Lady Mary Victoria Douglas-Hamilton, also known as Mary Victoria Hamilton (11 December 185014 May 1922), was a

Scottish Scottish usually refers to something of, from, or related to Scotland, including: *Scottish Gaelic, a Celtic Goidelic language of the Indo-European language family native to Scotland *Scottish English *Scottish national identity, the Scottish ide ...

noblewoman who was the great-grandmother of Prince Rainier III of Monaco, Prince Karl Johannes von Schwarzenberg and Princess Ira von Fürstenberg, and the great-great grandmother of

Albert II, Prince of Monaco Albert II – Website of the Palace of Monaco (Albert Alexandre Louis Pierre Grimaldi; born 14 March 1958) is Prince of Monaco, since 2005. Albert was born at the Prince's Palace of Monaco, and he is the second child and only son of Prince Rai ...

Life

She was born as the youngest child and the only daughter of William Hamilton, 11th Duke of Hamilton and of his wife,

Princess Marie Amelie of Baden Princess is a regal rank and the feminine equivalent of prince (from Latin ''princeps'', meaning principal citizen). Most often, the term has been used for the consort of a prince, or for the daughter of a king or prince. Princess as a subst ...

Hereditary Princess of Monaco

Her first marriage, on 21 September 1869 at

Château de Marchais The Château de Marchais is an historic château in Marchais, Aisne, near Laon in northern France. History The château was built in the 16th century. It was purchased in 1553 by Charles, Cardinal of Lorraine, a member of the House of Guise. From ...

, was to

Prince Albert Prince Albert most commonly refers to: *Albert, Prince Consort (1819–1861), consort of Queen Victoria *Albert II, Prince of Monaco (born 1958), present head of state of Monaco Prince Albert may also refer to: Royalty * Albert I of Belgium ...

, only child and heir apparent of Charles III, Prince of Monaco. The marriage was arranged upon the wish of the Monegasque princely house, as it had long been an ambition of his mother and grandmother to marry him to a member of the British royal house. While Queen Victoria refused a match between Albert and one of her closer family members, Lady Mary was suggested as a suitable replacement.Anne Edwards, ''The Grimaldis of Monaco'', 1992 They had a single son, Louis, who would take the throne of Monaco upon his father's death. Their marriage was annulled by the Church on 3 January 1880, although civilly it was dissolved only on 28 July 1880, by order of Prince Charles III.

Life in Hungary

Lady Mary Victoria’s second marriage, on 2 June 1880, was to Count Tassilo Festetics de Tolna. The couple had four children, Countess Mária Matild Georgina (1881–1953), who married Prince Karl Emil von Fürstenberg; Prince György (1882–1941); Countess Alexandra Olga Eugénia (1884–1963); and Countess Karola Friderika Mária (1888—1951). During her 40-year marriage to Count, later Prince, Tassilo Festetics de Tolna, Lady Mary oversaw the enlargement and improvement of the main family seat, Festetics Palace, and its gardens, in Keszthely, western Hungary. On numerous occasions, she and her husband entertained her brother the

Duke of Hamilton Duke of Hamilton is a title in the Peerage of Scotland, created in April 1643. It is the senior dukedom in that peerage (except for the Dukedom of Rothesay held by the Sovereign's eldest son), and as such its holder is the premier peer of Sco ...

and his great friend the Prince of Wales. There are still portraits hanging in the Palace of numerous members of her family, including one of her father in full Highland dress. Outside the palace, on either side of the main entrance, there are the armorial bearings of both Lady Mary and her husband. The Helikon Library at the Palace contains many works that were brought to Keszthely by Lady Mary from her father’s and brother's collections at Hamilton Palace. The Palace grounds, on the shores of Lake Balaton, contains a Festetics family Mausoleum which is the final resting place of Lady Mary and her husband.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Douglas-Hamilton, Mary Victoria 1850 births 1922 deaths Hereditary Princesses of Monaco Daughters of British dukes Mary Victoria Hamilton Mary Victoria Hamilton Mary Victoria Hamilton Scottish people of Belgian descent Scottish people of French descent Scottish people of German descent Scottish people of Portuguese descent Scottish socialites People from South Lanarkshire Scottish expatriates in Monaco