View source for Princess Helen of Waldeck and Pyrmont

{{Short description|Duchess of Albany (1861&ndash;1922)}}
{{Redirect|Princess Helena of Waldeck and Pyrmont|her niece, the Hereditary Grand Duchess of Oldenburg|Princess Helena of Waldeck and Pyrmont (1899–1948)}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2022}}
{{Infobox royalty
| name         =Princess Helen
| title        =[[Duke of Albany|Duchess of Albany]] 
| image        =Princess Helen, Duchess of Albany.jpg
| caption      =Princess Helen, by [[Alexander Bassano]], {{circa|1875-80}}
| spouse       ={{marriage|[[Prince Leopold, Duke of Albany]]|27 April 1882|28 March 1884|reason=died}}
| issue        ={{plainlist|
* [[Princess Alice, Countess of Athlone]]
* [[Charles Edward, Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha]]}}
| house        =[[Principality of Waldeck and Pyrmont|Waldeck and Pyrmont]]
| father       =[[George Victor, Prince of Waldeck and Pyrmont]]
| mother       =[[Princess Helena of Nassau]]
| full name    =[[English language|English]]: Helen Frederica Augusta<br />{{Langx|de|Helene Friederike Auguste}}
| birth_date   ={{Birth date|1861|2|17|df=y}}<ref>{{cite book|author=Harvester Wheatsheaf|title=The Constitutional Year Book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=B9dVAAAAYAAJ|year=1971|publisher=Harvester Press|isbn=978-0-85527-070-4|page=28}}</ref>
| birth_place  =[[Bad Arolsen|Arolsen]], [[Principality of Waldeck and Pyrmont|Waldeck and Pyrmont]]
| death_date   ={{Death date and age|1922|9|1|1861|2|17|df=y}}
| death_place  =[[Tyrol (state)|Tyrol]], [[Federal State of Austria|Austria]]
| burial_date  = 8 September 1922
| burial_place = [[Hinterriß]], [[Tyrol]], Austria
| signature    = Princess_Helen_of_Waldeck_and_Pyrmont's_Signature.png
}}
'''Princess Helen of Waldeck and Pyrmont''' (Helen Frederica Augusta; 17 February 1861 – 1 September 1922), later '''Duchess of Albany''',<ref>{{cite web|title=Princess Helen, Duchess of Albany (1861-1922), Wife of Prince Leopold, Duke of Albany; daughter of Prince George Victor of Waldeck-Pyrmont|url=http://www.npg.org.uk/collections/search/person/mp55466/princess-helen-duchess-of-albany|publisher=[[National Portrait Gallery, London]]}}</ref> was a member of the [[British royal family]] by marriage. She was the fifth daughter and child of [[George Victor, Prince of Waldeck and Pyrmont]], and his first wife, [[Princess Helena of Nassau]].<ref name=E1>[https://www.encyclopedia.com/women/encyclopedias-almanacs-transcripts-and-maps/helen-waldeck-and-pyrmont-1861-1922  Encyclopedia.com website, ''Helen of Waldeck and Pyrmont (1861-1922)'']</ref>

==Family==
Helen was born in [[Arolsen]], capital of the [[Principality of Waldeck and Pyrmont]], in Germany. She was the sister of [[Friedrich, Prince of Waldeck and Pyrmont|Friedrich]], last reigning Prince of Waldeck and Pyrmont; [[Princess Marie of Waldeck and Pyrmont|Marie]], the first wife of [[William II of Württemberg]]; and of [[Emma of Waldeck and Pyrmont|Emma]], queen consort of [[William III of the Netherlands]] (and mother of [[Wilhelmina of the Netherlands|Queen Wilhelmina]]).

==Marriage==
{{See also|Wedding dress of Princess Helen of Waldeck and Pyrmont}}
[[File:Princess Helena, later Duchess of Albany (1861-1922), in her wedding dress.png|thumb|left|200px|Helen on her wedding day, 1882]]
Along with Emma and a third sister, [[Princess Pauline of Waldeck and Pyrmont|Pauline]], Helen was considered as a second wife for [[William III of the Netherlands]]. She later met with [[Prince Leopold, Duke of Albany]], youngest son of [[Queen Victoria]], at the suggestion of his mother. The two became engaged in November 1881.

