Prince Ludwig & Margaret Geddes

[Thomas_Hesse]

Prinz Ludwig (1960ies)

[mcvidmar]

Hello all,

I am an American musicologist who is researching the very close and touching friendship between Benjamin Britten and the Prince & Princess of Hesse. I spent part of the summer in Britten's home in Aldeburgh, where I read the complete extant correspondence between Britten and both the Prince and Princess. After finishing, I was amazed at the power of their story, and I felt that they came across as some of the most thoroughly kindhearted and remarkable persons about whom I had ever read.

Britten worked closely with Prince Ludwig, who (under the name "Ludwig Landgraf") translated the English texts for the published editions of a number of Britten's scores. I am writing in particular about Britten's never-completed cycle of Goethe settings. He composed only one, on the poem "Um Mitternacht," but had marked in an anthology another 13 poems which he had intended to set. Apparently, Britten lost interest in the project--but Princess Margaret wrote to Britten in May of 1968 that, while he lay delirious in hospital, Prince Ludwig talked endlessly of "his dream: Ben & Goethe."

I would like to tell the amazing story of the Prince & Princess's friendship with Britten to the musicological community, but I simply cannot find much biographical information about them at all. There are a few bits and pieces in English about Princess Margaret, but I would particularly like to find out more about Prince Ludwig. I cannot believe that nobody has written a biography about him. Is there anyone who knows of biographical sources that I could consult, or who knew them and could offer information of their own? Ich kann Deutsch lesen!

With many thanks in advance,

Michael Vidmar-McEwen

[Eric_Lowe]

There wasn't a biography in English that dealt with Prince Ludwig and Margaret of Hesse & By Rhine. First there is one in German on the life of Margaret of Hesse that you can buy in Darmstadt or order from German booksites online. Another good one is the the bio of Prince Richard Of Hesse-Kassel (brother of the head of the Hesse Royal House Landgraf Moritz) that is also in German. He was the child of Princess Malfelda of Italy who died in the war and raised by Ludwig and Margaret of Hesse. In English, there is "Hessien Tavesty" that deals from Princess Alice down to Prince Ludwig & Princess Margaret. A more basic source.

[grandduchessella]

It's Hessian Tapestry. It touches very little on the family after the immediate family (ie Victoria down to Alix) dies out. Ludwig and Margaret aren't mentioned much, save for their wedding tragedy, and the book was written c. 1976.

[Thomas_Hesse]

Hello all,

I am an American musicologist who is researching the very close and touching friendship between Benjamin Britten and the Prince & Princess of Hesse. I spent part of the summer in Britten's home in Aldeburgh, where I read the complete extant correspondence between Britten and both the Prince and Princess. After finishing, I was amazed at the power of their story, and I felt that they came across as some of the most thoroughly kindhearted and remarkable persons about whom I had ever read.

Britten worked closely with Prince Ludwig, who (under the name "Ludwig Landgraf") translated the English texts for the published editions of a number of Britten's scores. I am writing in particular about Britten's never-completed cycle of Goethe settings. He composed only one, on the poem "Um Mitternacht," but had marked in an anthology another 13 poems which he had intended to set. Apparently, Britten lost interest in the project--but Princess Margaret wrote to Britten in May of 1968 that, while he lay delirious in hospital, Prince Ludwig talked endlessly of "his dream: Ben & Goethe."

I would like to tell the amazing story of the Prince & Princess's friendship with Britten to the musicological community, but I simply cannot find much biographical information about them at all. There are a few bits and pieces in English about Princess Margaret, but I would particularly like to find out more about Prince Ludwig. I cannot believe that nobody has written a biography about him. Is there anyone who knows of biographical sources that I could consult, or who knew them and could offer information of their own? Ich kann Deutsch lesen!

With many thanks in advance,

Michael Vidmar-McEwen

did write you a personal message.........

[Eric_Lowe]

I think a book in English on Ludwig and Peg Hesse is in order.

[Riedesel]

There is a book (in German) in memory of Princess Margaret.

