Princess Margaret of Prussia | |||||
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Landgravine of Hesse, Queen Consort of Finland | |||||
An official portrait of Princess Margaret of Prussia
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Queen consort of Finland and Karelia | |||||
Tenure | 9 October 1918 – 14 December 1918 | ||||
Born |
New Palace, Potsdam, Prussia, German Empire |
22 April 1872||||
Died | 22 January 1954 Schloss Friedrichshof, Kronberg im Taunus, Hesse, Germany |
(aged 81)||||
Burial | Schloss Friedrichshof, Kronberg im Taunus, Hesse, Germany | ||||
Spouse |
Frederick Charles, Landgrave of Hesse-Kassel m. 1893-1940 |
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Issue | Prince Friedrich Wilhelm Prince Maximilian Philipp, Landgrave of Hesse Prince Wolfgang Prince Christoph Prince Richard |
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House | Hohenzollern | ||||
Father | Frederick III, German Emperor | ||||
Mother | Victoria, Princess Royal | ||||
Religion | Lutheranism |
Full name | |
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German: Margarethe Beatrice Feodore English: Margaret Beatrice Feodora |
Princess Margaret of Prussia (Margarete Beatrice Feodora; 22 April 1872 – 22 January 1954) was a daughter of Frederick III, German Emperor and Victoria, Princess Royal and the younger sister of Kaiser Wilhelm II and a granddaughter of Queen Victoria. She married Prince Frederick Charles of Hesse, the elected King of Finland, making her the would-be Queen of Finland had he not decided to reject the throne. In 1926 they became Landgrave and Landgravine of Hesse. She lost three sons in both World Wars I and II.
Princess Margaret of Prussia was the youngest of eight children born to Frederick III, German Emperor, then heir of the German Empire and his wife, Victoria, Princess Royal, Queen Victoria's eldest daughter. Born on 22 April 1872 in the Hohenzollerns' New Palace in Potsdam, by the time the infant was christened, her head was covered with short hair like moss, from which she acquired her nickname "Mossy". Her godparent was Emperor Pedro II of Brazil. She was named Margarethe Beatrice Feodora, and Margaret, the Crown Princess of Italy, was her godmother.
Princess Margaret grew up amid great privilege and formality. Together with her sisters, Princess Viktoria and Princess Sophie, Margaret was deeply attached to her parents, forming an antagonist group to that of her eldest siblings, William II, Princess Charlotte and Prince Heinrich. She remained close to her mother after the death of her father. Margaret was widely regarded as the most popular of Kaiser Wilhelm II's sisters, and she maintained good relations with a wide array of family members. She was a first cousin of both King George V of the United Kingdom and Empress Alexandra of Russia, all three being grandchildren of Victoria. As an adult, she was said to resemble her aunt, Princess Alice.