Prince Harald & Princess Helena

[Kevin_Australia]

I recently came across a copy of Princess Louise Sophie of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Augustenburg's (wife of Prince Friedrich Leopold of Prussia) memiors.

In it she talks about the War (WW1) and how at the end of it her brother, Duke Ernst Gunther, tried to retain ownership of his properties in Schleswig by putting them in his neice's, Princess Helena, name.  Princess Helena was the wife of Prince Harald, a brother of the then King, Christian X.

"This brave woman, in spie of all sorts of threats against herself and her husband (including that of banishment to Iceland), did not give way either to the Ministers or to the King and finally, an arrangement with the Danes was achieved by which my brother gave up his beautiful estates, but was indemnified by a large sum of money;"

Has any one heard any more of this??

[Svetabel]

The book of Princess Louise Sophie's memoirs is a rare find. Congrats!

[grandduchessella]

Sure is--I paid a good amount on ebay for it once and never received it.  

[Kevin_Australia]

Unfortunately (or luckily) it was in our National Library. I am seriously thinking of photo-copying the whole book as it would be certainly cheaper than buying it, from the 1 or 2 times I have seen it available.

I also posted this emssage on the Skandanavian Royals Message board, and on there they say that the property that was taken over was Graasten.

[grandduchessella]

To flesh it out some here's what another poster put:

The estate in question would be Graasten [Gravenstein in German], which was acquired about 1750 by Christian August of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Augustenburg from the Ahlefeldt family. It was rebuilt in 1759 after a fire in 1757 and restored in 1840 and again in 1920. Graasten was acquired by the Danish state in 1921 and given to Crown Prince Frederik and Crown Princess Ingrid as a wedding present in 1935. It remained their summer residence from that time.

and another added

Mind you Graasten Castle was not de jura given to TRH Crown Prince Frederik and Crown Princess Ingrid - the royal family just got the right to use it (and the Danish state still owns the building today!).

[kmerov]

I have also heard about this. Ernst Gunther was childless and he wanted to keep the Ducal properties in the family after Nothern Slesvigs return to Denmark.
His decision to involve Princess Helena was very unpopular, and didnt' help her reputation.
Ernst Gunther also adopted a son and a daughter of Prince Albert of Glücksborg, but in the end all the estate, the castles Augustenborg, Sønderborg and Graasten were sold to the Danish state. The only cassel that was actually held and used by the Ducal family was Graasten.

[kmerov]

Prince Harald (third son of Frederik VIII and Lovisa) and Princess Helena (nee Glücksburg) were married in 1909, and their marriage was the first between the German and the Danish Glücksburg lines.
The marriage was not the best, Helena being a Nazi supporter and over-controlling. She was not liked by many, and the press loved to make fun of her. Harald on the other hand seems to have been popular and respected by the people who knew him.

The couple had five children.
1910-1975 Feodora, Princess of Denmark
1912-1995 Caroline Mathilde, Princess of Denmark
1914-1962 Alexandrine-Louise, Princess of Denmark
1919-1991 Gorm, Prince of Denmark
1923 -1990 Oluf, Count of Rosenborg

The couple in 1909

[kmerov]

The couple on the steps in front of their new home, Schäffergaarden.



Schäffergaarden, the couples first home.

[grandduchessella]

Great pictures as always Kmerov.

Helena's Nazism got her kicked out of Denmark by Christian X. She was allowed to return when Harold was ill.

Her branch of the Schleswig-Holstein family had a particular affinity for the Nazis:

Her brother-in-law Charles, Duke of Coburg (husband of her sister Victoria Adelheid and grandson of Queen Victoria) was a virulent Nazi who was imprisoned for sometime after WW2 for his activities when he was head of the German Red Cross.

Her brother-in-law August Wilhelm of Prussia (husband of her sister Alexandra; son of Kaiser Wilhelm II) was the most pro-Nazi of the Hohenzollerns.

Do you know how she met Harold and whether it was a happy marriage? Also, what was her life like in Denmark as a princess of Schleswig-Holstein after the SH war?

[kmerov]

Thank you, Gdella.

Yes, Christian X used his rights as head of the royal family to banish Helena without trial or anything. He was not happy about the reports during the war, that she entertained the German soldiers in her home, and as soon as he could she was send to Schleswig.

I don't know for shure how they met, but the Glücksborg family did visit the Danish court and the two families did have relations after the SH wars.
I don't think it was the best of marriages, since Helena was a very dominering woman. Prince Harald is supposed to have said "I'm not even allowed to answer the phone".
Princess Helena was very proud of being German and her Augustenborg heritage didn't help her win over the Danish population.
For instance, her maternel uncle, Duke Ernst Gunther of Augustenborg was childless and he wanted to keep the Ducal properties in the family after Nothern schleswigs return to Denmark. His decision to involve Princess Helena, which she did gladly, was very unpopular and didnt' help her reputation.

[YaBB_Jose]

Shame one can't see the pictures 

[kmerov]

Which pictures can't you see, cause I can see all of them?

And a picture of Harald and Helena with their two eldest daughters, Feodora (Feo) and Caroline Mathilde (Calma).

[Eric_Lowe]

I heard that her sons (who were naturally very patroitic to Denmark) were disgusted by Helena's pro-german attitude. When they saw Helena saluting to the German War planes flying over Denmark, they went to the garden and shot blacks in the air to relieve their frustation. 

[David_Pritchard]

I heard that her sons (who were naturally very patroitic to Denmark) were disgusted by Helena's pro-german attitude. When they saw Helena saluting to the German War planes flying over Denmark, they went to the garden and shot blacks in the air to relieve their frustation. 

From whom did you 'hear' this? Why were they shooting Blacks into the air?

[Eric_Lowe]

blanks shots from someone close to the Danish Royal family.