HRH The Prince Alfred, Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, Duke of Edinburgh
On 23rd January 1874 he married the Grand Duchess Maria Alexandrovna of Russia, the second (and only surviving) daughter of Tsar Alexander II of Russia and his wife Marie of Hesse and by Rhine, at the Winter Palace, St Petersburg. To commemorate the occasion, a small English bakery made the now internationally popular Marie biscuit, with the Duchess' name imprinted on it. The marriage, however, was not a happy one, and the bride was thought haughty by London Society. She was surprised to discover that she had to yield precedence to the Princess of Wales and all of Queen Victoria's daughters. Victoria refused Marie's demands, yet granted her precedence immediately after the Princess of Wales.
The couple had one son and four daughters.
Alfred succeeded his Uncle Ernest to the Dukedom of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha in 1893.
Alfred
When his Father became reigning Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha because The prince of Wales had to renounce his rights due to being heir to the Throne of the United Kingdom, Alfred junior became the Hereditary Prince. As with many of his family, the younger Alfred did not cope well and did not come up to expectations. His one official engagement, to a Duchess of Württemberg, did not materialise.
Alfred is famous for one thing, his death in 1899 and the fact that he predeceased his Father. How is subject to confusion resulting from obfuscation. Most now accept that he shot himself about the time of his parents' Silver Wedding Anniversary if not at the time of the celebrations themselves. But whether it was from depression or, even, over a secret marriage, we will probably never know for sure.
As the only son, Alfred's premature death and the renunciation of succession rights of the next brother down, The Duke of Connaught and his family, meant that the Dukedom of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha went to the posthumous son of the next brother, Leopold, Duke of Albany, namely Charles Edward, who we will see later.
Alfred was assigned a traditional 5-pointed Label for a grandson which is basically that of his Father with the addition of a St George's Cross on the outside points to the two blue Anchors and the central St George's Cross. The Shield bears the Inescutcheon of Saxony as all descendants of Prince Albert, Prince Consort through the male line were Dukes/Duchesses of Saxony. The Coronet is for a grandchild of a British Sovereign - namely alternately Crosses Pattée and Strawberry Leaves. He was appointed to the Order of the Garter on St George's Day 1894.
HRH Prince Michael of Kent was assigned exactly the same Label in 1962.
(There are no assignment or grant dates or years for the Label of any of Alfred and Maria's children.)
Alfred junior's Coat of Arms as Hereditary Prince of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha are not readily documented but, following patterns established by his Father and, later, by Charles Edward, this could easily be a reversal of his British Arms with Saxony as the main shield and his British grant, with his personal Label, as the Inescutcheon.
Marie
Born in Kent but moving out to Coburg with the family when her Father became reiging Duke, Marie refused a proposal from the future King George V which would have made her Queen. She was then promised to the Crown Prince of Romania who succeeded his Father in 1914 as King Ferdinand I. In exile in Moldavia during the First World War, Marie and her daughters acted as nurses. But such was Marie's strength, even before she became Queen, that she was sent to the Paris Peace Conference after the War to campaign for 'Greater Romania' after Transylvania and other provinces were united with the 'Old Kingdom'. As a consequence, Ferdinand and Marie were crowned in 1922 at a specially built Coronation Cathedral in the ancient city of Alba Iulia. I say 'at' because the Cathedral was Romanian Orthodox and Ferdinand, still a Roman catholic, refused to be crowned inside. Therefore they were crowned in the Square in front.
Ferdinand died in 1927, shortly after Marie and two of her children returned after a hugely successful diplomatic tour of the United States. Their son, Carol, had been obliged to renounce his succession rights after a number of scandals, so Ferdinand was succeeded by his Grandson, Michael I who was nearly 6 years old with a regency council headed by his Uncle, Prince Nicholas. Carol returned in 1930, replacing his son, but was again obliged to leave in 1940 when his reign effectively turned into a dictatorship.
Marie had refused to be any part of the Regency Council and her reputation and popularity were crushed by her son and the subsequent Socialist Republic. Marie's popularity recovered in later years to the extent that her writings, especially her autobiography, have become critically acclaimed.
Marie's Label involved a red Rose each on the two extra Points to her Father's Label, placed between the Anchors and the central St George's Cross. Her Romanian Coat of Arms as Queen are not readily available.
Victoria Melita
Victoria Melita is also known for her marriages. She fell in love firstly with her maternal first cousin Grand Duke Kirill Vladimirovich of Russia but their liaison was forbidden by Orthodox Christianity. Victoria Melita was subsequently married off to her paternal first cousin Ernst Ludwig, Grand Duke of Hesse and by Rhine in 1894 as arranged by Queen Victoria. As we saw in an earlier Blog, this marriage was a disaster and Victoria Melita went on to marry Kirill in 1905. However, as both King Edward VII of the United Kingdon and Tsar Nicholas II of Russia. After a period of exile, Victoria Melita and Kirill returned to Russia in 1910 when she was accepted as Grand Duchess under the name Victoria Feodorovna.
In 1926, after the First World War and the Russian Revolution, Kirill proclaimed himself Emperor of Russia and their son, Vladimir, carried on this claim as the Head of the Russian Imperial Family. The family had fled to Finland which is where Vladimir was born. Her sister Marie wrote that Victoria carried tragedy with her and towards the end of her life she found out that even Kirill had been unfaithful to her.
Victoria Melita's Label added a red Heart to each of the outside Points of her Father's Label. HRH Princess Alexandra of Kent, The Hon. Lady Ogilvy was assigned the exactly same Label in 1961.
Alexandra
At the end of 1895, Marie arranged her daughter's engagement to Ernst II, Prince of Hohenlohe-Langenburg, although Queen Victoria complained that Alexandra was too young. They were married on 20th April 1896 and had 5 children, the eldest of which, Gottfired, would marry Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh eldest sister, Princess Margarita, on Alexandra and Ernst's 35th Wedding Anniversary.
Unfortunately, Alexandra and members of her family joined the Nazi Party just before the Second World War. Alexandra, though, passed away in 1942.
Alexandra's Label was also an extended version of her Father's with a blue Fleur-de-Lys on each of the outer Points.
Beatrice
King Alfonso did not personally object to the marriage, however the Spanish Government did as Beatrice declined to convert to Catholicism. The Duke was stripped of his military positions and the couple were exiled under the guise of a mission to Switzerland. In 1911 King Alfonso restored the Duke's military rank and the next year restored his title, raising Beatrice to Infanta. In 1913 Beatrice converted to Catholicism.
Having lived in England for a time, the couple returned to Spain but were caught up in the country's Civil War when their middle son, also Alfonso, was killed fighting the Repulicans. At the time of her death, Beatrice was the last surviving child of Alfred and Marie.
Beatrice's Label added 2 more blue Anchors, each one on the extra outside points. Here Coat of Arms as Duchess of Galliera are also shown above. They are marshalled with France (Orleans), namely France Modern (Blue, three gold Fleurs-de-Lys with a white, 3-pointed Label).