Princess Victoria of Schaumburg-Lippe (Moretta), 2nd daughter of Kaiser Friedrich III

[bluetoria]

Does anyone know, please, if Moretta ever returned to England after 1918? (I hope that this hasn't been discussed elsewhere...if it has, I'm sorry.) I know she was almost as much an anglophile as her mother & that after the war she was eager to restore good relations between the cousins. Do you think she was at all successful?
If she - or any other German cousins - came to England, how were they received?
I don't know of any of the English ones (of that generation) going to Germany - but then, I suppose, in the wake of a revolution, it wouldn't have been a good idea.  :-/

[grandduchessella]

I dont think that she did return to England. There was the incident where either the Prince of Wales or Duke of Windsor (I think it was the former) visited her after the war while attached to the British military. Moretta asked how quickly relations could be restored and the Prince was taken aback that she didnt' seem to realize the bitterness that existed and was very naive in thinking things could return to the way they once were.

GV adamently opposed the idea of extraditing the Kaiser and trying him for war crimes but never corresponded with him again. Wilhelm did write to QM when GV died and they exchanged some letters after that though.

Sophie maintained correspondence with GV and QM and visited England but because of the troubled relationship w/Greece during and after the War their later visits were conducted privately.

I don't think that Mossy visited again and don't know about her correspondence but as she and QM lived to about the same period they may well have written again. Ernie I would imagine had some contact but I don't think he came to Britain again though his sons did. I don't know about Henry & Irene.

Charles Duke of Coburg (Leo's son) walked in the procession of GV's funeral. I think one of Ernie's sons may have represented him.

[grandduchessella]

In her memoirs she records that in May 1919 she received a visit from her uncle Arthur Duke of Connaught. He was inspecting the British troops stationed in Bonn and he expressed a wish to see his niece. 'After all that had occured it moved me deeply to see him again. He was very pressed for time, so we could only be togethr for a little while; but it was just sufficient to talk over bygone days, and he was, as usual, most affectionate.'

Nowhere does she mention visiting England after that or any communications.

[bluetoria]

Thank you, grandduchessella  .  Poor Moretta - nothing that she wanted ever seemed to work out for her. It is a great pity, too, about Sophie being perceived as something of an enemy, when she also loved England so much. It would have broken's Vicky's heart had she lived to see it.

Were Sophie's children still in England throughout the war? She left them there when war broke out, under the care of George V, did she not? Do you know when they returned to her? Or how the strained relations between Britain & Greece affected them?

[grandduchessella]

I'm not sure if they were left there.

Alexander, Paul, Helen and Irene all attended school in England during the summers. While they were there Sophie would visit her relatives and then spend part of the summer at Eastborne on the shore. She was actually there when matters came to a head. I thought that she gathered up what children were there and returned to Greece but I could be wrong. At any rate they were in Greece by the time the attempt was made on Constantine I's life. When a fire was set in the area of the palace and the family forced to flee, Sophie had to run with 3-yr old Katharine in her arms. The two were separated from the rest of the group and temporarily trapped by flames. Sophie barely made it to the awaiting car before collapsing.

Ironically as Britain headed towards war Sophie had the company of her brother Henry. He was at Cowes for some of the sailing. He visited GV on July 25 where the famous misunderstanding of Britain's intentions was made. Henry had to admit that in his excitement he may have read more into what the King said than was there and relayed an overly-optimistc view to the Kaiser. (Probably didn't really matter as events were moving quickly beyond individual control) The 2 cousins shook hands upon Henry's departure and hoped they would see each other again in friendly circumstances.

[bluetoria]

Thanks again, grandduchessella!
I'd forgotten about the fire in the palace. I don't know why I believed that she left at least some of her children under George's care...I'll have to look again. Could it have been in Theo Aronson's Crowns in Conflict?

[aleksandra]

have anymore info on her, like relatonships with famliy or friends. any letters that are published?

[crazy_wing]

so many adolfs... adolf I & II and adolf, moretta's husband.  i always thought moretta's husband was in-line to the throne but he was only the 2nd of son of adolf I...  

[Romanov_fan]

This Princess was lovely, but it seems she didn't have much luck. Her life story was indeed tragic, and one feels for her. Obviously, she did not always have good judgement when it came to men-that last one especially. Most likely, the strain of all that was somewhat responsible for her death. What did she die of , medically? Are there any more pictures of her? I love looking at them, she also had nice colouring. It seems that in what she wanted most, marriage and children, she didn't have much luck, nor in life at all. Any one who knows more about her, please post!

