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| All images from the Marlene A Eilers Koenig collection |
Although one newspaper described the marriage of Princess Victoria Luise of Prussia to Prince Ernst August of Hanover as "an affair of the first magnitude, " Kaiser Wilhelm II considered his only daughter's marriage to be a private family affair. The wedding, which took place in Berlin on May 24, 1913, was not a grand dynastic alliance, but a love match that piqued the media's interest on both sides of the Atlantic. For more than a week, The New York Times paid special attention to the Prussian-Hanover nuptials including front-page coverage of the wedding, and a major profile in the previous Sunday's magazine. The New York Times' Berlin correspondent was one of several English-language journalists who were invited to the gala events that preceded the wedding, and the wedding, as well.
The marriage was an important event on several levels. The bride was the Kaiser's only daughter, and she was marrying the son of a royal house that was largely swindled out of its kingdom due to Prussian dominance. It was a marriage of the heart, and a turning point for the House of Hohenzollern, a moment frozen in time when the German Emperor, the British King, and the Russian Czar were together for one last time. Although no one would have considered it possible at the time, this royal wedding was a swan song of pre-war European royalty. Thirteen months later, Europe was at war; and by November 1918, Germany would suffer defeat, and Kaiser Wilhelm II would spend his final years in exile in the Netherlands; revolution would sweep through Germany and Russia, and in July 1918, Nicholas II and his family would be murdered by Bolshevik thugs. Of the three, only George V would retain his throne, although, he, too, would wonder how long the House of Windsor (as named by the king in 1917) would reign.
In its coverage of the Imperial wedding,
The New York Times noted that Nicholas' visit to Berlin "has aroused little real public enthusiasm as that of the King and Queen of England. The police are having their own troubles in guaranteeing the safety of so many exalted foreign crown heads. In the case of the Czar, they are on the lookout for bomb-throwing Anarchists. In the case of King George and Queen Mary the Kaiser's sleuths are watching for bomb-throwing suffragettes. "
But in May 1913, the talk was not of war, but of the wedding of a lovely princess and her handsome prince. Hardly a private family affair. King George V and Nicholas II were first cousins, as their mothers were sisters; and, as George and Wilhelm II were grandchildren of Queen Victoria, they, too, were first cousins. But one must not forget the fact that the bridegroom was also a first cousin of the British and Russian sovereigns. Ernst August's mother, Princess Thyra, was the younger sister of Queen Alexandra and Empress Marie of Russia.
Born in May 1892, Victoria Luise was her father's favorite child. According to one of the Kaiser's more recent biographers, Victoria Luise "had a happier relationship with the Kaiser. Unlike her brothers, none of whom were in any way remarkable, Victoria Luise matured into an attractive and likable woman. Wilhelm adored her, a love that she fully reciprocated, and the crown prince [Wilhelm] noted with envy that of his siblings, she alone was close to her father ."
As the only daughter of the German Emperor, Victoria Luise was one of the most eligible young princesses in Europe. She was fair, slender, attractive, and adored by her father's subjects, many of whom called her "Our little Princess."
Because she was the only daughter of the Kaiser, Victoria Luise had been expected to marry for dynastic purposes. No one, not even the princess herself, assumed that she would marry for love. In 1911, she accompanied her parents to England for an official state visit, and, she charmed everyone she met. At a ball, she danced with George V; and, according to her mother, Victoria Luise was "highly thought of by everybody." There were rumors of engagements, which, according to the princess, "fortunately were not true."
Victoria Luise was Protestant, and thus, a possible bride for the Prince of Wales. At least that was the rumor making the rounds during the state visit. But George V's eldest son was only 17 years old and Victoria Luise, nearly 20. In her memoirs, Victoria Luise described the future Duke of Windsor as "nice, but he looked so terribly young ."
The rumor was not confined to the British media. The British-born Princess of Pless had received a letter from her sister-in-law, Lulu, the Princess of Solms-Baruth. "Do you go to England for the Coronation?... Do you believe the Prince of Wales is to marry our Princess? He is so young; but they hint at it in the papers. I don't believe it.... "
The
Daily Express also considered Victoria Luise's prospect for marriage. "Certainly her marriage would be one of the most important events imaginable, fraught with tremendous consequences for the whole of Europe. One thing is certain and that is that the Kaiser would have some weighty words to say on the subject...."