Margaret Prinzessin von Hessen und bei Rhein von Eckhart G. Franz und Karl-Eugen Schlapp von Schlapp (Gebundene Ausgabe - 1997) ISBN 3-87704-039-X

apparently available from amazon.de :
http://www.amazon.de/Margaret-Prinzessin-von-Hessen-Rhein/dp/387704039X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1262862253&sr=1-1

They are in VERY limited numbers. The Schlapp book shop in Darmstadt still has about 10 left which they are selling for the ridiculous price of 4.95 euros. :-)

[mcvidmar]

Dear Thomas & all,

First of all, Thomas, I have been trying to send you a reply for days now, but cannot figure out how to get a personal message to send--I keep receiving an error that suggests I must enter some kind of security code ("type the letters in the box"), but I don't see anywhere that I can comply. Instead of wait any longer, I've decided to post directly to the message board and see if it works.

Thanks very much for your timely reply! I'm sorry that I'm just now figuring out how to use this forum to send a reply and thank you for your kind help.

I have ordered the *Hessian Tapestry* book as well as various writings from Prince Ludwig, which I hope will arrive at my library quite soon. And thank you especially for putting me in touch with Prof. Franz, who is the editor of one of the volumes I have ordered.

I have much to learn about Hesse and Darmstadt--which seems to be a remarkable place indeed! I'm looking forward to becoming more enlightened about it.

Thank you again for your kindness and your help!

Best wishes,

Michael

[allanraymond]

I'm not sure if it has been mentioned that Joachim von Ribbentrop http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joachim_von_Ribbentrop  was  one of the witnesses at the wedding of  Prince Ludwig & Margaret Geddes?

Allan Raymond
 

Ludwig and Margaret, out of the Church:

[Ilana]

We'll try not to hold that against them... bad times.

[allanraymond]

Of course they wouldn't have been aware at the time of Ribbentrop's future involvement in WWII.

On the positive side in the exceptional circumstances, other witnesses at the wedding were Victoria Marchioness of Milford Haven and her sons George & Louis plus Margaret's parents

Allan Raymond

We'll try not to hold that against them... bad times.

[Riedesel]

Ribentrop was the Ambassador to Great Britain at the time. Prinz Ludwig was a member of the Diplomatic Staff in London. It is only logical that Ribentrop would have been at the wedding. I hope this won't start a discussion on the ethics of the House of Hesse in the mid 20^th century..... :-(
It reminds one of the recent fuss about Prince Philip attending a "Nazi" funeral, for goodness sake!

[Kalafrana]

'Ribentrop was the Ambassador to Great Britain at the time. Prinz Ludwig was a member of the Diplomatic Staff in London. It is only logical that Ribentrop would have been at the wedding. I hope this won't start a discussion on the ethics of the House of Hesse in the mid 20th century..... :-(
It reminds one of the recent fuss about Prince Philip attending a "Nazi" funeral, for goodness sake!'

Indeed. We have to beware of hindsight. One would expect Prince Ludwig to invite his boss, and for Ribbentrop, who was a great social climber, to go (he got the 'von' by persuading an aunt to adopt him after he was well into adulthood).

I am reminded of the furore in the tabloid press in Britain a few years ago when it emerged that Princess Michael of Kent's father had been in the Waffen SS. Reprehensible though this might have been, it was rather unfair to blame Princess Michael, who had yet to be born at the time and never even met her father until she was a teenager (her parents separated before her birth).

Ann

[Eric_Lowe]

Well...The Royal Family was (and still is) related to their relatives in Germany. Hard not to associate with at least one who did not have ties to the Nazi Party. One must be careful and not to confuse guilty with guilty by association.

[allanraymond]

What you say is quite correct.

My original posting was only to say Ribbentrop was a witness to their wedding (as opposed to just attending) and as such it wasn't intended to convey anything more  sinister.

Allan Raymond   

Ribentrop was the Ambassador to Great Britain at the time. Prinz Ludwig was a member of the Diplomatic Staff in London. It is only logical that Ribentrop would have been at the wedding. I hope this won't start a discussion on the ethics of the House of Hesse in the mid 20^th century..... :-(
It reminds one of the recent fuss about Prince Philip attending a "Nazi" funeral, for goodness sake!