Social Victorians/People/Alfred of Edinburgh

Also Known As

• Prince Alfred, Duke of Edinburgh
• His Royal Highness, the Prince Alfred (6 August 1844 – 24 May 1866)
• Affie
• Maria Alexandrovna was a Romanov
• Duke of Edinburgh
  • Prince Alfred, Duke of Edinburgh (24 May 1866 – 23 August 1893)
• Subsidiary titles
  • Earl of Kent
  • Earl of Ulster

• Alfred, Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha (23 August 1893 – 30 July 1900)
• Hereditary Prince of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha
  • Alfred, Hereditary Prince of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha (22 August 1893 – 6 February 1899)

Acquaintances, Friends and Enemies

Acquaintances (at least)

• Count Gleichen (24 February 1863 – ), Alfred, Duke of Edinburgh served under Gleichen in the Navy
• Duchess Elsa Mathilde Marie of Württemberg (1876-1936)

Organizations

• The Royal Mob
• The Royal Navy (August 1858 – )

Timeline

1869, Prince Alfred, Duke of Edinburgh visited Hawaii, New Zealand, Japan and India.

1869 September 4, Prince Alfred, Duke of Edinburgh was received by Emperor Meiji in Tokyo, the first European prince to visit most of these places.

1870, Prince Alfred, Duke of Edinburgh then visited Sri Lanka (then Ceylon) and Hong Kong.

1874 January 23, Prince Alfred and Grand Duchess Maria Alexandrovna Romanova married, at the Winter Palace in St. Petersburg.

1874 March 12, Prince Alfred and Maria, Duke and Duchess of Edinburgh entered London and London society.

1885, Alfred, Duke of Edinburgh took part in the founding of the Royal College of Music.

1893 August 22, Ernest II, Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha died (he was Albert's brother, Alfred's uncle), making Alfred, Duke of Edinburgh now Alfred, Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha.

1895 January 28, the engagement between Alfred, Hereditary Prince of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha and Duchess Elsa Mathilde Marie of Württemberg was announced. No official announcement was ever made of the end of this engagement.

1897 July 2, Friday, the Hereditary Prince of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha attended the Duchess of Devonshire's fancy-dress ball.

1899 January, Alfred, Hereditary Prince of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha shot himself in the head during the celebrations for his parents' 25th wedding anniversary in Gotha. He died about 2 weeks later. His aunt, Empress Friedrich (Victoria's eldest daughter, Victoria Adelaide Mary Louisa Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, Princess Royal of the United Kingdom) in a letter to her daughter Sophie wrote the following:

I knew how shocked and grieved you would be at the terrible death of your poor cousin. It is indeed terrible. You ask about the cause. It is true that he was giddy and wild, as many young men alas are, and that he contracted an illness of which I know next to nothing, as I have never asked or heard anything about it, one dislikes thinking about it, and still more speaking or writing about it. This was neglected, and the poor boy led a dissipated life besides. Potsdam! -- there was not the place for him. He was too inexperienced and heedless and giddy to resist temptations, bad examples, etc. It is not all too miserable! I loved that boy, but there was something irresistibly taking about him. He was one of those who are not fit to take care of themselves, not from evil disposition but from weakness of character.

Costume at the Duchess of Devonshire's 2 July 1897 Fancy-dress Ball

Prince Alfred of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha in costume as Duke Robert of Normandy, A.D. 1060. © National Portrait Gallery, London.

At the Duchess of Devonshire's 2 July 1897 fancy-dress ball, Alfred, Hereditary Prince of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha (at 5), Victoria's grandson, sat at Table 7 at the first supper seating.

• "The Hereditary Prince of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha appeared as Duc Robert of Normandy, in a coat of mail and casque."
• He was dressed as "Duke Robert of Normandy. In coat of mail and casque."
• "The Hereditary Prince of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha as Duc Robert of Normandy, in coat of mail and casque."

An American newspaper says that Alfred and his wife did not attend the ball, but it looks like they were wrong at least about him. Because his wife, the Duchess of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, is not mentioned as being present does not mean she did not attend. No photograph of her in costume exists.

Lafayette's portrait of Prince Alfred of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha as Duke Robert of Normandy, A.D. 1060 in costume was photogravure #15 in the album presented to the Duchess of Devonshire and now in the National Portrait Gallery. The printing on the portrait says, "H.R.H. The Hereditary Prince of Saxe Cobourg as Duke Robert of Normandy, A.D. 1060."

It is not perfectly clear who Alfred, Hereditary Prince of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha meant by "Duke Robert of Normandy, A.D. 1060." Robert I "the Magnificent," father of William the Conqueror, died in 1035. If Prince Alfred was right about A.D. 1060, then he cannot mean Robert II "Curthose," Duke of Normandy (c. 1051 – 3 February 1134). Robert I had a son Robert, Count of Mortain, who died in 1095, but he was never Duke of Normandy and he was illegitimate.

Demographics

• Nationality: he, English; she, Russian

Residences

• Clarence House

Family

• Affie (Alfred Ernest Albert) (6 August 1844 – 30 July 1900)
• Grand Duchess Maria Alexandrovna Romanova (17 October 1853 – 24 October 1920)

1. Alfred, Hereditary Prince of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha (15 October 1874 – 6 February 1899)
2. Marie, Queen of Romania (29 October 1875 – 18 July 1938)
3. Grand Duchess Victoria Feodorovna of Russia (25 November 1876 – 2 March 1936)
4. Alexandra, Princess of Hohenlohe-Langenburg (1 September 1878 – 16 April 1942)
5. Princess Beatrice, Duchess of Galliera (20 April 1884 – 13 July 1966)

Relations

• Prince Alfred, Duke of Edinburgh was Queen Victoria's 4th child, 2nd son.
• Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha was Prince Alfred's father, Victoria's husband.

Notes and Questions

1. There were differences between the calendar used in Russia at the time and the one used in England. These dates have been normalized to the Gregorian calendar.
2. Alfred, Hereditary Prince of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha was Affie, Alfred of Edinburgh's son? So he was about 22 at the time of the ball? His father and mother were not at the ball?