Queen Victoria was born as “Alexandrina Victoria” on May 24, 1819. Her mother was 32 year old Princess Victoria of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld; her father was 51 year old Prince Edward Augustus, the Duke of Kent and Strathearn.

Prince Edward (1767-1820) was the fourth son and fifth child of King George III of the UK. Before his marriage, he was known to have had mistresses, and possibly fathered other children, but Victoria was his only legitimate heir.

Princess Victoria of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld (1786-1861), however, did have two other legitimate children from a first marriage to Emich Carl, Prince of Leiningen (1763-1814). These children were Carl, 3rd Prince of Leiningen (1804-1856), and Princess Feodora of Leiningen (1807-1872).

Prince Edward wanted his heir to be born on British soil, so the family moved from Germany to England. They lived together in Kensington Palace. Victoria was born, and her father died only one year later. Her mother stayed in Kensington Palace with her three children.

Victoria was only nine years old when Princess Feodora married in 1828 to Ernst I, Prince of Hohenlohe-Langenburg ((1794-1860). Feodora moved back to Germany to raise a family. The couple had six children, three boys and three girls: Carl, Elise, Hermann, Victor, Adelaide, Feodora.

Victoria and Feodora’s brother Carl married the following year, 1829, to Countess Maria Klebelsberg (1806-1880). He moved back to Germany and pursued a career in the Bavarian Army. The couple had two sons, Ernest and Edward.

The sisters, Victoria and Feodora, kept up a lifelong correspondence about marriage, children, family, and so on. Feodora came to England to visit her sister many times. Her son Victor joined the Royal Navy, and called England his home.

Feodora died in 1872 of scarlet fever, just seven months after her youngest daughter, also named Feodora, also died of scarlet fever.

Among Feodora’s papers, a touching letter, dated 1854, was found, with instructions that it be given to Queen Victoria upon her death. In it, she wrote: “I can never thank you enough for all you have done for me, for your great love and tender affection. These feelings cannot dies; they must and will live on in my soul — till we meet again, never more to be separated — and you will not forget.” 1

Carl’s children

Feodora’s Children

Left to Right, Top Row: Prince Carl Ludwig (1829-1907), Princess Elise (1830-1850), Prince Hermann Ernst (1832-1913)

Left to Right, Bottom Row: Prince Victor (1833-1891), Princess Adelaide (1835-1900), Princess Feodora (1839-1872)

Footnotes:

The life and letters of Princess Feodora: Queen Victoria’s Sister. H. Albert. 1967. p 239.

Sources: Royal Collection Trust, Royal Europe, BBC, The life and letters of Princess Feodora, Wikipedia.

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