Prince Christian of Schleswig-Holstein

Template:Short description Template:For Template:Infobox royalty Prince Christian of Schleswig-Holstein (Frederick Christian Charles Augustus; 22 January 1831 – 28 October 1917) was a German prince who became a member of the British royal family through his marriage to Princess Helena of the United Kingdom, the fifth child and third daughter of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha.

Early life

Prince Christian, Template:Circa

Template:Unreferenced section Christian was born at Augustenburg Palace, as the second son of Christian August II, Duke of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Augustenburg and his wife, Countess Louise Sophie of Danneskiold-Samsøe.

In 1848, young Christian's father, Duke Christian August, placed himself at the head of a movement to resist by force the claims of Denmark upon the Duchies of Schleswig and Holstein, two personal possessions of the kings of Denmark, of which Holstein also was a part of the German Confederation. A year earlier, King Frederick VII acceded to the Danish throne without any hope of producing a male heir. Unlike Denmark proper, where the Lex Regia of 1665 allowed the throne to pass through the female royal line, in Holstein Salic Law prevailed. The duchy would most likely revert to the line of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Augustenburg, the cadet branch of the House of Holstein-Sonderburg. During the 1852 First War of Schleswig, Prince Christian briefly served with the newly constituted Schleswig-Holstein army, before he and his family were forced to flee the advancing Danish forces (see history of Schleswig-Holstein). After the war, he attended the University of Bonn, where he befriended Crown Prince Frederick William of Prussia (later the German Emperor Frederick III).

Marriage

In September 1865, while visiting Coburg, Princess Helena met Christian. The couple became engaged in December of that year. Queen Victoria gave her permission for the marriage with the provision that the couple live in Great Britain. They married at the Private Chapel at Windsor Castle on 5 July 1866. Seven days before the wedding, on 29 June 1866, the Queen granted her future son-in-law the style of Royal Highness by Royal Warrant.<ref>Template:London Gazette; National Archives, HO 38/61, p.396-397</ref>

In 1891, Christian lost an eye when he was accidentally shot in the face by his brother-in-law, the Duke of Connaught, during a shooting party at Sandringham.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

Prince and Princess Christian of Schleswig-Holstein, as they were known, made their home at Frogmore House in the grounds of Windsor Castle and later at Cumberland Lodge in Windsor Great Park. They had six children, known commonly as:<ref name=burke>Charles Mosley, editor-in-chief, Burke’s peerage & baronetage, 106th ed. Burke’s Peerage Ltd. 1999. Template:ISBN.</ref>

• Prince Christian Victor (14 April 1867 – 29 October 1900); never married; died young during military duty and was buried in South Africa.
• Prince Albert (28 February 1869 – 27 April 1931) who in 1921 became the titular Duke of Schleswig-Holstein and the Head of the House of Oldenburg. Never married; but had an illegitimate daughter:
  • Valerie Marie zu Schleswig-Holstein (3 April 1900 – 14 Aug 1953). Married firstly Ernst Johann Wagner (b. 10 Jan 1896); married secondly Engelbert-Charles, 16th Duke of Aarschot and 10th Duke of Arenberg (20 April 1899 – 27 April 1974), Head of the (formerly Sovereign) House of Arenberg
• Princess Helena Victoria (3 May 1870 – 13 March 1948); never married.
• Princess Marie Louise (12 August 1872 – 8 December 1956); married in 1891 Prince Aribert of Anhalt, regent of the Duchy of Anhalt, no issue, marriage annulled in 1900.
• Prince Harald (12 May 1876 – 20 May 1876).

They also had a stillborn son on 7 May 1877.

Honours and arms

Coat of Arms of Prince Christian

Military and civil appointments

Prince Christian was given the rank of major general in the British Army in July 1866<ref>Template:London Gazette</ref> and received promotions to the ranks of lieutenant general in August 1874<ref>Template:London Gazette</ref> and general in October 1877.<ref>Template:London Gazette</ref> From 1869 until his death, he was honorary colonel of the 1st Volunteer Battalion, The Royal Berkshire Regiment. However, he never held a major field command or staff position. He was High Steward of Windsor and Ranger of Windsor Great Park, and was awarded a Doctor of Civil Law degree by the University of Oxford.

He received the freedom of the city of Carlisle on 7 July 1902, during a visit to the city for the Royal Agricultural Society's Show.<ref>Template:Cite newspaper The Times</ref> As a "Minor Royal", he officiated at many public functions. These included participation, with the Princess Helena, in the speech day of Malvern College in 1870.<ref name=MalvernRegister1865-1904>Template:Citation 2009 reprint via Google books (Note: Google's authorship citation is inaccurate - see Internet Archive version for actual title page)</ref>

Unpopularity

Christian has the following written description: <ref> THE UNPOPULARITY OF PRINCE CHRISTIAN.. In: Home Newspapers & Gazettes Browse The Mercury (Hobart, Tas. : 1860 - 1954) Fr 15 Mai 1868 Page 3 [1]: </ref> Template:Blockquote

Later life and death

In July 1916, Prince and Princess Christian of Schleswig-Holstein celebrated their golden wedding anniversary, receiving numerous messages of congratulations from the royal family and the people of Windsor, where Christian served as High Steward. Among the well-wishers was Emperor Wilhelm II, who sent a telegram through Crown Princess Margaret of Sweden conveying his good wishes despite the wartime context.Template:Sfn

During the First World War, anti-German sentiment led King George V to rename the royal house from Saxe-Coburg and Gotha to Windsor in 1917, and associated families, including the Battenbergs and Schleswig-Holsteins, anglicised or discontinued their German titles. Christian died shortly thereafter at Schomberg House in October 1917, aged 86.<ref>"Pall Mall, South Side, Existing Buildings: Nos 77-78 Pall Mall", in Survey of London: Volumes 29 and 30, St James Westminster, Part 1, ed. F. H. W. Sheppard (London, 1960), pp. 418–419. British History Online http://www.british-history.ac.uk/survey-london/vols29-30/pt1/pp418-419 [accessed 19 October 2020].</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> His final recorded words to King George, reportedly referring to the Battle of Caporetto, were: "George, what about those damned Italians?"Template:Sfn After being initially interred in the Royal Vault at St George's Chapel, Windsor Castle, he was buried at the Royal Burial Ground, Frogmore in Windsor Great Park.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

References

Bibliography

• Template:Cite book

External links

• Template:NPG name