As it turned out, Wilhelm II had little to say about his daughter's marriage. She fell in love with a very handsome German prince, and she never considered any other suitor.
There was one major problem: the prince - Ernst August - was a scion of the House of Hanover; and, it was an understatement to say that the families loathed each other. A better description: a royal Hatfields vs the McCoys. The Hanovers had good reason to hate the Prussians. In 1866, Prussia had annexed the kingdom of Hanover due to the latter's support of Austria in the Diet of the German Confederation. Prussia's Iron Chancellor, Otto von Bismarck, furious with the Hanoverian monarch's defiance, insisted that Hanover remain neutral in Prussia's war with Austria. An impossible demand. King Georg V of Hanover had no choice but to acquiesce. Prussian troops moved into his kingdom, and he and his family were forced into exile.
Thus, it seemed improbable that a member of the Hanoverian royal family would meet, fall in love with, and marry the daughter of the German emperor. It was an extraordinary circumstance and a tragedy that led to the first meeting between the princess, known in the family as Sissy, and Prince Ernst August, who was the youngest son of the Duke and Duchess of Cumberland. The duke was the only son of the last king of Hanover, Georg V.
On May 20, 1912, Ernst August's older brother, Prince Georg Wilhelm, was killed in an auto accident. The young prince was driving to Denmark to attend the funeral of his uncle, King Frederik VIII, when his car ran off the road, and hit a tree. The impact killed both the prince and his valet. Georg Wilhelm's skull was fractured when his head hit the steering wheel.
The accident occurred near Nackel, a small village less than 50 miles from Berlin. The Prince had died in Prussia. The New York Times acknowledged that his death would "likely have the effect of putting an end to the long-standing quarrel between the Duke [of Cumberland] and the Emperor." A rather prescient statement, although the newspaper (or others, for that matter) would not have known that the quarrel ended with a marriage.
Never one to stand silent, Wilhelm II made the most of the situation by sending two of his sons, Princes Eitel-Friedrich and August Wilhelm, and a guard of Hussars to form an honor guard at the dead prince's bier. Wilhelm also offered his condolences to the Duke and Duchess of Cumberland, having sent them a private telegram to their home in Gmunden, Austria.
Victoria Luise would later describe Georg Wilhelm's death on Prussian soil as "a remarkable caprice of fortune ." After the Kaiser's telegram had arrived at Gmunden, the Duke of Cumberland's son-in-law, Prince Max of Baden, telephoned the Kaiser and asked if the Duke's son, Prince Ernst August, could come to Berlin to offer his parents' thanks for the Kaiser's actions and concern after Prince Georg Wilhelm's death.
It was the first meeting between the two families in nearly 50 years. Prince Ernst August arrived with Prince Max (married to Ernst August's sister, Marie Louise) in time for tea. Ernst August was, according to Victoria Luise, "very quiet and aloof," until the Princess, learning that Ernst August, 25, was a Lieutenant in the Bavarian 1st Heavy Cavalry Regiment, asked her parents if she could show her "beautiful thoroughbreds" to the prince. "The ice had melted... the conversation became light-hearted and the tea a cheerful affair ."
The impression Ernst August made was a favorable one. He "looked splendid, and had a distinguished appearance." It was, for Victoria Luise, a "unanimous verdict," as her mother also liked the Hanoverian heir. She thought he had a "sympathetic nature," and noted that "his beautiful eyes were so much like his mother's."
"For me, it was love at first sight. Suddenly, I was all fire and flame," Victoria Luise would write in her memoirs,
The Kaiser's Daughter. Her mother was certainly aware of Sissy's feelings, noting in her diary that the prince "certainly made an impression on my child from the first. God knows whether it will ever come to anything ."
There would be problems, largely due to the uncomfortable history between the two families. The Kaiser was aware of his daughter's feelings for Prince Ernst August, but he was not convinced that the Duke of Cumberland would look favorably toward marriage between their children. Wilhelm adored Sissy, and her happiness was a paramount issue. He made arrangements to meet with Prince Max of Baden, who offered to act as an intermediary between the two families. Max and his wife, Marie Louise, spoke with her parents, offering support to both families in what could have become a difficult situation. No one knew how the Duke of Cumberland would react to a marriage between his son and Wilhelm II's daughter. Even more important, at least for the love-struck princess, was not knowing how Ernst August felt about her. Since their meeting in Berlin, the prince and princess had not been in contact.
