Sisters of the Duke of Edinburgh

[lashinka2002]

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

No wonder he seems so grumpy all the time...

 

[Lady Marmalade]

no kidding...

 

[iowabelle]

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

But this particular family was always divided, even before the war. For one thing, Philip was the "late-in-life" child, much younger than his sisters.

Princess Alice had her mental issues and sent Philip away to Germany and England. I was reading in Majesty magazine that she never sent him birthday or Christmas cards when he was young.

Prince Andrew left his wife and lived with a mistress in Monaco.

No wonder that Philip has had some difficulty expressing feelings for his children; he never really had a stable home life that he could draw from.

 

[Lady Marmalade]

But this particular family was always divided, even before the war. For one thing, Philip was the "late-in-life" child, much younger than his sisters.

Princess Alice had her mental issues and sent Philip away to Germany and England. I was reading in Majesty magazine that she never sent him birthday or Christmas cards when he was young.

Prince Andrew left his wife and lived with a mistress in Monaco.

No wonder that Philip has had some difficulty expressing feelings for his children; he never really had a stable home life that he could draw from.

Good point, but I when I said extended family, I was referring to the cousins who sat on other thrones on both sides, also the extended minor, royal German families divided in their loyalties to Germany vs Great Britain and Russia as the majority of them were either blood related or related by marriage to the British Royal family.

 

[iowabelle]

It's not any different than any major war fought for centuries between the ruling houses of Europe. And inevitable when virtually everyone descends from Queen Victoria -- look at what happened a generation earlier with World War I.

 

[Lady Marmalade]

I agree....that really ripped them all apart...thank you Kaiser Willhelm.

I cannot believe how he treated his sister Sophie and his mother right before she died.

If he were my son I would have to give him a good kick in the pants for his behavior.

 

[iowabelle]

I think the Kaiser was always spoiled. I think maybe they were compensating for his birth defect.

And I'm not sure how much the in-laws interfered with the Princess Royal's thoughts on how to raise him. She seems to have been a bright and concerned woman (wouldn't expect anything less from Prince Albert's daughter!).

 

[Lady Marmalade]

His grandparents poisoned him against his parents and the Princess Royal was a bit of a fanatic of a mother due to his birth defects.

He grew up spiteful and very conceited with a great dislike of his parents. But he worshipped Queen Victoria in every way.

He was very cruel in tossing his mother out of the Neues Palais after her husband died.

 

[Warren]

Worth having a look at...

More recommended reading from Warren:

"Crowns in Conflict - The Triumph and the Tragedy of European Monarchy 1910-1918" by Theo Aronson. This book details the personal relationships between the reigning monarchs and families in the leadup to WWI and how they were torn apart during the war;

"War and the Royal Houses of Europe in the Twentieth Century" by Anthony Devere-Summers, which covers the relationships and fate of the Monarchies during both World Wars;

"An Uncommon Woman The Empress Frederick" by Hannah Pakula, which is possibly the definitive biography of Vicky. Be shocked at her treatment by her son after the Emperor Frederick died and she was placed under virtual house arrest; be intrigued at how she managed to smuggle her private papers to Britain to stop the new Kaiser geting his hands on them. And much more!
.

 

[michelleq]

If you watch Charles and Diana's Wedding, during the processional, you can see Sophie giving Phillip a little wave when he passes her.

 

[Lady Marmalade]

Thank you Warren. I'll look them up online.

More recommended reading from Warren:

"Crowns in Conflict - The Triumph and the Tragedy of European Monarchy 1910-1918" by Theo Aronson. This book details the personal relationships between the reigning monarchs and families in the leadup to WWI and how they were torn apart during the war;

"War and the Royal Houses of Europe in the Twentieth Century" by Anthony Devere-Summers, which covers the relationships and fate of the Monarchies during both World Wars;

"An Uncommon Woman The Empress Frederick" by Hannah Pakula, which is possibly the definitive biography of Vicky. Be shocked at her treatment by her son after the Emperor Frederick died and she was placed under virtual house arrest; be intrigued at how she managed to smuggle her private papers to Britain to stop the new Kaiser geting his hands on them. And much more!
.

 

[selrahc4]

If you watch Charles and Diana's Wedding, during the processional, you can see Sophie giving Phillip a little wave when he passes her.

In coverage of Andrew's wedding which shows a scene of well-wishers seeing them off after the reception at Buckingham Palace, there is a close-up of The Queen waving and pointing and Sophie is next to her.

 

[una]

Thank you Warren. I'll look them up online.

I can recommend the Vicky biography, I was gripped throughout. Such a bright, well educated girl treated as an enemy by her inlaws. It really puts Princess Di's complaints in perspective.

 

[Jim]

If you go to www.royaltyguide.nl click on countries then Germany and then
Langenburg you can see a picture of the graves of Margarita and Gottfried.

