Today marks the 70th Anniversary of the Death of Princess Margaret of Prussia, Landgravine of Hesse-Kassel, who passed away on this day in 1954! The Prussian granddaughter of Queen Victoria who married the future Landgrave of Hesse and was briefly Queen Consort of Finland before family tragedies during the First and Second Worlds.
The youngest of eight children of Emperor Frederick III of Germany and Victoria, Princess Royal, Princes Margaret, nicknamed ‘Mossy’, was the younger sister of Kaiser Wilhelm II of Germany and Queen Sophia of Greece, with her godparents including Queen Margherita of Italy and Emperor Pedro II of Brazil. In 1893, Princes Margaret married Prince Frederick Charles of Hesse, Heir to the Head of the House of Hesse-Kassel.
The couple had six sons, among them two sets of twins, of whom the elder two, Prince Friedrich Wilhelm and Prince Maximilian died during the First World War, the youngest, Prince Christoph, died in the Second World War, while Prince Philipp, who become Landgrave of Hesse, Prince Wolfgang, and Prince Richard survived their parents. The family initially resided at Schloss Rumpenheim before Princess Margaret inherited Schloss Friedrichshof from Empress Frederick in 1901, while becoming the Landgrave and Landgravine of Hesse-Kassel in 1925.
During the Second World War, Princess Margaret lost her husband, her youngest son, Prince Christoph, and two daughters-in-law, Princess Mafalda of Savoy, Landgravine of Hesse and Princess Marie Alexandra of Baden. After the Second World War, the Hesse Family Jewels were buried at Schloss Friedrichshof, being used as a club by American Soldiers, when they were discovered and stolen by the club manager and her future husband. The theft wasn’t discovered until her widowed daughter-in-law, Princess Sophie, was preparing to remarry in 1946, and while the culprits were found, only 10% of the jewels were returned in 1951. Princess Margaret tried to maintain Schloss Friedrichshof as a centre for all her grandchildren, passing away at the centre of her large and dynamic family on this day in 1954.
Hesse Emerald Tiara | Hesse Fleur-de-Lys Tiara | Hesse Ears of Wheat Tiara | Hesse Amethyst Tiara
