Louise, Princess Royal

{{Infobox royalty

| name = Louise

| title = {{unbulleted list|Princess Royal|Duchess of Fife}}

| image = 1901-princess-royal-louise.jpg

| caption = Louise in 1901

| spouse = {{marriage|Alexander Duff, 1st Duke of Fife|27 July 1889|29 January 1912|end=died}}

| issue = {{plain list|

}}

| full name = Louise Victoria Alexandra Dagmar{{cite web|url=https://www.britishmuseum.org/collection/term/BIOG218069|title=Louise, Princess Royal|work=The British Museum|accessdate=8 July 2021}}

| house = Windsor (from 1917)
Saxe-Coburg and Gotha
(until 1917)

| father = Edward VII

| mother = Alexandra of Denmark

| birth_name = Princess Louise of Wales

| birth_date = {{Birth date|1867|2|20|df=y}}

| birth_place = Marlborough House, London, England

| death_date = {{Death date and age|1931|1|4|1867|2|20|df=y}}

| death_place = Portman Square, London, England

| burial_date = 10 January 1931

| burial_place = Royal Vault, St George's Chapel, Windsor Castle
22 May 1931
St Ninian's Chapel, Braemar

| signature = Princess Louise's signature.svg

}}

Louise, Princess Royal and Duchess of Fife (Louise Victoria Alexandra Dagmar; 20 February 1867 – 4 January 1931) was the third child and eldest daughter of King Edward VII and Queen Alexandra of the United Kingdom; she was a younger sister of King George V. Louise was given the title of Princess Royal in 1905.{{cite web|title=Royal Titles: Style and Title of the Princess Royal |url=http://www.royal.gov.uk/output/Page5660.asp |date=n.d. |access-date=23 January 2018 |publisher=The British Monarchy |url-status=unfit |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080727135946/http://www.royal.gov.uk/output/Page5660.asp |archive-date=27 July 2008}} Known for her shy and quiet personality, Louise remained a low-key member of the royal family throughout her life.{{cite web|url=https://royalcentral.co.uk/interests/history/the-stories-of-queen-victorias-granddaughters-princess-louise-of-wales-51730/|title=The stories of Queen Victoria's granddaughters: Princess Louise of Wales|work=Royal Central|date=27 July 2015|accessdate=8 July 2021}}

Early life

File:James Sant (1820-1916) - Princess Louise of Wales (1867-1931) - RCIN 404995 - Royal Collection.jpg, 1872]]

Louise was born on 20 February 1867 at Marlborough House, the London residence of her parents, the Prince and Princess of Wales. Louise's father was the eldest son of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert. Her mother was the eldest daughter of Christian IX and Queen Louise of Denmark. From birth, as a male-line granddaughter of the British monarch, she had the title Her Royal Highness Princess Louise of Wales.{{sfn|Eilers|1987|p=176}}{{sfn|Weir|2008|p=320}} She spent much of her childhood at Sandringham House in Norfolk. She was baptised at Marlborough House on 10 May by Charles Longley, Archbishop of Canterbury.{{efn|Her godparents were her paternal aunts – Alice, Princess Louis of Hesse, Helena, Princess Christian of Schleswig-Holstein and Princess Louise, Duchess of Argyll; her paternal uncle (by marriage), Crown Prince Frederick William of Prussia; her first cousin once removed – Grand Duchess Augusta of Mecklenburg-Strelitz; her maternal granduncle – Prince Frederick William of Hesse-Kassel (or Hesse-Cassel); her maternal grandmother: Queen Louise of Denmark; her children, Louise's uncle, George I of Greece; and aunt, The Tsarevna of Russia; Karl, Duke of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glücksburg; and Prince Edward of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach.}} Like her sisters Victoria and Maud, she was educated under the supervision of tutors and studied guitar under Catharina Pratten.Rosie Pentreath. [https://www.classicfm.com/discover-music/instruments/guitar/catharina-pratten-star-composer-queen-victoria/ 'Ever heard of Catharina Pratten, the star guitarist, and composer who taught Queen Victoria’s daughters?'], biography at Classic FM She occasionally spent the summer in Denmark, her mother's homeland. In her youth, Louise was described as a very withdrawn girl.{{Cite ODNB|doi=10.1093/ref:odnb/34602|title=Louise, princess royal and duchess of Fife|last = Reynolds | first = K. D. | author-link = K. D. Reynolds}}

