The Marriage of Princess Helena of Great Britain
With Prince Christian of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Augustenburg
Sep 14, 2009
Princess Helena of Great Britain had one of the most peaceful and long-lasting marriages of Queen Victoria’s children. Her marriage to Prince Christian of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Augustenburg was content and uneventful, producing four children and lived out in comfort in England.
The Engagement of Princess Helena and Prince Christian
Princess Helena of Great Britain (1846–1923) first met Prince Christian of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Augustenburg (1831–1917) in Germany in 1865. In a way, Prince Christian was not an ideal marital prospect. He was fifteen years older than Helena, penniless and jobless after having just left the Prussian Army, and of a lesser royal family. But Helena was determined to marry him and he liked her. Queen Victoria objected to Princess Helena leaving England, but since Prince Christian had no real prospects in Germany he readily agreed to move to his wife’s country.
Princess Helena’s siblings, however, were not so amenable to the marriage. They had no objections to Prince Christian personally, but there were political problems with his family that caused a disturbance with other royal families. The Augustenburgs were a relatively minor royal family, but involved in a territorial dispute over Schleswig and Holstein with both Prussia and Denmark. Helena’s brother Bertie, the future King Edward VII, sided with Denmark in the dispute out of respect to his Danish wife. Helena’s sister Vicky had married Crown Prince Frederick of Prussia, but this couple actually ended up siding with Christian’s family in the dispute in defiance of Frederick’s hated parents.
Princess Helena was a very obedient and amiable person, and this was the one stubborn action of her life that could have divided the family. But Prince Christian wasn’t a very political person, and as a younger son would never have inherited the territory anyway. All objections were soon dropped when people realized what a particularly uncontroversial person Christian was.
The Wedding of Princess Helena and Prince Christian
Princess Helena married Prince Christian on July 5, 1866, in Windsor Castle’s Private Chapel. Prince Christian was naturalized before the wedding and made a major general in the British army, becoming the Englishman he would contentedly remain for the rest of his life. The couple then settled into their quiet life in England, occasionally serving Queen Victoria and finding what little work they could to occupy their time.
The Married Life of Princess Helena and Prince Christian
Princess Helena and Prince Christian’s married life in their home at Cumberland Lodge was uneventful almost to the point of boredom. Prince Christian had been made Ranger of Windsor Castle, a largely ceremonial position that required no real work. His unemployment meant that he could spend a lot of time with his four children, whom both he and Helena were devoted to.
Princess Helena was involved in charity work, founding the Princess Christian District Nurses in 1894, which in 1904 became the Princess Christian Nursing Home in Windsor. She later became the president of the Royal British Nurses’ Association and visited many hospitals during World War I.
Princess Helena and Prince Christian had the longest marriage of any of Queen Victoria’s children, lasting fifty-one years until Prince Christian’s death. Although uneventful, their peaceful life was often envied by Helena’s siblings, and their love for each other and lack of any real problems ensured them a happy marriage.
Source:
Packard, Jerrold M. Victoria’s Daughters. New York: St. Martin’s Press, 1998.
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