Crownprince Wilhelm & Crownprincess Cecilie, their family, Part I

[eejm]

Are there any surviving letters or anything else written from her family mentioning what they knew and understood about Alexandrine's condition?  How soon was she identified as having Down's Syndrome upon her birth?  How was her education handled, and by whom?  Per the information on Down's Syndrome that Cambria_Coheed posted, I wonder how soon her family knew that Alexandrine would likely have mental and physical challenges.  I was surprised to learn that so much was known about Down's Syndrome so long ago.

Although not royal, Charles de Gaulle also had a daughter with Down's Syndrome, Anne.  As was Alexandrine, she was kept with her family, and her father held a lot of affection for her. There's a nice story in her Wikipedia entry about a photograph of Anne stopping a bullet that could have killed Gen. de Gaulle.  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anne_de_gaulle

[Cambria_Coheed]

yes, i was surprised as well to find out that too.

did Alexandrine marry? i mean i know she could probably have married but would be unable to have children because of the extra 21st chromosome.

[Adagietto]

Alexandrine never married. She was brought up with the other children at the family homes, the Cecilienhof in Potsdam and Schloss Oels in Silesia, and then spent a couple of years at Trüpersche Sonderschule, a special school which had been founded in Jena in 1890 for the education of children with learning difficulties (and had thus been a pioneering institution). After spending two further years at home in Potsdam, she lived in Bavaria for the rest of her life, at Niederpöcking from 1936-45, and then in a house on the Starnberger See (Lake Starnberg, not far from Munich).

There is a German Wikipedia article on Johannes Trüper, the founder of the above-mentioned special school:
http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Johannes_Tr%C3%BCper

[HerrKaiser]

thanks adagietto, all that is interesting and true. Cecilie was hero-worhipped by VL. in fact, when Cecilie arrived as the bethrothed to the crown prince for the first time at the neues palais in Potsdam, the occasion was a very big event. Viktoria was a child and witnessed the pomp and revelry from a window in the palace and was awestruck by her first sight of Cecilie. Viktoria wrote that Cecilie looked like a true fairytale princess arriving in all her beauty and grace to meet her prince charming. On that occasion, Cecilie was wearing a gorgeous all-pink outfit including a pink fur hat and muff. it must have been delightful.

I had written this earlier in the thread:

"Princess Victoria Louise (her sister-in-law) records in her autobiography:

"...I was overwhelmed with curiousity as to how a proper bride should look....I went through to have a look. Cecile's beauty, grace and charm filled me with astonishment....I went through..several times more in order to have a good look at her...Cecile's bewitching appearance at least conformed to the picture conjured up by my girlish fantasy..." "

Isn't it delightfully interesting how a true princess herself would have a girlish fantasy about a fairytale princess? it speaks significantly to how people have simillar human traits/dreams in spite of their status in life.

[Eric_Lowe]

A true princess yes...but isolated in a school room with her governess and dreams. 

[HerrKaiser]

thanks adagietto, all that is interesting and true. Cecilie was hero-worhipped by VL. in fact, when Cecilie arrived as the bethrothed to the crown prince for the first time at the neues palais in Potsdam, the occasion was a very big event. Viktoria was a child and witnessed the pomp and revelry from a window in the palace and was awestruck by her first sight of Cecilie. Viktoria wrote that Cecilie looked like a true fairytale princess arriving in all her beauty and grace to meet her prince charming. On that occasion, Cecilie was wearing a gorgeous all-pink outfit including a pink fur hat and muff. it must have been delightful.

I had written this earlier in the thread:

"Princess Victoria Louise (her sister-in-law) records in her autobiography:

"...I was overwhelmed with curiousity as to how a proper bride should look....I went through to have a look. Cecile's beauty, grace and charm filled me with astonishment....I went through..several times more in order to have a good look at her...Cecile's bewitching appearance at least conformed to the picture conjured up by my girlish fantasy..." "

Isn't it delightfully interesting how a true princess herself would have a girlish fantasy about a fairytale princess? it speaks significantly to how people have simillar human traits/dreams in spite of their status in life.

[Eric_Lowe]

The life of a Prussian princess is quite limited to dresses & marriages as Vikotia Luise's grandmother Vicky found out when she arrive from England. 

[HerrKaiser]

Eric Lowe I cannot understand your last two replies as they do not seem to track on point however much it seems to be your intent. Can you please explain and clarify?

[dmitri]

The life of a Prussian Princess was highly dictated by stifling protocol. In fact one was placed under house arrest if misbehaviour took place no matter how trivial.

[Eric_Lowe]

Indeed ! No wonder VL made dreams of marriage and liberation from that ragid social structure. In fact one of the reasons that Prince Arthur married princess Louise of Prussia was that she felt sorry for her and wanted to give her a better life in England. 

[HerrKaiser]

Cecilie did not swap Cannes for Berlin. Her ducal family vacationed on the French and Italian rivieras but she preferred the northern German topgraphy and environment to that of the mediterranean and she always relished the "going home" after time spend on the riviera.

[Eric_Lowe]

True...although she had much freedom in the Riveria and got used to some of the liberities that were allowed there. Berlin must have been a shock to her...

[Adagietto]

It is often said that Cecilie aged quite early; well, she couldn't maintain her youthful radiance indefinitely, but it seems to me that she changed remarkably little between, say, 1914 and 1950. As evidence, I offer this photo of her from 1950 when she was almost sixty-five. How little mark all the vents of the preceding decades have left on her!

[HerrKaiser]

wow! I would never have guessed this photo was circa 1950. I would have put it about 1920.

Once again, it is rare to see a royal with a smile on his/her face. Cecilie and VL were few who did so in many photos.

This is a great photo. Cecilie looks pleased, calm, at peace, lovely.

[Yseult]

Anyone has pictures of Cecilie with her sister Alexandrine? I just have seen a few shots...and the images were so small...so I can´t apreciate if the two sisters shared a "family look".