Princess Victoria Melita of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha
Born a British princess, Victoria spent her early life in England and lived for three years in Malta, where her father served in the Royal Navy.Bowing to family pressure, Victoria married her paternal first cousin Ernest Louis, Grand Duke of Hesse and by Rhine, in 1894.They wed without the formal approval of Britain's King Edward VII (as the Royal Marriages Act 1772 would have required), and in defiance of Russia's Emperor Nicholas II.[1] Her father, who was stationed on the island as an officer in the Royal Navy, was Prince Alfred, Duke of Edinburgh, the second son of Queen Victoria.They divided their time between Eastwell Park, their country home in Kent, and Clarence House, their residence in London facing Buckingham Palace.[2] In January 1886, shortly after Princess Victoria turned nine, the family left England when her father was appointed commander-in-chief of the Mediterranean naval squadron, based on Malta.Their mother immediately began attempting to "Germanise" her daughters by installing a new governess, buying them plain clothing, and having them confirmed in the German Lutheran church, even though they had previously been raised as Anglicans.[10] The teenage Victoria was a "tall, dark girl, with violet eyes ... with the assuredness of an Empress and the high spirits of a tomboy," according to one observer.[11] Victoria had "too little chin to be conventionally beautiful," in the opinion of one of her biographers, but "she had a good figure, deep blue eyes, and dark complexion.Although the two were deeply attracted to each other, Victoria's mother was reluctant to allow her to marry him because the Russian Orthodox faith forbids the marriage of first cousins.When her teenage daughters were impressed by their handsome cousins, their mother warned them that the Russian grand dukes did not make good husbands.Victoria's cousin Prince Nicholas of Greece and Denmark remembered one stay there as "the jolliest, merriest house party to which I have ever been in my life.The volatile Victoria shouted, threw tea trays, smashed china against the wall, and tossed anything that was handy at Ernest during their arguments."[22][23] Queen Victoria was saddened when she heard of trouble in the marriage from Sir George Buchanan, her chargé d'affaires, but refused to consent to her grandchildren's divorce because of their daughter, Elisabeth."Now that I am calmer I see the absolute impossibility of going on leading a life which was killing her and driving me nearly mad," Ernest wrote to his elder sister Princess Louis of Battenberg.[16] Elisabeth died at age eight and a half of typhoid fever during a November 1903 visit to Tsar Nicholas II and his family at their Polish hunting lodge.The doctor advised the Tsar's family to notify the child's mother of her illness, but it is rumored that the Tsarina delayed in sending a telegram."[30] After Victoria's divorce from Ernest, Grand Duke Kirill, whom she had seen on all her subsequent visits to Russia, was discouraged by his parents from trying to keep a close relationship with her.[37] Victoria, who had matured as she entered her 30s,[38] decided to convert to the Russian Orthodox Church in 1907, a decision that thrilled both her mother and her husband.[42] The new grand duchess enjoyed entertaining at evening dinners and lavish balls attended by the cream of Saint Petersburg society.Victoria dreaded the long Russian winter with its short days, and she traveled abroad, frequently visiting her sister Marie in Romania and her mother in the south of France or in Coburg.Kirill, for his part, was also in Poland, assigned to the naval department of Admiral Russin, member of the staff of Grand Duke Nicholas Nikolaevich, commander in chief of the Russian army.Victoria told her sister, Queen Marie of Romania, that the Tsar's court was "looked upon as a sick man refusing every doctor and every help.Kirill led his naval unit to the Provisional Government on 14 March 1917, which was obliged to share headquarters with the new Petrograd Soviet, and swore loyalty to its leadership, hoping to restore order and preserve the monarchy.Close to despair, Victoria wrote to her sister Marie of Romania that they had "neither pride nor hope, nor money, nor future, and the dear past blotted out by the frightful present; nothing is left, nothing.[56] After two weeks in Haikko, the family moved to a rented house in Porvoo where, in August 1917, Victoria gave birth to Grand Duke Vladimir Kirillovich of Russia, her only son and the heir to the dynasty.In July 1918, Victoria wrote to her first cousin, Crown Princess Margaret of Sweden, begging her to send baby food so she could feed Vladimir.[63][64] While in Germany, Victoria showed an interest in the Nazi Party, which appealed to her because of its anti-Bolshevik stance and her hope that the movement might help restore the Russian monarchy.Maria, her eldest daughter, married the head of one of Germany's mediatized families, Karl, Hereditary Prince of Leiningen on 25 November 1925, Victoria's 49th birthday.[74] Although the Bavarian government rejected pressures to expel the Russian claimant, Kirill and Victoria decided to establish their permanent residence in France.
