| Princess Louise | |||||
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| Princess Friedrich of Schaumburg-Lippe[1] | |||||
 Photograph,c. 1895 | |||||
| Born | (1875-02-17)17 February 1875 Amalienborg Palace,Copenhagen,Denmark | ||||
| Died | 4 April 1906(1906-04-04) (aged 31) Ratiboritz Castle,Bohemia,Austria-Hungary | ||||
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| Issue |
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| House | Glücksburg | ||||
| Father | Frederick VIII of Denmark | ||||
| Mother | Louise of Sweden | ||||
Princess Louise of Denmark (Louise Caroline Josephine Sophie Thyra Olga) (17 February 1875 – 4 April 1906) was a member of theDanish royal family who became a princess ofSchaumburg-Lippe by marriage.
The third child and oldest daughter ofKing Frederik VIII and his wife,Queen Louise, Princess Louise grew up inCopenhagen as a Danish princess. Known for her shy and quiet personality, Louise remained a low-key member of the royal family throughout her life. In 1896, she married hersecond cousinPrince Friedrich of Schaumburg-Lippe who belonged to acadet branch of the Germanprincely house ofSchaumburg-Lippe and was heir to thelordship ofNáchod inBohemia. After the wedding, she moved with him to Bohemia where she died in 1906, aged 31.
Princess Louise was born on 17 February 1875 inFrederik VIII's Palace, an 18th-centurypalace which forms part of theAmalienborg Palace complex in centralCopenhagen, during the reign of her paternal grandfather,King Christian IX.[2] She was the third child and first daughter ofCrown Prince Frederick of Denmark and his wifeLouise of Sweden.[2] Her father was the eldest son ofKing Christian IX of Denmark andLouise of Hesse-Kassel, and her mother was the only daughter ofKing Charles XV of Sweden and Norway andLouise of the Netherlands. She was baptised with the namesLouise Caroline Josephine Sophie Thyra Olga, and was known as Princess Louise (namesake of her mother, as well as her paternal and maternal grandmothers).[2]
Princess Louise was raised with her siblings in the royal household in Denmark and grew up between her parents' city residence inCopenhagen, theFrederik VIII's Palace at theAmalienborg Palace complex, and their country retreat, theCharlottenlund Palace, located by the coastline of theØresundstrait north of the city. In contrast to the usual practise of the period, where royal children were brought up bygovernesses, the children were raised by Crown Princess Louise herself. Under the supervision of their mother, the children of the Crown Princess received a rather strict Christian-dominated upbringing, which was characterized by austerity, the fulfilment of duties, care and order. Like her siblings, she was educated privately under the supervision of tutors. From childhood, Louise was described as a very withdrawn girl with a shy and quiet personality.[3] As she also married and left Denmark at an early age, she remained a relatively unnoticed member of theDanish royal family throughout her life.[4]
Princess Louise's grandmother, Queen Louise, was known for her successfulmatchmaking skills. She recognized early on that her granddaughter had a tendency towardsmelancholy and wanted her to marry well. Through her German relations, Queen Louise was in contact with acadet branch of the Germanprincely house ofSchaumburg-Lippe, which possessed the castle andlordship ofNáchod in northeastern Bohemia as asecundogeniture. Thus, Princess Louise was introduced to her half-cousinPrince Frederick of Schaumburg-Lippe (1868–1945). He was a son ofPrince William of Schaumburg-Lippe by his wife,Princess Bathildis of Anhalt-Dessau. The couple were engaged in 1894, and the wedding was celebrated on 5 May 1896 atAmalienborg Palace in Copenhagen.[2][5]
The couple lived inRatiboritz Castle in Bohemia. They had three children. The marriage was not a happy one, however. Princess Louise suffered from melancholy and homesickness, longed for Denmark and spent much time visiting her family, staying for 2 to 3 months at a time.[6] Her father also came and visited with her each year.
Princess Louise died atRatiboritz Castle on 4 April 1906, within five hours of the death of her father-in-law Prince William;[7] and 65 days after her paternal grandfather King Christian IX. The official cause of death of Princess Louise was "cerebral inflammation" caused by meningitis, after weeks of being ill. It was rumoured that she attempted to drown herself in the castle lake on her husband's estate, Ratiboritz, and caught a chill in the attempt, eventually leading to her death. She was the only child ofFrederick VIII of Denmark andLouise of Sweden to have predeceased her parents.
Frederick and Louise had three children:
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| Ancestors of Princess Louise of Denmark (1875–1906) |
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