The negotiations were fraught with difficulty. The main sticking point remained the question of Hanover because the Duke of Cumberland refused to renounce his claim to the Hanoverian throne. This was a sensitive issue for Ernst August's father. He was justifiably proud of his heritage, including his position as a member of the British royal family, although he and his children had no real roles at the British court.
In January 1913, Prince Max returned to Potsdam to meet with the Kaiser. His news was not good. The Duke of Cumberland remained obstinate; he would not renounce his claim. Victoria Luise "remained very calm and brave," when she heard what Prince Max had to say. Any despair she felt, she kept to herself.
She was not about to give up, and she took her sister-in-law, Crown Princess Cecilie, into her confidence. Cecilie's brother, the Grand Duke of Mecklenburg-Schwerin, just happened to be married to one of Ernst August's sister, Alexandra. Here was another important relationship between the two families. Cecilie could speak to her brother and sister-in-law, who, just as the Badens, could speak with the Duke and Duchess of Cumberland. Victoria Luise's brother, Prince Adalbert, also joined the negotiations; and, without the knowledge of the Emperor and Empress, he and Cecilie discreetly arranged to meet Ernst August in Partkenkirchen. Victoria Luise soon would learn if Prince Ernst August shared her feelings. Cecilie sent her a telegram, in English: "Just had tea and a long talk with somebody dining with Adalbert stop we three thinking all the time of you darling stop tender love Cilly."
Sissy was thrilled. She now knew that her love was reciprocated. But the hurdles still seemed insurmountable. According to Victoria Luise, Prince Adalbert "used all of his powers of persuasion ... to further my ends." But without Prince Max's diplomatic efforts, Victoria Luise acknowledged that her goal would never have been achieved.
Prince Adalbert arranged for his sister to talk with Ernst August on the telephone. "It was all very secret and nobody else knew about it, not even my parents," Victoria Luise wrote in memoirs.
Max's diplomatic efforts paid off. Prince Ernst August was able to speak directly and confidentially to his father about his feelings for the Prussian princess. The prince finally convinced his father that he was in love with Wilhelm's daughter, and he wanted to marry her. On January 20th, Victoria Luise received a telegram from Prince Adalbert with the good news. Empress Auguste Victoria wrote in her diary: "My child, her father, and I were radiantly happy."
Several dynastic and constitutional impediments were resolved. The Duke of Cumberland would renounce his claim to the Duchy of Brunswick, to which he was the heir, thus allowing a future succession by his son and daughter-in-law. But he would not need to renounce the claim to Hanover. Ernst August, as the future son-in-law of the German Emperor, joined the Prussian army and swore allegiance to the Prussian king. He, too, was not required to offer a renunciation to his family's former kingdom.
It was decided that Victoria Luise and Ernst August could meet in Karlsruhe, the seat of the Badens, which, according to Victoria Luise, "would be more suitable in which to bind the Houses of Hohenzollern and Guelph together." Prince Max was commended for his role in bringing the couple together. Equally important was the presence of the Dowager Duchess Luise of Baden, who was a Prussian princess by birth, the only daughter of Wilhelm I. It was during her father's reign that Hanover had been annexed on Bismarck's orders.
Accompanied by her parents and her brother, Oscar, Sissy arrived in Karlsruhe on February 10th, for what was described as a private visit to a beloved family member. But the German media, hearing rumors from court officials, believed that Victoria Luise would soon marry. The following morning's newspapers headlined the princess' forthcoming marriage, although no official announcement had been made.
Ernst August had arrived, unseen by the press, and, according to Victoria Luise, he met with her father shortly after the Imperial family had arrived. For the first time Wilhelm II and Prince Ernst August could discuss privately the political and dynastic concerns that had caused so many problems. The two men spent nearly an hour together and were eventually joined by the Empress and Victoria Luise.
