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| Thyra of Denmark | |||||
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| Crown Princess of Hanover | |||||
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| Born | (1853-09-29)29 September 1853 Yellow Palace,Copenhagen, Denmark | ||||
| Died | 26 February 1933(1933-02-26) (aged 79) Gmunden,Austria | ||||
| Burial | 7 March 1933 | ||||
| Spouse | |||||
| Issue | |||||
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| House | Glücksburg | ||||
| Father | Christian IX of Denmark | ||||
| Mother | Louise of Hesse-Kassel | ||||
| Signature |  | ||||
Princess Thyra of Denmark (Thyra Amalie Caroline Charlotte Anna; 29 September 1853 – 26 February 1933) was the youngest daughter and fifth child ofChristian IX of Denmark andLouise of Hesse-Kassel. In 1878, she marriedErnest Augustus, the exiled heir to theKingdom of Hanover. As the Kingdom of Hanover had been annexed byPrussia in 1866, she spent most of her life in exile with her husband inAustria.
Thyra was the sister of KingFrederik VIII of Denmark, QueenAlexandra of the United Kingdom, KingGeorge I of Greece, EmpressMaria Feodorovna of Russia andPrince Valdemar of Denmark.
Thyra was born on 29 September 1853 at theYellow Palace, an 18th-century town house at 18Amaliegade, immediately adjacent to theAmalienborg Palace complex inCopenhagen.[1] She was the third daughter and fifth child of Prince Christian and PrincessLouise of Denmark. As a child, she shared a bedroom with her elder sisters, Alexandra and Dagmar, and was taught how to sew and knit her own clothes and socks. Her family had been relatively obscure but happy until her father, Prince Christian of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glücksburg, was chosen with the consent of thegreat powers to succeed his childless distant cousin,Frederick VII, to the Danish throne. Just two months before Thyra's birth, the newAct of Succession had been passed and Prince Christian was given the title of Prince of Denmark.
In 1863, when Thyra was 10 years old, King Frederick VII died, and her father succeeded to the throne of Denmark as King Christian IX. Earlier the same year, her brotherVilhelm had been elected King of Greece, and her sisterAlexandra had marriedAlbert Edward, Prince of Wales. In 1866, her other sisterDagmar married the Tsarevich of Russia,Alexander. Princess Thyra wasconfirmed on 27 May 1870 by theBishop of Zealand,Hans Lassen Martensen, in the chapel ofChristiansborg Palace inCopenhagen.[2]
In 1871, at 18 years of age, Thyra had an affair with Vilhelm Frimann Marcher, alieutenant in thecavalry, which resulted in apregnancy.[3] To avoidscandal, Thyra fled to Greece to be with her brother,George I of Greece. When her father Christian IX learned that Thyra was "unwell", from the Greek media, he rushed toGreece to be with her. When Thyra gave birth inAthens, the baby was immediately given up foradoption. The Danish press was told Thyra had been taken ill withjaundice.[3]
Thyra was an attractive and gentle young woman, with dark hair and dark blue eyes, and QueenLouise wanted her youngest daughter to make a good marriage as her elder daughters had. Thyra's first suitor was KingWilliam III of the Netherlands, but as he was thirty-six years older than she was, she rejected him.
During a family visit to Germany in 1878, Louise and Alexandra left, saying that they were going to attend an optician consultation. However, they were actually arranging a meeting between Thyra andErnest Augustus of Hanover, Crown Prince of Hanover, 3rd Duke of Cumberland and Teviotdale. Ernest Augustus was the eldest child and only son of the exiled KingGeorge V of Hanover and his wife, PrincessMarie of Saxe-Altenburg. Thyra wrote in her journal that she was "very excited" to meet the Crown Prince.[4] Ernest Augustus had been born as a Crown Prince of Hanover, but in 1866 his father had been deprived of his throne, when theKingdom of Hanover was annexed byPrussia after siding withAustria in theAustro-Prussian War. Ernest Augustus hadCumberland Castle inGmunden, Austria, built in 1882 as exile seat. Despite this, Thyra wrote that she believed Ernest Augustus would one day ascend the Hanoverian throne.[4]
Upon meeting, Thyra's hand was immediately kissed by Ernest Augustus, while Alexandra peeked from around the corner.[4] After some time, Thyra proposed to Ernest Augustus. While Thyra's family was excited,Queen Victoria stated that her engagement was "completely without foundation" after failing to marry off one of her own sons to Thyra. In December 1878, Thyra married Ernest Augustus at theChapel Royal ofChristiansborg Palace in Copenhagen.[4]
After the wedding, the couple took up residence in Gmunden,Upper Austria, where Thyra lived for the rest of her life at the large Schloss Cumberland. They also had a townhouse inVienna. The couple had six children, three sons and three daughters.[2]
Her husband died on 14 November 1923. Thyra survived him by nine years and died in Gmunden,Upper Austria, on 26 February 1933.[citation needed]
The Duke and Duchess of Cumberland and Teviotdale had six children:
| Name | Birth | Death | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Princess Marie Louise of Hanover and Cumberland | 11 October 1879 | 31 January 1948 | marriedPrince Maximilian of Baden (10 July 1867 – 6 November 1929); had issue |
| Prince George William of Hanover and Cumberland | 28 October 1880 | 20 May 1912 | Prince George William died in an automobile accident while driving to attend the funeral of his uncle,King Frederik VIII of Denmark. |
| Princess Alexandra of Hanover and Cumberland | 29 September 1882 | 30 August 1963 | marriedFriedrich Franz IV, Grand Duke of Mecklenburg-Schwerin (9 April 1882 – 17 November 1945); had issue |
| Princess Olga of Hanover and Cumberland | 11 July 1884 | 21 September 1958 | Died unmarried. |
| Prince Christian of Hanover and Cumberland | 4 July 1885 | 3 September 1901 | Died young. |
| Prince Ernest Augustus of Hanover, Duke of Brunswick | 17 November 1887 | 30 January 1953 | marriedPrincess Viktoria Luise of Prussia (13 September 1892 – 11 December 1980); had issue |
Princess Thyra of Denmark Cadet branch of theHouse of Oldenburg Born: 29 September 1853 Died: 26 February 1933 | ||
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| Preceded by | — TITULAR — Queen consort of Hanover 22 December 1878 – 14 November 1923 Reason for succession failure: Hanover annexed by Prussia in 1866 | Succeeded by |
Generations are numbered from the implementation of hereditary monarchy byFrederick III in 1660. | ||
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1 Also princess of Norway 2 Also princess of Greece 3 Also princess of Iceland 4 Not Danish princess by birth, but created princess of Denmark Princesses that lost their title are shown in italics | ||
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