Karl, 3rd Prince of Leiningen: Queen Victoria's Half-Brother - Owlcation Skip to main content

Karl, 3rd Prince of Leiningen: Queen Victoria's Half-Brother

Karl, 3rd Prince of Leiningen was Queen Victoria's maternal half-brother. She called him Charles.

Karl, 3rd Prince of Leiningen was Queen Victoria's maternal half-brother. She called him Charles.

Amorbach, 1804: Karl, 3rd Prince of Leiningen Born

Queen Victoria had a maternal half-brother named Karl Friedrich Wilhelm Emich, 3rd Prince of Leiningen. Their mother, Victoire of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld, was first married to Emich Karl, 2nd Prince of Leiningen. On 12th September 1804, Karl was born in Amorbach, the Haus zu Leiningen's seat in modern-day Bavaria.

His sister Feodora (Anna Feodora Auguste Charlotte Wilhemine) arrived on 7th December 1807. They never knew their half-brother Friedrich (1793–1800) from Emich Karl's first marriage (Victoire was his second wife).

Emich Karl died in 1814, and 10-year-old Karl succeeded him as the 3rd Prince of Leiningen. His role was not that of a traditional ruler.

The Principality of Leiningen: Bavaria, Hesse, and Baden

The Principality of Leiningen was established in 1803 under Prince Karl, 1st Prince of Leiningen (he was raised from a count to a prince in 1779). After the 1806 mediatization or restructuring of Germany, the principality was controlled by three other states: The Kingdom of Bavaria, the Grand Duchy of Baden, and the Grand Duchy of Hesse.

In return for successive Leiningen princes' compliance, they were afforded privileges. The dynasty's residences were retained, and the incumbent prince was automatically installed as a member of Hesse and Baden's Landtags, the First Chamber of Estates Assemblies. They served on the Imperial Council of the Kingdom of Bavaria.

The short-lived Principality of Leiningen. In 1806 it was controlled by Bavaria, Hesse and Baden.

The short-lived Principality of Leiningen. In 1806 it was controlled by Bavaria, Hesse and Baden.

Victoire's Short Marriage to Edward, Duke of Kent

On 29th May 1818 in Amorbach and 11th July 1818 at Kew Palace in London, Victoire married Edward, Duke of Kent, the fourth son of King George III and Queen Charlotte. When the duke and pregnant duchess and Feodora moved to England in early 1819 so that the child, a potential monarch of Britain and Hanover, would be born on British soil, Karl continued his education at a private school in Bern, Switzerland.

Edward and Victoire's union produced Princess Alexandrina Victoria of Kent or "Drina," the future Queen Victoria. She was born on the 24th May 1819 at Kensington Palace. The Duke of Kent died on 23rd January 1820, leaving the family without a father figure, but Karl barely knew his stepfather. He didn't meet his half-sister Drina (Victoria) until 1825. She always referred to him as Charles, not Karl.

Between 1821 and 1823, Karl studied law at the University of Gottingen in Hanover. After this, he returned to the family estates.

Hostility: Sir John Conroy, Prince Karl and Princess Victoria

Ambitious and scheming Sir John Conroy had been the Duke of Kent's aide-de-camp, and he took on the roles of comptroller of the Duchess of Kent's household and her private secretary when she was widowed.

Conroy wielded too much power, and he influenced the isolated Duchess of Kent. He preyed on her insecurities. The young Victoria loathed Conroy and his bullish manner. She realized that he desired to be the power behind the throne, her throne, one day, and she refused to allow that.

Prince Karl depended on Conroy's goodwill for his financial support, so he took Conroy's side in disputes. Victoria grew to detest Karl as much as she did Sir John Conroy.

In May 1837, Victoria turned 18. She could now rule in her own right. Machiavellian Conroy tried to convince Prime Minister William Lamb, Lord Melbourne, that the adult Victoria was unfit to rule alone whenever the already fading King William IV passed away. Melbourne didn't act on Conroy's words.

Henry Tanworth-Wells 1887 depiction of Queen Victoria receiving the news of her accession.

Henry Tanworth-Wells 1887 depiction of Queen Victoria receiving the news of her accession.

Prince Karl Rejects Sir John Conroy's Demand

Conroy leaned on Karl and the Duchess of Kent to get Victoria to consent to a wholly unnecessary regency. Victoria resisted. Conroy instructed Victoire and Karl to demand and coerce (bully) Victoria into signing the documents he drew up. Still, Karl realized that they were in danger of sacrificing their relationship with Victoria and losing her trust forever. He persuaded his mother to refuse.

Victoire's brother King Leopold of the Belgians, sent his advisor Baron Stockmar to help the duchess overpower Conroy.

Victoria ascended to the throne on 20th June 1837 and she reigned in her own right with Lord Melbourne's guidance and approval. Victoria distanced herself from her mother, and Conroy was slowly sidelined.

Karl was rewarded or appeased in case of future discord; he was the first person invested as a knight in the chivalric Order of the Garter by Victoria.

Waldleiningen Castle was commissioned by Karl, 3rd Prince of Leiniingen.

Waldleiningen Castle was commissioned by Karl, 3rd Prince of Leiniingen.

Waldleiningen and the Leiningen Line Continues

Karl had his late father's hunting lodge, Waldleiningen, demolished, and he commissioned a residence inspired by English architecture and Sir Walter Scott's novels. Construction of the new Waldleiningen began in 1828. It was not completed until the 1870s.

On 13th February 1829, Prince Karl married a former lady-in-waiting to Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha's mother Princess Louise. Countess Maria von Klebelsberg and Karl had two sons. Ernst Leopold was born in 1830, and Eduard Friedrich arrived in 1833.

The family resided in Amorbach. Karl undertook lavish renovations, which were largely paid for by Victoire, Duchess of Kent.

August 1848: Prime Minister of Germany

Between 1843 and 1848 Karl, 3rd Prince of Leiningen, led the Imperial Council of Bavaria. In August 1848, Karl briefly served as the Prime Minister of the post-German revolution Provisional Central Power. After three weeks the body was disbanded, and he resigned from the role.

Karl was one of the founding members and the first chairman of the Mainz Aristocracy Association, which helped Germans to settle in Texas, U.S.A.

In 1853 he retired entirely from public life. In 1855 Karl suffered a stroke, and another on 13th November 1856 proved fatal. His sister Feodora, by marriage Princess of Hohenhohe-Langenburg, was at his bedside at Waldleiningen when he died at 11 a.m.

Queen Victoria recorded in her journal that when she received the telegram telling her about Karl's demise, she was thunderstruck and that her grief was great.

Karl was buried at Amorbach Abbey, but after 10 years, his remains were transported to Waldleiningen, where he has remained. His widow Maria survived him by 24 years.

Andreas, 8th Prince of Leiningen (titular).

Andreas, 8th Prince of Leiningen (titular).

The Haus zu Leiningen Today

The couple's eldest son Prince Ernst Leopold, 4th Prince of Leiningen died in 1904. His son Emich became the 5th Prince of Leiningen. After the First World War, the title was abolished in accordance with the Weimar Constitution.

However, Emich and his descendants have continued to call themselves the Princes of Leiningen. Today Andreas, 8th Prince of Leiningen (b.1955) is the head of the family.

Waldleiningen is now a private hospital run by the family.

Sources

This content is accurate and true to the best of the author’s knowledge and is not meant to substitute for formal and individualized advice from a qualified professional.