Quick Facts
Biography
Princess Victoria Adelaide of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glücksburg (German: Viktoria Adelheid Helene Luise Marie Friederike; 31 December 1885 – 3 October 1970) was the consort of Charles Edward, Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha and maternal grandmother of Carl XVI of Sweden.
Early life
Princess Victoria Adelaide was born on 31 December 1885 at Grünholz Manor, Schleswig-Holstein, Prussia as the eldest daughter of Frederick Ferdinand, Duke of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glücksburg and his wife Princess Karoline Mathilde of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Augustenburg. Her father was the eldest son of Friedrich, Duke of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glücksburg and a nephew of Christian IX of Denmark. One month before the birth of Victoria Adelaide, he had succeeded to the headship of the House of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glücksburg and the title of duke upon the death of his father on 27 November 1885.
Duchess of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha
On 11 October 1905, at Glücksburg Castle, Schleswig, she married Charles Edward, Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha. Charles Edward was born HRH Prince Charles Edward, Duke of Albany and was the only son of Prince Leopold, Duke of Albany by his wife Princess Helena of Waldeck and a grandson of Queen Victoria. Five years before the marriage, he had succeeded to the duchy of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha upon the death of his uncle Alfred, Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha in 1900. Upon her marriage, Victoria Adelheid assumed the title of Her Royal Highness The Duchess of Sachsen-Coburg und Gotha. She and Charles Edward had five children.
Later life
In 1918, the Duke was forced to abdicate his ducal throne, following the end of World War I, forcing the family to become private citizens. After World War II, the couple fled to Austria (where Schloss Greinburg an der Donau had been a Saxe-Coburg property since 1822, and remains such) following the seizure of their properties in East Germany by the Soviet Union. However, the Oxford Dictionary of National Biography article on Prince Charles Edward states that he died in Coburg on 6 March 1954; no mention is made there of his wife. She died at Schloss Greinburg on 3 October 1970 and was buried beside her husband at Schloss Callenberg, Coburg, on 8 October of that year.
Titles, styles, honours and arms
Titles
- 31 December 1885 – 11 October 1905: Her Highness Princess Victoria Adelaide of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glücksburg
- 11 October 1905 – 28 March 1919: Her Royal Highness The Duchess of Albany, Duchess of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha
- 28 March 1919 – 6 March 1954: Her Highness The Duchess of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha
- 6 March 1954 – 3 October 1970: Her Highness The Dowager Duchess of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha
Issue
| Name | Birth | Death | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Johann Leopold, Hereditary Prince of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha | 2 August 1906 | 4 May 1972 | married (1; unequally, renouncing his rights to the headship of the House of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha), 9 March 1932, Feodora, Baroness von der Horst; divorced 1962; had issue (2), 5 May 1963, Maria Theresa Reindl; no issue |
| Princess Sibylla of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha | 18 January 1908 | 28 November 1972 | married, 20 October 1932, Prince Gustav Adolf, Duke of Västerbotten; had issue, inc. Carl XVI Gustaf of Sweden |
| Prince Hubertus of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha | 24 August 1909 | 26 November 1943 | childless, died during the Second World War |
| Princess Caroline Mathilde of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha | 22 June 1912 | 5 September 1983 | married (1), 14 December 1931, Friedrich Wolfgang Otto, Count of Castell-Rüdenhausen; divorced 2 May 1938; had issue (2), 22 June 1938, Captain Max Schnirring; he died 1944; had issue (3), 23 December 1946, Jim Andree; divorced 1949; no issue |
| Prince Friedrich Josias of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha | 29 November 1918 | 23 January 1998 | married (1), 25 January 1942, Countess Viktoria-Luise of Solms-Baruth; divorced 19 September 1947; had issue (2), 14 February 1948, Denyse Henrietta de Muralt; divorced 17 September 1964; had issue (3), 30 October 1964, Katherine Bremme; no issue |
Ancestry
| Ancestors of Princess Victoria Adelaide of Schleswig-Holstein | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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