Princess Louise Margaret of Prussia

Princess Louise Margaret of Prussia (Louise Margaret Alexandra Victoria Agnes; later Duchess of Connaught and Strathearn; 25 July 1860 – 14 March 1917) was a German princess, and later a member of the British Royal Family, the wife of Prince Arthur, Duke of Connaught and Strathearn. She also served as the Viceregal Consort of Canada, when her husband served as the Governor General of Canada from 1911 to 1916.

Early life

Princess Luise Margarete was born at Marmorpalais (Marble Palace) near Potsdam, Kingdom of Prussia. Her father was Prince Friedrich Karl of Prussia (1828–1888), the son of Karl of Prussia (1801–1883) and his wife Princess Marie of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach (1808–1877). Her mother was Princess Maria Anna of Anhalt (1837–1906), daughter of Leopold IV of Anhalt-Dessau. Her father, a nephew of the German Emperor Wilhelm I, distinguished himself as a field commander during the Battle of Metz and the campaigns west of Paris in the 1870–71 Franco-Prussian War. Her father was a double cousin of the German Emperor Friedrich III, the husband of her sister-in-law, Victoria, Princess Royal.

Marriage

See also: Wedding dress of Princess Louise Margaret of Prussia

On 13 March 1879, Princess Luise Margarete married Prince Arthur, Duke of Connaught and Strathearn at St. George's Chapel Windsor.^[1] Prince Arthur was the seventh child and third son of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha. The couple got a great number of expensive gifts; the Queen's gift, for instance, consisted of a magnificent diamond tiara, a pearl and diamond penchant, among other items.^[1] Many members of England and Germany's royal families attended, such as the Prince and Princess of Wales.^[1] After her marriage, she was styled Her Royal Highness The Duchess of Connaught and her name was anglicised as Louise Margaret.

Duchess of Connaught

The Duchess of Connaught spent the first twenty years of her marriage accompanying her husband on his various deployments throughout the British empire. The Duke and Duchess of Connaught acquired Bagshot Park in Surrey as their country home and after 1900 used Clarence House as their London residence. She accompanied her husband to Canada in 1911, when he began his term as Governor-General. In 1916, she became colonel-in-chief of the 199th Canadian (Overseas) Infantry Battalion (The Duchess of Connaught's Own Irish-Canadian Rangers), CEF. In 1885, she became chief of the 64th (8th Brandenburg) Regiment of Infantry "Field Marshal General Prince Friedrich Karl of Prussia", Prussian Army.

Later life

The Duchess of Connaught died of influenza and bronchitis at Clarence House. She became the first member of the British Royal Family to be cremated, this was done at Golders Green Crematorium. The procedure of burying ashes in an urn was still unfamiliar at the time, and her urn was transported in an ordinary coffin during the funeral ceremonies. Her ashes were eventually buried at the Royal Burial Ground, Frogmore. The Duke of Connaught survived her by almost twenty-five years.

Titles, styles, honours and arms

Titles and styles

• 25 July 1860 – 13 March 1879: Her Royal Highness Princess Luise Margarete of Prussia
• 13 March 1879 – 14 March 1917: Her Royal Highness The Duchess of Connaught and Strathearn

Honours

• CI: Companion of the Crown of India, March 1879
• VA: Royal Order of Victoria and Albert (First Class), 1893
• DStJ: Dame of Justice of St. John, 1888
• RRC: Member of the Royal Red Cross, 1883
• Dame of the Order of Louise

Issue

Legacy

The maternity wing attached to Aldershot's former military hospital, the Cambridge Military Hospital was also named in her honour as the Louise Margaret Maternity Hospital.

Ancestry

References