[Romanov_fan]

She really had a tragic story- but the most tragic is the secoond part of her life. I don't find it surprising that she willed herself to death- after that, with the rest of the disapointments of her life, most would have. What happened to her with her second marriage has happened to others; but with her it was also the rest of the bad luck of her life you must take into account. Her looks remind me a bit of Tatiana, daughter of Nicholas II of Russia-very eastern as it were. But her coloring is different. I suppose she was lonely, and may have partly realized her secind husband was not sincere, although I am not sure she didn't care anymore. It's too bad that her family coudn't have prevented it; marrying Sandro of Battenberg was far less a danger than that guy.

[Prince_Christopher]

From The Mountbattens, by Antony Lambton.

There is a copy of an article from the Daily Express of 1929, along with a good but odd picture of Victoria and her second husband.  Unfortunately, I do not have a scanner.  Maybe someone else has the book.
  
Anyway, here is the article:


RUINED SISTER OF EX-KAISER

TRAGIC SALE OF HER TREASURES

DEBTS OF A WAITER'S WIFE

Berlin, Tuesday, Oct. 15.

"Frau Alexander Zoubkoff, nee Princess Victoria of Prussia, has failed to satisfy her creditors.  Her property and effects must, therefore, now be sold by auction."

Herr Schultze, Bailiff of Cologne, nervously made this announcement this morning as, with beads of perspiration pouring from his forehead, he opened the sale by auction in the Schaumburg Palace at Bonn of the treasures of Frau Alexander Zoubkoff, the ex-Kaiser's sister, whom romance in the shape of a young Russian waiter has driven, in less than eighteen months, to financial ruin.

The bailiff took up his stand before the vast crowd of nondescript-looking persons who had flocked to share in the spoils of the Hohenzollern princess' humiliation, in the same spot in the great Schaumburg Hall of Mirrors where in the days of her glory, the princess had been wont to welcome to her home the mightiest rulers and most lovely princesses of the courts of Europe.

ZOUBKOFF'S ARREST.

At the very moment that Herr Schultze raised his hammer to knock down the first lot--a magnificent old English teapot--Alexander Zoubkoff, hounded from country to country, was just being arrested by the French police at Deidenheim, on the Franco-Luxembourg frontier, as he was trying surreptitiously to cross into France.

Precious pieces of old London silver, many of them stamped with the Royal Arms of England, failed most remarkably to achieve the prices that had been expected by expert valuers as their due.  A great oval barouque soup tureen stamped "London 1770," which had been inherited by Frau Zoubkoff's mother from Queen Victoria, changed hands for a paltry L300.  It had been expected to fetch at least L1,000.

A particularly poignant moment came when a silver statue of the Emperor Frederick, the Princess' father, was offered for sale, but failed to raise a bid.  Eventually it was practically given away at half its starting price for L5--a sum which its value in silver exceeded.

It is now considered absolutely impossible that the proceeds from the sale of her treasures will suffice to meet Frau Zoubkoff's debts, which are estimated to be close on L50,000.

The ex-Kaiser's sister will, therefore, be left penniless and at the mercy of her Hohenzollern relatives, who, embittered by the disgrace that they consider she has brought on their house by her marriage to the waiter, will not be over-anxious to support her.

[grandduchessella]

Here's another article from the NYT:

The Schaumburg Sale

'The contents of the schaumburg Palace at Bonn are to be sold by auction early in October. The palace is the residence of Princess Victoria zu Schaumburg-Lippe....The objects to be sold mainly represent inherited property of Prince Adolf and the Princess. The latter part of the collection includes many objects which still bear the inventory ticket or the monogram 'V' of the Empress Frederick...Many of them were wedding presents to the Empress Frederick. There are many examples of the work of the London silversmiths, including a silver table service, weighing 44 lb and given by the Emperor Wilhelm I to his son and daughter-in-law at the time of their silver wedding in 1883. Among the glass and china is a glass service given by the Prince Consort to his daughter, and a chin table service specially made by the Berlin Royal china manfuactory and presented by the Municipality on the occasion of the silver wedding.'

and another:

The Schaumburg Sale: Former Kaiser's Telegram
Frankfurt Oct 8

'The sale by auction of the contents of the Schaumburg Palace at Bonn on the Rhine has been fixed for next Tuesday. According to telegrams from Bonn and Cologne, published in the Frankfurt Press today, the chief auctioneeer has sent out catalogues of the inventory of the Palace in view of the fact that the estate of Mme Zoubkoff included valuable heirlooms which Queen Victoria had bequeated to her daughter, the Empress Frederick, and to Mme Zoubkoff. The former Kaiser, who otherwise had been completely inactive in the whole matter, is now reported to have telegraphed from Doorn to the chief auctioneer suggesting that the heirlooms of his mother and grandmother should be offered to the representative of the British Royal Family. It is reported that the auction has attracted much attention, and that all the leading London art dealers were sending representatives to Bonn.'

