Lady Mary Victoria Douglas-Hamilton, also known as Mary Victoria Hamilton (11 December 185014 May 1922), was a Scottish noblewoman who was the Hereditary Princess of Monaco by marriage to Albert, Hereditary Prince of Monaco.

Life

Lady Mary was born as the youngest child and the only daughter of William Hamilton, 11th Duke of Hamilton and of his wife, Princess Marie Amelie of Baden.

Hereditary Princess of Monaco

Lady Mary's first marriage, on 21 September 1869 at Château de Marchais, was to Prince Albert, only child and heir apparent of Charles III, Prince of Monaco. The marriage was arranged upon the wish of the Monegasque princely house, as it had long been an ambition of his mother and grandmother to marry him to a member of the British royal house. While Queen Victoria refused a match between Albert and one of her closer family members, Lady Mary was suggested as a suitable replacement.Anne Edwards, ''The Grimaldis of Monaco'', 1992 However, Lady Mary and Albert's marriage was annulled on 3 January 1880 and civilly dissolved on 28 July 1880 by order of Charles III. Lady Mary supposedly hated the heat of the Mediterranean area. Lady Mary and Albert had a single son,

Louis Louis may refer to: People * Louis (given name), origin and several individuals with this name * Louis (surname) * Louis (singer), Serbian singer Other uses * Louis (coin), a French coin * HMS ''Louis'', two ships of the Royal Navy See also ...

, who would take the throne of

Monaco Monaco, officially the Principality of Monaco, is a Sovereign state, sovereign city-state and European microstates, microstate on the French Riviera a few kilometres west of the Regions of Italy, Italian region of Liguria, in Western Europe, ...

with the

regnal name A regnal name, regnant name, or reign name is the name used by monarchs and popes during their reigns and subsequently, historically. Since ancient times, some monarchs have chosen to use a different name from their original name when they accede ...

''Louis II'' upon his father's death. Via Louis II, Lady Mary is the great-great-grandmother of the current Sovereign Prince of Monaco, Albert II.

Life in Hungary

Lady Mary’s second marriage, on 2 June 1880, was to Count Tassilo Festetics de Tolna. The couple had four children, Countess Mária Matild Georgina (1881–1953), who married Prince Karl Emil von Fürstenberg; Prince György (1882–1941); Countess Alexandra Olga Eugénia (1884–1963), who married Prince Karl von Windisch-Graetz; and Countess Karola Friderika Mária (1888—1951), who married Oskar Gautsch Freiherr von Frankenthurn. During her 40-year marriage to Count, later Prince, Tassilo Festetics de Tolna, Lady Mary oversaw the enlargement and improvement of the main family seat, Festetics Palace, and its gardens, in

Keszthely Keszthely (; also known by alternative names) is a Hungarian city of 20,895 inhabitants located on the western shore of Lake Balaton. It is the second largest city by the lake and one of the more important cultural, educational and economic hub ...

, western Hungary. On numerous occasions, she and her husband entertained her brother the

Duke of Hamilton Duke of Hamilton is a title in the Peerage of Scotland, created in April 1643. It is the senior dukedom in that peerage (except for the Duke of Rothesay, Dukedom of Rothesay held by the sovereign's eldest son), and as such its holder is the pr ...

and his great friend the

Prince of Wales Prince of Wales (, ; ) is a title traditionally given to the male heir apparent to the History of the English monarchy, English, and later, the British throne. The title originated with the Welsh rulers of Kingdom of Gwynedd, Gwynedd who, from ...

. There are still portraits hanging in the Palace of numerous members of her family, including one of her father in full Highland dress. Outside the palace, on either side of the main entrance, there are the armorial bearings of both Lady Mary and her husband. The Helikon Library at the Palace contains many works that were brought to Keszthely by Lady Mary from her father’s and brother's collections at Hamilton Palace. The Palace grounds, on the shores of

Lake Balaton Lake Balaton () is a freshwater rift lake in the Transdanubian region of Hungary. It is the List of largest lakes of Europe, largest lake in Central Europe, and one of the region's foremost tourist destinations. The Zala River provides the larges ...

, contains a Festetics family Mausoleum which is the final resting place of Lady Mary and her husband.

Ancestry

References

{{Authority control 1850 births 1922 deaths Nobility from South Lanarkshire Hereditary princesses of Monaco Daughters of British dukes

Mary Victoria Hamilton Lady Mary Victoria Douglas-Hamilton, also known as Mary Victoria Hamilton (11 December 185014 May 1922), was a Scottish people, Scottish noblewoman who was the Hereditary Princess of Monaco by marriage to Albert I, Prince of Monaco, Albert, Hered ...

Scottish noblewomen 19th-century Scottish nobility Scottish people of Belgian descent Scottish people of French descent Scottish people of German descent Scottish people of Portuguese descent Scottish socialites Scottish expatriates in Monaco Mothers of Monegasque monarchs