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

[Martyn]

VMH is certainly to be pitied in this instance.  I think that she must often have been on the receiving end of her grandmother's expressions of indignation about family issues.  I love the underlining thing - I might try that!
I think that it was the Richrd Waugh book about Louis and Victoria that discussed Vicky and Irene's disagreement about Ernie's marital issues (I'll have to look it up); you are quite right that the divorce happened after the death of both Vicky and her mother.
David Duff seem to think that Irene was a little overlooked amongst her siblings as being less beautiful and less forceful in terms of personality.  What do you think?

[grandduchessella]

I think it's probably true about the overshadowing. Irene was pretty but in a quiet, plainer way than Alix & Ella who were dazzling. Plus, she lacked VMH's forceful personality so she kind of ended up in 4th place. Then you look at the family connection--the Henrys were certainly popular w/their relatives for visits, official occasions, etc...but didn't do anything spectacular to warrant non-royalphile interest nowadays. She wasn't the mother of Earl Mountbatten or Queen of Sweden or grandmother of Prince Philip; she wasn't a legendarily beautiful GDSs who became a nun then a saint; she wasn't the tragic, beautiful last Empress of Russia w/all the accompanying drama of hemophilia, Rasputin, Revolution and horrific death. Irene just led her life quietly, suffering to be sure the tragedies of her family, but passed on just as quietly and out of public notice.

[Martyn]

Why were Henry and Irene called "The Very Amiables" amongst the family?

[Janet_W.]

I've wondered about this too, Martyn. I'm guessing it had to do with the fact that both of them were fairly well down on the "totem pole" and therefore had learned, early on, to be flexible and amiable rather than dogmatic in their dealings with other family members. I would like to know more about both of them . . . they seem to have been "lost in the shuffle," in my opinion!

[Ilana]

Also, 'cause they were both peacemakers.  Probably had something to do with their birth order.

[Martyn]

I don't think that Henry was that "amiable" before his marriage to Irene.  It has been fairly well documented that before his marriage, he, Charlotte and Willy were very much in the opposite camp to their parents and not always terriby pleasant to Vicky and Fritz.
Even after his marriage and the rapprochement that Irene achieved with him and Vicky, he was still in Willy's thrall; indeed any speech that Henry was required to give in public was written either by his brother or his brother's advisors.  This was  in order to avoid Henry making any kind of gaffe or utterance that might be contrary to Wilhelm's opinions; any departure from this resulted in the full force of Wilhelm's ire.
By the way, Irene was born at the end of the Austro Prussian war in July 1866.  Irene in Greek means "peace"....Perhaps she was aptly named?

[masha]

i recall reading in a few places where it was briefly mentioned that Irene had to suffer through Henry's temper tantrums, and that their life together was rather patchy - in the sense that Henry was difficult to get along with. It would be nice to know what their marriage was really like. Plus - the tragedy of hemophilia affecting them all, with 2(?) of their 3 sons dying at early ages from it.
It seems that there really is alot of ground to cover for all the royal biographers out there, as we here on the forum would love to read so much more about all these personalities who appear only on the fringe of the more noteable royals.

masha

[grandduchessella]

i recall reading in a few places where it was briefly mentioned that Irene had to suffer through Henry's temper tantrums, and that their life together was rather patchy - in the sense that Henry was difficult to get along with. It would be nice to know what their marriage was really like. Plus - the tragedy of hemophilia affecting them all, with 2(?) of their 3 sons dying at early ages from it.It seems that there really is alot of ground to cover for all the royal biographers out there, as we here on the forum would love to read so much more about all these personalities who appear only on the fringe of the more noteable royals.

masha

I think that sums up why royal biographers don't write about them--they do exist on the 'fringe' of more famous/forceful personalities w/what is known of them being derived from what they saw/knew rather than anything they actually DID. I myself always enjoy reading about the 'lesser knowns' and seeing pictures of them.  Even if their lives couldn't flesh out a whole book, their lives were still interesting and since so little IS written, it makes what's out there new and fresh. We know SO much about some that any new personalities are always great to discover. Until this group and books like Romanov Autumn, I didn't know about hardly any of the Romanovs save from AIII, MF, their immediate family and NAOTMAA. Now I know about so many diverse and interesting people in the family. Same with QV's family--you read so much about so few, that it gets a bit redundant and the new information is often to be found in the less-written-about members.

Still, I think they got on well-together and Irene was certainly the only one who seemed to be able to exert any influence over his temper. And she wore mourning (at least in the photos I've seen of her later years) apparently the rest of her life, even though it had gone out of vogue by then. Maybe that indicates something? As I've said before, I'm a sucker for romance (see the William & Ella discussion!) and I've always found theirs romantic.

[Martyn]

You're right GDElla, that is a great picture of them.  It very much looks more like a modern photo than one for the 1880's.
I like Henry, I think that he must have been a character.  It's rather sad that Irene gets a bit lost between Victoria, Ella and Alix but I'm pretty sure that she must have been able to hold her own with them - and lets face it they were strong women in different ways!

[masha]

Two things:

1. What are the names of the children/grandchildren in the photo above?

2. I see alot of resemblence between Irene and her niece Anastasia - especially in the eyes, brows, cheeks and chin.

Again - tonnes of thanks for the photos, GDssElla!!

Masha

[grandduchessella]

Two things:

1. What are the names of the children/grandchildren in the photo above?

2. I see alot of resemblence between Irene and her niece Anastasia - especially in the eyes, brows, cheeks and chin.

Again - tonnes of thanks for the photos, GDssElla!!

Masha

The children are:
Waldemar (with glasses)--their oldest (& hemophiliac) son & his wife Calixta of Lippe. They were childless.

Sigismund (on far left) with his wife Charlotte of Saxe-Altenberg (d.1989 at Hemmelmark) & their 2 children--daughter (Barbara--died just a few years ago; adopted as her grandmother's heir) and son Albert who lives in Costa Rica.

[bookworm857158367]

Anyone else see a striking resemblance between little Barbara and photos of Anastasia as a little girl?

[Jim1026]

I found a picture of Henry and Irene's mausoleum at Hemmelmark.  Not real good though.  Does any know of any other sites.  

[Louise]

What I find interesting with Henry and Irene is the quiet way they lived with their son's hemophila. It would be wonderful to read their diaries and to find out if Irene and Alix ever discussed their sons and how they helped each other out.

To me, Henry is one of history's what ifs. What if he had been the first born son? Makes one go..hmmmm

Louise

[grandduchessella]

I don't know how Irene & Henry handled it--I've just seen veiled references to it at all. QV notes with distress the signs of the illness in 'dear Irene's little boy' to VMH when discussing marriage prospects of Ernie. (She had thought of Maud of Wales but worried that the disease might manifest itself through the close relationship--not realizing that Maud or Ernie couldn't be a carrier I guess). Was Waldemar the first hemophiliac of the 3rd generation? He was the longest-lived royal hemophiliac surviving until 1945, dying only from lack of blood transfusion facilities I believe, while fleeing the Soviet Army. I wonder if he didn't have children by choice (seeing how Leopold of Albany produced a carrier daughter)?