Princess Louise Margaret Of Prussia

She served as the viceregal consort of Canada while her husband, Prince Arthur, Duke of Connaught and Strathearn, served as the governor general, from 1911 to 1916.

Princess Louise Margaret
Duchess of Connaught and Strathearn
Photograph by James Lafayette, 1907
Viceregal consort of Canada
In office 13 October 1911 – 11 November 1916
Monarch	George V
Preceded by	The Countess Grey
Succeeded by	The Duchess of Devonshire
Governor General	The Duke of Connaught and Strathearn
Born	(1861-07-25)25 July 1861 Marmorpalais, Potsdam, Kingdom of Prussia
Died	14 March 1917(1917-03-14) (aged 55) Clarence House, London, England, United Kingdom
Burial	19 March 1917 Royal Vault, St George's Chapel, Windsor Castle 23 October 1928 Royal Burial Ground, Frogmore
Spouse	Prince Arthur, Duke of Connaught and Strathearn ​ ​ (m. 1879)​
Issue	Margareta, Crown Princess of Sweden Prince Arthur of Connaught Lady Patricia Ramsay
Names English: Louise Margaret Alexandra Victoria Agnes German: Luise Margarete Alexandra Viktoria Agnes
House	Hohenzollern
Father	Prince Frederick Charles of Prussia
Mother	Princess Maria Anna of Anhalt-Dessau
Signature

Princess Louise Margaret was born at Marmorpalais (Marble Palace) near Potsdam, Kingdom of Prussia. Her father was Prince Friedrich Karl of Prussia (1828–1885), the son of Karl of Prussia (1801–1883) and his wife Princess Marie of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach (1808–1877). Her mother was Princess Maria Anna of Anhalt (1837–1906), daughter of Leopold IV of Anhalt-Dessau. Louise Margaret's father, a nephew of William I, German Emperor, distinguished himself as a field commander during the Battle of Metz and the campaigns west of Paris in the 1870–71 Franco-Prussian War.

The parents of Louise were estranged because of her father's alcoholism and domineering behavior. Though they were never officially separated they lived apart. Queen Victoria wrote in a letter that the prince had "behaved so brutally to his wife".

On 13 March 1879, Princess Louise Margaret married Prince Arthur, Duke of Connaught and Strathearn at St. George's Chapel Windsor. Prince Arthur was the seventh child and third son of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha. A 2003 book claims that it was a love match, with the princess also keen to get away from her royal residence in Berlin and from her father's bullying.

The wedding was described as grand and the couple received a great number of expensive gifts; the Queen's gifts included a diamond tiara and a pearl and diamond pendant. Many members of Britain and Germany's royal families attended. Queen Victoria herself was wearing the Koh-i-Noor diamond and a long white veil. After her marriage, Princess Louise was styled Her Royal Highness The Duchess of Connaught and Strathearn, and her name was Anglicised as Louise Margaret.

The couple had three children: Princess Margaret (1882–1920), Prince Arthur (1884–1938), and Princess Patricia (1886–1974). Princess Margaret married Prince Gustaf Adolf of Sweden and was the grandmother of King Carl XVI Gustaf of Sweden. Prince Arthur served as the governor-general of South Africa.

 

The Duchess of Connaught spent the first twenty years of her marriage accompanying her husband on his various deployments throughout the British Empire. The Duke and Duchess of Connaught acquired Bagshot Park in Surrey as their country home and after 1900 used Clarence House as their London residence. She accompanied her husband to Canada in 1911, when he began his term as governor-general. In 1916, she became colonel-in-chief of the 199th Canadian (Overseas) Infantry Battalion (The Duchess of Connaught's Own Irish-Canadian Rangers), CEF after Harry Trihey, the regiment's principal organizer and first commanding officer during World War I, secured her as patron. In 1885, she became chief of the 64th (8th Brandenburg) Regiment of Infantry "Field Marshal General Prince Friedrich Karl of Prussia", Prussian Army.

The Duchess of Connaught died of influenza and bronchitis at Clarence House. She became the first member of the British royal family to be cremated. This was done at Golders Green Crematorium. The procedure of burying ashes in an urn was still unfamiliar at the time, and her urn was transported in an ordinary coffin during the funeral ceremonies. King George V, her nephew by marriage, in his capacity as the reigning British sovereign, still ordered four weeks of mourning dress and a military guard of honor during the funeral. Her ashes were placed in the Royal Vault at St George's Chapel, Windsor Castle and eventually buried at the Royal Burial Ground, Frogmore. The Duke of Connaught survived her by almost twenty-five years.

The maternity hospital adjacent to the Cambridge Military Hospital at Aldershot was named in her honor as the Louise Margaret Maternity Hospital. She laid the foundation stone of this hospital, which was constructed for the wives and children of the Aldershot Garrison.

Titles and styles

• 25 July 1861 – 13 March 1879: Her Royal Highness Princess Louise Margaret of Prussia
• 13 March 1879 – 14 March 1917: Her Royal Highness The Duchess of Connaught and Strathearn

Honours

 

Orders and decorations

• CI: Companion of the Crown of India, March 1879
• VA: Royal Order of Victoria and Albert, 1st Class, 1893
• DStJ: Lady of Justice of St. John, 1888
• RRC: Member of the Royal Red Cross, 1883
•   Empire of Japan: Grand Cordon of the Precious Crown, 8 May 1890

Academic

• Doctor of Music, Trinity College Dublin, 1904

Arms

Coat of arms of Princess Louise Margaret of Prussia, Duchess of Connaught