The princess, wearing a "bright red silk gown," was excited, but nervous and pale. Her parents exchanged a few words before leaving the room. For the first time, the prince and princess were alone: "Alone. An indescribable moment," that the princess remembered for the rest of her life.
Unable to keep their love a secret, their engagement -- much to the surprise of Great Aunt Luise -- was announced later in the day. "Our happiness simply could not be kept secret," was how Victoria Luise described the event.
Not long afterward, Victoria Luise and Ernst August received a congratulatory telegram from his parents. Victoria Luise spoke on the telephone to her future mother-in-law. It was the first time that the princess had been in contact with her fiancé's family.
"The weather wasn't very good to us: clouds hung over the city and it rained, but the Berliners had nevertheless insisted on turning out to greet us" , Victoria Luise wrote in her memoirs, describing when she and Ernst August returned to Berlin on February 13th.
That same day, Ernst August took the oath of loyalty to the King of Prussia. He was also invested with the Prussian Order of the Black Eagle, but he was not required to renounce his claim to Hanover.
It was also time for Victoria Luise to meet Ernst August's family. A few weeks after the announcement of the engagement, the princess and her mother went to Gmunden for an official introduction to the Duke and Duchess of Cumberland and other members of the Hanover Royal Family. It was a difficult time for both mother and daughter, especially the Empress. According to Victoria Luise, their fears were "groundless." Nearly the entire Hanover royal family was present at the train station to welcome Victoria Luise and her mother; the Duke and Duchess of Cumberland; the Duke's sister, Princess Friederike; Ernst August's sisters, Olga, Alexandra and Marie, the latter two with their husbands, Grand Duke Friedrich Franz of Mecklenburg-Schwerin and Prince Max of Baden.
It was a successful visit. Victoria Luise grew to love her future in-laws. She described the duchess "as a small, elegant, and efficient woman with proverbially beautiful eyes....One loved her immediately. " The princess got along well with all of her future husband's family, although his aunt Friederike, whose own marriage to a minor German baron had met with family disapproval some years before, caught Victoria Luise off-guard one afternoon when she started talking about the marriage in "the English way." The princess had no idea what Friederike was talking about. "The English way?" Victoria Luise asked her fiancé.
The Duke of Cumberland explained to Victoria about the Royal Marriages Act, which was promulgated in 1772 during the reign of George III. The law, he said, stated that members of the British royal family -- and this included his own family, due to the direct male line of descent from George III -- needed the permission of the British sovereign to marry. The duke decided that he would not request permission from George V for Ernst August's marriage. Instead, he told the engaged couple that he would send the British king a formal notification of the wedding.
Victoria Luise related these events to her former English governess, Anne Topham. The author of three books on her time in Berlin, Topham offered readers a unique perspective on the Imperial Family's domestic life. According to Topham, Victoria Luise was bemused that her fiance, as a British prince, needed the permission of King George V, to marry. "Fancy asking the King of England if Pol and I can marry each other," Victoria Luise had told Miss Topham. (Pol was Victoria Luise's nickname for Ernst August).
The Prussian and Hannoverian royal families would meet again in Bad Homburg before the wedding as Kaiser Wilhelm also wanted to get to know his daughter's future in-laws. Earlier, the princess and her fiancé were able to spend some time together in Berlin before he had to leave for Athens to attend the funeral of his uncle, King George I, who had been assassinated in Salonika.
Much to Victoria Luise's dismay, several political questions had yet to be resolved, namely the Hanoverian succession. Several members of the Kaiser's cabinet wanted the princess to persuade Ernst August to renounce Hanover. Victoria Luise refused, but she told Ernst August about the request. "I have here a document which I am going to read to you, I'm certain that you won't acknowledge what's in it, and I wouldn't expect anything else of you."
The heated conversations did not take place between the Kaiser and the Duke of Cumberland, but by their supporters. Thankfully, Prince Max of Baden used his diplomatic skills to maintain order, and a compromise was reached: Ernst August would not be required to renounce his claim to Hanover. At Homburg, the duke of Cumberland received the Order of the Black Eagle, and his wife was invested with the Order of Queen Luise. At this time, the marriage contract was drawn up and signed. The marriage would take place in the Lutheran church (both families were ardent Lutherans), and Victoria Luise's dowry was set at 150,000 Marks.
