The Children of Prince Leopold of Albany
Princess Alice and Prince Charles Edward of Great Britain
Oct 8, 2009
Prince Leopold of Albany, Queen Victoria’s youngest son, feared that he would never live long enough to have children because of his hemophilia. And although he delighted in being a father to his first child Princess Alice, he did in fact die before the birth of his second child Prince Charles Edward.
His widow, the former German Princess Helena of Waldeck-Pyrmont, was a very devoted mother and raised the children in Great Britain to be good English royals. Princess Alice of Albany lived a long life and her descendants are now British commoners. Prince Charles Edward of Albany, however, had to move to Germany when he inherited the Duchy of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha from his uncle, and had a difficult time being an Englishman ruling a German state. His descendants are still alive among German and Swedish royalty.
Princess Alice of Albany (1883–1981)
Married (1904) Prince Alexander of Teck, Earl of Athlone
Children: May, Rupert, Maurice
Princess Alice of Albany was the longest-living descendant of Queen Victoria, dying just two months before her ninety-eighth birthday. She had a full life and was a very popular member of the royal family, and she has many English descendants.
Princess Alice of Albany married the brother of Queen Mary, King George V’s wife. Prince Alexander of Teck was a great-grandson of King George III of Great Britain, and although he was technically a German royal he and his siblings had been raised in England. Amidst anti-German feeling during World War I, the Teck family dropped their German titles and Alexander became the Earl of Athlone, with his son Rupert becoming Viscount Trematon.
Alexander of Athlone was later appointed governor-general in South Africa and in Canada, where Princess Alice was a popular first lady because of her modern outlook mixed with royal dignity. Throughout her life Princess Alice remained an active member of the royal family and often participated in various royal occasions.
Princess Alice and Alexander of Athlone had three children. Sadly, both of their sons inherited hemophilia, with Maurice dying as an infant and Rupert dying as a young man. Their daughter May married Sir Henry Abel Smith and had several children.
Prince Charles Edward of Albany, Duke of Albany, Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha (1884–1954)
Married (1905) Princess Victoria Adelheid of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glucksburg
Children: Johann Leopold, Sibylla, Huburtus, Karoline Mathilde, Friedrich Josias
When Prince Charles Edward of Albany was fifteen, he was made heir of the Duchy of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha upon the death of his cousin. His uncle Prince Alfred of Edinburgh, by then the reigning Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, named Charles Edward his new heir and wanted to adopt him and move him to Coburg. Princess Helena refused to give up her son, but when Prince Charles Edward was older he did move to Coburg in anticipation of inheriting the Duchy. This was a very difficult transition for the British prince.
He succeeded as the reigning Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha in 1900, changing his name to the more German Carl Eduard. During World War I, this basically English prince was torn between love for England and duty to Germany, and was distrusted by both sides. In 1918, he gave up his title like most German princes did, but continued to live in Coburg. In 1935 he joined the Nazi Party, and became the president of the Anglo-German fellowship to try to bridge the gap between England and Germany. It didn’t work, and he was destroyed after World War II and later died a broken man.
Prince Charles Edward married a niece of Empress Auguste of Germany, Princess Victoria Adelheid, and together they had five children. Most of these children married minor German royals and their descendants are still alive in Germany. Their daughter Princess Sibylla, however, married Crown Prince Gustaf Adolf of Sweden. He died before his father, King Gustaf VI Adolf, so Sibylla never became queen. She died one year before her son was crowned King Carl XVI Gustaf of Sweden.
Source:
Eilers, Marlene A. Queen Victoria’s Descendants. Falkoping, Sweden: Rosvall Royal Books, 1997.
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