Princess Louise Margaret, Duchess of Connaught and Strathearn

Princess Louise Margaret of Prussia (Louise Margaret Alexandra Victoria Agnes; 25 July 1860 – 14 March 1917), later Duchess of Connaught and Strathearn, was a member of the House of Hohenzollern who married into the British royal family. She served as the viceregal consort of Canada while her husband, Prince Arthur, Duke of Connaught and Strathearn, served as the governor general, from 1911 to 1916.

Early life Princess Louise Margaret was born at Marmorpalais (Marble Palace) near Potsdam, Kingdom of Prussia. Her father was Prince Friedrich Karl of Prussia (1828–1885), the son of Karl of Prussia (1801–1883) and his wife Princess Marie of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach (1808–1877). Her mother was Princess Maria Anna of Anhalt (1837–1906), daughter of Leopold IV of Anhalt-Dessau. Louise Margaret's father, a nephew of German Emperor William I, distinguished himself as a field commander during the Battle of Metz and the campaigns west of Paris in the 1870–71 Franco-Prussian War.

Louise's parents were estranged because of her father's alcoholism and domineering behaviour. Though they were never officially separated, they lived apart. Queen Victoria wrote in a letter that the prince had "behaved so brutally to his wife". After the birth of Louise, their fourth daughter born in a row, her father reportedly beat his wife for not producing a son (by some accounts, immediately after the birth).

Marriage

On 13 March 1879, Princess Louise Margaret married Prince Arthur, Duke of Connaught and Strathearn at St. George's Chapel Windsor. Prince Arthur was the seventh child and third son of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha. A 2003 book claims that it was a love match, with the princess also keen to get away from her royal residence in Berlin and from her father's bullying.

The wedding was described as grand and the couple received a great number of expensive gifts; the Queen's gifts included a diamond tiara and a pearl and diamond pendant. Prince Arthur served as the governor-general of South Africa. In 1885, she became chief of the 64th (8th Brandenburg) Regiment of Infantry "Field Marshal General Prince Friedrich Karl of Prussia", Prussian Army.

Death and legacy The Duchess of Connaught died of influenza and bronchitis at Clarence House. The procedure of burying ashes in an urn was still unfamiliar at the time, and her urn was transported in an ordinary coffin during the funeral ceremonies. King George V still ordered four weeks of mourning dress and a military guard of honor during the funeral. The Duke of Connaught survived her by almost twenty-five years.

The Duchess of Connaught's net estate in the United Kingdom was valued at £123,008; she left £25,000 to her daughter Princess Margaret and £50,000 to her daughter Princess Patricia of Connaught, noting that £25,000 had already been settled on Princess Margaret upon her marriage. The residuary estate was left to her son Prince Arthur of Connaught.

The maternity hospital adjacent to the Cambridge Military Hospital at Aldershot was named in her honor as the Louise Margaret Maternity Hospital. She laid the foundation stone of this hospital, which was constructed for the wives and children of the Aldershot Garrison.

Titles, styles, honours and arms Titles and styles 25 July 1860 – 13 March 1879: Her Royal Highness Princess Louise Margaret of Prussia 13 March 1879 – 14 March 1917: Her Royal Highness The Duchess of Connaught and Strathearn

Honours

Orders and decorations CI: Companion of the Crown of India, March 1879 VA: Royal Order of Victoria and Albert, 1st Class, 1893 DStJ: Lady of Justice of St. John, 1888 RRC: Member of the Royal Red Cross, 1883 Grand Cordon of the Precious Crown, 8 May 1890

Academic Doctor of Music, Trinity College Dublin, 1904

Arms

Issue

Ancestry