On 27 April 1882, Leopold and Helen married in [[St George's Chapel, Windsor Castle|St George's Chapel]], [[Windsor Castle]].<ref>Her bridesmaids were chosen from the British aristocracy: Mary Campbell, Blanche Butler, Feodore Yorke, Florence Bootle-Wilbraham, Ermyntrude Russell, [[Alexandrina Beaumont, Viscountess Allendale|Alexandrina Vane-Tempest]], [[Lady Anne Bowes-Lyon|Anne Lindsay]] and Florence Anson.</ref> After their wedding, Leopold and Helen resided at [[Claremont (country house)|Claremont House]].  The couple had a brief, but happy marriage, ending in the [[hemophiliac]] Leopold's death from a fall in [[Cannes]], France, in March 1884.  At the time of Leopold's death, Helen was pregnant with their second child.

The couple had two children:
* [[Princess Alice, Countess of Athlone|Princess Alice of Albany]] (1883–1981),<ref name=E1 /> later [[Earl of Athlone|Countess of Athlone]]
* [[Charles Edward, Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha|Prince Charles Edward, Duke of Albany]] (1884–1954), later Duke of [[Saxe-Coburg and Gotha]]<ref name=E1 /><ref>[https://www.rct.uk/collection/422111/princess-helen-of-waldeck-and-pyrmont-duchess-of-albany-1861-1922 Royal Collection Trust website, ''Princess Helen of Waldeck and Pyrmont, Duchess of Albany (1861-1922) 1882 - 1900'']</ref>

==Personality and social work==
[[File:Princess Helen of Waldeck and Pyrmont (1861-1922), Duchess of Albany.jpg|thumb|200px|Portrait by [[Karl Rudolf Sohn|Carl Rudolph Sohn]]]]
According to the memoirs of Helen's daughter, [[Princess Alice, Countess of Athlone|Princess Alice]], Helen was very intelligent, had a strong sense of duty, and a genuine love of welfare work. [[Queen Victoria]], initially worried that Helen might turn out to be a stereotypically remote German princess, remarked in a letter to her eldest daughter, [[Victoria, Princess Royal|German Crown Princess Victoria]], that she was pleased Helen liked "to go among the people". The Queen soon came to regard her young daughter-in-law with great respect and affection, notwithstanding her initial concerns upon hearing from the match-making Vicky that Helen was an 'intellectual', being unusually well-educated for a princess. Before her marriage, Helen's father had made her superintendent of the infant schools in his principality, and in this position the Princess had devised the pupils' educational curriculum. Helen particularly enjoyed solving mathematical problems and reading philosophy: during their tragically brief marriage, Prince Leopold proudly introduced his wife to the circle of academics he had befriended at [[Oxford University]]. Helen maintained these friendships for the rest of her life.

In 1894, Helen was one of the founders of the Deptford Fund, which instigated many projects to help the local community in [[Deptford]]. In 1899, Helen opened the Albany Institute. This later expanded into a combined community/performance centre with the theatre venue known as the Albany Empire. A centre of 1970s anti-fascist activity and [[Rock Against Racism]], the Empire and Institute buildings were destroyed in an arson attack in 1978. A new [[Albany Theatre]] was opened by [[Diana, Princess of Wales]] in 1982.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.thealbany.org.uk/about-us/history/|title = The Albany website: History}}</ref>

Helen was also involved in several hospital charities and with those dedicated to ending human trafficking. During [[World War I]], she organised much of her charity work along with that of her sister-in-law [[Princess Beatrice of the United Kingdom|Princess Beatrice]] and niece [[Princess Marie Louise of Schleswig-Holstein|Princess Marie Louise]] to avoid the not-uncommon problem of conflicting (and sometimes misguided) royal war-work projects.<ref>Princess Marie Louise (née Princess of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Augustenberg), ''My Memories of Six Reigns'' (London: Evans Brothers, 1956)</ref>

==Later life==
After Leopold's death, Helen and her two children, Alice and Charles Edward, continued to reside at Claremont House. After the death of her nephew, the [[Alfred, Hereditary Prince of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha|Hereditary Prince of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha]] in 1899, Helen's sixteen-year-old son was selected as the new heir to the German duchy, and was parted from his mother and sister in order to take up residence there. When the First World War broke out 14 years later, Charles Edward found himself fighting in the German Army. As a result, he was stripped of his British titles by an [[Titles Deprivation Act 1917|act of Parliament in 1917]]. By contrast, Helen's daughter [[Princess Alice, Countess of Athlone|Alice]] remained in England and by marriage to [[Prince Alexander of Teck]] in 1904 became a sister-in-law of [[Mary of Teck|Queen Mary]].

