Prince Leopold, Duke of Albany (1853-1884)

[thedittybopper]

Im not so sure im having a look now, but here are some links that discuss her upbringing etc, hope this helps :)

Princess Helena of Waldeck and Pyrmont - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Princess Helena of Waldeck-Pyrmont and Children- Suite101.com Images

http://www.unofficialroyalty.com/roy...deck-a-pyrmont

The Marriage of Prince Leopold of Albany: The Royal Union with Princess Helena of Waldeck-Pyrmont | Suite101.com

[sseitz]

I'm looking for biographical information on Helena, as well, particularly details of the wedding.

[NGalitzine]

Have you read the autobiography of her daughter, Princess Alice?

[sseitz]

Thank you all for the links and resources. I look forward to many discussions, especially about the Victorians.

[CyrilVladisla]

In Wikipedia Charles Edward, Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha has Leopold before Charles Edward. But the German equivalent places Carl Eduard first and Leopold is placed at the end of his names. Was he referred to as Leopold in his boyhood?

Ish, Thank you for the clarification. I had seen Prince Leopold's son always mentioned as Charles Edward or Carl Eduard in the mentionings of the Dukes of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha. At least he had Leopold (his father's name) as one of his middle names.

In A Dark History: The Kings and Queens of Europe, it was stated:

Like his father, Prince Albert, Leopold was intellectually brilliant, with an active, questioning mind that made his frail health a great frustration to him.

Leopold told his sister Alice, Grand Duchess of Hesse-Darmstadt, that the demise in 1873 of her three-year-old son in an accident was a blessing in disguise.
Alice's son, Frederick William, was a haemophiliac.
Leopold told Alice that the boy's demise after falling out of a window had spared Frederick William a life of suffering and misery.

A key to the Cabinet boxes had been made available to Prince Leopold.

[Beberoyal]

Just read what may be the only bio on Prince Leopold, QV's youngest son. How dreadfully she treated her, mainly in ignoring the abuse by the infamous John Brown's brother, who she assigned to be PL's personal valet...the man was a mean-spirited drunk who would hit PL and abuse him in all ways, told the Queen he did not care for PL's little dog, so QV removed the dog, who was his greatest comfort, and also removed anyone Leopold seemed to love, due to her own sick jealousies. She had already decided he would be "hers" for life and did not want him to get ideas about any other lifestyle. pL fought his heart out, making himself ill, battled to years to attend Oxford, and finally she told him he could go, with a posse of protectors, but he was to learn only and "have no fun". Bless his heart, he had a wonderful time as his team knew well how she treated him. She was do devoted to the Browns that she would call anyone who tried to tell her anything negative about them "prejudiced" or liars or intriguers. She even said he could no longer breakfast with P. Louise, when she saw how much he loved her.

Maybe she was going insane by then, or she was just a mean old women determined to be the center of everything and to care only about her own comfort. All exactly opposite of what P. Albert would have wanted, yet she always claimed (falsely) that she only be guided by him.

All these years later, I am feeling so sad for Leopold...he tried so hard to make a life and when he finally did, he died with three years.

[Ish]

Originally Posted by CyrilVladisla

In Wikipedia Charles Edward, Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha has Leopold before Charles Edward. But the German equivalent places Carl Eduard first and Leopold is placed at the end of his names. Was he referred to as Leopold in his boyhood?

I think this is a typo on the part of Wikipedia. In the info box they list him as Charles Edward George Albert Leopold, and refer to him as Charles Edward throughout the article. Over on The Peerage he's similarly listed and there's no note of him having changed his name.

[Duchess of Durham]

Originally Posted by Beberoyal

Just read what may be the only bio on Prince Leopold, QV's youngest son. How dreadfully she treated her, mainly in ignoring the abuse by the infamous John Brown's brother, who she assigned to be PL's personal valet...the man was a mean-spirited drunk who would hit PL and abuse him in all ways, told the Queen he did not care for PL's little dog, so QV removed the dog, who was his greatest comfort, and also removed anyone Leopold seemed to love, due to her own sick jealousies. She had already decided he would be "hers" for life and did not want him to get ideas about any other lifestyle. pL fought his heart out, making himself ill, battled to years to attend Oxford, and finally she told him he could go, with a posse of protectors, but he was to learn only and "have no fun". Bless his heart, he had a wonderful time as his team knew well how she treated him. She was do devoted to the Browns that she would call anyone who tried to tell her anything negative about them "prejudiced" or liars or intriguers. She even said he could no longer breakfast with P. Louise, when she saw how much he loved her.

Maybe she was going insane by then, or she was just a mean old women determined to be the center of everything and to care only about her own comfort. All exactly opposite of what P. Albert would have wanted, yet she always claimed (falsely) that she only be guided by him.

All these years later, I am feeling so sad for Leopold...he tried so hard to make a life and when he finally did, he died with three years.

I wonder if she had some form of dementia.

[Beberoyal]

Originally Posted by Duchess of Durham

I wonder if she had some form of dementia.

I don't know...Prince Albert had written to her about her selfishness before he died and she was only forty -two then. Maybe it just got worse and worse.

[Roderick]

There is no genuine evidence that Prince Leopold was `intellectually brilliant` to the level that his father was but he did have an active questioning mind and the limitations of both his health and the efforts of his mother Queen Victoria to keep him under her complete control as an invalid were his biggest problems.

