Sisters of the Duke of Edinburgh

[bct88]

Can someone please post pictures of Prince Philip's sisters. I know he had four sisters; Philip is the only child of Prince and Princess Andrew of Greece and Denmark still alive. His youngest sister, Sophie, died in 2001. Did Philip attend that funeral or the funeral's of his other sisters? If anyone can post pictures or information (birth, marriage, children, etc.) it would be appreciated.

 

[Denis]

I can't post any pictures for you but there are various books with good pictures you can buy such as Marlene Eilers' "Queen Victoria's Descendants" and Charlotte Zeepvat's "Queen Victoria A Family Album".
A summary for you of his sisters.

1. Margarita, 1905-1981. Married 1931 Gottfried Price of Hohenlohe-Langenburg 1897-1960. Children- daughter stillborn 1933, Kraft 1935-2004, Beatrix 1936-1997, Andreas b. 1938, Rupprecht 1944-1978, Albrecht 1944-1992.

2. Theodora, 1906-1969. Married 1931 Berthold Margrave of Baden 1906-1963. Children- Margarita b. 1932, Max b.1933, Ludwig b.1937.

3. Cecilia, 1911-1937. Married 1931 Georg Hereditari Grand Duke of Hesse & by Rhine 1906-1937. Children- Ludwig 1931-1937, Alexander 1933-1937, Johanna 1936-1939. NB Cecilia was expecting her 4th child when she was killed in a place crash with her husband, two sons and mother-in-law. The 4th child may have been aborted at the crash site presumably stillborn.

4. Sophie, 1914-2001. Married firstly 1930 Prince Christoph of Hesse 1901-1943. Children- Christina b.1933, Dorothea b.1934, Karl b.1937, Rainer b.1939, Clarissa b.1944. Sophie married secondly 1946 Prince Georg Wilhelm of Hanover b.1915. Children- Welf 1947-1981, Georg b.1949, Friederike b.1954

Hope this is of use.

You can find out much more from some of the other web sites.

 

[selrahc4]

July 1922: At the wedding of the Edwina Ashley to Louis Mountbatten, the four daughters of Prince Andrew and Princess Alice of Greece. From left to right, the princesses Cecilia, Margarita, Sophie and Theodora.

 

[Wisnu]

how close prince Philip to his sisters ?

 

[Elsie]

I think that Philip was very close to Cecile and Sophie (I think they are the younger two)
When Cecile died in the plane crash on 1937 (along with her whole family), Philip was rumoured to be very upset and even asked for a piece of the plane.

Philip did not attend the funeral of his sister Sophie, but I think he went down with the earl and Countess of Wessex to the memorial service held afterwards.

 

[Elsie]

I remember seen a family tree recently:

Ah, here is an address to a family tree of Prince Philip:

http://www.angelfire.com/celeb2/ceg_20020/gene/dukesis.htm

It is a bit fuzz, but I hope you can make out their descendantd and such.

 

[Dennism]

The sisters were not allowed to attend the wedding of the Duke because they had married Germans. Is that true? That´s a shame.

 

[mybags]

The sisters were not allowed to attend the wedding of the Duke because they had married Germans. Is that true? That´s a shame.

Yes, sadly that is true. The wedding took place in 1947 just after World War II and Germans were still very unpopular in England.

 

[selrahc4]

More pics.
1-4) Cecile
5) l-r Sophie, Margarita, Cecile, Theodora July 1922

 

[selrahc4]

1) Margarita
2) Margarita (in front turned toward the Queen) with Queen Elizabeth & Prince Philip in Germany 1965
3) Margarita at Anne's christening 1950 (standing behind Princess Elizabeth)
4) Margarita
5) Margarita (on left) with Queen Elizabeth & Prince Philip in Germany 1965
6) Margarita and Theodora with their parents
7) Margarita with 3 of her children
8) Princess Alice with Margarita and Theodora
9) Margarita arriving for memorial service for Lady Mountbatten

 

[selrahc4]

1) In Germany 1965 Sphie curtseying to the Queen. Margarita is to the left of the Queen and Theodora to the right
2) Sophie arriving at the ariport for Princess Alexandra's wedding 1963
3) Sophie greeting Prince Philip in Athens 1961
4) Sophie (with the umbrella)

 

[CathyEarnshaw]

Philip did not attend the funeral of his sister Sophie, but I think he went down with the earl and Countess of Wessex to the memorial service held afterwards.

Philip was rather close to Sophie. He was a teenager when his sister Cecilia and her family were killed in the plane crash. They were en route to London for the wedding of Prince Ludwig of Hesse and by Rhine to the Hon.Margaret Geddes.

Philip did not attend Sophie's funeral, which was rather private and quiet. He probably didn't go because of security matters - and the attention that would have been put on the family. He and Prince Edward attended the memorial service, which was held about 2 months later at Schloss Wolfsgarten.

 

[james]

Sophie and Cecile bear a strong resemblance to Princess Marina, Duchess of Kent their cousin.

 

[bct88]

I noticed from the picture above with Margarita and Theodora with Prince and Princess Andrew of Greece, that Philip bears a strong resemblance to his father.

 

[Dennism]

Yes, sadly that is true. The wedding took place in 1947 just after World War II and Germans were still very unpopular in England.

Which is ironic considering that the Windsors were only "English" named a mere 30 years before.

 

[Denis]

Philip in fact played a leading part in the funeral procession for Cecilie and her husband and children - something which surely played on his mind when he walked in Princess Diana's funeral procession with his grandsons.

I also believe he remained close to several of his nephews and nieces, particularly those who lived in Britain (permanently or temporarily) such as Margarita's daughter Beatrix, Theodora's daughter Margarita and Sophie's daughter Christina.

