Crownprince Wilhelm & Crownprincess Cecilie, their family, Part I

[Linnea]

What was Cecilie's relationship with her brother's-in-law, in particular Eitel who lived through the latter 1920s and 1930s alone and seemingly lonely. Were they close? How did they relate during WWII?

Hmm, there is not much said about this in the books I´ve read. Eitel-Friedrich died in 1942 in Potsdam and was buried there, so Cecilie surely attended to his funeral. As a opponent of the nazis, no military tributes were allowed and all the guest had to come in civil. I don´t know if Eitel-Friedrich was too lonely as he had a very good relationship with his housekeeper (he also wanted to marry her, but the Kaiser didn´t think this was a good idea).
Here is a photo of Eitel-Friedrich and Cecilie standing beside each other:

[HerrKaiser]

another great photo! What year was this? My favorite Cecilie is beginning to look a bit matronly and less glamorous as she often has appeared. August Wilhelm is shown here; he was a big supporter (at least early on) of A. Hitler. Did his political leanings create a rift amongst the brothers and wives?

[Linnea]

It was probably taken in 1912/13, I suppose. Well, August Wilhelm was a great supporter of the nazis. I only know that Wilhelm thought in the 1930s that Hitler might bring the monarchy back again, so he didn´t want to fall out with him and his party. There is also an anecdote about Cecilie, that, after Hitler had visited her husband, said:" Please open the windows! We want to get the smell out!". His siblings rather pitied him as he had always been the "rotten apple" of the family and he wasn´t the fave of his father, to say the least. There was a very good documentary about this topic on TV some months ago, called "Hitler und der Adel"(Hitler and the nobility), where also August Wilelm was focused on. A coment about him was "easy influenceable and inflammable". Goebels smiled at him and  said:"A poor little boysey who does much for the affair."

[Wettin]

In my opinion the words of Cecilie after Hitler´s visit were typical for those of the German royalty and nobility who didn´t like him. He was naïvely regarded as an upstart whose political ideas weren´t seriously enough discussed to the detrement of the country. And honestly, his manners were very coarse.

[Marlene]

Prince Eitel Friedrich preferred male company, rather than female company.

Hmm, there is not much said about this in the books I´ve read. Eitel-Friedrich died in 1942 in Potsdam and was buried there, so Cecilie surely attended to his funeral. As a opponent of the nazis, no military tributes were allowed and all the guest had to come in civil. I don´t know if Eitel-Friedrich was too lonely as he had a very good relationship with his housekeeper (he also wanted to marry her, but the Kaiser didn´t think this was a good idea).
Here is a photo of Eitel-Friedrich and Cecilie standing beside each other:

[cimbrio]

Prince Eitel Friedrich preferred male company, rather than female company.

I'll second that. I've read that Eitel-Friedrich was a closet homosexual, which seems to have been fairly common at the time within Royal boundaries; other cases of homo or bisexuality in male princes spring to mind: Ernest Louis of Hesse and the Rhine, his brother-in-law Serge of Russia, Grand Duke Nicholas Mikhailovich of Russia, Peter of Oldenburg (husband of Olga Alexandrovna of Russia), Ludwig II of Bavaria and his first royal lover, Paul von Thurn und Taxis... However, I do not recall where I've read that about Eitel Friedrich so don't take MY word for it...

[Marlene]

I wrote about it but I was not the first

[cimbrio]

Hmm no, I've never read any of your works Marlene, sorry It might have been on here, or some other webpage. I so look forward to having my own study/library at home, and I'll fill it with zillions of royalty books, I dare say there'll be some room for a copy of yours Marlene hehehehe Only today (and recently, over these past few days I'm spending in England) I've bought a bio on The Empress Frederick, Leopold II of Belgium, Haakon VII of Norway and also a handy book on Rulers of the British Isles, The Camera and the Tsars and others I do not recall just now, all for less than £40! Sadly, I've found a slight mistake in Hannah Pakula's book "An uncommon woman"; in one of the family trees, it says that Ferdinand of Saxe-Coburg,s sons married the Queen of Spain and their son was Pedro V of Spain... still, 9 out of 10 for Pakula

[HerrKaiser]

I find no information on Cecilie's romantic life post-WWII. Any relationships to speak of? I had heard she had "made friends" with an American high ranking official, but no details. Any input would be appreciated. Thanks!

[grandduchessella]

She was brought up in the 'anyone have this bigger thread' and thought it be interesting.

Little Princess Cecilie of Prussia

She was a real cutie and was also a beautiful young woman. Why didn´t she marry equally?

Cecilie fell in love with an American soldier who was a part of a team finding lost art works, stolen from different families.  

During the war, there was not a lot of opportunities to meet other royals.  She came to the US, became an American citizen, but always maintained her ties to her family, as her daughter has tried to, as well.

[Prince_Christopher]

I've always been interested in this princess but have found little information on her.

I know for a while, she lived in Amarillo, Texas, which I find intriguing.  If you've ever been to Amarillo, and imagined a European princess living there, you may understand what I mean.

Her husband was from Oklahoma.

Anyone know what her life in America was like?  Was she a typical American "housewife"?  Also, I wonder if she was close to her cousin, Viktoria Marina of Prussia, who also married an American commoner, Mr. Patterson, and made her home in New Mexico, not too far from Amarillo.

Did Cecilie return to live in Europe after her husband died and from what did she herself die of?

What does her daughter, Kyra Harris Johnson, do for a living?

[Marlene]

I've always been interested in this princess but have found little information on her.

I know for a while, she lived in Amarillo, Texas, which I find intriguing.  If you've ever been to Amarillo, and imagined a European princess living there, you may understand what I mean.

Her husband was from Oklahoma.

Anyone know what her life in America was like?  Was she a typical American "housewife"?  Also, I wonder if she was close to her cousin, Viktoria Marina of Prussia, who also married an American commoner, Mr. Patterson, and made her home in New Mexico, not too far from Amarillo.

Did Cecilie return to live in Europe after her husband died and from what did she herself die of?

What does her daughter, Kyra Harris Johnson, do for a living?

I can tell you that she was not close to Victoria Marina and that branch of the family, but maintained good ties with her siblings in Germany.    Kira Johnson lives a private life - she's a friend of mine, and I would never divulge anything about her private life.  

[HerrKaiser]

The road Cecilie's life took speaks tons to how a person's life can change. From daughter of the heir to the throne of the German Empire, arguably the monarchy with greatest power in terms of monarchial authority and national industrial output etc, to a housewife in Amarillo is quite a change. Apparently, all with diginity and grace and acceptance.

[Danjel]

another pic of Cecilie

[HerrKaiser]

wonderful picture, Danjel! This looks like a mid-1930s vintage, yes? Did she and her siblings get a more solid education in order to survive in the post-monarchy world?

This photo would be nice if taken a bit more wide so we could see her Mercedes (I assume it was such!).