[LadyAlice]

Is this just me or does it seem that maybe Leo was a closet gay? I've read his biography and he just comes across that way. I know he married Helena but this marriage seems as a get out clause from getting away from his mother and living a life of his own, plus homosexuality was accepted in those days

[Mbruno]

Originally Posted by thedittybopper

Im not so sure im having a look now, but here are some links that discuss her upbringing etc, hope this helps :)

Princess Helena of Waldeck and Pyrmont - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Princess Helena of Waldeck-Pyrmont and Children- Suite101.com Images

http://www.unofficialroyalty.com/roy...deck-a-pyrmont

The Marriage of Prince Leopold of Albany: The Royal Union with Princess Helena of Waldeck-Pyrmont | Suite101.com

The Duke of Albany is the great-grandfather of King Carl XVI Gustaf of Sweden through his mother, Princess Sybilla of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha. The Duke of Connaught (Prince Leopold's brother and a former Governor-General of Canada) is, on the other hand, King Carl Gustaf's great-grandfather through his father, Prince Gustaf Adolf, Duke of Västerbotten.

[Denville]

Originally Posted by Beberoyal

Just read what may be the only bio on Prince Leopold, QV's youngest son. How dreadfully she treated her, mainly in ignoring the abuse by the infamous John Brown's brother, who she assigned to be PL's personal valet...the man was a mean-spirited drunk who would hit PL and abuse him in all ways, told the Queen he did not care for PL's little dog, so QV removed the dog, who was his greatest comfort, and also removed anyone Leopold seemed to love, due to her own sick jealousies. She had already decided he would be "hers" for life and did not want him to get ideas about any other lifestyle. pL fought his heart out, making himself ill,
All these years later, I am feeling so sad for Leopold...he tried so hard to make a life and when he finally did, he died with three years.

Sounds pretty unusual, even if the Browns were privileged servants that one of them would acutaly hit a royal prince. Or that if Leopold was so cruelly treated by his mother that he'd act as her secretary.

Originally Posted by LadyAlice

Is this just me or does it seem that maybe Leo was a closet gay? I've read his biography and he just comes across that way. I know he married Helena but this marriage seems as a get out clause from getting away from his mother and living a life of his own, plus homosexuality was accepted in those days

Do you mean Homosexuality wasn't accepted? Because it was illegal.
I certainly don't see how he came across as a closeted gay man.

[Curryong]

Everything that I've read on Leopold, including biographies, state that he and his wife shared many interests and absolutely adored each other. Visitors spoke of the happiness of their home. I think Helen was exactly the right wife for Leopold, and, after all, he had searched around for a wife among various Continental princesses.

Leopold certainly had rather a love-hate relationship with his mother at times, but then so do some heterosexual men. He had artistic interests, yes, but so do some straight males. He had two children with Helen in their tragically brief marriage, which points more to the passion of most newlyweds in an age before efficient contraception than a gay trying to get away from Mama.

[Denville]

He was alos In love with Alice who was the inspriration for Alice in Wonderland as I recall. No I dont think he was gay at all. He and his wife did seem to have a happy short lived marriage and from what I've read (not much but a litlte) the Queen was delighted with the marriage and with Helene. I dont know of any evidence that she didn't care for Leo or that she treated him badly.
If she did not want him to go ot Oxford or "have fun" it was likely because like many mothers of haemophiliac children, she was worried and tried to protect him. And I cannot imagine that any servant at the time woudl have been guilty of the lese majeste of striking a royal child... (possibly a nanny might spank them).

[LadyAlice]

Maybe it's because he was a man ahead of his time in his views and how he treats women. I thought that he got on well with Alice L and her sisters but it was more plantonic than romantic. I know that he loved Helen but it could also come across that he respected her and not in a romantic way. If he was gay and it was illegal, he'd want what was the 'normal' life.
There's no romantic notes to women or reports and Helen certainly seems to be the only woman he has been with and judging by the way his brothers cheated on their wives and conquests before they married proves it was t the way he was brought up

[Denville]

Was he? I thought that he was a "party political Conservative.

And I've never heard of Arthur being an unfaithful husband, he seems to have been quite devoted to Louise,
Besides the sons of Victoria WERE brought up to be "virtuous", thanks to Albert being such a puritan.

[CyrilVladisla]

Princess Helena was one of the founders of the Deptford Fund to help the people living by the dockyards in the Deptford section of London, England.

[Curryong]

Leopold was an appealing character who had friends in all areas of life, but everything I have ever read of his political views points to his being very politically conservative.

Jenny Churchill's sister Leonie, Lady Leslie, was a great friend to both Arthur Duke of Connaught and his wife Louise. She was a very gay (in the old sense of the word) and vivacious woman and there were rumours that she was something more than a confidante to Arthur. Whether that was so, I don't know.

[Denville]

Originally Posted by Curryong

Leopold was an appealing character who had friends in all areas of life, but everything I have ever read of his political views points to his being very politically conservative.

Jenny Churchill's sister Leonie, Lady Leslie, was a great friend to both Arthur Duke of Connaught and his wife Louise. She was a very gay (in the old sense of the word) and vivacious woman and there were rumours that she was something more than a confidante to Arthur. Whether that was so, I don't know.

I have read that about Leonie Leslie, I think that if she was a mistress she was the sort of woman who manages to be freinds with the wife as well.. Possibly she was Art's mistress but I gather that she was freinds wth A and Louise...
But Albert was such a strict puritan (Boring awful) man that its hardly surprising that at least 2 of his sons rebelled and were womanisers and party lovers...
I think that Leo may not have fooled around - but then he was in poor health, was very young when he died, poor man.
I gather that he was very much of a Conservative Sympathiser... but dot know much about his private life.