Monika, Princess of Hanover, Duchess of Brunswick-Lüneburg (born Countess Monika zu Solms-Laubach; 8 August 1929 – 4 June 2015) was a German noblewoman and philanthropist. She was the second wife of Ernest Augustus, Prince of Hanover. A member of the

House of Solms-Laubach Solms-Laubach was a County of southern Hesse and eastern Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. The House of Solms had its origins in Solms, Hesse. History Solms-Laubach was originally created as a partition of Solms-Lich. In 1537 Philip, Count of Solm ...

by birth, she became the Princess Consort of

Hanover Hanover ( ; ; ) is the capital and largest city of the States of Germany, German state of Lower Saxony. Its population of 535,932 (2021) makes it the List of cities in Germany by population, 13th-largest city in Germany as well as the fourth-l ...

and Duchess of Brunswick-Lüneburg through her marriage. She was the founder of the Dollhouse Museum in Laubach.

Early life

Countess Monika zu Solms-Laubach was born on 8 August 1929 at

Laubach Castle Laubach () is a town of approximately 10,000 people in the Gießen region of Hesse, Germany. Laubach is known as a ', a climatic health resort. It is situated east of Gießen. Surrounding Laubach are the towns of Hungen, Grünberg, Schotten and ...

Laubach Laubach () is a town of approximately 10,000 people in the Gießen (region), Gießen region of Hesse, Germany. Laubach is known as a ', a climatic health resort. It is situated east of Gießen. Surrounding Laubach are the towns of Hungen, Grünbe ...

Hesse Hesse or Hessen ( ), officially the State of Hesse (), is a States of Germany, state in Germany. Its capital city is Wiesbaden, and the largest urban area is Frankfurt, which is also the country's principal financial centre. Two other major hist ...

, Germany. She was the fourth child of Georg, 9th Count of

Solms-Laubach Solms-Laubach was a County of southern Hesse and eastern Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. The House of Solms had its origins in Solms, Hesse. History Solms-Laubach was originally created as a partition of Solms-Lich. In 1537 Philip, Count of S ...

(1899-1969) and his wife, Princess Johanna Marie of Solms-Hohensolms-Lich (1905-1982). Her father was the grandson of Bruno, 3rd Prince of Ysenburg and Büdingen and her mother was the daughter of Prince Charles of Solms-Hohensolms-Lich. Her family had been the sovereign house of the County of Solms-Laubach but were

mediatized Mediatization or mediatisation may refer to: * German mediatisation, German historical territorial restructuring * Mediatization (media) Mediatization (or medialization) is a method whereby the mass media influence other sectors of society, inclu ...

into the

Grand Duchy of Hesse The Grand Duchy of Hesse and by Rhine () was a grand duchy in western Germany that existed from 1806 to 1918. The grand duchy originally formed from the Landgraviate of Hesse-Darmstadt in 1806 as the Grand Duchy of Hesse (). It assumed the name ...

in 1806.

Marriage

On 16 July 1981 she married Ernest Augustus, Prince of Hanover in a civil ceremony. A religious ceremony was held on 17 July 1981 in Laubach. She was Ernest Augustus's second wife. He had previously been married to her

first cousin once removed A cousin is a relative who is the child of a parent's sibling; this is more specifically referred to as a first cousin. A parent of a first cousin is an aunt or uncle. More generally, in the kinship system used in the English-speaking world, c ...

, Princess Ortrud of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glücksburg, who died in 1980.de Badts de Cugnac, Chantal. Coutant de Saisseval, Guy. ''Le Petit Gotha''. Nouvelle Imprimerie Laballery, Paris 2002, pp. 58–62, 66. (French) According to the

Royal Marriages Act 1772 The Royal Marriages Act 1772 (12 Geo. 3. c. 11) was an Act of Parliament, Act of the Parliament of Great Britain which prescribed the conditions under which members of the British royal family could contract a valid marriage, in order to guard ...

, their marriage required approval from the British monarch in order for Ernest Augustus to stay in the

British line of succession Succession to the British throne is determined by descent, sex, legitimacy, and religion. Under common law, the Crown is inherited by a sovereign's children or by a childless sovereign's nearest collateral line. The Bill of Rights 1689 and t ...

Elizabeth II Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 19268 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until Death and state funeral of Elizabeth II, her death in 2022. ...

consented to the marriage on 10 June 1981.

Later life and death

In November 2008, Princess Monika auctioned off a collection of jewelry that had previously belonged to

Princess Thyra of Denmark Princess Thyra of Denmark (Thyra Amalie Caroline Charlotte Anna; 29 September 1853 – 26 February 1933) was the youngest daughter and fifth child of Christian IX of Denmark and Louise of Hesse-Kassel. In 1878, she married Ernest Augustus, t ...

. The collection, which included pieces originally belonging to

Alexander III of Russia Alexander III (; 10 March 18451 November 1894) was Emperor of Russia, King of Congress Poland and Grand Duke of Finland from 13 March 1881 until his death in 1894. He was highly reactionary in domestic affairs and reversed some of the libera ...

, Maria Feodorovna of Russia,

Grand Duchess Olga Alexandrovna of Russia Grand Duchess Olga Alexandrovna of Russia (; – 24 November 1960) was the youngest child of Emperor Alexander III of Russia and younger sister of Emperor Nicholas II. Olga was raised at the Gatchina Palace outside Saint Petersburg. Olga's ...

George I of Greece George I ( Greek: Γεώργιος Α΄, romanized: ''Geórgios I''; 24 December 1845 – 18 March 1913) was King of Greece from 30 March 1863 until his assassination on 18 March 1913. Originally a Danish prince, George was born in Copenhage ...

, and

Alexandra of Denmark Alexandra of Denmark (Alexandra Caroline Marie Charlotte Louise Julia; 1 December 1844 – 20 November 1925) was List of British royal consorts, queen-consort of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Empress of India, from 22 Januar ...

, was the largest grouping of Imperial presents auctioned since the

Forbes ''Forbes'' () is an American business magazine founded by B. C. Forbes in 1917. It has been owned by the Hong Kong–based investment group Integrated Whale Media Investments since 2014. Its chairman and editor-in-chief is Steve Forbes. The co ...

Collection of Fabergé in 2004. 2012-07 Kirche Laubach

Princess Monika founded the ''Princess Monika of Hanover Foundation''. Through her foundation she created Dollhouse Museum Laubach in 2011; a museum which exhibits a collection of her childhood dollhouses to the public. The collection features dollhouses made between 1820 and 1930. It opened in October 2011. She died on 4 June 2015, three days after the death of her sister-in-law Princess Alexandra of Hanover. A

Lutheran Lutheranism is a major branch of Protestantism that emerged under the work of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German friar and Protestant Reformers, reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practices of the Catholic Church launched ...

funeral service was held at the Evangelische Stadtkirche Laubach on 13 June 2015.

References

, - {{DEFAULTSORT:Monika Solms-Laubach 1929 births 2015 deaths Duchesses of Brunswick-Lüneburg Countesses in Germany German Lutherans German philanthropists German women philanthropists Hanoverian princesses by marriage Hessian nobility House of Solms-Laubach Museum founders People from Laubach