The Kaiser also would provide his daughter "with princely dresses, jewels, gems and other things executed in such a manner as a Princess of Our Royal House selects or is her due." The Kaiser also gave his daughter 450,000 Marks from his Privy Purse, a "special fatherly favour."
In the weeks before the wedding, the young couple looked for a house in Rathenow, where Ernst August would be stationed until his succession in Brunswick was duly recognized. They found an eight-room house, "very nice, but hardly a showplace," according to Victoria Luise. "It was really very small, but I thought it was wonderful."
At least, as newlyweds, Victoria Luise and Ernst August, would be able to spend the first weeks of their marriage largely alone.
Prince Ernst August wrote to his fiancee nearly every day; he shared her concerns and frustrations. Too many people were providing unwarranted advice, some of which was well-meaning, and others given "out of sheer vanity and pomposity." Victoria's mother was nearly at her wit's end with all the stress.
"I'm sorry for your mother," Ernst August wrote. "Do try to keep her calm. I'm very angry with these ladies for they are to blame for making her so nervous. When you consider that none of these women is married, how can they want to involve themselves in such affairs....You know, I understand your mother perfectly. She naturally wants the best for you, but she is an Empress, and want to have you just as she is, but she forgets that she is an Empress. Do you understand what I mean? I have no use in my life for an Empress as a wife, because I'm not an Emperor. I want to stand outside that sort of life, and want my wife, too. You're going to take your place as my wife, and will certainly fulfill your role, of that I am strongly convinced."
In another letter, Ernst August wrote to his future wife: "Soon we will be together, and we will have peace and quiet."
The wedding was to take place on May 24, 1913. But the festivities had begun more than a week before and would culminate six weeks later with the celebration of the Kaiser's Silver Jubilee. Victoria Luise, being the Kaiser's only daughter, would have her wedding celebrated in great style.
King George V and Queen Mary were among the first royal guests to arrive in Berlin. But Wilhelm II and his government stressed that this wedding was a family affair. The North German Gazette published a note about the nuptials: "Their Majesties the Emperor and Empress will upon the occasion of the marriage of their only daughter be surrounded by a brilliant circle of exalted guests. Together with the august parents of the bridegroom we welcome with special pleasure the King and Queen of England and the Emperor of Russia. Though their presence is due to a family festival, yet the cordiality between the three Monarchs" which is thus signified constitutes valuable imponderable for the security of the undisturbed progress of the great nations of Europe ."
The British sovereigns arrived in Berlin on May 21st. They alighted from the train and were greeted by the Emperor and Empress, Crown Prince Wilhelm, and Princess Victoria Luise. Other members of the Prussian royal family were also present. The British king and the Kaiser jointly reviewed a guard of honor before a carriage procession brought the royal guests into Berlin for further celebrations.
The entire ceremony was repeated when Tsar Nicholas II of Russia arrived the next day. He was not accompanied by his wife, Alexandra, and he had traveled from Russia in an armored train. In the evening, everyone attended a state dinner held in the White Hall at the royal palace in Berlin. More than 250 guests attended, including at least 100 royals. Several journalists were also invited, including three London correspondents and The New York Times. The guests were gathered around a "quadrangular table, which ran the full length of each side of the banqueting chamber. "
The
New York Times' correspondent provided a first-hand account of the state dinner. "The company displayed a dazzling medley of resplendent uniforms, glittering jewels, and beautiful gowns."
The dinner started at 8 p.m., when guests began to enter the hall to the strains of the Brunswick Military March, a good choice of music, due to the news that Ernst August and Victoria Luise would soon take up residence in the Duchy of Brunswick.
Perhaps wanting to impress his British and Russian cousins, Wilhelm II wore the full-dress uniform of the British Royal Dragoons and the Russian Order of St. Andrew. He was accompanied by Queen Mary. King George V, accompanied by Empress Auguste Victoria, wore a Prussian Dragoons uniform and the Order of the Black Eagle. Dona wore " strawberry colored court gown, with emerald, pearl and diamond ornaments." The Tsar also wore the uniform of a Prussian Dragoon and the Order of the Black Eagle, and he escorted the Dowager Grand Duchess of Baden into the dinner. They were followed by the Duke of Cumberland and Crown Princess Cecilie, and Crown Prince Wilhelm and the Duchess of Cumberland.
