Princess Louise Margaret of Prussia (Louise Margaret Alexandra Victoria Agnes; 25 July 1860 – 14 March 1917), later Duchess of Connaught and Strathearn VA CI RRC DStJ, was a member of the House of Hohenzollern and of the British royal family. She served as the viceregal consort of Canada while her husband, Prince Arthur, Duke of Connaught and Strathearn, served as the

governor general Governor-general (plural ''governors-general''), or governor general (plural ''governors general''), is the title of an office-holder. In the context of governors-general and former British colonies, governors-general are appointed as viceroy ...

, from 1911 to 1916.

Early life

Princess Louise Margaret was born at

Marmorpalais The Marmorpalais (or Marble Palace) is a former royal residence in Potsdam, near Berlin in Germany, built on the grounds of the extensive '' Neuer Garten'' on the shores of the '' Heiliger See'' (lake). The palace was commissioned by King ''Frie ...

(Marble Palace) near Potsdam,

Kingdom of Prussia The Kingdom of Prussia (german: Königreich Preußen, ) was a German kingdom that constituted the state of Prussia between 1701 and 1918.Marriott, J. A. R., and Charles Grant Robertson. ''The Evolution of Prussia, the Making of an Empire''. ...

. Her father was Prince Friedrich Karl of Prussia (1828–1885), 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 Victoria, Princess Royal (Victoria Adelaide Mary Louisa; 21 November 1840 – 5 August 1901) was German Empress and Queen of Prussia as the wife of German Emperor Frederick III. She was the eldest child of Queen Victoria of the United Kingdo ...

Marriage

On 13 March 1879, Princess Louise Margaret married Prince Arthur, Duke of Connaught and Strathearn at St. George's Chapel Windsor. Prince Arthur was the seventh child and third son of

Queen Victoria Victoria (Alexandrina Victoria; 24 May 1819 – 22 January 1901) was Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until her death in 1901. Her reign of 63 years and 216 days was longer than that of any previ ...

and Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha. An account cited that it was a love match, with the princess also keen to get away from royal residence in Berlin and from her father's bullying. The wedding was described as grand and the couple received a great number of expensive gifts; the Queen's gift consisted of a diamond tiara, a pearl and diamond pendant. Many members of England and Germany's royal families attended; these included the

Prince A prince is a male ruler (ranked below a king, grand prince, and grand duke) or a male member of a monarch's or former monarch's family. ''Prince'' is also a title of nobility (often highest), often hereditary, in some European states. ...

and Princess of Wales. Queen Victoria herself was wearing the

Koh-i-Noor diamond The Koh-i-Noor ( ; from ), also spelled Kohinoor and Koh-i-Nur, is one of the largest cut diamonds in the world, weighing . It is part of the Crown Jewels of the United Kingdom. The diamond is currently set in the Crown of Queen Elizabeth The Q ...

and a long white veil. After her marriage, Princess Louise was styled ''Her Royal Highness The Duchess of Connaught and Strathearn'' and her name was Anglicised as Louise Margaret. The couple had three children: Princess Margaret (1882–1920), Prince Arthur (1883–1938), and Princess Patricia (1886–1974). Princess Margaret married Prince Gustaf Adolf of Sweden and was the grandmother of King Carl XVI of Sweden,

Queen Anne-Marie of Greece Anne-Marie, ( el, Άννα-Μαρία ; born 30 August 1946) is a Greek and Danish royal who was the last Queen of Greece from 1964 to 1973 as the wife of King Constantine II. The Greek monarchy was abolished with the 1974 Greek Republic Re ...

, and Queen Margrethe II of Denmark. Prince Arthur served as the governor-general of

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring coun ...

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 after

Harry Trihey Henry Judah "Flip" Trihey (December 25, 1877 – December 9, 1942) was a Canadian amateur ice hockey player and executive in the era before professional ice hockey. Trihey played the centre forward position for the Montreal Shamrocks from 1897 to ...

, the regiment's principal organizer and first commanding officer during World War I, secured her as patron. In 1885, she became chief of the 64th (8th Brandenburg) Regiment of Infantry "Field Marshal General Prince Friedrich Karl of Prussia", Prussian Army.

Death and legacy

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. King George V still ordered four weeks of mourning dress and a military guard of honor during the funeral. Her ashes were eventually buried at the

Royal Burial Ground, Frogmore The Royal Burial Ground is a cemetery used by the British royal family. Consecrated on 23 October 1928 by the Bishop of Oxford, it is adjacent to the Royal Mausoleum, which was built in 1862 to house the tomb of Queen Victoria and Prince Alb ...

. The Duke of Connaught survived her by almost twenty-five years. The maternity hospital adjacent to the Cambridge Military Hospital at Aldershot was named in her honor as the Louise Margaret Maternity Hospital. She laid the foundation stone of this hospital, which was constructed for the wives and children of the Aldershot Garrison.

Titles, styles, honours and arms

Titles and styles

*25 July 1860 – 13 March 1879: ''Her Royal Highness'' Princess Louise Margaret 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, 1st Class, ''1893'' *DStJ: Lady of Justice of St. John, ''1888'' *RRC: Member of the Royal Red Cross, ''1883'' * : Grand Cordon of the Precious Crown, ''8 May 1890''

Arms

Issue

Ancestry

References

, - {{DEFAULTSORT:Louise Margaret Of Prussia, Princess 1860 births 1917 deaths People from Potsdam People from the Province of Brandenburg House of Hohenzollern House of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha (United Kingdom) Canadian viceregal consorts Connaught and Strathearn Princesses of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha Companions of the Order of the Crown of India Dames of Justice of the Order of St John Members of the Royal Red Cross Ladies of the Royal Order of Victoria and Albert Grand Cordons of the Order of the Precious Crown Burials at the Royal Burial Ground, Frogmore Women in 19th-century warfare Wives of British princes Deaths from influenza Infectious disease deaths in England Royal reburials Wives of knights