Princess Marie Louise of Schleswig-Holstein (Franziska Josepha Louise Augusta Marie Christina Helena; 12 August 1872 – 8 December 1956) was a granddaughter 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 ...

Early life

Princess Marie Louise was born at

Cumberland Lodge Cumberland Lodge is a 17th-century Grade II listed country house in Windsor Great Park 3.5 miles south of Windsor Castle. Since 1947 it has been occupied by the charitable foundation known as Cumberland Lodge, which holds residential conferences ...

Windsor Great Park Windsor Great Park is a Royal Park of , including a deer park, to the south of the town of Windsor on the border of Berkshire and Surrey in England. It is adjacent to the private Home Park, which is nearer the castle. The park was, for man ...

. By birth, she was member of the

House 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 ...

. Her father was Prince Christian of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Augustenburg, the third son of Duke Christian of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Augustenburg and Countess Louise of Danneskjold-Samsøe. Her mother was

Princess Helena of the United Kingdom Princess Helena (Helena Augusta Victoria; 25 May 1846 – 9 June 1923), later Princess Christian of Schleswig-Holstein, was the third daughter and fifth child of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert. Helena was educated by private tutors chosen ...

, the fifth child and third daughter of Queen Victoria and

Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha (Franz August Karl Albert Emanuel; 26 August 1819 – 14 December 1861) was the consort of Queen Victoria from their marriage on 10 February 1840 until his death in 1861. Albert was born in the Saxon du ...

. She was baptized on 18 September 1872. Her godparents were Emperor Franz Joseph of Austria and Queen Marie of Hanover. Her parents resided in 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 European mainland, continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

, and the Princess was considered a member of the British Royal Family. Under Royal Warrant of 15 May 1867, the children of Prince and Princess Christian were to be styled "Highness". From her birth in 1872 therefore Princess Marie Louise was styled ''Her Highness Princess Marie Louise of Schleswig-Holstein'', albeit only in the United Kingdom. She was known to her family as "Louie". She was a bridesmaid at the 1885 wedding of her maternal 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 ...

Marriage

On 6 July 1891, Princess Marie Louise married

Prince Aribert of Anhalt Prince Aribert Joseph Alexander of Anhalt (18 June 1866 – 24 December 1933) was regent of Anhalt from September to November 1918 on behalf of his underage nephew Joachim Ernst, Duke of Anhalt. As regent, following the German revolution, he abdi ...

(18 June 1866 – 24 December 1933) at St. George's Chapel in

Windsor Castle Windsor Castle is a royal residence at Windsor in the English county of Berkshire. It is strongly associated with the English and succeeding British royal family, and embodies almost a millennium of architectural history. The original c ...

. Prince Aribert was the third son of

Frederick I, Duke of Anhalt , image = Friedrich I Anhalt.jpg , caption = Frederick I, Duke of Anhalt , succession = Duke of Anhalt , reign = 22 May 1871 – 24 January 1904 , coronation = , predecessor = Leopold IV , successor ...

, and his wife,

Princess Antoinette of Saxe-Altenburg Princess Antoinette of Saxe-Altenburg (17 April 1838 – 13 October 1908) was a princess of Saxe-Altenburg by birth and Duchess of Anhalt by marriage. Biography Antoinette was the second child of Prince Eduard of Saxe-Altenburg (1804-1852) from ...

. The bride's first cousin, the German Emperor

Wilhelm II , house = Hohenzollern , father = Frederick III, German Emperor , mother = Victoria, Princess Royal , religion = Lutheranism (Prussian United) , signature = Wilhelm II, German Emperor Signature-.svg Wilhelm II (Friedrich Wilhelm Viktor ...

, had been instrumental in arranging the match. Though contemporary sources did not directly suggest it was a cause of his marriage dissolution, a number of contemporaries and subsequent historical accounts suggest Aribert was bisexual or homosexual, and some have suggested an indiscretion with a male attendant was the catalyst for the dissolutionGreg King
''Twilight of Splendor: The Court of Queen Victoria During Her Diamond Jubilee Year''
John Wiley & Sons, 2007. and that the marriage had never been

consummate In many traditions and statutes of civil or religious law, the consummation of a marriage, often called simply ''consummation'', is the first (or first officially credited) act of sexual intercourse between two people, following their marriage to ...

d. The marriage was annulled on 13 December 1900 by his father. Princess Marie Louise, on an official visit to

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

at the time, immediately returned to Britain. According to her memoirs, she regarded her marriage vows as binding, so she never remarried.

Activities, charity and patronages

Princess Marie Louise of Schleswig-Holstein

After the annulment, Princess Marie Louise devoted herself to charitable organisations and patronage of the arts. She inspired the creation of

Queen Mary's Dolls' House Queen Mary's Dolls' House is a dollhouse built in the early 1920s, completed in 1924, for Queen Mary, the wife of King George V. It was designed by architect Sir Edwin Lutyens, with contributions from many notable artists and craftsmen of the ...

to showcase the work of British craftsmen. She established the Girl's Club in Bermondsey that served as a hospital during

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

. She was also active in the work of the Princess Christian Nursing Home at Windsor. She took part in all official occasions of the royal family, including coronations and funerals and processed as a princess of the blood royal at events such as the coronation of George VI and the carriage procession for princesses of the blood royal at the

coronation of Elizabeth II The coronation of Elizabeth II took place on 2 June 1953 at Westminster Abbey in London. She acceded to the throne at the age of 25 upon the death of her father, George VI, on 6 February 1952, being proclaimed queen by her privy and executive ...

