Prince Henry (Heinrich) of Prussia, his family and descendants

[Eric_Lowe]

Irene could be really difficult. She single-handedly cut her son Sigusmund out of her will because they refused to move back to Germany to keep her company. When her granddaughter Princess Barbara did move back, she left everything to her. Talking about donkey and carrot...

[grandduchessella]

Was it that simplistic (keeping company) or were there more complicated issues of inheritance involved? If Sigismund was determined to stay in Costa Rica, what was the point of leaving him Hemmelmark? He probably would've sold it. Leaving the estate to her granddaughter makes more sense.

[Eric_Lowe]

Well one does not cut someone out of the will just because one's child relocated. When Vicky died, she left something in her will to her daughter, Sophie, even though she relocated to Greece.

I also knew that Barbara was spoiled by her grandmother, and when her mother visited Germany, she was not kind to her.

[bell_the_cat]

There was an interesting programme on German tv last night. It was a programme of German popular music, but it was located at Hemmelmark!

Interspersed with dirndl- clad lovelies wandering through the gardens miming their hits, were short interviews with the housekeeper and with the owner herself ( a g. grandaughter of Prince and Princess Henry.
It was interesting to see the gardens and the inside of the house - it's very English in a tidied-up germanic sort of way.

The duchess showed us Prince Henry's invention - he was the first person to patent windscreen wipers. Henry's version wasn't like windscreen wipers today, it was more one blade moving horizontally over the screen. Still it was a start, and must have saved the lives of many pedestrians.

[grandduchessella]

Yes, Henry was a major automobile fanatic and frequently rode in races. The wiper was fitted to a Benz  in which he left Hamburg to drive to England in 1911. The wiper was a rubber one operated by hand.

[bell_the_cat]

Yes, Henry was a major automobile fanatic and frequently rode in races. The wiper was fitted to a Benz  in which he left Hamburg to drive to England in 1911. The wiper was a rubber one operated by hand.

Yes that's what it was like - possibly the co-driver would have to operate it, to avoid accidents. Prince Henry was also a founder member of the German Automobile Club, the ADAC (who rescue me when I break down on the Autobahn).

The interviewer in the TV show didn't know much about royalty, so she never asked about Irene or the Romanov connection however when she was shown a portrait of Henry she said "Oh yes, Prince Henry - and his famous sailor cap!  

[YaBB_Jose]

Yes, Henry was a major automobile fanatic and frequently rode in races. The wiper was fitted to a Benz  in which he left Hamburg to drive to England in 1911. The wiper was a rubber one operated by hand.

Pr. Henry was indeed an automobile fanatic.
One model of the british make Vauxhall was named after him - the Vauxhall Prince Henry.
Well, to be more precise in honour of Pr.Henry Trial Trophy in Germany, where Vauxhall won the first prize.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vauxhall_Prince_Henry
http://www.carkeys.co.uk/features/classichistoric/985.asp
http://www.thoroughbred-cars.com/cars/UK/vauxhall/Vauxhall%20Prince%20Henry.htm

[Eric_Lowe]

A passion he share with his nephew the crown prince.  

[kayekaye]

My car is a Vauxhall  
But with the utterly unglamourous model name of Vectra  

I've only had it a couple of months and not got around to giving it its own name. As soon as I read this info I decided it has to be Irene.

[bell_the_cat]

My car is a Vauxhall  
But with the utterly unglamourous model name of Vectra  

I've only had it a couple of months and not got around to giving it its own name. As soon as I read this info I decided it has to be Irene.

There's also an Ernst Ludwig/automobile industry connection. In his memoirs there's a photo of him attending the opening of the Adam Opel car factory in Rüsselsheim, just a few miles/km from Wolfsgarten. this must have been in the 1900s. The Opel headquarters is still in Rüsselsheim, although the company is now owned by GM (who also own Vauxhall).

What about an Opel Melita?

[grandduchessella]

Great idea, Tdora!

From the memoirs by James W. Gerard My Four Years in Germany . He was American Ambassador to Berlin. He was there in the immediate period before the war and as war was declared, in fact all the way almost until the US entered the war. Very interesting, especially as the memoirs were written while the war was still going on. Here is a bit of what he says about Henry.

Eckernfjord is a little fishing and bathing town. Near by is the country residence of Prince Henry, a rather modest house, built in brick in English Elizabethan style. The wife of Prince Henry was a Princess of Hesse-Darmstadt and is the sister of the Czarina of Russia. We had tea with Prince and Princess Henry, their family, the Duke of Sonderburg-Glücksburg and several others of his family. The billiard room of the house is decorated with the large original caricatures made by McCutcheon of the Prince's stay in America.

Prince and Princess Henry came out to dine on the Utowana, and Armour and the Prince went ashore to attend another Bierabend, but I dodged the smoke and beer and remained on board. Before he left the yacht, I had a talk with Prince Henry. He seemed most exercised over the dislike of the Germans by all other peoples and asked me why I thought it existed. I politely told him that I thought it existed because of the success which the Germans had had in all fields of endeavour, particularly in manufacturing and commerce. He said, with great truth, that he believed a great deal of it came from the bad manners of the travelling Germans.

Prince Henry is an able and reasonable man with a most delightful manner. He speaks English with a perfect English accent, and I think would be far happier as an English country gentleman than as the Grand Admiral of the German Baltic Fleet. He has been devoted to automobiling and has greatly encouraged that industry in Germany. The Automobile Club of Berlin is his particular pet."

Interesting the comment about him being happier as an English country gentleman--the same has been said of NII and even Kaiser Wilhelm.

[Eric_Lowe]

For the Prussians because they had English upbringing through the influence of Vicky. Somehow it filtered through when both brothers became elderly.

[kayekaye]

They appreciated the style of living they experienced when staying in England with their relatives and friends. The country house lifestyle of the Edwardian period is still regarded as very romantic and enjoyable, and has spawned a lucrative nostalgia industry all of its own! The hospitality was lavish and the shooting superb.

Compared to the stiff and ceremonial German courts, and the opulent discomfort and crushing responsibility of the Russian, to be able to enjoy land and home in this manner would have been something even these all-mighty Emperors yearned for sometimes.

Sort of on the subject (of hunting etc) it was whilst NII and his family were staying at Spala that I first became really interested in Irene. During Alexei's crisis of illness, as Alix fled to spend as much time as she could with him - while keeping his affliction a secret from the guests - it was Irene who took over the hostess duties. Her calm and pleasant manner, and her strength of character and devotion - having experienced her own child suffer the same - was a godsend to poor Alix and her family. Regarded as the least remarkable of Alice's daughters, Irene showed here she was the match of them.
Anyway I've just got back from taking Vauxhall Irene to the shops, and on the way home we went through the carwash for a christening ceremony. It isn't a glamorous car but is handsome and reliable, with an unexpectedly fine performance. Excellent qualities without being flashy.

[bell_the_cat]

Okay her car...nice.  

Don't know if Irene herself like cars that much (her sister-in-law Charlotte loved hers) ?

About Irene...

Ernst Ludwig discusses his siblings in one section of his memoirs. His obvious favourites were Ella and Victoria.
(Favourite Aunt - Louise!). About Irene he doesn't say very much except that she had a tendency to want to boss people around!

[Eric_Lowe]

Yes she did ! Grand Duchess Marie had wanted to chicken out of her marriage to Wilhelm of Sweden, but bossy Irene was there to put a stop to it.