12 May 1879 marks the birth of Princess Feodora of Saxe Meiningen.
Princess Feodora was the only child of Bernhard, Hereditary
Prince of Saxe-Meiningen, and his wife Princess Charlotte of Prussia,
herself the eldest daughter of German Crown Prince Frederick William
and Crown Princess Victoria. The new baby was the first grandchild
of the Crown Prince and Princess, and through her mother was also the
first great-grandchild of the British Queen Victoria.
See also descendants of Queen Victoria (2) on this link.
Queen Victoria was fond of her eldest great-grandchild.
In June 1887, the young Feodora and her parents attended the queen's
Golden Jubilee in London. While her parents stayed at Buckingham Palace,
Feodora stayed with her young cousin Princess Alice of Battenberg at
the home of the Dowager Duchess of Buccleuch at Whitehall, allowing
the girls to watch the royal procession as it made its way to
Westminster Abbey.
Queen Victoria described her as "sweet little Feo, who is so good and
I think grown quite pretty. We were delighted to have her and I think
the dear child has enjoyed herself."
Love and Marriage
As Feodora grew older, her marriage began to be a consideration.
The exiled Prince Peter Karađorđević, thirty-six years older than
Feodora, proposed himself as a suitor, though this was likely a
bid to gain support for succeeding to the Serbian throne. Charlotte
declared that "for such a throne Feodora is far too good".
Her mother's maternal first cousin Alfred, Hereditary Prince of Saxe-Coburg
and Gotha, the only son of Charlotte's friend (and Feodora's maternal
grandaunt) the Duchess of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, was also considered.
Several months after returning from Queen Victoria's Diamond Jubilee
celebrations in June 1897, Feodora became engaged to Prince
Heinrich XXX Reuss of Köstritz (1864-1939), with the betrothal
announced in early October. Born in Castle Neuhoff.
Prince Henry was a captain in the Brunswick Infantry
Regiment No. 92, though not particularly wealthy or high-ranked.
Feodora's grandmother Empress Victoria was surprised at the
choice of groom, particularly his lack of position, but observed
that the bride at least seemed happy. Of the fifteen-year age gap,
Victoria commented, "I am very glad he is older than she is, and
if he is wise and steady and firm, he may do her a vast deal of good,
and it may turn out very well, but she has had a strange example
in her mother, and is a strange little creature.
Once returned from their honeymoon, Henry spent much of
his time on duty with his regiment, while Feodora joined a reading
group and attended the opera and theatre in Berlin.
Feodora also often accompanied her husband during his military
assignments, travelling throughout Germany.
Health
Feodora suffered most of her adult life from ill health, describing
it as "the old story" of her life. Like her mother and maternal
grandmother, and maternal great grandmother Feodora's illnesses
included dizziness, insomnia, nausea, various pains, paralysis,
constipation, and diarrhoea. She underwent several operations to
treat her illnesses and alleviate her infertility, each without success.
Feodora visited Windsor Castle in 1900, which would be the last
time she saw her great-grandmother before Queen Victoria's death
the following year. Henry attended her funeral, but ill health kept
Feodora from attending.
Feodora blamed malaria for her condition, though Charlotte told
family members that Henry had given his wife a venereal disease,
an allegation Feodora furiously denied. Charlotte asked her daughter
to get tested by Charlotte's personal physician; when Feodora refused,
it confirmed to Charlotte that her beliefs were correct. In reaction,
Feodora refused to enter her mother's house and complained to
family members of Charlotte's "incredible" actions.
In 1903, the couple moved to Flensburg upon Henry being
transferred, where they lived in a small house. Feodora found
that the region's mild climate had a positive impact on her health.
To further improve it and increase the probability of becoming
pregnant, she took pills of arsenic and thorium. Her poor health
recurred, however, and she again began suffering from toothache
and migraines. In October 1904, a serious illness was blamed on
influenza. Her further efforts to conceive included numerous visits
to private clinics through the years, which often led to painful
surgeries and procedures.
War
With the outbreak of World War I, Henry was dispatched to the
Western Front, while his wife opened a small hospital to treat wounded
soldiers. By this stage, relations between him and his wife had
deteriorated; Henry believed Feodora enjoyed complaining about
being sick and seeing doctors. He wrote that her illness "consists
mainly in complete lack of energy and mental apathy", and
complained that "she grossly exaggerates her illnesses and causes
me and others quite unnecessary anxiety". Henry died in 1939.
After the war concluded with Germany's defeat, Feodora's
father's rule over the Duchy of Saxe-Meiningen was ended.
Her post-war life is mostly unknown, and records of her
subsequent medical history have mainly been lost.
She spent her final years at the Sanatorium Buchwald-Hohenwiese,
near Hirschberg, Silesia, in what is now southwestern Poland.
She committed suicide on 26 August 1945, dying shortly after
World War II ended.
Source pictures: Wikipedia
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