Christian Friedrich Freiherr von Stockmar
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Christian Friedrich Freiherr von Stockmar (22 August 1787 – 9 July 1863) was a German physician and statesman, who was a leading player in the affairs of the
United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...
under
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 Death and state funeral of Queen Victoria, her death in 1901. Her reign of 63 years and 21 ...
.


Early life and education

He was born in Coburg, Germany, of German parentage and Swedish descent.historyhome.co.uk, retrieved June 4, 2011.
/ref> He was educated as a physician, and became the personal physician of Prince Leopold of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha in 1816 at the time of Leopold's marriage to Princess Charlotte of the United Kingdom, the only child of
King George IV George IV (George Augustus Frederick; 12 August 1762 – 26 June 1830) was King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and King of Hanover from the death of his father, King George III, on 29 January 1820, until his own death ten y ...
."Christian Friedrich Stockmar, Baron von", in ''The Columbia Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition'' (2008), retrieved February 14, 2010.
/ref>


In service of King Leopold

Charlotte died giving birth to a stillborn son about a year later (had she lived, Leopold would have been Prince Consort of the United Kingdom), and Stockmar stayed in Leopold's service as his private secretary,
comptroller A comptroller (pronounced either the same as ''controller'' or as ) is a management-level position responsible for supervising the quality of accounting and financial reporting of an organization. A financial comptroller is a senior-level executi ...
of the household, and political advisor. It is said, without real proof, that one of the services he provided was procuring a mistress for Leopold. He was not at all pleased when in 1828 one of his cousins, Caroline “Lina” Philippine Auguste Bauer, an actress, who bore a striking resemblance to Princess Charlotte, became the mistress of his master. She was brought over to England, together with her mother, but the affair did not last long and she returned to Germany and to the theater. After her death (and that of both King Leopold and Baron von Stockmar), her memoirs were published in which she claimed that she had contracted a morganatic marriage with Leopold and that she had received the title ''Countess of Montgomery''. There has never been any evidence of such marriage, which furthermore was strongly denied by the son of the late Dr. von Stockmar. After Leopold had briefly come under scrutiny for the position of King of the Greeks, he was made
King of the Belgians Belgium is a constitutional, hereditary, and popular monarchy. The monarch is titled king or queen of the Belgians ( nl, Koning(in) der Belgen, french: Roi / Reine des Belges}, german: König(in) der Belgier) and serves as the country's h ...
in 1831. From then on, Stockmar took up residence in Coburg, continuing to advise Leopold. In 1837, he was sent by Leopold to serve as advisor to
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 Death and state funeral of Queen Victoria, her death in 1901. Her reign of 63 years and 21 ...
: one of his first tasks was to brief her on whether Leopold's nephew,
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 ...
(later Prince Consort), was a suitable mate. After the marriage of Victoria and Albert, Stockmar became their unofficial counsellor, including in the education of Victoria's son and heir, the future
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 intervened in several crises. Stockmar's memoirs were published as ''Memoirs of Baron Stockmar''.


Ambassador to the German parliament

In 1848 he was made
ambassador An ambassador is an official envoy, especially a high-ranking diplomat who represents a state and is usually accredited to another sovereign state or to an international organization as the resident representative of their own government or sov ...
of the
Duchy of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha Saxe-Coburg and Gotha (german: Sachsen-Coburg und Gotha), or Saxe-Coburg-Gotha (german: Sachsen-Coburg-Gotha, links=no ), was an Ernestine, Thuringian duchy ruled by a branch of the House of Wettin, consisting of territories in the present-d ...
to the
parliament In modern politics, and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: Representation (politics), representing the Election#Suffrage, electorate, making laws, and overseeing ...
of the
German Confederation The German Confederation (german: Deutscher Bund, ) was an association of 39 predominantly German-speaking sovereign states in Central Europe. It was created by the Congress of Vienna in 1815 as a replacement of the former Holy Roman Empire, w ...
. His prominence in the United Kingdom's political circles led to resentment at what was seen to be Albert's (and, generally, German) intervention in the UK's affairs. Stockmar was raised to the rank of
baron Baron is a rank of nobility or title of honour, often hereditary, in various European countries, either current or historical. The female equivalent is baroness. Typically, the title denotes an aristocrat who ranks higher than a lord or knig ...
by the King of Saxony. He died at Coburg.


Marriage

In August 1821 he married his maternal cousin, Fanny Sommer (1800-1868); they had three children: * Ernst Alfred Christian von Stockmar (1823–1886) * Marie von Stockmar (1827–1856), married
Hermann Theodor Hettner Hermann Julius Theodor Hettner (March 12, 1821 – May 29, 1882), was a German literary historian and museum director. Biography He was born at Leisersdorf ( Uniejowice), near Goldberg (Złotoryja), in Silesia. At the universities of Berlin, ...
* Carl August von Stockmar (1836–1909), married Baroness Anna von Haynau (1847–1904), great-granddaughter of William I, Elector of Hesse and his mistress
Rosa Dorothea Ritter Rosa Dorothea Ritter (29 July 1759 – 13 January 1833), also called Rosette Ritter and Baroness of Lindenthal after 1783, was a German woman who was the second mistress of William I, Elector of Hesse from 1779 until 1788. She was an ancestor of the ...
.


Screen portrayals

* Paul Leyssac portrayed Baron Stockmar in ''
Victoria the Great ''Victoria the Great'' is a 1937 British historical film directed by Herbert Wilcox and starring Anna Neagle, Anton Walbrook and Walter Rilla. When Laurence Housman's play ''Victoria Regina'' was banned by the Lord Chamberlain (in 1935 the royal ...
'' (1937) * Noel Willman portrayed Baron Stockmar in '' Edward the Seventh'' (1975) *
David Suchet Sir David Courtney Suchet''England & Wales, Civil Registration Birth Index, 1916–2007'' ( ; born 2 May 1946) is an English actor known for his work on British stage and television. He portrayed Edward Teller in the television serial '' Oppenh ...
portrayed Baron Stockmar in '' Victoria & Albert'' (2001) * Jesper Christensen portrayed Baron Stockmar in '' The Young Victoria'' (2009)


References


Bibliography

* * 3 volumes. * * * * Wangenheim, R. von (1996). ''Baron Stockmar: Eine coburgisch-englische Geschichte.'' Coburg 1996. (in German) {{DEFAULTSORT:Stockmar, Christian Friedrich, Baron 1787 births 1863 deaths People from Coburg People from Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld Barons of Germany People of the Belgian Revolution