Princess Louise, Duchess of Argyll
Encyclopedia
The Princess Louise was a member of the British Royal Family
, the sixth child and fourth daughter of Queen Victoria and her husband, Albert, Prince Consort.
Louise's early life was spent moving between the various royal residences in the company of her family. When her father, the Prince Consort, died on 14 December 1861, the court went into a period of intense mourning, to which Louise was unsympathetic. Louise was an able sculptor and artist, and several of her sculptures remain today. She was also a supporter of the feminist movement
, and corresponded with Josephine Butler
and visited Elizabeth Garrett
. She held that "the subject of Domestic Economy lies at the root of the – highest life of every true woman."
As an unmarried daughter of Victoria, Louise served as an unofficial secretary to her mother between 1866 and 1871. The question of Louise's marriage was discussed in the late 1860s. Suitors from the royal houses of Prussia
and Denmark
were suggested, but Victoria wanted new blood in the family, and therefore suggested a high-ranking member of the aristocracy
. Despite opposition from members of the royal family, Louise fell in love with John, Marquess of Lorne
, the heir to the Duke of Argyll
, and Victoria consented to the marriage, which took place on 21 March 1871. Despite a happy beginning, the two drifted apart, possibly because of their childlessness and the Queen's constraints on their activities.
In 1878, Lorne was appointed Governor General of Canada
. Louise thus became viceregal consort, but her stay was unhappy as a result of homesickness and dislike of Ottawa
. Following Victoria's death on 22 January 1901, she entered the social circle established by her brother, the new King, Edward VII
. Louise's marriage survived thanks to long periods of separation, but the couple reconciled in 1911, and she was devastated by her husband's death in 1914. After the end of the First World War
in 1918, at the age of 70, she began to retire from public life, undertaking few public duties outside of Kensington Palace
. She died at Kensington Palace on 3 December 1939 at the age of 91 years, 8 months and 15 days. Coincidentally, Princess Louise's younger brother Prince Arthur
lived to be exactly the same age (to the day), making them the joint longest-lived of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert's nine children.
, London
. She was the fourth daughter and sixth child of the reigning British monarch, Queen Victoria, and her husband Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha. As the daughter of the sovereign, Louise was styled Her Royal Highness
The Princess Louise from birth. Her birth coincided with revolutions
which swept across Europe
, prompting the Queen to remark that Louise would turn out to be “something peculiar”. The Queen's labour with Louise was the first to be aided with chloroform
. Albert and Victoria chose the names Louisa Caroline Alberta. Louise was chosen to honour Albert's mother
. Though christened Louisa in Buckingham Palace's private chapel by John Bird Sumner
, the Archbishop of Canterbury
, on 13 May 1848, she was invariably known as Louise throughout her life. Her godparents were Duke Gustav of Mecklenburg-Schwerin (her paternal great-great-uncle, for whom Prince Albert stood proxy); The Duchess of Saxe-Meiningen (for whom her great-aunt Queen Adelaide
stood proxy); and The Hereditary Grand Duchess of Mecklenburg-Strelitz (her first cousin once-removed, for whom her mother The Duchess of Cambridge stood proxy). During the ceremony, The Duchess of Gloucester
, one of the few children of George III
who were still alive, forgot where she was, and suddenly got up in the middle of the service and knelt at the Queen's feet, much to the Queen's horror.
Like her other siblings, Louise was brought up with the strict programme of education devised by her father, Prince Albert, and his friend and confidant, Baron Stockmar
. The young children were taught practical tasks, such as cooking, farming, household tasks and carpentry.
From her early years, Louise was a talented and intelligent child, and her artistic talents were quickly recognised. On his visit to Osborne House
in 1863, Hallam Tennyson
, the son of the poet Alfred, Lord Tennyson
, remarked that Louise could “draw beautifully”. Because of her royal rank, an artistic career was not considered. However, the Queen allowed her to attend art school under the tuition of the sculptress Mary Thornycroft
, and she later, in 1863, enrolled at the National Art Training School
, South Kensington
. Louise also became an able dancer, and Victoria wrote, after a dance, that Louise “danced the sword dance
with more verve and accuracy than any of her sisters”. Her wit and intelligence made her a favourite with her father, with her inquisitive nature earning her the nickname “Little Miss Why” from other members of the royal family.
