While so many of Queen Victoria's grandchildren, male and female, wore crowns and are known even today, I've always been especially drawn to the 'lesser knowns' of the family. One of those granddaughters, who was a real 'character' as they might say, was Princess Marie Louise of Schleswig-Holstein. She was the daughter of Princess Helena of Great Britain and Prince Christian of Schleswig-Holstein. Despite her German last name, she was brought up in the English court. In 1891, she married Prince Aribert of Anhalt. The marriage was not a success and in 1901 Princess Marie Louise returned to England to live. She never remarried and she and her ex-husband had no children. Princess Marie Louise loved to travel and visited places from the United States to the continent of Africa (which she wrote about). Throughout her long life, living to see the reign of the current Queen, Elizabeth II (granddaughter of her cousin George V), she remained a vital member of the Royal Family. Throughout the reigns of her uncle, her cousin and both her cousin's sons (Edward VIII and George VI) she carried out numerous public engagements each year. Like her mother, she took an especial interest in nursing. By the end of her life, she was known simply as "Princess Marie Louise", the Schleswig-Holstein having been dropped in the name purge of 1917. In this photo she is seen on an engagement to one of England's shops. As my scanner improves, so will the quality of photos, I promise!