Louise and her sisters, Victoria and Maud, were bridesmaids at the wedding of their paternal aunt Princess Beatrice to Prince Henry of Battenberg in 1885.{{cite web|url=http://www.npg.org.uk/collections/search/portrait/mw145863/Prince-and-Princess-Henry-of-Battenberg-with-their-bridesmaids-and-others-on-their-wedding-day?LinkID=mp89748&role=art&rNo=2|title=Prince and Princess Henry of Battenberg with their bridesmaids and others on their wedding day|publisher=National Portrait Gallery|access-date=30 May 2018}}

Marriage and children

File:Duke and Duchess of fife.jpg

Despite her mother's attempts to keep her daughters unmarried and by her side, on 27 July 1889, Louise married Alexander Duff, 6th Earl Fife, who was eighteen years her senior, at the Private Chapel in Buckingham Palace with the Archbishop of Canterbury officiating at the service.{{cite web|url=https://www.rct.uk/collection/404460/the-marriage-of-princess-louise-of-wales-with-the-duke-of-fife-at-buckingham|title=The Marriage of Princess Louise of Wales with the Duke of Fife at Buckingham Palace, 27th July 1889|work=Royal Collection Trust|accessdate=8 July 2021}} They were third cousins through an illegitimate line, as Alexander was a great-grandchild of William IV and Dorothea Jordan. Her bridesmaids were Princesses Maud and Victoria of Wales, Victoria Mary of Teck, Marie Louise and Helena Victoria of Schleswig-Holstein and the Countesses Feodora, Helena and Valda Gleichen. “O Perfect Love, all human thought transcending", was written by Dorothy Blomfield for her sister's marriage in 1883, and was intended to be sung to Strength and Stay, in Hymns Ancient & Modern, No. 12. Subsequently, it was set as an anthem by J. Barnby for the marriage of the Duke of Fife with the Princess Louise of Wales that day. Two days after the wedding, Queen Victoria created him Duke of Fife and Marquess of Macduff in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. The letters patent creating this dukedom contained the standard remainder to heirs male of the body lawfully begotten.{{London Gazette |issue=25958 |date=27 July 1889 |page=4077 }} After the birth of their two daughters, on 24 April 1900, Queen Victoria signed letters patent creating a second Dukedom of Fife, along with the Earldom of Macduff in the Peerage of the United Kingdom with a special remainder: in default of a male heir, these peerages would pass to the daughters of the 1st Duke, and then to their male descendants.

File:Princess Louise, Duchess of Fife, and daughters Princesses Maud and Alexandra.jpg

The Duke and Duchess of Fife had three children:

Alastair Duff, Marquess of Macduff (stillborn 16 June 1890)
Princess Alexandra, 2nd Duchess of Fife (17 May 1891 – 26 February 1959); married her first cousin once removed Prince Arthur of Connaught (13 January 1883 – 12 September 1938), and had issue.
Princess Maud (3 April 1893 – 14 December 1945); married Charles Carnegie, 11th Earl of Southesk, and had issue.

The couple made their home at Mar Lodge, a sporting lodge built for them by Alexander Marshall Mackenzie.{{cite web|url=https://www.nts.org.uk/stories/princess-louises-highland-seats|title=Princess Louise's Highland seat(s)|work=National Trust for Scotland|date=1 December 2017|accessdate=8 July 2021}}

Princess Royal

File:Louise Princess royal 1905.jpg

On 9 November 1905, Edward VII created Louise the Princess Royal, the highest honour bestowed on a female member of the royal family.{{sfn|Weir|2008|p=320}}{{cite web|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1931/01/05/archives/princess-louise-dies-in-her-sleep-eldest-sister-of-king-george-v.html|title=Princess Louise Dies in Her Sleep|work=The New York Times|date=5 January 1931|accessdate=8 July 2021}} At the same time, the King declared that the two daughters of the Princess Royal would be styled as princesses, with the style and attribute of "Highness" and with precedence immediately after all members of the royal family bearing the style of "Royal Highness".{{London Gazette |issue=27852 |date=9 November 1905 |page=7495 |supp=y}}

