Princess Marie Louise of Schleswig-Holstein (Franziska Josepha Louise Augusta Marie Christina Helena; 12 August 1872 – 8 December 1956) was a granddaughter of Queen Victoria.
Her parents resided in the United Kingdom, and the Princess was considered a member of the British royal family. Under Royal Warrant of 15 May 1867, the children of Prince and Princess Christian were to be styled "Highness". From her birth in 1872 therefore Princess Marie Louise was styled Her Highness Princess Marie Louise of Schleswig-Holstein, albeit only in the United Kingdom. She was known to her family as "Louie".[citation needed]
Though contemporary sources did not directly suggest it was a cause of his marriage dissolution, a number of contemporaries and subsequent historical accounts suggest Aribert was bisexual or homosexual,[3][4] and some have suggested an indiscretion with a male attendant was the catalyst for the dissolution[5][6] and that the marriage had never been consummated.[5][7] The marriage was annulled on 13 December 1900 by his father. Princess Marie Louise, on an official visit to Canada at the time, immediately returned to Britain.[8] According to her memoirs, she regarded her marriage vows as binding, so she never remarried.
Activities, charity and patronages
Princess Marie Louise in the 1890s
After the annulment, Princess Marie Louise devoted herself to charitable organisations and patronage of the arts. She inspired the creation of Queen Mary's Dolls' House to showcase the work of British craftsmen. She established the Girl's Club in Bermondsey that served as a hospital during World War I. She was also active in the work of the Princess Christian Nursing Home at Windsor. She took part in all official occasions of the royal family, including coronations and funerals and processed as a Princess of the Blood Royal at events such as the coronation of George VI[9] and the carriage procession for Princesses of the Blood Royal at the coronation of Elizabeth II.[10]
World War I
In July 1917, when George V changed the name of the British Royal House from the House of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha to House of Windsor, he also ordered his numerous cousins and in-laws, who were British subjects, to discontinue the use of their German titles, styles, and surnames. Never taking other titles or surnames, Princess Marie Louise and her unmarried sister, Princess Helena Victoria, became known simply as "Her Highness Princess Marie Louise" and "Her Highness Princess Helena Victoria", giving them the odd distinction of being princesses but not, apparently, members of any particular royal family. This approach differed from the one accepted by George V's other relatives, who relinquished all princely titles, not just their German designations, and in turn received British titles of nobility from the King.[citation needed] Their titles of Princess were derived from their father, and they were not officially princesses of the United Kingdom.[11] However, their unmarried status and their right to be styled Highness dating from Queen Victoria's concession of 1867 rendered their situations awkward, so that it was easier to allow them to retain their status as princesses while avoiding the question of immediate family membership altogether.[citation needed]
Later life
Princess Marie Louise became a godmother of Prince Richard of Gloucester in 1944. She was called "Cousin Louie" by a young Princess Elizabeth, and attended her wedding alongside her sister, Princess Helena Victoria. She attended four coronations in Westminster Abbey, those of King Edward VII and Queen Alexandra in 1902; King George V and Queen Mary in 1911; King George VI and Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother in 1937; and Queen Elizabeth II in 1953. In 1956, she published her memoirs, My Memories of Six Reigns. She died at her London home, 10 Fitzmaurice Place, Berkeley Square, a few months later on 8 December 1956 and is buried at the Royal Burial Ground, Frogmore at Windsor Great Park.[12] At the time of her death, she was one of six surviving grandchildren of Queen Victoria. Probate of the Princess's estate was granted on 12 March 1957 and was valued at £107,644 (£1.8 million at 2022 conversion rates).[13]
Titles, styles and honours
Titles and styles
1872–1891: Her Highness Princess Marie Louise of Schleswig-Holstein
1891–1900: Her Highness Princess Aribert of Anhalt[14]
1900–1917: Her Highness Princess Marie Louise of Schleswig-Holstein[15]
^In May 1867, Queen Victoria granted the style of Highness to any children born of the marriage of Prince and Princess Christian of Schleswig-Holstein.
In June 1917, a notice appeared in the Court Circular that a Royal Warrant was to be prepared permitting George V's cousins to stop using the "of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Augustenburg" part of their titles. However, no warrant was prepared, and they were never formally granted the titles of Princesses of Great Britain and Ireland.
