Princess Louise, Duchess of Argyll (1848-1939)

[Alexandra RI]

I enjoy learning about all of Queen Victoria's children. But if I had to pick a favorite it would be Princess Louise. She had an interesting life. She was an artist and was the first lady of Canada. I would love to hear other opinions.

Elizabeth

[sinulord]

Originally Posted by Alexandra RI

I enjoy learning about all of Queen Victoria's children. But if I had to pick a favorite it would be Princess Louise. She had an interesting life. She was an artist and was the first lady of Canada. I would love to hear other opinions.

Elizabeth

Also interesting is that she was the only one of Queen Victoria's children that did not marry a royal.

[gogm]

The Wikipedia writeup follows...

"The Princess Louise, Duchess of Argyll, (Louise Caroline Alberta; 18 March 1848 – 3 December 1939) was a member of the British Royal Family, the sixth child and fourth daughter of Queen Victoria. She served as Canadian Viceregal Consort, when her husband, then the Marquess of Lorne, was the Governor General of Canada. During her time in Canada, unlike her popular husband, she evinced considerable boredom with life in the colonies.

Princess Louise was born on 18 March 1848 at Buckingham Palace, London. Her mother was the reigning British monarch, Queen Victoria, a grandchild of King George III through his fourth son, Prince Edward Augustus, Duke of Kent. Her father was Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha. As a daughter of the sovereign, Princess Louise was styled Her Royal Highness from birth. She was christened in the Private Chapel at Buckingham Palace by John Bird Sumner, Archbishop of Canterbury, on 13 May 1848. Her godparents were Duke Gustav of Mecklenburg-Schwerin (for whom Prince Albert stood proxy), The Duchess of Saxe-Meiningen (for whom Queen Adelaide stood proxy), and The Hereditary Grand Duchess of Mecklenburg-Strelitz (for whom The Duchess of Cambridge stood proxy).

Louise was educated by a governess at Windsor Castle and later attended the Kensington National Art Training School when she was 20.

Her mother, the Queen, wished for her daughter to marry and a hunt began for a suitable husband. The Princess of Wales (later Queen Alexandra) proposed her own brother, Crown Prince Frederick of Denmark as a possible candidate, but the Queen firmly opposed another Danish marriage that could annoy Prussia (see Second War of Schleswig for details of the conflict between the two countries). Louise's eldest sister the Crown Princess of Prussia, proposed her own candidate, the tall and rich Prince Albrecht of Prussia, her husband's cousin. However, he was reluctant to settle in England as requested. Victoria then proposed the idea that Louise marry a member of the British nobility. The Prince of Wales (later King Edward VII), disapproved of this idea (in most of Europe it would have been out of the question at that time for a sovereign's daughter to marry a non-mediatized noble).

Eventually a suitable candidate was chosen, the Marquess of Lorne, heir to the title of Duke of Argyll. The Marquess's parents were known to the Queen, and they approved of the proposed union. The Marquess was also a Member of Parliament at this time. Princess Louise married the Marquess of Lorne on 21 March 1871 in St George's Chapel at Windsor Castle.

In 1878, the Marquess was offered the position of Governor General of Canada. On 14 November 1878, Lord Lorne and Princess Louise departed from Liverpool Harbour on the long journey to Canada. Princess Louise extensively toured the country, as well as visiting the neighbouring United States.

Princess Louise was the most attractive of her sisters. Her artistic talents were also more than polite accomplishments. Her ability in the arts, for what it may have been worth, matched or exceeded those of many subsequent members of the Royal Family. She was an accomplished writer, sculptor and artist. She painted in both oils and watercolors. A door she painted with sprigs of apple blossoms can still be seen in the Monck wing corridor at Rideau Hall. The enduringly popular Marquess of Lorne gave the name Regina (Latin for Queen) to the capital of the North-West Territories (after 1905 of the province of Saskatchewan), and both the district of Alberta in the Northwest Territories (later the province of Alberta) and Lake Louise in that district in her honor. Although she was often unwell, she was reputed to be a compassionate woman who, during an epidemic of scarlet fever, reportedly personally nursed the sick.