In 1911, the Princess Royal sponsored the ship HMS Princess Royal, which was her namesake.{{sfn|Silverstone|1984|p=258}}

On 12 December 1911, she attended the coronation of her brother, King George V, where she wore the Fife Tiara.{{cite web|url= https://www.rct.uk/collection/search#/5/collection/2917119/coronation-of-king-george-v-1865-1936-and-queen-mary-1867-1953|title=Coronation of King George V (1865-1936) and Queen Mary (1867-1953)|publisher=Royal Collection Trust|website=rct.uk|access-date=12 April 2025}} Later that month, while sailing aboard SS Delhi to Egypt, the Princess Royal and her family were shipwrecked off the coast of Morocco.Hugh Dawson, A Guide to the Chapel of Saint Ninian, Mar Lodge, Braemar. The Scottish Episcopal Church, Braemar 2015 Although they were otherwise unharmed, the Duke of Fife fell ill with pleurisy, probably contracted as a result of the shipwreck. He died at Assuan, Egypt, in January 1912, and Princess Alexandra succeeded to his dukedom, becoming Duchess of Fife in her own right.{{cite web

| title = ASSUAN, Upper Egypt, Jan. 29

| work = The New York Times

| date = 30 January 1912

| url = https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1912/01/30/100347859.pdf

| access-date =3 May 2010 }}

Louise was grief-stricken by his sudden death, and often confided in the solace of her Christian faith. She wrote to Queen Mary (8 February):

My children and I have been through great trials! But God is giving us this strength, to bear our great sorrow! My beloved Macduff had a beautiful and peaceful end, in this silent land. I am thankful to think of his peace, no more pain nor anxiety now, but my heart is aching for his dear, dear presence as we were always together!RA GV CC45/809

Later life and death

File:Louise, Princess royal 1913.jpg in her later years]]

After the death of her husband, Louise led a reclusive life, and was immersed in the relative seclusion of her late husband's Scottish estates, at Mar Lodge.Edward VII’s Children by John Van Der Kiste p.166 She had become increasingly more frail in her later years, suffering with heart disease. Sometimes, she accompanied her mother and her sister Victoria to public events and sometimes accompanied her mother to the charity event Alexandra Rose Day. On 1 July

1929, Louise made her last public appearance on the Buckingham Palace balcony alongside other members of the royal family.{{cite web|url=https://www.alamy.com/stock-photo-royal-family-at-buckingham-palace-108680398.html?imageid=2854AC59-8481-448C-ABDF-B966312360EE&p=308342&pn=1&searchId=9fa956c0b75bba9e9f85b751afad0d1e&searchtype=0|title=Royal Family at Buckingham Palace|date=1 July 1929|access-date=15 April 2025}} In October 1929, at Mar Lodge, she was taken ill with gastric haemorrhage and was brought back to London.

File:Braemar, Mar Lodge Estate, St Ninian's Chapel - floor slab 04.JPG – Grave of Princess Louise, Princess Royal (1867–1931)]]

Louise died from a heart attack in her sleep at 2:30PM on 4 January 1931 at age 63 at her home at 15 Portman Square London, with her two daughters, Alexandra and Maud, at her bedside. She was tenth in line to the throne at the time of her death. Her sister Queen Maud saw her passing as a release, and wrote; "Louise suffered so terribly these last few months that one can but thank God. She is at peace with her dear ones. But it's sad for us, and the loss of a sister comes very near one's heart." She was buried in St. George's Chapel, Windsor Castle. Her remains were later removed to the Private Chapel, Mar Lodge, Braemar, Aberdeenshire.{{sfn|Weir|2008|p=320}} Her will was sealed and her estate was valued at £46,383 (or £2.2 million in 2022 when adjusted for inflation).{{cite web |last1=Evans |first1=Rob |last2=Pegg |first2=David |title=£187m of Windsor family wealth hidden in secret royal wills |url=https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2022/jul/18/187m-pounds-of-windsor-family-wealth-hidden-in-secret-royal-wills |website=The Guardian |access-date=19 July 2022 |language=en |date=18 July 2022}}

