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Princess Cecilie of Mecklenburg-Schwerin came to the attention of the Kaiser and his wife as a possible bride for their son. The Crown Prince attended the wedding of Friedrich Franz IV of Mecklenburg-Schwerin with Princess Alexandra of Hanover on July 4, 1904. There he met the 17-year-old sister of the bridegroom, Princess Cecilie. The beauty of the girl left an overwhelming impression on the Crown Prince. After his return to Potsdam he could not hide his affection. Pretty soon, arrangements were under way for the upcoming nuptials. Princess Cecilie was the perfect dynastic match for the Crown Prince. She was the daughter of Grand Duke Friedrich Franz III and his wife the Grand Duchess Anastasia Michailowna Romanov, a niece of Tsar Alexander II. She was born on September 20, 1886 at the Palace in Schwerin. She was the younger sister of Alexandrine who married the future King Christian X of Denmark. Her father was ill and the family spent 6 months of the year in the South of France in warmer climate trying to improve his health. Cecilie was a very accomplished young woman. She learned to speak French fluently, as well as German, English, and Russian. Certainly more accomplished than her husband. And as expected for German women at the time, she stayed out of politics. Glamerous Princess Cecilie has been described as the "Princess Diana" of her day--a storybook princess of Europe. She capture the imagination of the German and wider European public and he increasingly vocal press. Her style and and beauty outshown that of ant other European War in the era before World War I.
Princess Cecile was the daughter of Grand Duke Friedrich Franz III and his wife the Grand Duchess Anastasia Michailowna Romanov, a niece of Tsar Alexander II. She was born on September 20, 1886 at the Palace in Schwerin. She was the younger sister of Alexandrine who married the future King Christian X of Denmark.
Princess Cecile was very close to her sister Alexandrine, who became Queen of Denmark. They remained close throughout their lives. Denmark was neutral during the War and the two were thus not separated.
Princess Cecile's father was ill and the family spent 6 months of the year in the South of France in warmer climate trying to improve his health. Cecilie was a very accomplished young woman.
She learned to speak French fluently, as well as German, English, and Russian. Certainly more accomplished than her husband.
Princess Cecilie of Mecklenburg-Schwerin came to the attention of the Kaiser and his wife as a possible bride for their son. The Crown Prince attended the wedding of Friedrich Franz IV of Mecklenburg-Schwerin with Princess Alexandra of Hanover on July 4, 1904. There he met the 17-year-old sister of the bridegroom, Princess Cecilie. The beauty of the girl left an overwhelming impression on the Crown Prince. After his return to Potsdam he could not hide his affection. Pretty soon, arrangements were under way for the upcoming nuptials. Princess Cecilie was the perfect dynastic match for the Crown Prince with connections to the Russian royal family. And as expected for German women at the time, she stayed out of politics.
Glamerous Princess Cecilie has been described as the "Princess Diana" of her day--a storybook princess of Europe. Her beauty and above average height left a strikin impression. She capture the imagination of the German and wider European public and he increasingly vocal press. Her style and and beauty outshown that of ant other European War in the era before World War I. Crown Prince Frederich-Wilhem and Princess Cecile were the 'bright young things' of Berlin society. Her thick hair was perfect for the involved hairstyles popular in the early 20th century. She was a fashion trendsetter in Berlin society. She was especially notec for her large, trendy hats.
I have little written information on how the children of Crown Prince Frederich Wilhelm were dressed, but a variety of available images provide quite a bit of information. Their mother clearly like to dress them all in identical outfits, despite the differences in their age. They were outfitted in dresses as babies, but it looks like the boys were breeched at a fairly early age. I'm not sure about the Crown Prince, but photographs of his younger brothers show them wearing short pants by about 3 years of age. Several of the available photographs show the boys wearing identical satin short pants outfits, with matching blouse and short pants. The blouse has an open square cut neck without a collar. It is worn with a matching belt and knee-length shorts. With this outfit the boys wear three-quarter length socks and white strap shoes with little boys. Their mother must have liked this outfit because several pictures show the boys wearing it at different ages. Princes Cecilie appears to have liked dressing her sons identically. Many photographs show the boys wearing identical outfits even when their was considerable differences in the ages of the boys. This contrasts with the practices in England where gradual small distinctions were made in the outfits worn by the princes to mark differences in ages. The outfits of the German royals, however, appear much more fashonable, in contrast to their English cousins who after breeching, almost always were dressed in sailor suits or kilts.
Princess Cecile was known for her youthful glamor and as aonderful mother for the children. She did not involve herself in politics and social issues as Diana did. There ws one exceotion. The royal couple's daughter Alexandrine was affected by Down's Syndrome. Cecile refused to follow the accepted convention of the day and hide handicapped children away. This is what the King George V did with their soin John. Princess Cecile refused to do this. Cecile insisted in caring for Alexandrine with the other children. She was always included in family portraits.
Princess Cecile worked with the Red Cross during World war I. She was involved in othef wartime charities as well.
Princess Cecile stayed in Germany after the War.
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