While on the subject I think he has 11 nephew and nieces still living.
1. Andreas of Hohenlohe-Langenburg. Does he still live in Germany?
2. Max of Baden - Head of the House of Baden.
3. Ludwig of Baden. Still living in Germany?
4. Margarita of Baden (Yugoslavia). Still living in England.
5. Karl of Hesse.
6. Rainer of Hesse. Lives in France.
7. Christina of Hesse. Twice married.
8. Dorothea of Hesse (Windisch-Graetz). I understand since being widowed she shares a home with Christina in Switzerland.
9. Clarissa of Hesse. Haven't heard of her for a while. Does she live in France?
10. Georg of Hanover. Married an American. Don't know if he lives in Germany or America now?
11. Friederike of Hanover. Living in Canada.

Any further information would be welcomed!

Philip's extended family also consists of many great-nephews and great-nieces. I think Margarita had 6 grandchildren, Theodora 9 and Sophie 14.

 

[ElisaR]

What a pity he couldn't attend Sophie's funeral!

 

[emily62_1]

Yes, sadly that is true. The wedding took place in 1947 just after World War II and Germans were still very unpopular in England.

their hubbies were Nazis during the last War II.

 

[emily62_1]

Sophie and Cecile bear a strong resemblance to Princess Marina, Duchess of Kent their cousin.

when did Theodora, Margarita and Sophie died, how is Sophie related to kinf Costantine of Greece ?

 

[Elspeth]

Prince Philip and his sisters are the children of Prince Andrew of Greece, whose brother Nicholas was Princess Marina's father and whose brother Constantine was the present King Constantine's grandfather. At least, I think that's how it is.

 

[selrahc4]

when did Theodora, Margarita and Sophie died, how is Sophie related to kinf Costantine of Greece ?

Theodora died in 1969
Margarita died in 1981
Sophie died in 2001

Sophie (and Margarita and Theodora and Cecile and Philip): 1st cousin once-removed to Constantine II of Greece

 

[iowabelle]

I noticed from the picture above with Margarita and Theodora with Prince and Princess Andrew of Greece, that Philip bears a strong resemblance to his father.

I noticed that Prince Charles' ears obviously come from Prince Andrew, his grandfather.

 

[selrahc4]

I noticed that Prince Charles' ears obviously come from Prince Andrew, his grandfather.

In this childhood photo of Prince Andrew, I can see a resemblance to his great-grandson Prince Harry.

 

[lashinka2002]

I can't post any pictures for you but there are various books with good pictures you can buy such as Marlene Eilers' "Queen Victoria's Descendants" and Charlotte Zeepvat's "Queen Victoria A Family Album".
A summary for you of his sisters.
1. Margarita, 1905-1981. Married 1931 Gottfried Price of Hohenlohe-Langenburg 1897-1960. Children- daughter stillborn 1933, Kraft 1935-2004, Beatrix 1936-1997, Andreas b. 1938, Rupprecht 1944-1978, Albrecht 1944-1992.
2. Theodora, 1906-1969. Married 1931 Berthold Margrave of Baden 1906-1963. Children- Margarita b. 1932, Max b.1933, Ludwig b.1937.
3. Cecilia, 1911-1937. Married 1931 Georg Hereditari Grand Duke of Hesse & by Rhine 1906-1937. Children- Ludwig 1931-1937, Alexander 1933-1937, Johanna 1936-1939. NB Cecilia was expecting her 4th child when she was killed in a place crash with her husband, two sons and mother-in-law. The 4th child may have been aborted at the crash site presumably stillborn.
4. Sophie, 1914-2001. Married firstly 1930 Prince Christoph of Hesse 1901-1943. Children- Christina b.1933, Dorothea b.1934, Karl b.1937, Rainer b.1939, Clarissa b.1944. Sophie married secondly 1946 Prince Georg Wilhelm of Hanover b.1915. Children- Welf 1947-1981, Georg b.1949, Friederike b.1954

Hope this is of use.

You can find out much more from some of the other web sites.

I find it rather interesting how Princess Sophie married twice each time to princes. Did her first husband die or did they divorce?

 

[iowabelle]

Princess Sophie's first husband was Prince Christopher of Hesse, who died in an airplane crash in 1944. I was trying to find out more about him and on the web he is described as a Nazi and a member of Himmler's staff. (Maybe someone better in the know will know if this is accurate or fair.)

When she remarried to Prince Georg Wilhelm of Hanover, oddly enough, she became aunt to Princess Sophia, Princess Irene and Prince Constantine of Greece (because their mother Queen Fredrika was born a Princess of Hanover).

 

[Iluvbertie]

Prince Christopher of Hesse was an active member of the Nazi party, unlike the husbands of Philip's other sisters. Whether he was on Himmler's staff I don't know.

He was shot down over Italy during the war. He was serving in the Luftwaffe at the time.

There are some reports that he flew sorties over London, including the raids on BP but these have never been confirmed, as far as my research has been able to conclude.

None of the sisters was able to attend the wedding due to the fact that their husbands had served in the German military during the war but only Christopher actively supported the Nazis. The sisters did successfully insist that they attend the Coronation.

 

[Warren]

Prince Christopher of Hesse
There are some reports that he flew sorties over London, including the raids on BP but these have never been confirmed, as far as my research has been able to conclude.

I believe the family has denied Prince Christopher took part in any air raid on Buckingham Palace, and no evidence has been found in the Luftwaffe archives to support the allegation.
.

 

[Lady Marmalade]

I heard the same thing, Warren. It was astounding to see this extended family torn apart by divided loyalties during WWII.

 

[lashinka2002]

Geez, poor guy!
What kind of relationship can you have and preserve when your countries & family members are fighting a war?

 

[Lady Marmalade]

No kidding lashinka2002...I was thinking the same thing...