Honours and arms

1885: Royal Order of Victoria and Albert
6 August 1887: Imperial Order of the Crown of India{{London Gazette|issue=25732|page=4580|date=23 August 1887}}
1929: Dame Grand Cross of the Venerable Order of St John of Jerusalem (GCStJ)
1888–1929: Lady of the Venerable Order of St John of Jerusalem (LJStJ)

= Honorary military appointments =

1911: Lady Sponsor of HMS Princess Royal{{cite book|last=Silverstone|first=Paul H.|year=1984|title=Directory of the World's Capital Ships|publisher=Hippocrene Books|location=New York|isbn=978-0-88254-979-8|page=258}}
1914: Colonel-in-chief of the 7th Dragoon Guards{{cite web|url=https://www.historyandheadlines.com/10-princesses-royal/|title=The 10 Princesses Royal|publisher=History and Headlines|first=Beth|last=Michaels|date=15 August 2014|access-date=30 May 2018}}
1922: Colonel-in-chief of the 4th/7th Royal Dragoon Guards

=Arms=

Upon her marriage, Louise was granted a coat of arms, being the Royal Arms of the United Kingdom with an inescutcheon for Saxony, all differenced with a label argent of five points, the outer pair and centre bearing crosses gules, and the inner pair bearing thistles proper.[http://www.heraldica.org/topics/britain/cadency.htm Heraldica – British Royal Cadency] The inescutcheon was dropped by royal warrant in 1917.

border="0" align="center" width=40%
width=25% \|File:Coat of Arms of Louise, Duchess of Fife.svg !width=25% \|File:Fife Arms Hotel, Braemar Fife Arms detail.JPG
{{center\|Princess Louise's coat of arms until 1917}} \|{{center\|Fife Arms Hotel, Braemar: Arms of the Duke and Duchess of Fife}}

border="0" align="center" width=40%

width=25% |File:Coat of Arms of Louise, Duchess of Fife.svg

!width=25% |File:Fife Arms Hotel, Braemar Fife Arms detail.JPG

|{{center|Fife Arms Hotel, Braemar: Arms of the Duke and Duchess of Fife}}

Ancestors

{{See also|Descendants of Queen Victoria|Descendants of Christian IX of Denmark}}

{{ahnentafel

|collapsed=yes |align=center

|boxstyle_1=background-color: #fcc;

|boxstyle_2=background-color: #fb9;

|boxstyle_3=background-color: #ffc;

|boxstyle_4=background-color: #bfc;

|1= 1. Louise, Princess Royal

|2= 2. Edward VII of the United Kingdom

|3= 3. Princess Alexandra of Denmark

|4= 4. Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha

|5= 5. Victoria of the United Kingdom

|6= 6. Christian IX of Denmark

|7= 7. Princess Louise of Hesse-Kassel

|8= 8. Ernest I, Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha

|9= 9. Princess Louise of Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg

|10= 10. Prince Edward, Duke of Kent and Strathearn

|11= 11. Princess Victoria of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld

|12= 12. Frederick William, Duke of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glücksburg

|13= 13. Princess Louise Caroline of Hesse-Kassel

|14= 14. Prince William of Hesse-Kassel

|15= 15. Princess Charlotte of Denmark

}}

Notes

References

=Bibliography=

{{cite book | last = Eilers |first=A. Marlene | title = Queen Victoria's Descendants | language = en | place = Baltimore, Maryland | publisher = Genealogical Publishing Co | year = 1987 | page = 176 | series = | isbn = 9163059649 }}
{{cite book | last = Weir |first=Alison | title = Britain's Royal Families, The Complete Genealogy | language = en | location = London | publisher = Random House | year = 2008 | page = 320 | series = | isbn = 9780099539735 }}