On 14 February 1880, she was seriously injured when the viceregal sleigh overturned on the streets of Ottawa, Ontario, an incident which provoked the anger of her mother, the Queen. Louise, though she made a full recovery, "was not the most popular chatelaine that Rideau Hall had known; her boredom with the capital was the subject of public comment" and she returned to England, leaving Lord Lorne to discharge their Vice-Regal duties alone for another two years. What was perhaps not widely known at the time, however, was there had been warnings of attempts on her life by Fenians and it may not have been entirely invidious at the time for her to retreat from Canada to England. Lord Lorne of course remained and attended to his duty to the end of the Lornes' five-year term.

Princess Louise visited the Toronto General Hospital on three documented occasions: 10th September 1879 and 13th September 1883, accompanied by Lord Lorne, and 29th May 1880 accompanied by H.R.H. Prince Leopold. On each of these occasions she simply signed the hospital's Visitor Register as "Louise". These visits, along with her caring for members of the Rideau Hall household who had contracted Scarlet fever, when the maids refused, illustrated the Princess's concern for health and medicine.

On 24 April 1900, the 8th Duke of Argyll died, and the Marquess of Lorne became the 9th Duke of Argyll, and Louise, the Duchess of Argyll.

The Duke died in 1914 from pneumonia. Princess Louise, now a widow, spent World War I visiting Canadian Army units coming to fight in France. She survived until the beginning of World War II, dying on 3 December 1939 at Kensington Palace, when she was ninety-one years old. At her own request, her body was cremated at Golders Green Crematorium in North London and her ashes were buried at Royal Cemetery at Frogmore, where her parents are also buried.

The Duke and Duchess of Argyll did not have any children. According to one scholar, the Princess was sterile as the result of a teenage bout with meningitis. In various biographies, however, there has been much discussion over the Duke's sexuality. It is certain that he preferred the company of men to that of his wife and that he and Princess Louise were often separated for long periods of time ostensibly for reasons of temperament."

Princess Louise, Duchess of Argyll - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

[gogm]

Britannia Biography has this about this remarkable lady:

"Princess Louise
by Brenda Ralph Lewis

It is nothing unusual these days for British royals to marry outside their own blue-blooded ranks. In the 19th century, though, the story was very different, which is why the marriage of Princess Louise, fourth daughter and sixth child of Queen Victoria to John Douglas Sutherland Campbell, Marquis of Lorne and heir to the dukedom of Argyll created such a stir when it took place in 1871. The Royal Family were outraged, but Victoria pulled rank on all of them, and made it known that if the Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and all her possessions beyond the seas thought the Marquis was right for Louise, who else had anything to say about it'...

Princess Louise

[Ithil]

Princess Louise is also my favorite of all of Queen Victoria's daughters.

[PssMarie-Elisabeth]

This thread contains various images of Princess Louise of Great Britain from her early childhood to her later years.

[PssMarie-Elisabeth]

Here are a few photos of Princess Louise with her royal siblings. If you have any related images - Please do not hesitate to share them !!! Thanks

[PssMarie-Elisabeth]

Louise at the time of her wedding to the Duke of Argyll

[PssMarie-Elisabeth]

This is one of my favorite images of Princess Louise

[LadyCat]

It is sad that Louise's childhood bout of meningitis prevented her from having children. I think her marriage might have been much happier than it reportedly was if she and Lorne had had a few little ones. And, sadly, the Argyll dukedom went to one of his brothers.

Cat

[Ithil]

Princess Louise looks so beautiful in the photos.

[PssMarie-Elisabeth]

Originally Posted by Ithil

Princess Louise looks so beautiful in the photos.

She was often referred to as 'the family beauty' Princess Louise is 'spinning' cotton in the last pic.