Louise's father, Prince Albert, died at Windsor on 14 December 1861. The Queen was devastated, and ordered her household to move from Windsor to Osborne House
on the Isle of Wight
. The atmosphere of the royal court became gloomy and morbid in the wake of the Prince's death, and entertainments became dry and dull. Louise quickly became dissatisfied with her mother's prolonged mourning. For her seventeenth birthday, Louise requested the ballroom to be opened for a debutante
dance, the like of which had not been performed since Prince Albert's death. Her request was refused, and her boredom with the mundane routine of travelling between the different royal residences at set times irritated her mother, who considered Louise to be indiscreet and argumentative.
The Queen comforted herself by rigidly continuing with Prince Albert's plans for their children. Princess Alice was married to Prince Louis
, the future Grand Duke of Hesse, at Osborne
on 1 June 1862. In 1863, Edward
, the Prince of Wales
, married Princess Alexandra of Denmark
. The Queen made it a tradition that the eldest unmarried daughter would become her unofficial secretary, a position which Louise filled in 1866, despite the Queen's concern that she was indiscreet. Louise, however, proved to be good at the job: Victoria wrote shortly afterwards: “She is (and who would some years ago have thought it?) a clever dear girl with a fine strong character, unselfish and affectionate.” However, when Louise fell in love with her brother Leopold's tutor, the Reverend Robinson Duckworth
, between 1866 and 1870, the Queen reacted by dismissing Duckworth in 1870. He later became Canon
of Westminster Abbey
.
Louise was bored by the court. By fulfilling her duties, which were little more than minor secretarial tasks, such as writing letters on the Queen's behalf; dealing with political correspondence; and providing the Queen with company, she had more responsibility than she had before.
and feminism
, prompted the Queen to find her a husband. The choice had to suit Victoria as well as Louise, and the Queen insisted that her daughter's husband should live near her, a promise also made by Helena's husband. Various suitors were proposed by the leading royal houses of Europe: Princess Alexandra
proposed her brother, the Crown Prince of Denmark
, but the Queen was strongly opposed to another Danish marriage that could antagonise Prussia
. Victoria
, Louise's eldest sister, proposed the tall and rich Prince Albert of Prussia, but Queen Victoria disapproved of another Prussian marriage that would have been unpopular in England. Prince Albert was also reluctant to settle in England as required. William, Prince of Orange was also considered a suitor, but because of his extravagant lifestyle in Paris
, where he lived openly with a mistress
, the Queen quickly vetoed the idea.
Louise viewed marriage to any prince as undesirable, and announced that she wished to marry John Campbell
, Marquess of Lorne, heir to the Dukedom of Argyll
. No such marriage, between a daughter of a Sovereign and a British subject, had been given official recognition since 1515, when Charles Brandon
, the first Duke of Suffolk
, married Mary Tudor. Louise's brother, the Prince of Wales, was strongly opposed to a marriage with a non-mediatized
noble. Furthermore, Lorne's father, George Campbell
, the eighth Duke of Argyll, was an ardent supporter of William Ewart Gladstone
, and the Prince of Wales was worried that he would drag the royal family into political disputes. Nevertheless, the opposition was crushed by the Queen, who wrote to the Prince of Wales in 1869:
The Queen also stated that Louise's marriage to a subject would bring “new blood” into the family, while all European princes were related to each other. She was convinced that this would strengthen the royal family morally and physically.
Louise became engaged to the Marquess of Lorne
on 3 October 1870. Lorne was invited to Balmoral Castle
in Scotland
, and accompanied Louise, the Lord Chancellor
, Lord Hatherley
and Queen Victoria's lady-in-waiting
, Jane, Marchioness of Ely
on a drive. Later that day, Louise returned and announced to the Queen that Lorne had “spoken of his devotion” to Louise, and she accepted his proposal in the knowledge of the Queen's approval. The Queen found it difficult to let go of her daughter, confiding in her journal that she “felt painfully the thought of losing her”. The new breach in royal tradition caused surprise, especially in Germany, and Queen Victoria wrote to the Queen of Prussia
that princes of small impoverished German houses were “very unpopular” in Britain and that Lord Lorne, a “person of distinction at home” with “an independent fortune” was “really no lower in rank than minor German Royalty”.
