Princess Louise Margaret of Prussia
| Princess Louise Margaret | |||||
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| Duchess of Connaught and Strathearn | |||||
 Photograph by James Lafayette, 1907 | |||||
| Viceregal consort of Canada | |||||
| In office 13 October 1911 – 11 November 1916 | |||||
| Monarch | George V | ||||
| Preceded by | The Countess Grey | ||||
| Succeeded by | The Duchess of Devonshire | ||||
| Governor General | The Duke of Connaught and Strathearn | ||||
| Born | 25 July 1860 Marmorpalais, Potsdam, Kingdom of Prussia | ||||
| Died | 14 March 1917 (aged 56) Clarence House, London, England, United Kingdom | ||||
| Burial | 19 March 1917 | ||||
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| House | Hohenzollern | ||||
| Father | Prince Frederick Charles of Prussia | ||||
| Mother | Princess Maria Anna of Anhalt-Dessau | ||||
| Signature |  | ||||
| Prussian Royalty |
| House of Hohenzollern |
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| Descendants of Frederick William III |
Princess Louise Margaret of Prussia, VA, CI, RRC, DStJ (Louise Margaret Alexandra Victoria Agnes; 25 July 1860 – 14 March 1917), later Duchess of Connaught and Strathearn, was a member of the House of Hohenzollern who married into the British royal family. She served as the viceregal consort of Canada while her husband, Prince Arthur, Duke of Connaught and Strathearn, served as the governor general, from 1911 to 1916.
Early life
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Princess Louise Margaret was born at Marmorpalais (Marble Palace) near Potsdam, Kingdom of Prussia. Her father was Prince Friedrich Karl of Prussia (1828–1885), the son of Karl of Prussia (1801–1883) and his wife Princess Marie of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach (1808–1877). Her mother was Princess Maria Anna of Anhalt (1837–1906), daughter of Leopold IV of Anhalt-Dessau. Louise Margaret's father, a nephew of William I, German Emperor, distinguished himself as a field commander during the Battle of Metz and the campaigns west of Paris in the 1870–71 Franco-Prussian War.
The parents of Louise were estranged because of her father's alcoholism and domineering behavior. Though they were never officialy separated they lived apart. Queen Victoria wrote in a letter that the prince had "behaved so brutally to his wife".
Marriage
On 13 March 1879, Princess Louise Margaret married Prince Arthur, Duke of Connaught and Strathearn at St. George's Chapel Windsor. Prince Arthur was the seventh child and third son of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha. A 2003 book claims that it was a love match, with the princess also keen to get away from her royal residence in Berlin and from her father's bullying.
The wedding was described as grand and the couple received a great number of expensive gifts; the Queen's gifts included a diamond tiara and a pearl and diamond pendant. Many members of Britain and Germany's royal families attended. Queen Victoria herself was wearing the Koh-i-Noor diamond and a long white veil. After her marriage, Princess Louise was styled Her Royal Highness The Duchess of Connaught and Strathearn, and her name was Anglicised as Louise Margaret.
The couple had three children: Princess Margaret (1882–1920), Prince Arthur (1883–1938), and Princess Patricia (1886–1974). Princess Margaret married Prince Gustaf Adolf of Sweden and was the grandmother of King Carl XVI Gustaf of Sweden. Prince Arthur served as the governor-general of South Africa.
Duchess of Connaught
The Duchess of Connaught spent the first twenty years of her marriage accompanying her husband on his various deployments throughout the British Empire. The Duke and Duchess of Connaught acquired Bagshot Park in Surrey as their country home and after 1900 used Clarence House as their London residence. She accompanied her husband to Canada in 1911, when he began his term as governor-general. In 1916, she became colonel-in-chief of the 199th Canadian (Overseas) Infantry Battalion (The Duchess of Connaught's Own Irish-Canadian Rangers), CEF after Harry Trihey, the regiment's principal organizer and first commanding officer during World War I, secured her as patron. In 1885, she became chief of the 64th (8th Brandenburg) Regiment of Infantry "Field Marshal General Prince Friedrich Karl of Prussia", Prussian Army.
Death and legacy
The Duchess of Connaught died of influenza and bronchitis at Clarence House. She became the first member of the British royal family to be cremated. This was done at Golders Green Crematorium. The procedure of burying ashes in an urn was still unfamiliar at the time, and her urn was transported in an ordinary coffin during the funeral ceremonies. King George V still ordered four weeks of mourning dress and a military guard of honor during the funeral. Her ashes were placed in the Royal Vault at St George's Chapel, Windsor Castle and eventually buried at the Royal Burial Ground, Frogmore. The Duke of Connaught survived her by almost twenty-five years.
The maternity hospital adjacent to the Cambridge Military Hospital at Aldershot was named in her honor as the Louise Margaret Maternity Hospital. She laid the foundation stone of this hospital, which was constructed for the wives and children of the Aldershot Garrison.
Titles, styles, honours and arms
Titles and styles
- 25 July 1860 – 13 March 1879: Her Royal Highness Princess Louise Margaret of Prussia
- 13 March 1879 – 14 March 1917: Her Royal Highness The Duchess of Connaught and Strathearn
Honours
- Orders and decorations
- CI: Companion of the Crown of India, March 1879
- VA: Royal Order of Victoria and Albert, 1st Class, 1893
- DStJ: Lady of Justice of St. John, 1888
- RRC: Member of the Royal Red Cross, 1883
Empire of Japan: Grand Cordon of the Precious Crown, 8 May 1890
- Academic
Arms
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| Coat of arms of Princess Louise Margaret of Prussia, Duchess of Connaught |
Issue
| Image | Name | Birth | Death | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
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Princess Margaret of Connaught | 15 January 1882 | 1 May 1920 | married, 15 June 1905, Crown Prince Gustaf Adolf of Sweden; had issue (including Ingrid, Queen of Denmark) |
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Prince Arthur of Connaught | 13 January 1883 | 12 September 1938 | married, 15 October 1913, Princess Alexandra, 2nd Duchess of Fife; had issue |
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Princess Patricia of Connaught | 17 March 1886 | 12 January 1974 | married, 27 February 1919, Captain Sir Alexander Ramsay, renouncing her title and becoming Lady Patricia Ramsay; had issue |
Ancestry
| Ancestors of Princess Louise Margaret of Prussia |
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Authority control databases | |
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| International | |
| National | |
| Other | |
- 1860 births
- 1917 deaths
- People from Potsdam
- People from the Province of Brandenburg
- House of Hohenzollern
- House of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha (United Kingdom)
- Canadian viceregal consorts
- British duchesses by marriage
- Princesses of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha
- Companions of the Order of the Crown of India
- Dames of Justice of the Order of St John
- Members of the Royal Red Cross
- Ladies of the Royal Order of Victoria and Albert
- Grand Cordons of the Order of the Precious Crown
- Burials at the Royal Burial Ground, Frogmore
- Women in 19th-century warfare
- Wives of British princes
- Deaths from influenza
- Infectious disease deaths in England
- Royal reburials
- Wives of knights