Lady Brigid Katharine Rachel Guinness (30 July 19208 March 1995) was the youngest daughter of

Rupert Guinness, 2nd Earl of Iveagh Rupert Edward Cecil Lee Guinness, 2nd Earl of Iveagh, (29 March 1874 – 14 September 1967) was an Anglo-Irish businessman, politician, oarsman and philanthropist. Born in London, he was the eldest son of Edward Guinness, 1st Earl of Iveagh. ...

, and wife of Prince Frederick of Prussia, grandson of

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 Empir ...

Early life

Brigid was born in

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

, fifth child and youngest daughter of

(1874–1967, son of

Edward Guinness, 1st Earl of Iveagh Edward Cecil Guinness, 1st Earl of Iveagh, (10 November 1847 – 7 October 1927) was an Irish businessman and philanthropist. A member of the prominent Anglo-Irish Guinness family, he was the head of the family's eponymous brewing business, ma ...

), and his wife, Lady Gwendolen Onslow (1881–1966, daughter of

William Onslow, 4th Earl of Onslow William Hillier Onslow, 4th Earl of Onslow, (7 March 1853 – 23 October 1911), was a British Conservative politician. He held several governmental positions between 1880 and 1905 and was also Governor of New Zealand between 1889 and 1892. B ...

). She belonged to the

Guinness family The Guinness family is an extensive Irish family known for its accomplishments in brewing, banking, politics, and religious ministry. The brewing branch is particularly well known among the general public for producing the dry stout Guinnes ...

Irish Protestant Protestantism is a Christian minority on the island of Ireland. In the 2011 census of Northern Ireland, 48% (883,768) described themselves as Protestant, which was a decline of approximately 5% from the 2001 census. In the 2011 census of the ...

s noted for their accomplishments in brewing, banking, politics and diplomacy. During the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

she served as an

auxiliary nurse Nursing in the United Kingdom has a long history. The current form of nursing is often considered as beginning with Florence Nightingale who pioneered modern nursing. Nightingale initiated formal schools of nursing in the United Kingdom in the l ...

, where she met her future husband, Prince Frederick of Prussia, when he was injured in an accident involving a

tractor A tractor is an engineering vehicle specifically designed to deliver a high tractive effort (or torque) at slow speeds, for the purposes of hauling a trailer or machinery such as that used in agriculture, mining or construction. Most common ...

Marriage

Brigid married on 30 July 1945 at

Little Hadham Little Hadham is a village and civil parish in the district of East Hertfordshire, Hertfordshire, England. At the census of 2001 it had a population of 1,081, increasing to 1,153 at the 2011 Census. It is bypassed by the A120 road, which connects ...

, Hertfordshire to Prince Frederick of Prussia (1911–1966), fourth son of

William, 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 ...

, and his wife,

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 ...

, and grandson of

. They had five children:Eilers, Marlene. Queen Victoria's Descendants. Rosvall Royal Books, Falkoping, Sweden, 1997. pp.17-18, 124-125, 172. Prince Nicholas Von Preussen (cropped)

*Prince Frederick ''Nicholas'' (born 3 May 1946) married

non-dynastic A dynasty is a sequence of rulers from the same family,''Oxford English Dictionary'', "dynasty, ''n''." Oxford University Press (Oxford), 1897. usually in the context of a monarchical system, but sometimes also appearing in republics. A d ...

ally,Genealogisches Handbuch des Adels, Fürstliche Häuser XIV. "Haus Preußen". C.A. Starke Verlag, 1991, pp. 148-149. . Hon. Victoria Lucinda Mancroft (born 7 March 1952, daughter of Stormont Mancroft, 2nd Baron Mancroft) on 27 February 1980 in London and has issue. **Beatrice von Preussen (born 10 February 1981) **Florence von Preussen (born 28 July 1983) married Hon. James Tollemache (son of

Timothy Tollemache, 5th Baron Tollemache Timothy John Edward Tollemache, 5th Baron Tollemache (born 13 December 1939) is an English peer and landowner. He is the present owner of Helmingham Hall, the Tollemache principal ancestral seat; he succeeded as 5th Baron Tollemache in 1975. He ...

