest son 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 ...
and
Prince Albert. Her mother was the eldest daughter of
Christian IX
Christian IX (8 April 181829 January 1906) was King of Denmark from 1863 until his death in 1906. From 1863 to 1864, he was concurrently Duke of Schleswig, Holstein and Lauenburg.
A younger son of Frederick William, Duke of Schleswig-Holstei ...
and
Queen Louise of Denmark. From birth, as the granddaughter of the British monarch, she had the title ''Her Royal Highness Princess Louise of Wales''. She spent much of her childhood at
Sandringham House
Sandringham House is a country house in the parish of Sandringham, Norfolk, England. It is one of the royal residences of Charles III, whose grandfather, George VI, and great-grandfather, George V, both died there. The house stands in a estat ...
in
Norfolk
Norfolk () is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in East Anglia in England. It borders Lincolnshire to the north-west, Cambridgeshire to the west and south-west, and Suffolk to the south. Its northern and eastern boundaries are the No ...
.
She was baptised at Marlborough House on 10 May 1867 by
Charles Longley,
Archbishop of Canterbury. Like her sisters
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 ...
and
Maud, she was educated under the supervision of tutors. She occasionally spent the summer in Denmark, her mother's homeland. In her youth, Louise was described as a very withdrawn girl.
Louise and her sisters, Victoria and Maud, were bridesmaids at the wedding of their paternal aunt
Princess Beatrice
Princess Beatrice, Mrs Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi (Beatrice Elizabeth Mary; born 8 August 1988) is a member of the British royal family. She is the elder daughter of Prince Andrew, Duke of York, and Sarah, Duchess of York. She is a niece of Charle ...
to
Prince Henry of Battenberg
Prince Henry of Battenberg (Henry Maurice; 5 October 1858 – 20 January 1896) was a morganatic descendant of the Grand Ducal House of Hesse. He became a member of the British royal family by marriage to Princess Beatrice of the United Kingdo ...
in 1885.
Marriage and children
![Duke and Duchess of fife](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c6/Duke_and_Duchess_of_fife.jpg)
Despite her mother's attempts to keep her daughters unmarried and by her side, on Saturday 27 July 1889, Louise married
Alexander Duff, 6th Earl Fife, who was eighteen years her senior, at the Private Chapel in
Buckingham Palace with the
Archbishop of Canterbury officiating at the service.
Her bridesmaids were Princesses
Maud and
Victoria of Wales,
Victoria Mary of Teck,
Marie Louise and
Helena Victoria of Schleswig-Holstein and the Countesses
Feodora,
Helena and
Valda Gleichen.
Two days after the wedding,
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 ...
created him
Duke of Fife and Marquess of Macduff in the
Peerage of the United Kingdom. The
letters patent creating this dukedom contained the standard
remainder
In mathematics, the remainder is the amount "left over" after performing some computation. In arithmetic, the remainder is the integer "left over" after dividing one integer by another to produce an integer quotient ( integer division). In algeb ...
to
heirs male
In inheritance, a hereditary successor is a person who inherits an indivisible title or office after the death of the previous title holder. The hereditary line of succession may be limited to heirs of the body, or may pass also to collateral l ...
of the body lawfully begotten. After the birth of their two daughters, on 24 April 1900, Queen Victoria signed letters patent creating a second Dukedom of Fife, along with the Earldom of Macduff in the
Peerage of the United Kingdom with a special remainder: in default of a male heir, these peerages would pass to the daughters of the 1st Duke, and then to their male descendants.
The Duke and Duchess of Fife had three children:
* Alastair Duff, Marquess of Macduff (stillborn 16 June 1890)
*
Princess Alexandra, 2nd Duchess of Fife
Princess Alexandra, Duchess of Fife, (; 17 May 1891 – 26 February 1959), known as Princess Arthur of Connaught after her marriage, was the eldest surviving grandchild of King Edward VII. Alexandra and her younger sister, Maud, had the dist ...
(17 May 1891 – 26 February 1959); married her
first cousin once removed
Most generally, in the lineal kinship system used in the English-speaking world, a cousin is a type of familial relationship in which two relatives are two or more familial generations away from their most recent common ancestor. Commonly, ...
Prince Arthur of Connaught
Prince Arthur of Connaught (Arthur Frederick Patrick Albert; 13 January 1883 – 12 September 1938) was a British military officer and a grandson of Queen Victoria. He served as Governor-General of the Union of South Africa from 20 November 1920 ...
(13 January 1883 – 12 September 1938), and had issue.
*
Princess Maud (3 April 1893 – 14 December 1945); married
Charles Carnegie, 11th Earl of Southesk
Charles Alexander Bannerman Carnegie, 11th Earl of Southesk (23 September 1893 – 16 February 1992), styled The Honourable Charles Carnegie before 1905 and Lord Carnegie between 1905 and 1941, was the husband of Princess Maud, Countess of South ...
, and had issue.
The couple made their home at
Mar Lodge, a sporting lodge built for them by
Alexander Marshall Mackenzie
Alexander Marshall MacKenzie (1 January 1848 – 4 May 1933) was a Scottish architect responsible for prestigious projects including the headquarters of the Isle of Man Banking Company in Douglas, and Australia House and the Waldorf Hotel in ...
