Alexandra Louise Olga Victoria (Saxe-Coburg-Gotha) Hohenlohe-Langenburg (1878 - 1942)

Born 1 Sep 1878 in Rosenau Castle, Coburg, Germany

Ancestors

Wife of Ernest II William Frederick Carl Maximilian Hohenlohe-Langenburg — married 20 Apr 1896 in Ehrenburg Palace (Schloss Ehrenburg), Coburg, Germany

Descendants

Died 16 Apr 1942 at age 63 in Schwäbisch Hall, Baden-Wurttemberg, Germany

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Biography

"Princess Alexandra of Edinburgh was born on 1 September 1878 at Rosenau Castle, Coburg. Her father was Prince Alfred, Duke of Edinburgh, the second son of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha. Her mother was Grand Duchess Maria Alexandrovna of Russia, a daughter of Tsar Alexander II of Russia and Marie of Hesse and by Rhine.

"She was baptised on 2 October 1878 at Edinburgh Palace, Coburg, presumably by her mother's chaplain. Her godparents included her maternal uncle Grand Duke Alexei Alexandrovich of Russia."

Childhood

"Nicknamed 'Sandra' by her family, Alexandra spent her childhood first in England and between 1886 and 1889 in Malta, where her father was serving with the Royal Navy."

Duchy of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha

"In 1889 the family moved to Coburg, Germany since her father, Alfred, was the heir apparent to the duchy of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha. In 1893, her great-uncle, The Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha (brother of her paternal grandfather, Prince Albert) died without issue. Because Prince Albert was dead, and her uncle, the Prince of Wales had renounced his claim to the ducal throne of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha, the vacant duchy fell to Alexandra's father, the Duke of Edinburgh. Thus, Princess Alexandra was both a Princess of Great Britain and a Princess of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha.

"She was a bridesmaid at the 1885 wedding of Queen Victoria’s youngest daughter Princess Beatrice to Prince Henry of Battenberg. She was a bridesmaid at the wedding of the Duke and Duchess of York on 6 July 1893.

"Throughout her life, Alexandra was overshadowed by her two elder sisters, Marie and Victoria Melita. Alexandra, less beautiful and more subdued than her sisters, was described as 'plain, placid and not as brilliant'."

Regency of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha

"At the death of her father in 1900, Alexandra's husband was appointed regent of the duchy of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha during the minority of the new Duke, Prince Charles Edward, Duke of Albany, who was her first cousin. Alexandra's only brother and heir to the duchy, Prince Alfred, had died in 1899."

Marriage and family

"During Alexandra's formative years, her father, occupied with his career in the Navy and later as a ruler in Coburg, paid little attention to his family. It was Alexandra's mother who was the domineering presence in their children's life. The duchess believed in marrying her daughters young, before they began to think for themselves. At the end of 1895, she arranged Alexandra's engagement to Prince Ernst of Hohenlohe-Langenburg. Alexandra's grandmother, Queen Victoria, complained that she was too young. Alexandra's father objected to the status of his future son-in-law because the House of Hohenlohe-Lagenburg was mediatized - a formerly ruling family who had ceded their sovereign rights to others while (in theory) retaining their equal birth right. It was not considered a brilliant match, but they were also related. Ernst was a grandson of Princess Feodora of Leiningen, Queen Victoria's half-sister.

"The wedding took place on 20 April 1896 in Coburg, Germany."

World War I

"During World War I, she worked as a Red Cross nurse. In February 1916 her eldest daughter was married at Coburg to Prince Friederich of Gluckburg and she became a grandmother when the couple's first child, Prince Hans of Glucksburg was born in May 1917.

"On her thirty-fifth wedding anniversary in April 1931, her son Gottfried married Princess Margarita of Greece and Denmark."

Nazi Party

"In the years preceding World War II, Alexandra was an early supporter of the Nazi Party, which she joined on 1 May 1937, together with several of her children."

Death

"She died in Schwäbisch Hall, Baden-Wurttemberg, Germany in 1942.

"Her elder son, Gottfried, 8th Prince of Hohenlohe-Langenburg, was named as part of the custody suit over Gloria Vanderbilt ("Little Gloria") between her mother, Gloria Laura Mercedes Morgan (1904–1965), and the child's aunt, Gertrude Vanderbilt Whitney."

Children

1. Prince Gottfried, 8th Prince of Hohenlohe-Langenburg (24 May 1897 – 11 May 1960); married Princess Margarita of Greece and Denmark, the eldest sister of Prince Philip of Greece and Denmark, Duke of Edinburgh, and had issue.

2. Princess Marie Melita of Hohenlohe-Langenburg (18 January 1899 – 8 November 1967); married Wilhelm Friedrich, Duke of Schleswig-Holstein and had issue.

3. Princess Alexandra of Hohenlohe-Langenburg (2 April 1901 – 26 October 1963).

4. Princess Irma of Hohenlohe-Langenburg (4 July 1902 – 8 March 1986).

5. Prince Alfred of Hohenlohe-Langenburg (16 April 1911 – 18 April 1911), died aged two days.

Sources

Wikipedia, Alexandra of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Princess_Alexandra_of_Saxe-Coburg_and_Gotha.