German Royalty: Friederich III's Children--Victoria (1866-1929)

Victoria was named after her mother or was it her grandmother? Her title was Princess of Prussia. Wilhelm as a young man began to submissively refer to his parents and three younger sisters as "the English colony". There was a long simmering dispiute between her mother and Wilhelm over her mairrage. Her mother had wanted her to marry Alexander of Hesse who briefly served as Prince of Bulgaria. Wilhelm objected because of the less than nobel birth of Alexader's mother. Victoria had begun to see her life as an old maid, alothugh she was still quite young. She married Adolf of Schaumburg-Lippe (1859-1916) in 1890. The Prince was distantly related to the Württenberg royal family. One historian described him as "an undistinguished soldier and mot very clever," but she at last was mairred. There was one miscairrage and Adolf died of phneminia in 1916. Victoria remairred in 1927 to Alexander Zubkov (1900-36). There were no children from either mairrage.

Parents

Victoria was named after her mother or was it her grandmother? Her title was Princess of Prussia.

Wilhelm

Wilhelm as a young man began to submissively refer to his parents and his three younger sisters, including Victoria, as "the English colony".

Prince Alexander

Princess Victoria fell in love with Prince Alexander of Hesse/Battenburg who had become Prince of Bulgaria in 1878. He was known as "Sandro" within the family. Princess Victoria hoped to marry him. A long simmering dispute developed between her mother and her brother Wilhelm over this marriage. Her mother supported her. The subject of this star-crossed marriage proposal requires almost a separate book to describe. In this she was supported by Queen Victoria who was could be quite sentimental when love was involved. The Queen by 1884 was actively supporting the marriage. Both the Crown Princess and the Queen found Prince Alexander quite charming. [Battiscombe, p. 170.] Her brother Wilhelm and his wife Donna, however, objected to the marriage because of the less than nobel birth of Alexader's mother. In this, Wilhelm was after 1885 supported by Chancellor Bismarck who was concerned because Alexander had violated an important provision of the Treaty of Berlin (1878) which had prevented the Russo-Turkish War of 1877-78 from widening. Bismarck was trying to negotiate an alliance with Russia. Prince Alexander had incurred the displeasure of Tsar Nicholas III who decided to depose him and succeeded in doing so in 1886. Princess Victoria and Prince Alexander were biterly disappointed, but realized that their marriage was no possible.

Marriage

Victoria had begun to see her life as an old maid, although she was still quite young. She eventually married Adolf of Schaumburg-Lippe (1859-1916) in 1890. The Prince was distantly related to the Württenberg royal family. One historian described him as "an undistinguished soldier and mot very clever," but she at last was married. There was one miscairrage and Adolf died of pneumonia in 1916.

Prince of Wales

After the War, Victoria did not follow her brother the Kaiser into Dutch exhile. She stayed in Schaumburg Palace and helped nurse wounded soldiers. The palace was treatened by mnaval mutineers and revolutionaries, but was basically left alone untill Canadians troops occupied Bonn. Interestingly, one of the billited in the palace was the Prince of Wales--the future Edward VIII. He was incensed at finding family pictures throughout the palace. He was also upset with intamices from the Princess who had no appreciation of the hostility that had been engendered by the War. The Prince thought her, "a nice enough woman for a Hun." Victoria also met Prince Albert, the future George VI. He was astonished that she knew nothing of German war atrocities. Perhaps more important was the extent to which English public opinion blamed the war on the Kaiser. The Princess expressed her desire that they all be friends again. Albert tactifully told her that it probably would not be possible for many years.

Post War Era

She lived ion at Schamburg Palace, but was reortedkly bored with no husband or children. She took singiong lessons and diveted herself with riding tennism and jazz. Her finaces suffered with the hyperinflation. She wrote her menoirs. They showed her gentle, forgiving nature and said nothing disagreeable about her brother. There wre refernces to the aborted marriage attempt with Alexander of Hesse that Wilhelm had broken off.

Remarriage

Victoria remairred in 1927 to Alexander Zubkov (1900-36). The marriage was a disaster. Alexander was a Russian emigree and little more than a confidance man. Wilhelm was agast and wriote her out f tghe family. Alexander depleted the little money she had on gambling and women and then had the afrontery to ask her brother for more money. With no money forth coming, he left her. She died destitute in 1929.

Children

There were no children from either marriage.

Sources

Battiscombe, Georgina. Queen Alexandra (Houghton Mifflin, Boston, 1969), 336p.

Van der Kriste, John. Kaiser Wihelm II: Germany's Last Kaiser (Bodmin: Sutton Publishing, 1999), 244p.









Christopher Wagner








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Created: August 20, 2001
Last updated: July 2, 2002