Princess Charlotte of Prussia
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Victoria Elizabeth Augusta Charlotte, Duchess of Saxe-Meiningen (24 July1860-1 October1919) was the second child born to Crown Prince Friedrich of Prussia and Princess Victoria. Through her mother, Charlotte was a granddaughter of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha.
At an early age Charlotte displayed a nervous and agitated personality, frequently biting her nails and tearing at her clothes. This, in addition to her indifference to her studies, saddened her mother. She was well loved by her paternal grandparents King Wilhelm I and Queen Augusta, and she grew close to her older brother Wilhelm II.
In 1876, Charlotte became engaged to her second cousin Prince Bernhard of Saxe-Meiningen, and they were married in Berlin on 18 February 1878. The couple had one daughter, Feodora, who was born on 12 May1879. Following Feodora's birth, Charlotte retreated from family life in favor of the society life in Berlin. Feodora fell under the care of nannies and other servants when not visiting her grandmother in Berlin or at her country estate, Friedrichshof. Charlotte ascribed to the conservative political views of her elder brother and Chancellor Bismarck, leading to further discord with her mother, who favored liberal policy.
In 1914, Prince Bernhard inherited his father's dukedom to become Duke Bernhard III of Saxe-Meiningen. Although now elevated to the rank of duchess, her tenure was to be short, as Bernhard abdicated at the end of World War I. By this time, Charlotte, long plagued by ill health, was dying, finally succumbing to her illnesses on 1 October 1919 at age fifty-nine.
Recent medical tests performed on her remains and those of her daughter Feodora, who committed suicide in 1945 after a lifetime of ill-health, have revealed that both probably suffered from porphyria, a genetic disorder that is thought to have affected Charlotte's great-great-grandfather George III of the United Kingdom.
[edit] Literature
- Massie, Robert and Jeffrey Finestone. The Last Courts of Europe.
- Packard, Jerrold M. Victoria's Daughters.
- Van der Kiste, John. Kaiser Wilhelm II.nl:Charlotte van Pruisen