"Prince Ernest Augustus, looking every inch a soldier-lover, was radiantly smiling as he entered with Princess Victoria Louise, who looked very girlish in a pretty dress of brocade pale blue, her fiancé's favorite color. "
The Times noted that no toast was made at the dinner. It was also the first time that the Duke and Duchess of Cumberland had attended an official event in Berlin.
It comes as no surprise that the Princess received "presents galore". Ernst August presented her with a complete jewelry set. Her father gave her a diadem and a pearl necklace, and the Empress' gift to her daughter was a diamond tiara. Queen Alexandra of Great Britain sent her nephew's future wife, an emerald brooch. King George and Queen Mary's presents included a gold goblet and a diamond brooch. Nicholas II's gift was a diamond and aquamarine necklace. There were other gifts as well from royals who did not attend the wedding: an antique clock from Queen Wilhelmina of the Netherlands and silver vessels from the Italian king and queen. Perhaps, the most important gift was the diadem that once belonged to Empress Josephine, a gift from the duchy of Brunswick.
The evening before the wedding, the young couple and their families attended a gala event at the Royal Court Opera. The opera was a perfect choice: Richard Wagner's Lohengrin. The royal box was decorated with Victoria Luise's favorite flowers, pink carnations. Before taking their seats, the young couple bowed to the standing audience, and members of the audience bowed back.
Berlin held great affection for Princess Victoria, described by her father as the "sunshine of my house."
The marriage took place at sundown on May 24th. Victoria Luise had spent much of the day preparing for her wedding. The Empress helped her daughter dress. "Then we repaired to the Chinese Room [in the Berlin Schloss], and we found that a unit of soldiers had formed lines throughout the castle and taken up sentry posts everywhere....At 4 p.m. members of the staff of the Royal Privy Purse came by, carrying the bridal crown of the Princess of Prussia. Then the Mistress of the Empress's Household, Therese, Countess von Brockdorff, picked up the crown and ceremoniously handed it to my mother who carefully placed it on my head. "
The bride wore the crown diamonds, which included a necklace and brooch and the "Princess of Prussia Crown, "of large diamonds, resting on a purple velvet base. "
The bridal party then made its way to the Elector's Room where the Kaiser and the Marshall of the Court, Count August zu Eulenberg, other family members, court officials, and the bridegroom awaited them. Following the civil registration of their wedding, Victoria Luise and Ernst August made their way to the royal chapel, which had been decorated by the Empress and the Crown Princess with the bride's favorite flowers, including carnations, roses, and wreaths.
The bride and bridegroom, the latter wearing the uniform of the Zieten Hussars, were followed into the chapel by the Kaiser and the Duchess of Cumberland, dressed in a gown of lavender satin trimmed with lace with a lilac train embroidered in gold. Her jewels included a tiara, collar, and a diamond brooch.
"The Kaiserin entered on the arm of the Duke of Cumberland. The bride's mother was a regal figure in green satin embroidered with silver. Her train was of green velvet with old silver embroidery, bordered with sable ." The New York Times also noted that the Empress wore "her famous five rows of pearls and a collar of emeralds and a glittering diadem of diamonds."
But it was Queen Mary, normally not the fashion maven, whose gown caught the admiration of one reporter. She was "a most striking figure", who entered the chapel, on the arm of the Russian emperor, wearing a "gold dress designed and made in India, with colored flowers worked in colored diamante embroidery. Her train was of Irish lace, lined with cloth of gold, and had a deep embroidered border of leaf design."
The Queen's jewels were also noteworthy. She wore "a large necklace, made of the lesser stars of Africa from the Cullinan diamond....On her head rested a diamond crown while her neck was hidden beneath rows of diamonds, forming a collar ."
Crown Princess Cecilie had chosen a gown of silver brocade with a pink velvet train, embroidered in silver. Her jewels included a diamond tiara, and "the crown sapphires, forming a necklace and brooch."
The
New York Times's correspondent also paid special attention to "two of the most beautiful women in the German court," the Princess of Salm-Salm (the former Archduchess Maria Christina of Austria), "charmingly in pink," and the Princess of Pless, born Mary-Theresa Cornwallis-West, "who wore a Byzantine costume embellished with precious stones."
