Anglo-German duke to wed German princess

February 16, 1905

The Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha today announced his engagement to Princess Victoria Adelheid of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glücksburg. The announcement was made at a Court ball.

The Duke, who is also the Duke of Albany and a British prince, is a nephew of King Edward VII. His future wife is a niece of German Empress Auguste Viktoria.

Prince Charles Edward of Albany was not born to be a German duke. He is the only son of the late Prince Leopold, Duke of Albany, and Princess Helen of Waldeck und Pyrmont. Charles Edward was born in July 1884 several months after the death of his father. In 1899, his first cousin, Alfred, the Hereditary Prince of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha died, leaving the Coburg duchy without a direct male heir. The next in line, according to the family agreement, was Prince Arthur, Duke of Connaught and his son, Prince Arthur of Connaught. They renounced their rights, which pushed little Prince Charles Edward into the position as heir to his uncle, Alfred, the Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha.

The British prince, a grandson of Queen Victoria, was now required to grow up in Germany, and become German. Charles Edward morphed into Carl Eduard. In 1900, Duke Alfred died from cancer, and the young Carl Eduard succeed as Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha. Due to Carl Eduard being a minor at the time of succession, a Regent - the Prince of Hohenlohe-Langenburg - was named. The prince's wife, Alexandra was the late Duke Alfred's third daughter.
Carl Eduard will come of age in July.

October 11, 1905

The Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha and Princess Viktoria Adelheid of Schleswig-Holstein were married today at Schloss Glücksburg in the presence of Kaiser Wilhelm II and Kaiserin Auguste Viktoria.
The bride is the Empress' niece.

All of the Kaiser's children were present, except for the Crown Prince. Prince Arthur of Connaught, the groom's first cousin, represented Edward VII. Other guests included the groom's mother, the Duchess of Albany, and his brother-in-law, Prince Alexander of Teck. The groom's sister, Alice, did not attend the wedding.

Because the castle was too small to host all the guests, the German Imperial family stayed on board their yacht, the Hohenzollern.
The couple was married first in a civil ceremony, which took place in the castle's wide hall. Then "as many of the royal guests and their suites as could be accommodated," made their way up the stairs to the castle's tiny chapel, where the religious marriage, according to the rites of the Lutheran church, was performed.

The princess, who was dressed in white silk and wore a veil, "led the way, walking between" the Kaiser and her father, Duke Friedrich Ferdinand. Six bridesmaids followed, and "then came the bridegroom in the light blue and gold uniform of the Ninth German Hussars." He also wore the Order of the Black Eagle, which had been conferred on him earlier in the day by the Kaiser.
On either side of the duke were his mother and the German Empress.
Prince Arthur of Connaught escorted the Grand Duchess of Oldenburg.

A wedding breakfast was served in the castle's Grand Hall. At 3:30 p.m., the newlyweds left for Schloss Luisenlund, where they will spend a few days before traveling onto Schloss Greinburg in Austria for their honeymoon.

After the wedding, the Duke and Duchess of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha appeared on the balcony and were cheered enthusiastically by the crowds. The New York Times noted that the "marriage is unusually popular with the German people, and will entirely remove the suspicions that have obtained against the Duke as an English prince."

The marriage between the duke and the Empress's niece also meets "all of the political requirements," although sources close to the couple say that "it is entirely a love match."

Among the wedding gifts is an oil painting of Claremont, where the Duke was born, which was given to the royal couple by the citizens of Esher. The Emperor and Empress gave the newlyweds a porcelain dinner service. King Edward VII and Queen Alexandra's present consists of "costly furniture and a parure of diamonds for the bride." The Duchess of Albany also gave her daughter-in-law a diamond parure. The Prince and Princess of Wales' gift is a silver cup.

Guests at the wedding were also on hand to celebrate the engagement of the Kaiser's second son, Prince Eitel Friedrich, to Duchess Sophie Charlotte of Oldenburg, which was announced on October 10.