The Children of Princess Helena of Great Britain
The English Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Augustenbergs
Sep 24, 2009
When Princess Helena of Great Britain married, her mother Queen Victoria insisted that she and her husband stay in England and close to her at court. So the children of Princess Helena and Prince Christian of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Augustenberg were raised in Great Britain. Although technically German royals through their father, these children were thoroughly British with English sensibilities. They were also very close to their parents, who because they had nothing much to do at court were very involved with their children and their education.
Princess Helena and Prince Christian of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Augustenberg had five children. Of the four who survived infancy, only one married and only one had a child who in turn had no children of her own. There are no descendants of Princess Helena and Prince Christian alive today.
Prince Christian Victor of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Augustenberg (1867–1900)
Prince Christian Victor, known as “Christle,” was the first member of the royal family to go to a public school, attending Wellington College in 1881. His mother’s “idol,” he served in the 60th King’s Royal Rifles. While in South Africa fighting in the Boar War, he got malaria and died. As he had instructed before his death, instead of being brought back to Great Britain for a royal funeral, he was buried alongside his fallen comrades in Pretoria.
Prince Albert of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Augustenberg (1869–1931)
Child: Valerie Marie zu Schleswig-Holstein
When it became obvious that his cousin Duke Ernst Gunther of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Augustenberg would never have children, Prince Albert moved to Germany in anticipation of inheriting the Duchy of Schleswig-Holstein. This must have been somewhat difficult for the mostly British prince, however, especially when he was required to fight against Great Britain during World War I as an officer in the German Army. He finally inherited the duchy in 1921, but by this time German titles meant nothing.
He never married but had a natural daughter by an unknown woman. This daughter, eventually named Valerie Marie zu Schleswig-Holstein, was raised by a Jewish family. She became a royal duchess upon her second marriage to the wealthy Duke Engelbert-Charles of Arenberg.
Princess Helena Victoria of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Augustenberg (1870–1948)
Princess Helena Victoria, known as “Thora” and also “Snipe” because of her long, severe features, never married. She lived in her grandmother’s court, often helping her aunt Princess Beatrice take care of Queen Victoria. She, like many royal women, also did a lot of charity work.
Princess Marie Louise of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Augustenberg (1872–1956)
Married (1891) Prince Aribert of Anhalt-Dessau
Princess Marie Louise was the only child of Princess Helena to marry. After turning down Crown Prince Ferdinand of Romania, she married Prince Aribert of Anhalt-Dessau, a small German principality. Although she got along with her husband and his family, she was never comfortable in the coldly formal German court.
Prince Aribert was a cavalry officer in the First Dragoon Guards in the German Army. He was also allegedly a homosexual, and it was a hushed-up scandal involving Prince Aribert’s sexuality that eventually ended the marriage. Nine years after their wedding, while Princess Marie Louise was visiting Canada, her grandmother Queen Victoria ordered her to return “home” to England and told her that her marriage had been annulled by her father-in-law.
Princess Marie Louise was never told what exactly happened and always considered herself a married woman. Nevertheless, she was content to live the rest of her life with her sister. She is now most famous for her memoirs, My Memories of Six Reigns, published in 1956.
Prince Harald of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Augustenberg (1876)
Prince Harald died when he was only eight days old.
Source:
Eilers, Marlene A. Queen Victoria’s Descendants. Falkoping, Sweden: Rosvall Royal Books, 1997.
Packard, Jerrold M. Victoria’s Daughters. New York: St. Martin’s Press, 1998.
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