The Princess of Pless described the wedding as "really charming and the Emperor was sorry to lose his only daughter, to whom he was devoted. " Known to nearly everyone as Daisy, the princess, who was not well, did not attend the church service because she would have had to stand. She watched the procession "and then sat down under the shadow of the big staircase to wait for its return. Two men-at-arms crossed their swords for me to rest my foot upon," she wrote in Daisy Princess of Pless. "For the Court after the wedding ceremony I had made a special effort and put on all my best clothes in honour of King George V and Queen Mary. I wore my cloth-of-gold train...my best crown and jewels and course all my Orders."
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| wedding banquet |
It was also noted by The
New York Times that six American women had been invited to the wedding, including the wife of the U.S. ambassador, John Leishman, and their daughter Nancy (who was engaged to marry the Duke of Croy); and Miss Yvette, who attended school with the Princess in Potsdam.
"Bright sunlight filtered through the chapel cupola" as the bride and groom made their way to the altar. The royal chaplain, Dr. Ernst Dryander, who had baptized and confirmed the princess, gave a sermon of "earnest and worthy words" about the seriousness of life. He also described the Princess as "the Sunshine of the Royal House."
The
New York Times noted that "the bride, looking even paler than she is ordinarily, was an entrancingly pretty girlish figure in her magnificent gown of cloth of silver and decorated with old lace. Her train, carried by four bridesmaids in pale blue, was of the same material as the dress and lined with ermine ."
It was left to the bride's maternal aunt, Princess Louise Sophie, who was married to the Kaiser's second cousin, Prince Friedrich Leopold of Prussia, to provide a note of negativism. The relationship between the two families was strained even though Louise Sophie was the Empress' younger sister. The week before Sissy's wedding, Louise Sophie's only daughter, Victoria Margarete, had married Prince Heinrich XXXIII of Reuss. But the couple did not get to know each other well before Wilhelm II had ordered her parents to announce the engagement. Louise Sophie believed that the Emperor wanted her daughter out of the way, "obviously because she was far more beautiful than his only daughter, Victoria Louise," whose own engagement was announced not long afterward. Victoria Margarete's marriage ended in divorce in 1922.
Prince and Princess Friedrich Leopold and their family were required to attend the Emperor's daughter's wedding. "It could not be truthfully said that Victoria Louise was a lovely bride. Small, strangely pale and fair, with level set eyes, the poor thing seemed crushed by her bridal train of frap d'argent lined with ermine; probably the Emperor had insisted on the ermine ."
Ernst August's response, "Ja!" "rang so loudly and clearly" that the princess noted she had to follow suit, and "when we joined hands in front of the altar he clasped mine very firmly, insisting that his thumbs were on top of mine." The princess stated in her memoirs that "there's an old folk-tale which says if the husband does not have his thumbs above those of his bride at the wedding ceremony then he will have no say during his marriage."
Pastor Dryander was taken aback by this behavior. The princess and her husband smiled at each other.
After the couple had exchanged their vows and rings, and were pronounced married in the simple Lutheran ceremony, they heard a 36-gun salute fired by the 1st Guards Artillery regiment, which was followed by the peal of the chapel bells. The newlyweds and the bridal party made their way back to the White Hall, where the bride and groom stood under a canopy to receive their guests. An orchestra played "The Wedding March," from Lohengrin's A Midsummer Night's Dream.
More than 1,000 guests attended the wedding banquet. The White Hall was not large enough to accommodate all the guests so tables and chairs were set up in adjoining rooms.
The Kaiser offered a toast to his daughter and new son-in-law. "My darling daughter, today as you leave our house, I want to thank you from the bottom of my heart for all the joy you have given me and your mother. You have given your hand and your heart to a man who comes from an honourable German sovereign house and from an old German stock. As long as the German tongue is spoken and as far away as it will sound, it will tell of the prominent role played by the Guelphs and Hohenzollerns in the historical development of our Fatherland. You do not have to be told that you are free to follow the dictates of your heart, and to choose the man you loved."
