December 16, 1907
Dowager Queen Carola of Saxony died early this morning, according to the New York Times. Her body is "lying in state in the Winter garden of her villa," but will be taken to the Roman Catholic Church in Dresden tomorrow evening. The body will lie in state in the church until the funeral, which will take place on Wednesday.
The Office Gazette in Dresden has announced that there will be ten days of mourning for the widow of King Albert of Saxony. King Friedrich August has received many telegrams of condolences, including one from Kaiser Wilhelm II, who "sent a long and sympathetic message in which he emphasized the high regard the German empress entertained for Queen Carola."
Members of the Saxon Parliament all stood for a reading of a eulogy for the late Queen, and then "adjourned as a mark of respect."
Queen Carola was born Karoline Friederike Franziska Stephanie Amalie Cecilie of Vasa, the daughter of Crown Prince Gustav of Sweden and Princess Luise Amalie of Baden on August 5, 1833 at Schönbrunn, Vienna.
In 1809, Crown Prince Gustav's father, King Gustav VI Adolf, abdicated the throne in favor of the Crown Prince, then only ten years old. But Sweden's parliament would not permit the young prince to succeed his father, which meant the entire family was forced into exile. The king's brother succeeded to the throne as Karl XIII.
It was Emperor Franz II of Austria who created the former Crown Prince as a Prince of Vasa, in 1929. A year later, Gustav married his first cousin, Princess Luise of Baden. Karoline was their only surviving child. The marriage ended in divorce in 1843.
Princess Carola was once described as one of Europe's most beautiful princesses. One of her suitors was Napoleon III, but her father refused to allow the marriage due to political reasons.
On June 18, 1853, Princess Carola of Vasa married Crown Prince Albert of Saxony. Much to her father's dismay, Carola, a Lutheran, converted to Roman Catholicism. Sadly, for the couple, the marriage was childless.
Albert succeeded to the throne in 1873. He died in 1902.
The announcement was made one month ago in Dresden that the Dowager Queen was "suffering from an abscess in the head." Several days ago, she suffered a relapse, and it appeared that her "death was a question of a few days only."
Queen Carola was 72 years old.
I think Carola would be an excellent name for the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge to give a daughter. It hearkens to his father and her mother, and Queen Carola set an excellent example of royal service.
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