Wie trouwde met Charles Edward, Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha?

Charles Edward (Leopold Charles Edward George Albert; 19 July 1884 – 6 March 1954) was at various points in his life a British prince and royal duke, a German duke, and a Nazi politician. He was the last ruling Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, a state of the German Empire, from 30 July 1900 to 14 November 1918. He later held multiple positions in the Nazi regime, including leader of the German Red Cross, and acted as an unofficial diplomat for the German government.

Charles Edward's parents were Prince Leopold, Duke of Albany, and Princess Helen of Waldeck and Pyrmont. His paternal grandparents were Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom and Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha. Prince Leopold died before his son's birth. Charles Edward was born in Surrey, England, and brought up as a British prince. He was a sickly child who developed a close relationship with his grandmother and his only sibling, Alice. He was privately educated, including at Eton College. In 1899, Charles Edward was selected to succeed to the throne of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha because he was deemed young enough to be re-educated as a German. He moved to Germany at the age of 15. Between 1899 and 1905, he was put through various forms of education, guided by his cousin, German Emperor Wilhelm II.

Charles Edward ascended the ducal throne in 1900 but reigned through a regency until 1905. In 1905, he married Princess Victoria Adelaide of Schleswig-Holstein. The couple had five children, including Sibylla, the mother of King Carl XVI Gustaf of Sweden. The Duke was a conservative ruler with an interest in art and technology. He tried to emphasise his loyalty to his adopted country through various symbolic gestures. Still, his continued close association with the United Kingdom was off-putting both to his subjects and to the German elite. He chose to support the German Empire during the First World War. He was deposed during the German revolution like the other German princes. He also lost his British titles as a result of his decision to side against the British Empire.

During the 1920s, Charles Edward became a moral and financial supporter of violent far-right paramilitary groups in Germany. By the early 1930s, he was supporting the Nazi Party and joined it in 1933. He helped to promote eugenicist ideas which provided a basis for the murder of many disabled people. He was involved in attempting to shift opinion among the British upper class in a more pro-German direction. His attitudes became more pro-Nazi during the Second World War, though it is unclear how much of a political role he played. After the war, he was interned for a period and was given a minor conviction by a denazification court. He died of cancer in 1954.

Lees meer...

Victoria Adelheid Helena Louise Maria Frederike van Sleeswijk-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glücksburg, (Thumby, 31 december 1885 — Grein, 3 oktober 1970) was een Duitse prinses uit het huis Sleeswijk-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glücksburg.

Zij was de oudste dochter van hertog Frederik Ferdinand van Sleeswijk-Holstein en diens vrouw Caroline Mathilde.

Op 11 oktober 1905 trouwde ze met Karel Eduard van Saksen-Coburg en Gotha. Het paar kreeg vijf kinderen:

• Johan Leopold (2 augustus 1906 - 4 mei 1972); huwde beneden zijn stand en deed afstand van zijn status als familiehoofd
• Sybilla (18 januari 1907 - 28 november 1972); gehuwd met Gustaaf Adolf van Zweden en moeder van de huidige koning Karel XVI Gustaaf
• Hubertus (24 augustus 1909 - 26 november 1943); gesneuveld
• Caroline Mathilde (22 juni 1912 - 5 september 1983); gehuwd met Friedrich-Wolfgang zu Castell-Rüdenhausen
• Frederik Jozias (29 november 1918 - 23 januari 1998)

Victoria Adelheid verleende een Medaille voor Vrouwelijke Verdienste.

Na de Tweede Wereldoorlog werden alle bezittingen van de Coburg-Gotha's door de Russen geconfisqueerd. Victoria Adelheid en haar man vluchtten naar Oostenrijk, waar Victoria uiteindelijk ook overleed.

Lees meer...