Princess Luise of Prussia died on March 23, 2009 at Schloss Bückeburg. She was 91years old. The Princess was born at Haus Glienicke in Berlin as the only daughter of Prince Friedrich Sigismund of Prussia and his wife, Princess Marie Louise of Schaumburg-Lippe. She was named for her grandmother, Princess Louise of Denmark, who was the daughter of Frederik VIII.
In 1942, she married Hans Reinhold. A year later, she gave birth to a son, Manfred. The marriage ended in divorce in 1949, and the princess never remarried.
As the Soviet Army approached Potsdam, where the princess and her son lived, they were forced to flee their home. For a time, they were the guests of the Duke and Duchess of Arenberg at their home, Schloss Nordkirchen. In the early 1950s, the Princess was given an apartment in the west wing of Schloss Bückeburg, where she lived for the rest of her life. She remained close to members of Schaumburg-Lippe and Danish royal families.
Princess Luise was the last member of the Hohenzollern family who was born before the end of the monarchy. She will be interred in the family crypt in Berlin's Schlosspark Glienicke.
Princess Luise is survived by her son, Manfred, and daughter-in-law, the former Susan Macovsky. (The couple were married on August 25, 1991 in a Jewish ceremony at the United Nations Plaza Hotel in New York City.)
The top photo is a postcard of the Princess from my collection. The second is also a postcard from my collection, and shows the Princess with her younger brother, Prince Friedrich Karl. The third photo shows Manfred Reinhold reading a book about the Prussians. The photo was taken by Princess Luise. The fourth photo is of Prince Friedrich Sigismund and Princess Marie Louise's wedding in 1916. The final photo is also of Princess Louise. The last three photos were given to me by Princess Luise.
http://www.preussen.de/de/heute/aktuell/trauer_um_prinzessin_luise_von_pressen_(1917-2009).html
16 comments:
Thanks for the information and for sharing these (private) pictures.
Dear Marianne,
Thank you so much! Everything comes from my collection.
Excellent Marlene - thank you for showing the photos, especially the wedding of her parents showing the bride's sister and brother and father
Very sad...she was lovely and full of amazing stories.
She had that wonderful eccentricity of pre WW11 royals of talking to you about royalty as if you , as well as she, were personally acquainted with her circle. When she told me she was present at Buckingham Palace for the Coronation Ball, I excitedly said ''Oh, the Queen's Coronation!'', she blankly looked at me and replied, ''No, the King". I showed her a picture of the ballroom and she pointed to where her table was and where the Maharajahs sat.
I'm pleased that I was able to host her twice for a tea that brought back sweet memories and comfort.
A true Prussian lady with fortitude to the very last day of her life.
Thanks ... am surprised that she would have been at George VI's Coronation as she was not a close relation nor a member of a reigning royal family.
I make the decision on what comments get published my blog, especially as you have not signed your name, which means you want to hide. If you read my posts, you will see that I tend to mention if someone was married in a religious ceremony, I mention the religion. It's rather obvious that Luise's son was born a few months after the wedding: not telling me anything new.
In case you have not seen the NYTimes article, here it is
http://www.nytimes.com/1991/08/26/style/susan-macovsky-a-banker-is-wed.htmls
I should add that Luise would certainly have gone through a civil ceremony, which is required by German law. It is unlikely that she was married in a Lutheran wedding as well, considering she was pregnant - and the wedding was a quickie for the sake of getting married.
Me thinks that Harold and anonymous are one in the same - after all - this article was written in March and it is now November, so it cannot be a coincidence that two people read the same obit on the same day some months later --- Hmmmmmmmmmmm
However, saying that someone got married in a Jewish ceremony is hardly a slur - but a really stupid thing to suggest, certainly about me. Moreover, the princess had nothing to do with her obit -- she was dead - and I do not do seances. SOmeone here has an agenda, but it is not me ...
Thanks for sharing! I actually came upon here while trying to find out who this LUISE exactly was, after seeing this:
http://www.christies.com/LotFinder/lot_details.aspx?from=searchresults&intObjectID=5277850&sid=4a4d9fe3-58b1-483d-9329-128963abd4ca
By the way, she does have a bit of connection to the British royal family; her paternal grandfather, Prince Friedrich Leopold's sister was Princess Luise Margaret, the wife of Prince Arthur, Duke of Connaught and Strathearn.
You might be interested to know that some of the possessions of this charming and delightful woman will be sold at Christie's European and Noble Collections auction in Amsterdam on December 15. Some of the pieces can be viewed online at Christies.com. This is a chance to own a priceless memento of a woman related to all of Europe's great noble families!
Rebecca B.
Thanks, and yes, I am aware of the auction. Checked it out and drooled. I corresponded with Princess Luise, and she sent me a nice selection of photos some years ago (I used a few with the article.) I recently bought several more photos at auction of Luise and Manfred from the 1940s - and after they arrive, I will post them on the blog.
I am also aware of the connection to the British royal through Luise's grandfather.
thank you for your comments. Much appreciated.
I know that Princess Luise's father died in a riding accident in 1927, but how did her mother die? I see that it was 1938 which would only have made her 41.
is this the Princess Louise of Prussia that is featured in the documentary "A Royal Family"? i'm watching it right now (gotta love region-free dvd players!) and this documentary has DOZENS of royals... and i know who most are, but was unsure of this one so i did an internet search and found your entry about her death.
the reason i was curious is because in the documentary, she acted like she had known Tsar Nicholas II's mother Maria Feodorovna, so i wanted to see when she was born. from what you wrote, i see that she would've been about 10 years old when the Empress died, so she very well may have been able to remember her.
- michelle
Yes, it is the same princess Luise. I have more photos of her on the blog -- look at December 2009.
This is in response to Anonymous's question about the circumstances of Luise's mother's death. She died not long after a riding accident. The details are not entirely clear. What is known is that she reportedly fell from her horse, but instructed her groom to say nothing about what happened. She had been treated in the past for a weak heart, and presumably that was the actual cause of death.
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