Princess Victoria (disambiguation)Grand Duchess consort of Hesse and by RhineConsort to the Head of the House of RomanovSan Anton PalaceBritish MaltaAmorbachNazi GermanyCoburgGrand Ducal MausoleumErnest Louis, Grand Duke of Hesse and by RhineGrand Duke Kirill Vladimirovich of RussiaPrincess Elisabeth of Hesse and by RhineMaria Kirillovna, Princess of LeiningenKira Kirillovna, Princess of PrussiaGrand Duke Vladimir Kirillovich of RussiaSaxe-Coburg and GothaAlfred, Duke of Saxe-Coburg and GothaGrand Duchess Maria Alexandrovna of RussiaRussian OrthodoxProtestantQueen Victoria of the United KingdomEmperor Alexander II of RussiaBritish princessRoyal NavyOrthodox Christianmarriage between first cousinsPrincess ElisabethEdward VIIRoyal Marriages Act 1772Emperor Nicholas IIFinlandRussian EmpireVladimirSaint-BriacAttardPrince Alfred, Duke of EdinburghQueen VictoriaGrand Duchess Maria AlexandrovnaAlexander II of RussiaMarie of HessePrincess AlexandraGrand Duchess MariaPrincess BeatricePrincess MariePrince Alfredline of succession to the British throneClarence HouseBuckingham PalaceAshfordDowager DuchessRosenauPrince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and GothaErnest IIheir presumptiveLutheranAnglicanstomboyGrand Duchess Alexandra Georgievna of RussiaGrand Duke Kirill VladimirovichCrown Prince Ferdinand of RomaniaBalmoral CastlePrince Ernest Louis of HesseHesse and by RhineSchloss EhrenburgEmpress Frederick of GermanyKaiser Wilhelm IIAlbert Edward, Prince of WalesPrince Nicholas of Greece and DenmarkPrincess Elisabeth of HesseSir George BuchananPrincess Louis of BattenbergFrench Rivieratyphoid feverGrand Duchess Maria PavlovnaRusso-Japanese WarPort ArthurTegernseeGrand Duke Alexei Alexandrovich of RussiaThe TsarinaChamps-ÉlyséesRussian Orthodox ChurchMaria KirillovnaKira KirillovnaWorld War IRed CrossstaretsGrigori RasputinGrand Duke Dmitri Pavlovich of RussiaProvisional Governmentshare headquartersPetrograd SovietPorvooWhite RussiansCrown Princess Margaret of SwedenKing George VLord ActonMunichZürichNazi PartyBolshevikmediatizedKarl, Hereditary Prince of LeiningenEmich KirillPrince Karl Emich of LeiningenBretonDinardPeter and Paul FortressLouis Ferdinand, Prince of PrussiaNeuenstein, Baden-WürttembergImperial Order of the Crown of IndiaRoyal Order of Victoria and AlbertMost Venerable Order of the Hospital of Saint John of JerusalemRoyal Red CrossOrder of LouiseErnestine duchiesSaxe-Ernestine House OrderGrand Ducal Hessian Order of the Golden LionGrand Ducal Hessian Order of LudwigMerit Order of Philip the MagnanimousOrder of the Crown of RomaniaImperial Order of Saint CatherineDecoration of the Military Order of Saint GeorgeRoyal Order of Noble Ladies of Queen Maria Luisaroyal armsinescutcheonfor Saxony