November 2, 1929
Divorce papers were served today on Alexander Zoubkoff, a Russian emigre, who is married to Princess Victoria of Prussia, sister of former Kaiser Wilhelm II. A hearing was set for November 22 in Bonn.
Although Zoubkoff was "permanently expelled" from Germany, he was in Euskirchen, about 20 miles from Cologne. Princess Viktoria's lawyers were able to immediately serve the papers to him.
The petition for divorce states that Zoubkoff's behavior was such that he "was unable to support his wife and no matrimonial union existed." He was also charged with having an affair with a barmaid.
Princess Viktoria has said that she "desired no sensational publicity" in connection with the divorce, and according to friends, she is willing to settle 10,000 marks ($2400) on her estranged husband in exchange for a batch of letters "said to be concealed in Luxemburg."
The princess' entire private property was sold at auction two weeks ago to satisfy claims "against her totally about $180,000." She is now living in a "humble boarding house near Bonn."
Princess Viktoria of Schaumburg-Lippe is also a granddaughter of the late Queen Victoria. She renounced her title and German citizenship when she married Zoubkoff in November 1927. The Princess, 62 at the time, was the widow of Prince Alexander of Schaumburg-Lippe. She did not seek her brother's permission, stating that she was financially independent and "capable of deciding in the affair for herself."
The groom, thirty five years younger than his bride, "proved to be a decidedly eccentric character," who was deported from Germany for assault.
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Viktoria sounds like an interesting woman. I wonder what Queen Victoria would have thought about her grandchild ending up in a boarding house. Thanks for putting this story up Marlene. Bea
ReplyDeleteInteresting and sad...poor Viktoria to live life unfulfilled like that and end up with such a scoundrel!
ReplyDeleteThanks Marlene for adding this picture. This is such a sad story. Bea
ReplyDeleteWell, I cannot see the image but probably it's one of those that I see on internet. As for this story, I have just found out a link with an auction of Sacha's belongings, as well as a letter to him from Viktoria. I would love to see a movie about this story, little is known in books albeit one in German but i don't know if there is an English or French translation. Great post!
ReplyDeleteHi Zelle
ReplyDeleteBy accident, I deleted all the photos from Royal Musings. I got a Smartphone and I could not understand why my RM photos showed up in my photo gallery. Slowly but surely, I am restoring the photos ... the photos are in google images so it is a matter of copying and restoring ... Have not yet gotten to this photo ... I am doing in order of the photos at Googgle. There are at least 2 books in English on this couple
Thank you for all the explanations , I have subscribed to your blog and I will try and find a book about this story. Thanks again
ReplyDelete