The Marriage of Prince Leopold of Albany
The Royal Union with Princess Helena of Waldeck-Pyrmont
Oct 1, 2009
The marriage of Prince Leopold of Great Britain and Princess Helena of Waldeck-Pyrmont has the distinction of being the only marriage of a child of Queen Victoria that lacked any controversy. No one was against this marriage for any reason, and this marriage was very happy although tragically short. It produced two children whose descendants are still alive in the Swedish and Coburg royal families and in English nobility.
Prince Leopold of Albany, Queen Victoria’s Intellectual Son
Prince Leopold (1853–1884), the Duke of Albany, was the only one of Queen Victoria’s sons to have the blood disease hemophilia, and this disease dramatically altered his life. Because of his weakened state and his mother’s constant worry over him, he was not allowed to enter the military as his brothers had done. But this proved to be a good thing as he was then allowed to go to college, the only one of Queen Victoria’s children to do so, and attended Oxford University.
While at Oxford University, he befriended the Reverend Charles Dodgson, the real name of author Lewis Carroll who wrote the Alice in Wonderland books. Prince Leopold also met the real-life inspiration for Alice, Alice Liddell, and actually courted her and may have married her if she had not been a commoner and therefore an unacceptable match.
Prince Leopold of Albany’s Engagement to Helena of Waldeck-Pyrmont
Prince Leopold of Albany was afraid that his mother would never allow him to marry as she was so worried about his health. But eventually a suitable bride was found for him in the German royal family of Waldeck-Pyrmont.
Princess Helena of Waldeck-Pyrmont (1861–1922) was a daughter of the reigning Prince George Victor of Waldeck-Pyrmont. Although not a particularly important royal family, the Waldeck-Pyrmonts had raised their royal position by marrying into other important royal families. Princess Helena’s sister Marie had married King William II of Wurttemberg. And another sister had married King William III of the Netherlands, becoming Queen Emma of the Netherlands and eventually reigning regent for her young daughter Queen Wilhelmina.
Princess Helena of Waldeck-Pyrmont was therefore a very dynastically acceptable and politically uncontroversial match. She was also a very sweet, family-oriented princess, who was reportedly the only in-law of Queen Victoria’s not to be intimidated by her. Prince Leopold and Princess Helena were happily married on April 27, 1882, in St. George’s Chapel at Windsor Castle.
The Short Marriage of Prince Leopold of Albany and Princess Helena of Waldeck-Pyrmont
Prince Leopold of Albany was happy to be married and particularly thrilled when he became a father, which he thought might never happen because of his health. He and Princess Helena doted on their young daughter Princess Alice. They would even often let their baby daughter dine with them, even when they had company.
While Prince Leopold enjoyed his marriage and family, he didn’t have much else to do. He made some small intellectual and artistic contributions to Great Britain because of his time at Oxford University. He also sometimes acted as a private secretary for Queen Victoria and helped her with her official papers. Nevertheless, he longed for real employment, but his bad health and political problems prevented him from getting both the governor-generalship of Canada and also the governorship of Victoria, Australia.
During the winter of 1883–1884, he was sent to Cannes to avoid the English cold. He left behind his young daughter and pregnant wife Princess Helena. Tragically, in March of 1884 he slipped, causing a fatal hemorrhage. Prince Leopold and Princess Helena had only been married two years, and he wouldn’t even live to see his son and heir Prince Charles Edward born.
The Marriage of Prince Leopold of Albany and Princess Helena of Waldeck-Pyrmont
The marriage of Prince Leopold of Albany and Princess Helena of Waldeck-Pyrmont was tragically short, but it was more than Prince Leopold ever thought he would have. Despite his hemophilia, Prince Leopold was able to live into adulthood, marry, and have two children. Their daughter Princess Alice’s children are English nobility and commoners. Their son Prince Charles Edward inherited the Duchy of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, and his children married German and Swedish royalty, and his grandson is the present King Carl XVI Gustaf of Sweden. Although short, the marriage of Prince Leopold and Princess Helena was successful, both dynastically and personally for the royal couple.
Source:
Kiste, John van der. Queen Victoria’s Children. Gloucester: Alan Sutton Publishing, 1986.
 |
 |