To Ernst August, the Kaiser proposed: "I hereby entrust our child to you.... Above all things, however, despite your youth, you will come to serve and care for others. May this duty be the finest accomplishment of your life and the love of other people warm your heart. May you both, and my daughter above all, be loyal to your new House."
According to The
New York Times' reporter, this final statement meant that "the supreme war lord's wedding gift to his daughter and her soldier lover is the throne of a future independent Brunswick." (On May 27th, the Federal Council of the Empire decided to end Brunswick's Prussian regency since 1866 and announced that on October 31, 1913, Prince Ernst August and Princess Victoria Luise "would make their formal entry into the capital, Brunswick, as reigning Duke and Duchess of an independent Federal State the next day." The new Duke of Brunswick would reign for a mere five years before abdicating in November 1918).
Victoria Luise's former governess, Anne Topham said that "it was a marriage which filled the German people with joy... " "The marriage turned out very happily. It was the last of the Hohenzollern weddings to be celebrated with the ancient Torch dance and picturesque old-world ceremonial so long and wearisome for the bride and bridegroom."
Topham alluded to the traditional Torch dance, a polonaise that ended every Hohenzollern wedding. At 8 p.m., the Kaiser ordered the Chief Marshal, the Prince zu Fürstenberg, to commence the dance. The prince came up to the newlyweds, "bowed, and invited us to dance." The dance took place in the White Hall, and it is said that no one below a royal highness could take part. According to The New York Times, "the dance consists of a series of grand marches around the hall with 12 scarlet and gold-clad pages at the head, bearing thick candlesticks two feet long. The bridal pair attach themselves to the procession, and the bride and groom, in turn, lead around the hall two gentlemen and two ladies, respectively."
The Princess first danced with her father and father-in-law, and her husband danced with his mother and new mother-in-law. "It was a picturesque moment when the time came for the pale silver bride to take the Czar and King by the hand, while the bridegroom followed with Queen Mary and the Crown Princess. The torch dance ended with the pages escorting the bridal pair to the nuptial chamber...."
At the end of the dance, Nicholas turned to Victoria Luise, and told her "My wish is that you will be as happy as I am." The Tsar was referring to his happy marriage to the former Princess Alix of Hesse and By Rhine. It was the last conversation that Victoria Luise had with the Russian Emperor.
The Torch Dance culminated with the distribution of pieces of Victoria Luise's garter, bearing the arms of the newlyweds. But the distribution was hardly dignified. There was a scramble for the pieces of garter that left many guests, including the Grand Duke of Hesse and By Rhine, with scratched faces. "The nuptial apartments of the newly married Prince and Princess Ernest Augustus of Cumberland in the Royal Castle in Berlin were the scene after last night's wedding of a scramble for souvenirs which would have done credit to an American crowd," wrote the usually august
New York Times.
It was a free for all for the "hundreds of bejeweled ladies and gentlemen, representing the cream of Germany aristocracy," as they scrimmaged for the bits of ribbon. One who survived described the scene as "a cross between a Bank Holiday frolic on Hampstead Heath and a football riot."
The prince and princess had been escorted to their room by the Kaiser and his wife. "The Prussian Princess's Crown was taken away from me and given back for safekeeping to the officials of the Privy Purse. Then my mother lifted off my bridal wreath. The hour of parting had struck ."
The couple changed their clothes and were driven to the railroad station, accompanied by the Kaiser and four of the princess' six brothers. Princes Oskar and Adalbert had remained behind with their mother, no longer able to cope with the loss of her only daughter. The ever-sensitive bride had left a letter in her mother's room, which Auguste Victoria found when she went to bed.
At the station, Victoria Luise said good-bye to her father. She curtseyed to the Kaiser and then kissed his hand. Wilhelm embraced his daughter, and kissed her "affectionately." Victoria Luise then said good-bye to her brothers. Prince Eitel Friedrich threw rice, a symbol of good luck, over his sister. The couple boarded the train, and Victoria Luise had one final moment with her beloved father. She kissed his hand once again; he alighted from the train, and then signaled the train to leave. He stood on the platform, not as the supreme warlord, but a devoted father, waving good-bye until the train was no longer in view.
If you enjoyed this article, perhaps you can buy me a coffee, any size, but I do
love flat whites or vanilla lattes.