) on 10 May 2014, and has issue: ***Sylvie Beatrice Selina Tollemache (born 2 March 2016) **Augusta Lily von Preussen (born 15 December 1986) married Caspar Helmore on 19 September 2015. They have one son: ***Otto Frederick Charles Helmore (born 11 August 2018) **Frederick (''Fritz'') Nicholas Stormont von Preussen (born 11 June 1990) married Mathilda (''Tilly'') Noel Johnson (born in 1989) on 25 May 2021. *Prince Andreas (born 14 November 1947) married non-dynastically, Alexandra Blahova (28 December 1947 - 8 September 2019) on 2 January 1979, and has issue: **

Tatiana von Preussen Tatiana von Preussen (born 16 October 1980) is an architect who worked on the construction of the High Line, an elevated linear park, greenway and rail trail in New York. She graduated in architecture from Cambridge University and Columbia Univ ...

(born 16 October 1980) married Philip Alan Womack (born in 1981) on 28 June 2014. They have three children: ***Arthur Frederick Richard Womack (born 21 November 2015) ***Xenia Alexandra Selena Womack (born 29 August 2020) ***Amalia Maria Brigid Womack (born 29 August 2020) **Frederick Alexander von Preussen (born 15 November 1984) married Antalya Nall-Cain (born 3 November 1987, daughter of

Charles Nall-Cain, 3rd Baron Brocket Charles Ronald George Nall-Cain, 3rd Baron Brocket (born 12 February 1952), also known as Charlie Brocket, is a peer, business owner and television presenter from the United Kingdom. He was jailed for insurance fraud in 1996. Biography Brocket ...

) on 27 September 2020. *Princess Victoria Marina (born 22 February 1952) married Philippe Alphonse Achache (born 25 March 1945) on 3 May 1976, and has issue: **George Jean Achache (born 8 June 1980) **Francis Maximilian Frederick Achache (born 30 April 1982) *Prince Rupert (born 28 April 1955) married non-dynastically, Ziba Rastegar-Javaheri (born 12 December 1954, into a family of wealthy Iranian industrialistsMilani, Abbas. Eminent Persians, The Men and Women Who Made Modern Iran, 1941-1979, Volume 1
Syracuse University Press and Persian World Press, Syracuse, New York, 2008. pp.661-664. ) on 5 January 1982 in London, and has issue: **Brigid von Preussen (born 24 December 1983) **Astrid von Preussen (born 16 April 1985) * Princess Antonia (born 28 April 1955) who married

Charles Wellesley, 9th Duke of Wellington Arthur Charles Valerian Wellesley, 9th Duke of Wellington, 9th Prince of Waterloo, 10th Duke of Ciudad Rodrigo, 9th Duke of Victoria, 9th Marquis of Torres Vedras GE, OBE, DL (born 19 August 1945), styled Earl of Mornington between 1945 and 1 ...

on 3 February 1977 at St. Paul's Church, London, and has issue. She married secondly, on 3 June 1967 at

Old Windsor Old Windsor is a large village and civil parish, in the Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead, in Berkshire, England. It is bounded by the River Thames to the east and the Windsor Great Park to the west. Etymology The name originates from old ...

, Berkshire to Major Anthony Patrick Ness (1914–1993); they had no children.

Notes and sources

*L'Allemagne dynastique, Huberty, Giraud, Magdelaine, Reference: vol V page 262 {{DEFAULTSORT:Guinness, Brigid 1920 births 1995 deaths British women nurses British women in World War II Female wartime nurses Nurses from London

Brigid Brigid ( , ; meaning 'exalted one' from Old Irish),Campbell, MikBehind the Name.See also Xavier Delamarre, ''brigantion / brigant-'', in ''Dictionnaire de la langue gauloise'' (Éditions Errance, 2003) pp. 87–88: "Le nom de la sainte irlandais ...

Daughters of British earls Prussian princesses Princesses by marriage