Scouting

In 1919 the Wolf Cub pack from th
4th Streatham Scout Group
met Princess Marie Louise on her visit to Streatham, South London. The group provided her with a guard of honour for her visit to Streatham. She was so impressed with the group and their high standards, that she declared the group as her own, and it has since been known as the 4th Streatham Sea Scout Group (Princess Marie Louise's Own).

World War I

In July 1917, when

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 ...

changed the name of the British Royal House from the House of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha to

House of Windsor The House of Windsor is the reigning royal house of the United Kingdom and the other Commonwealth realms. In 1901, a line of the House of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha (itself a cadet branch of the House of Wettin) succeeded the House of Hanover to th ...

, he also ordered his numerous cousins and in-laws, who were British subjects, to discontinue the use of their German titles, styles, and surnames. Never taking other titles or surnames, Princess Marie Louise and her unmarried sister,

Princess Helena Victoria Princess Helena Victoria of Schleswig-Holstein (Victoria Louise Sophia Augusta Amelia Helena; 3 May 1870 – 13 March 1948) was a granddaughter of Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom. From 1917 her name was simply Princess Helena Victoria. Ear ...

, became known simply as "HH Princess Marie Louise" and "HH Princess Helena Victoria", giving them the odd distinction of being princesses but not, apparently, members of any particular royal family. This approach differed from the one accepted by George V's other relatives, who relinquished all princely titles, not just their German designations, and in turn received British titles of nobility from the King. Their titles of Princess were derived from their father, and they were not officially princesses of the United Kingdom. However, their unmarried status and their right to be styled ''Highness'' dating from Queen Victoria's concession of 1867 rendered their situations awkward, so that it was easier to allow them to retain their status as princesses while avoiding the question of immediate family membership altogether.

Later life

Princess Marie Louise became a godmother of Prince Richard of Gloucester in 1944. She was called "Cousin Louie" by a young Princess Elizabeth, and attended her wedding alongside her sister, Princess Helena Victoria. She attended four coronations in

Westminster Abbey Westminster Abbey, formally titled the Collegiate Church of Saint Peter at Westminster, is an historic, mainly Gothic church in the City of Westminster, London, England, just to the west of the Palace of Westminster. It is one of the Unite ...

, those 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 ...

in 1902;

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 ...

and Queen Mary in 1911; King George VI and Queen Elizabeth in 1937; and Queen Elizabeth II in 1953. In 1956, she published her memoirs, ''My Memories of Six Reigns''. She died at her London home, 10 Fitzmaurice Place, Berkeley Square, a few months later on 8 December 1956 and is buried at the

Royal Burial Ground, Frogmore The Royal Burial Ground is a cemetery used by the British royal family. Consecrated on 23 October 1928 by the Bishop of Oxford, it is adjacent to the Royal Mausoleum, which was built in 1862 to house the tomb of Queen Victoria and Prince Alb ...

at Windsor Great Park. At the time of her death, she was one of six surviving grandchildren of Queen Victoria. Probate of the Princess's estate was granted on 12 March 1957 and was valued at £107,644 (£1.8 million at 2022 conversion rates).

Titles, styles and honours

Titles and styles

*1872–1891: ''Her Highness'' Princess Marie Louise of Schleswig-Holstein *1891–1900: ''Her Highness'' Princess Aribert of Anhalt *1900–1917: ''Her Highness'' Princess Marie Louise of Schleswig-Holstein *1917–1956: ''Her Highness'' Princess Marie Louise

Honours

*CI: Lady of the

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 ...

*GCVO: Dame Grand Cross of the

Royal Victorian Order The Royal Victorian Order (french: Ordre royal de Victoria) is a dynastic order of knighthood established in 1896 by Queen Victoria. It recognises distinguished personal service to the British monarch, Canadian monarch, Australian monarch, or ...

(1953) *GBE: Dame Grand Cross of the

Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...

(1919)

Ancestry

Notes

Sources

*Ronald Allison and Sarah Riddell, eds., ''The Royal Encyclopedia'' (London: Macmillan, 1992). *Marlene A. Eilers, ''Queen Victoria's Descendants'' (New York: Atlantic International Publishing, 1987). *Princess Marie Louise (née Princess of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Augustenberg), ''My Memories of Six Reigns'' (London: Evans Brothers, 1956). *"Obituary: Princess Marie Louise, Patron of Social Services," ''The Times'' 10 December 1956, p. 14. {{DEFAULTSORT:Marie Louise Of Schleswig-Holstein, Princess British princesses House of Augustenburg Companions of the Order of the Crown of India Dames Grand Cross of the Order of the British Empire Dames Grand Cross of the Royal Victorian Order Double dames 1872 births 1956 deaths People from Old Windsor Princesses of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Augustenburg House of Ascania Burials at the Royal Burial Ground, Frogmore Royal reburials