Helen died  of a heart attack in [[Hinterriß|Hinterriss]] in [[Tyrol]], [[Austria]], on 1 September 1922, whilst visiting Charles Edward. 

On her death her estate was valued at £177,312 (resworn £183,053 and equivalent to £7.2 million in 2022).<ref>{{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}}</ref>

The [[Chiswick]] streets Waldeck Road and Pyrmont Road were named in her honour.

==Issue==
{| border="1" style="border-collapse: collapse;"
|- bgcolor="#cccccc"
!Image!!Name!!Birth!!Death!!Notes
|-
|align=center| [[File:Princess Alice of Albany.jpeg|90px]] || [[Princess Alice, Countess of Athlone|Princess Alice of Albany]]||25 February 1883||3 January 1981||later HRH Princess Alice, Countess of Athlone (and sister-in-law to [[Mary of Teck]]); had issue.
|-
|align=center| [[File:Bundesarchiv Bild 183-R05618, Karl-Eduard von Sachsen-Coburg und Gotha.jpg|90px]] || [[Charles Edward, Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha|Prince Charles Edward, Duke of Albany]]||19 July 1884||6 March 1954||Born four months after his father's death; known as ''Charlie''; later reigning [[Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha]]; had issue (including [[Princess Sibylla of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha]], mother of [[Carl XVI Gustaf of Sweden]]).
|}

==Ancestry==
{{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. '''Princess Helen of Waldeck and Pyrmont'''
|2= 2. [[George Victor, Prince of Waldeck and Pyrmont]]
|3= 3. [[Princess Helena of Nassau]]
|4= 4. [[George II, Prince of Waldeck and Pyrmont]]
|5= 5. [[Princess Emma of Anhalt-Bernburg-Schaumburg-Hoym]]
|6= 6. [[William, Duke of Nassau]]
|7= 7. [[Princess Pauline of Württemberg (1810–1856)|Princess Pauline of Württemberg]]
|8= 8. [[George I, Prince of Waldeck and Pyrmont]]
|9= 9. [[Princess Augusta of Schwarzburg-Sondershausen]]
|10= 10. [[Victor II, Prince of Anhalt-Bernburg-Schaumburg-Hoym]]
|11= 11. [[Amelia of Nassau-Weilburg|Princess Amalie of Nassau-Weilburg]]
|12= 12. [[Frederick William, Prince of Nassau-Weilburg]]
|13= 13. [[Burgravine Louise Isabelle of Kirchberg]]
|14= 14. [[Prince Paul of Württemberg]]
|15= 15. [[Princess Charlotte of Saxe-Hildburghausen]]
}}

==References==
{{commons category|Princess Helena, Duchess of Albany}}
{{reflist}}

==External links==
* {{NPG name|name=Princess Helen, Duchess of Albany}}

{{Princesses of Waldeck and Pyrmont by birth}}
{{British princesses by marriage}}
{{Princesses of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha by marriage}}
{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Helen Of Waldeck And Pyrmont, Princess}}
[[Category:1861 births]]
[[Category:1922 deaths]]
[[Category:19th-century British people]]
[[Category:20th-century British people]]
[[Category:19th-century British women]]
[[Category:20th-century British women]]
[[Category:People from Bad Arolsen]]
[[Category:People from the Principality of Waldeck and Pyrmont]]
[[Category:House of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha (United Kingdom)]]
[[Category:House of Windsor]]
[[Category:Wives of British princes]]
[[Category:British duchesses by marriage|Albany]]
[[Category:Ladies of the Royal Order of Victoria and Albert]]
[[Category:Companions of the Order of the Crown of India]]
[[Category:Members of the Royal Red Cross]]
[[Category:Dames of Justice of the Order of St John]]
[[Category:House of Waldeck and Pyrmont]]
[[Category:Princesses of Waldeck and Pyrmont]]
[[Category:Daughters of princes regnant]]
[[Category:Mothers of Saxon monarchs]]
[[Category:Prince Leopold, Duke of Albany]]
[[Category:Princesses of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha by marriage]]