Princess Alexandra of Hohenlohe-Langenburg

[Svetabel]

Well...with a face like Alexandra, I have no doubt people will be knocking at her door.

But she did not look like Frankenstein. And the beauty or prettiness of the features sometimes don't matter, by the wayl there were more ugly Princesses who married.

[Eric_Lowe]

Well...for their money and postion and sometimes family & political reasons. If you read the way the last Emperor of Brazil met his future wife, he was tempted to send her back since she was so ugly. He went throgh with it but had numerous mistresses. 

[basilforever]

I still think these two princesses would not have found it hard at all to find a husband. They didn't necessarily need a royal one at all. They were not ugly. They were not poor, they were not politically ostracised, they were fine. I think it must be at least a large part because they did not wish to marry, for whatever reason.

[Eric_Lowe]

Well...They do not want what was given but cannot get want they want. Being single is not so bad after all than with the wrong guy. 

[Marlene]

Irma may not have married but she had a long term relationship with a man ... lived with him for years.

I have often wondered why Irma and Alexandra never married.   

[Norbert]

I'd be very pleased if anyone knows the dates as to when Hermann of H-L  ruled as Stadholder of Alsace-Lorraine . His 1907 memoirs were to ruin the family

[Eric_Lowe]

New information that came out from her letters to Ducky confirmed that "Sandra" was jealous of her and report any gossip back to her mother Marie Coburg. Once Missy visited her family while Grand Duke Dimitri was nearby. She repreated the rumours about them and made Missy's holiday a hell. At the end she told Ducky that she was glad to go back to Bucherest, since Sandra made her life so uncomfortable in Coburg. That plus Sandra's greed in trying to get the most out of her mother'swill, inheriting the best jewels and the whole Edinbrugh Palais. Only Ducky stood firmly did the other sisters managed to get anything. Not to mention the time when Sandra actually" lost it"  and slapped Baby Bee...It is much credit to Missy, Ducky and Bee that they were so big hearted and forgave their nasty sister and kept peace in the family...

[Eurohistory]

You paint a caricature of Sandra, not a true portrait...which one ought not to do unless one has access to documentation, which you do not really do.

I have spent the last 4 years researching family archives with the current Fürst zu Hohenlohe-Langenburg...the sisters had differences, that is undoubted, as many siblings do, but all cared much for each other and yearly visits between them were commonplace. Their children (Kira, Maria, Alexandra, Irma, Ileana, etc...) were very good friends who vacationed together all around Europe. Visits to Romania were frequent and I have plenty of illustrated documentation for this. Beatrice, living farther away in Spain, was the one who visited the others the least.

But Eric, in all due frankness, you paint a picture of Sandra that is hardly complete.

Respectfully,

Arturo Beéche

[Eric_Lowe]

Well...Sandra's actions in Missy's and Ducky's letters sound anything but nice. Someone who read the new book on Ena & Bee said it even states at one point that Sandra refuse to take care of their mother. I think Missy was the kindest, Ducky was the more artistic and opinionated but Sandra was indeed jealous of her sisters and at some point made others life hell. It wrote volumes that they forgave their sister and took her back into their confidence after episodes of Sandra 's greed ( she got the biggest slice from the Duchess of Coburg's will-that is a fact !) and petty things that irritate the other sisters (including making Missy's holiday hell-one of the letters John read during this year's RD). Baby Bee was more of an indepenent woman also strong in opinions. Well...At least they all remain togather despite that, but by comparison, Sandra did came out short compared with the rest.

[TampaBay]

Have these letters been published?  If so then where, as I would like to read them.

TampaBay

[grandduchessella]

No, they haven't been published, escept perhaps quotes here and there in articles. John Wimbles was once working on a bio of Marie Coburg--I don't know what came of it.

[Keith]

after episodes of Sandra 's greed ( she got the biggest slice from the Duchess of Coburg's will-that is a fact !)

Unless Sandra actually wrote out Marie Coburg's will, wasn't that Marie's decision to leave the bigggest slice to whom she chose.  I don't see how that illustrates greed on Sandra's part.

[Keith]

Does anyone know when Marie Coburgs will was dated?

Is the modify button missing, or did I just not see it?

[Eric_Lowe]

Sandra was the closest one to Marie Coburg and always asked her mother to give her more stuff. Her manipulation of her mother and the will caused ill feeling among the sisters. Finally a third party had to be called in (Missy wasn't able to come due to the war) to make sure that the distribution of the jewels and the rest of the things were in order. Ducky made the trip and confronted Sandra (I think Ducky was the only one Sandra was a bit in awe of). After that it was quite a while before they forgave Sandra and took her back. This isdocumented in John Wimbles's article on Sandra published in the old Royalty Digest.

[Keith]

You can ask someone all you want for something, but doesn't mean they have to give it to you. Who would have thought the day would have come that Marie Coburg would have let a daughter manipulate her.

I guess the war really changed Marie Coburg from someone who had backbone to giving in pretty easily.