.
Princess Royal
On 9 November 1905, Edward VII created Louise the
Princess Royal
Princess Royal is a style customarily (but not automatically) awarded by a British monarch to their eldest daughter. Although purely honorary, it is the highest honour that may be given to a female member of the royal family. There have been se ...
, the highest honour bestowed on a female member of the royal family.
At the same time, the King declared that the two daughters of the Princess Royal would be styled as princesses, with the style and attribute of "Highness" and with precedence immediately after all members of the royal family bearing the style of "Royal Highness".
In December 1911, while sailing aboard
SS ''Delhi'' to
Egypt
Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Medit ...
, the Princess Royal and her family were shipwrecked off the coast of
Morocco
Morocco (),, ) officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is the westernmost country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It overlooks the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria t ...
. Although they were otherwise unharmed, the Duke of Fife fell ill with
pleurisy
Pleurisy, also known as pleuritis, is inflammation of the membranes that surround the lungs and line the chest cavity ( pleurae). This can result in a sharp chest pain while breathing. Occasionally the pain may be a constant dull ache. Other sy ...
, probably contracted as a result of the shipwreck.
He died at
Assuan, Egypt, in January 1912, and Princess Alexandra succeeded to his dukedom, becoming Duchess of Fife in her own right.
Later life and death
After the death of her husband, Louise led a reclusive life. Sometimes she accompanied her mother and her sister Victoria to public events. In the years leading up to her death Louise suffered from heart disease.
In October 1929 at Mar Lodge she was taken ill with gastric haemorrhage and was brought back to London. Louise died in her sleep 15 months later on the afternoon on 4 January 1931, a month before her 64th birthday, at her home at 15
Portman Square
Portman Square is a garden square in Marylebone, central London, surrounded by elegant townhouses. It was specifically for private housing let on long leases having a ground rent by the Portman Estate, which owns the private communal garden ...
London, with her two daughters Alexandra and Maud at her bedside. She was buried in
St. George's Chapel, Windsor Castle
St George's Chapel at Windsor Castle in England is a castle chapel built in the late-medieval Perpendicular Gothic style. It is both a Royal peculiar, Royal Peculiar (a church under the direct jurisdiction of the monarch) and the Chapel of the O ...
.
Her remains were later removed to the
Private Chapel, Mar Lodge, Braemar, Aberdeenshire.
Her will was sealed and her estate was valued at £46,383 (or £2.2 million in 2022 when adjusted for inflation).
Honours and arms
* 1885:
Royal Order of Victoria and Albert
The Royal Order of Victoria and Albert is a British Royal Family Order instituted on 10 February 1862 by Queen Victoria, and enlarged on 10 October 1864, 15 November 1865, and 15 March 1880. No award has been made since the death of Queen V ...
* 1887: Imperial
Order 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 when she became Empress of India in 1878. The Order was open only to women, and no appointments have been made since t ...
* 1929: Dame Grand Cross of the
Venerable Order of St John of Jerusalem (GCStJ)
** 1888–1929: Lady of the Venerable Order of St John of Jerusalem (LJStJ)
Honorary military appointments
* 1911: Lady Sponsor of
HMS ''Princess Royal''
* 1914: Colonel-in-chief of the
7th Dragoon Guards
The 7th (The Princess Royal's) Dragoon Guards was a cavalry regiment in the British Army, first raised in 1688 as Lord Cavendish's Regiment of Horse. It was renamed as the 7th (The Princess Royal's) Dragoon Guards for Princess Charlotte in 1788. ...
* 1922: Colonel-in-chief of the
4th/7th Royal Dragoon Guards
Arms
Upon her marriage, Louise was granted a coat of arms, being the
Royal Arms of the United Kingdom with an
inescutcheon
In heraldry, an escutcheon () is a shield that forms the main or focal element in an achievement of arms. The word can be used in two related senses. In the first sense, an escutcheon is the shield upon which a coat of arms is displayed. In the s ...
for
Saxony
Saxony (german: Sachsen ; Upper Saxon: ''Saggsn''; hsb, Sakska), officially the Free State of Saxony (german: Freistaat Sachsen, links=no ; Upper Saxon: ''Freischdaad Saggsn''; hsb, Swobodny stat Sakska, links=no), is a landlocked state of ...
, all differenced with a label argent of five points, the outer pair and centre bearing crosses gules, and the inner pair bearing thistles proper.
Heraldica – British Royal Cadency
/ref> The inescutcheon was dropped by royal warrant in 1917.
Ancestors
References
Bibliography
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Louise, Princess Royal
1867 births
1931 deaths
19th-century British people
20th-century British people
19th-century British women
20th-century British women
British people of Danish descent
British princesses
Princesses Royal
Women of the Victorian era
House of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha (United Kingdom)
Companions of the Order of the Crown of India
Dames Grand Cross of the Order of St John
Ladies of the Royal Order of Victoria and Albert
Fife
People from Westminster
Children of Edward VII
Daughters of emperors
Royal reburials
Daughters of kings