The Schaumburg Sale: Spiritless Bidding
Frankfurt Oct 15
'The sale by auction of the contents of the Shaumburg Palace at Bonn began today and will continue until Saturday. The auction was attended by numerous art dealers and many British, French, and German journalists. Up to the very last moment hopes were cherished that the former Kaiser would intervene after all and buy up the whole bankrupt sale of his sister...by neither the British Royal Family nor the House of Hohenzollern have sent representatives.

The first bids revealed that the importance of the auction had been greatly over-estimated, as the various objects were sold at almost ridiculous prices. The auction began with the contents of the valuable silver chamber, a considerable portion of which represents the work of old London silversmiths. For instance, a large oval baroque tureeen with a lid of worked silver and artistic decoration, a masterpiece of London silversmiths of the year 1750, weighing 113 oz of silver, went to a Swiss bidder for 6000 marks (GBP 300). Another similiar tureen, which had been valued at 20,000 marks, fetched on 3,200 marks. As the debts of Mme Zoubkoff amount to 900,000 marks (GBP 45,000), it is estimated that the proceeds of the auction will only cover one-third of that sum.

The Frankfurter Zeitung also mentions that a painful situation arose when a silver bust of the Emperor Frederick...was offered without any bids being made. After the opening price had been reduced by one-half, the bust was finally purchased by an English dealer at the price of 110 marks (GBP 5 10s). As the bust contains 55 oz of silver, this price appears to be even below the actual market value of silver.

The auction went better in the course of this afternoon, when many small objects were bought by the public at large at reasonable prices.'

and one on her funeral just a couple of months later

M Zoubkoff Arrested
Berlin Nov 14

'...was arrested this morning in Bonn, whither he had come from Luxembourg with the object of attending the funeral of Frau Zoubkoff....was expelled from Germany some time ago as an undesirable alien, and was arrested because he re-entered the country without applying for permission.'

Frankfurt Nov 14
'The body of Frau Zoubkoff arrived this morning at the Friedrichshof Castle....In accordance with her own request, Frau Zoubkoff is to be buried in the chapel of the old Cromberg Castle beside the two Hessian princes, Max and Frederick, who were killed in the War. [Mossy's sons] The funeral on Saturday is to be attended by Prince Adalbert of Prussia, as representative of the ex-Kaiser, and by Prince Henry of Prussia.'

[Prince_Christopher]

What a sad end for the poor lady....

I would love to have seen the silver bust of Fritz....I'm sure it probably no longer exists.

[Romanov_fan]

Yes, that guy was certainly not beneficial to the poor Princess. She ought to have been kept from marrying him instead of being kept so many years earlier from marrying Sandro of Battenberg. It's rather sad that the marriage her family ( well, some of her family), and German political leaders tried to prevent was that one, not this one. I guess a disastrous marriage was her fate anyway. Perhaps she married Zoubkov partly in revenge for the earlier marriage not being allowed. As the widow of Adolph of Schaumberg-Lippe, no one could prevent  her from the marriage-although it might have been good if they had. Some say that Moretta wasn't a beauty, but when she was young her pictures show a striking young woman.

[Sebran]

I have got quite a few photos of Victoria – most of them are from the period when she was married to Alexander Zoubkoff (Sascha). On the back side of one of them (where she stands at the side of Sascha and looks quite happy) she herself has written a greeting to Saschas mother – Mary Zoubkoff:

“Kindest regards to my mother in law /…/ happy – my Sascha & myself. Yours sincerely

Viktoria
Schaumburg Lippe
Princess of Prussia

10.31      1927”

I can’t decode what she has written in the /…/ part of the letter..
Nor am I sure whether the date is 31.10-1927 or 31.10-1929, but I guess it most probably is the first date, and accordingly a couple of weeks before her marriage.

I have also got a lot of letters written to Saschas mother – I have not had the time to read all of them yet – most of them are quite hard to decipher – but hopefully some day I will have the time to read them.

I could post some of the photos, but the problem is I don’t know how to do.. If someone tells me, I will try to do so next weekend!