 

[Bella]

This is a very interesting thread. How tragic the story of Cecilie. I see that there was a daughter (approx. 3 years old) who didn't die until 1939 (after the rest of the family). Was this just a typo or did this child live a couple of years after the others and how did she die? Also, if you look at the pictures of Cecilie as a young girl, I see a distinct resemblence to Princess Beatrice of York.

 

[Jankatcla]

Cecilie and the rest of the family were flying to the wedding of her husband's brother when they were killed. The youngest child, Johanna, had been left behind at home and was not on the plane. Unfortunately, she died of meningitis two years later. There is a fascinating biography of Prince Philip's mother by Hugo Vickers called Alice, Princess Andrew of Greece, that goes into quite a bit of detail about Prince Philip and his relationship with his mother and sisters. I was just looking at it this weekend at the bookstore, and can highly recommend it!

 

[Lady Marmalade]

I read that book as well. What a tragedy to have happen right before the wedding of Lu and Peg of Hesse. To lose your brother and his family...and then your niece two years later.

 

[Mignon190034]

pictures

 

[scooter]

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

I'ts not just that they were German.They were members of the Nazi party (I think ss officers too?). Which would needless to say not go over in England so soon after ww2

 

[Jo of Palatine]

I just came across the fact that princess Friederike of Hannover, the daughter of Sophia of Greece and thus a niece of prince Philip married a man named Jerry Cyr from Vancouver, Canada? They have a daughter Julia, born in 1982 - does anyone know anything about this Canadian cousin of princes William and Harry?

 

[Marengo]

I'ts not just that they were German.They were members of the Nazi party (I think ss officers too?). Which would needless to say not go over in England so soon after ww2

Berthold of Baden certainly was not a Nazi. I believe Christoph of Hesse-Kassel (Sophie's first husband) was a staunch Nazi, her second husband was not. I am not to sure about Gottfried of Hohenlohe-Langeburg but if he had been a staunch Nazi I am sure he would never been invited for the 1953 coronation.

 

[HRH Kerry]

Berthold of Baden certainly was not a Nazi. I believe Phillip of Hesse-Kassel (Sophie's first husband) was a staunch Nazi, her second husband was not. I am not to sure about Gottfried of Hohenlohe-Langeburg but if he had been a staunch Nazi I am sure he would never been invited for the 1953 coronation.

Gottfried of Hohenlohe-Langeburg was part of the Nazi Party according to the book ROYALS AND THE REICH.

 

[fee]

Margarethas children also died fairly young, though as adults, but in their fifties?

 

[Iluvbertie]

Gottfried of Hohenlohe-Langeburg was part of the Nazi Party according to the book ROYALS AND THE REICH.

However you must remember that to serve as officers in the army you had to be a member of the party.

It is more important to know when they joined the party.

Christopher of Hesse (Sophie's first husband) was an active Nazi but the others weren't.

To support their country they had to join a party but they may not necessarily have believed in the party's policies.

When I started teaching here in NSW, if I wasn't a member of the Teacher's Federation, I couldn't get a job therefore I joined the union. I have never been a great supporter of unions and don't support the union movement in general but in order to do the job I wanted I had to join. The same thing was the case for many people who joined the Nazi party after about 1934 as to have the job or serve at certain levels in the armed services etc party membership was mandatory.

 

[HRH Kerry]

Yeah, I know. It was the thing to do and for the most part, most of the party members hadn't a clue what it all really meant.

 

[Jo of Palatine]

Yeah, I know. It was the thing to do and for the most part, most of the party members hadn't a clue what it all really meant.

Well, let's say it was the easier way to become a party member. There were high-ranking officers though who did not become party-members and lived to tell the story (two of my uncles included).

 

[Mignon190034]

does anyone have any more pictures of Margarita, Theodora, Cecile, and Sophie?

 

[Lord of Cowley]

Jo of Palatine: I am also interested in the Princess who married Jerry Cyr of Vancouver. Does anyone know anything about them?

 

[Warren]

Jo of Palatine: I am also interested in the Princess who married Jerry Cyr of Vancouver. Does anyone know anything about them?

HRH Princess Friederike of Hanover, daughter of Prince Philip's sister Sophie and her 2nd husband Prince Georg of Hanover, was born in 1954 and married Jerry Cyr (b 1951) in Vancouver in 1979.

They have two children, both born in Vancouver:
• Julia Emma Cyr (1982)
• Jean-Paul Welf Cyr (1985)

Marlene Eilers in 'Queen Victoria's Descendants' stated that Princess Friederike was once thought to be a possible bride for the Prince of Wales.
c

 

[CasiraghiTrio]

I know Prince Philip is deeply proud of his family. Thank you, everyone, for the pictures. I never saw pictures of the sisters before. Cecile/a looked exactly like him! That face, so much like his, exactly.