Marina Adelaide Emily Patterson was born on August 21, 1948 in Springfield, Missouri, one of a set of twins, to Princess Victoria Marina of Prussia and her American husband, Kirby William Patterson, a lawyer. When she was in fourth grade, the family moved to Washington, D.C., where Kirby Patterson worked as a prosecutor for the Department of Justice. Marina graduated from Western High School in Washington. D.C.
She attended the University of Miami in Coral Gables, Florida, where she studied oceanography and marine biology. In 1967, Marina joined the United States Navy, where she studied nursing. She began her nursing career at the Kaiser Permanente Hospital, in Bellflower, California, where she met her future husband, John William Engel. She worked for many years as a nurse at the Kaiser Permanente Medical Center in Downey.
Marina and John were married on September 24, 1982 in Las Vegas, Nevada. She is survived by her husband, John, her son, William, and her twin brother, Berengar, and her younger sister, Dohna Pearl.
Marina was a great-granddaughter of Kaiser Wilhelm II and a great-great-great-granddaughter of Queen Victoria.
Princess Victoria Marina's parents were Prince Adalbert of Prussia and Princess Adelheid of Saxe-Meiningen.
Marina Engel was a very lovely, very sweet woman. She was appreciative of her royal ancestry, and she was always eager to share family news. My condolences to her two favorite men, her husband, John, and her son, William.
Was Mrs. Engel acquainted with any of her royal relatives? I assume she knew her grandmother, Princess Adelaide, but did she know any of the her Prussian cousins - the descendant of the Kaiser.
ReplyDeleteHer situation reminds me of that of Kira Harris.
I believe there was some contact with her uncle and his family.
ReplyDeleteThank you, Marlene, for this post.
ReplyDeleteMy sincere condolences to her family and friends.