Albany One Dynasty, Two Destinies

Eurohistory's latest book, Albany One Dynasty, Two Dynasties focuses on the the descendants of Prince Lepold, Duke of Albany, the youngest son of Queen Victoria,

Prince Leopold. a hemophiliac, married Princess Helen of Waldeck und Pyrmont  in  April 1882.  The following February, the Duchess of Albany, gave birth to a daughter, Princess Alice.  Prince Leopold was in Cannes for his health in March 1884, when he slipped and fell, hurting his knee.  He died on March 28, leaving behind a year old daughter and a young widow, who was five months pregnant with their second child.

Charles Edward was born posthumously four months after Leopold's death,  He succeeded to birth to Leopold's peerages, and was the 2nd Duke of Albany.  The two young Albany children were raised to be loyal members of the British royal family.  Alice and Charlie were firm favorites of their grandmother, Queen Victoria.

Charlie's life took a new path after the death of his first cousin, Hereditary Prince Alfred of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, who committed suicide in early 1899.  Young Affie was the only son and heir apparent to his father, Prince Alfred, Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, and his British peerage, Duke of Edinburgh,

The next in line in the Coburg succession was the Duke of Connaught, Victoria and Albert's second son, who had one young son, Prince Arthur.   Neither the Duke nor his son professed any enthusiasm for Coburg so they chose to renounce their rights in favor of the young Duke of Albany, then a student at Eton,

The decision was made for the young man,  No say.  But it was a decision that was made for him, and it was a decision that would change his life.  The Duchess of Albany noted that she would have to turn her very English son into a good German.

The Duke of Saxe Coburg and Gotha died in August 1900.  Charlie was the new duke, although he was a minor, and would reign under a regency until his 21st birth in July 1905, when he reached his majority,  Shortly afterward, he married Princess Viktoria Adelheid of Schleswig-Holstein, a niece of Empress Auguste Viktoria,  The marriage was arranged by Wilhelm II.

Alice and Charlie remained close, although their lives diverted after Charlie succeeded in Coburg.  In 1904, Alice married Prince Alexander of Teck, a brother of the Princess of Wales.  Close family connections.  Alice's first  cousin, the future George V, was also now her brother-in-law.

As Charlie settled into marriage, fatherhood, and the duties as Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha,  Alice and her husband became active members of the British royal family, representing the Crown at home and abroad.

The first world war placed the siblings on opposite sides.  In November 1918, Charlie lost his throne,  but would soon find a new purpose:  national socialism.   By the early 1930s, Charlie was a committed Nazi, and Hitler used him to cultivate friendships in the UK, including the future King Edward VIII (who was Alexander and Alice's nephew.)

The two writers - Robert Golden (Alice) and Arturo Beeche (Charlie) - offer the largely familiar histories of the two royals, as this book does not pretend to be a biography of either Alice or Charlie.   Alice's royal life and sense of duty is on view here, but her own role as a hostess for Charlie during his visits to England -- he would stay at her country home where he entertained British fascists.  (Alice left out a lot in her autobiography.)

The book also focuses on many of Alice and Charlie's descendants.  Alice and Alexander, who was created Earl of Athlone in 1917 after giving up his German titles, had three children, two sons, Rupert, a hemophiliac, who died at age 20, and Maurice (who lived for only a few months) and Lady May who married Henry  Abel Smith.  Charlie was the father of three sons, Johann Leopold, Hubertus, and Friedrich  Josias and two daughters, Sibylla and Caroline Mathilde.

It was Sibylla who made the grandest of marriages.  In 1932, she married Hereditary Prince Gustav Adolf of Sweden,  Their son is Carl XVI Gustaf, the present Swedish sovereign.)

This book, as the frontispiece proclaims, a "photographic history of the descendants of TRH The Duke and Duchess of Albany." Although most of the photos come from Arturo Beeche's magnificent royal photograph archives, many of the photos of Alice's descendants were provided by Robert Golden. It is nice to see a varied selection of photos  Lady May's three children - their weddings and their growing families.

I am disappointed that the two writers did not include information on all of the living descendants or even mention  that Alice's great grandson, Ian Liddell-Grainger is the first descendant of Queen Victoria to be elected to the British Parliament.  I enjoyed seeing the photos of Elizabeth Abel Smith's marriage to Peter Wise,  She preferred to be out of the limelight, and be a mother,  Tragically, the couple's only child, Emma, was born severely disabled, and lived for only a few months.  This is noted in the text, but what is not included is how Emma died.  She was killed by her mother (more precisely, Elizabeth ended her daughter's suffering.)

The Wise marriage ended soon after Emma's death.  A true tragedy.

The chapters on Charlie and his children are well-written and documented with more photographs, many previously unpublished.  Far less detail (text and photos) on Charlie's eldest son, Johann Leopold's whose morganatic marriage led to losing his right of succession and inheritance of the estate, and his younger daughter, the thrice married Caroline Mathilde.   Most of Calma's descendants live in the US, with nary a mention.

Quibble aside, I can recommend Albany One Dynasty, Two Destinies, with some reservation, as I quietly vent that the text could have been better if the authors had included all of the descendants.   This could have been easily accomplished with several sentences, and this would have made the book inclusive and a bit more comprehensive.

The purchasers of this book will be more interested in the photos -- and let me add that the photo selection is outstanding -- but one final vent:  it would not have been difficult to include citations or footnotes for the quotes as well as a bibliography of source material consulted.

The easiest way to purchase the book is through Amazon, as there are only a limited number of bookstores that carry Eurohistory's titles.