Victoria settled an annuity on Louise shortly before her marriage. The ceremony was conducted at St George's Chapel at Windsor Castle on 21 March 1871, and the crowd outside was so large that, for the first time, policemen had to form chain barriers to keep control. Louise wore a wedding veil of Honiton
lace that she designed herself, and was escorted into the Chapel by her mother, and her two eldest brothers, the Prince of Wales
and the Duke of Edinburgh
. On this occasion, the usually severe black of the Queen's mourning dress was relieved by the crimson rubies and blues of the Garter star. Following the ceremony, the Queen kissed Louise, and Lorne – now a member of the royal family, but still a subject – kissed the Queen's hand. The couple then journeyed to Claremont
in Surrey
for the honeymoon, but the presence of attendants on the journey, and at meal times, made it impossible for them to talk privately. The short four-day visit did not pass without an interruption from the Queen, who was curious about her daughter's thoughts on married life.
, Benjamin Disraeli, chose Lorne to be Canada's new Governor General
, and he was duly appointed by Queen Victoria. Louise thus became his Viceregal Consort
. On 15 November 1878, the couple left Liverpool
and arrived to be sworn in at Halifax
on 25 November.
Louise became the first royal to take up residence in Rideau Hall
, officially the Queen's royal residence in Ottawa
. However, the hall was far from the splendour of British royal residences, and, as each viceregal couple decorated the hall with their own furnishings, and thus took them when they departed, the Lornes found the palace sparse in décor upon their arrival. Louise put her artistic talents to work and hung many of her watercolour and oil paintings around the hall, also installing her sculpted works. Though the news that a daughter of the Queen would be viceregal consort of Canada first saw a "thrill of joy burst upon the Dominion", it being felt that the Princess would be a strong link between Canadians and their sovereign, the arrival of the new governor general and his wife was not initially welcomed by the Canadian press, which complained about the imposition of royalty on the country's hitherto un-regal society. Relations with the press further deteriorated when Lorne's private secretary, Francis de Winton, threw four journalists off the royal train. Although the Lornes had no knowledge of de Winton's action, it was assumed by the press that they did, and they earned an early reputation for haughtiness. Louise was horrified by the negative press, and when she heard about reports of "a nation of flunkies" at the viceregal court, taking lessons in "the backward walk," Louise declared that she "wouldn't care if they came in blanket coats!" Eventually the worries of a rigid court at Rideau Hall and the "feeble undercurrent of criticism" turned out to be unfounded as the royal couple proved to be more relaxed than their predecessors.
on 13 February 1879, Louise was ranked no differently than others in attendance. She had to remain standing with the MPs, until Lorne asked them to be seated. In order for Lorne to meet every Canadian member of parliament, he held bi-weekly dinners for 50 people. However, some of the Canadian ladies responded negatively to the British party. One of Louise's ladies-in-waiting reported that some of them had an “‘I'm as good as you’ sort of manner when one begins a conversation.” Court entertainments were open; anyone who could afford the clothing to attend functions was simply asked to sign the visitor's book. Louise's first state ball was given on 19 February 1879, and she made a good impression on her guests when she ordered the silk cordon, separating the viceregal party from the guests, be removed. However, the ball was marred by various mishaps, including a drunken bandsman nearly starting a fire by pulling a curtain over a gas lamp. The open house practice was criticised by guests who complained about the low social status of other guests. One attendee was horrified on discovering that they were dancing in the same social set as their grocer.
Louise and Lorne founded the Royal Canadian Academy of Arts
, and enjoyed visiting Quebec
, which they made their summer home, and Toronto
. Louise served as the patroness of the Ladies' Educational Association, of the Woman's Protective Immigration Society, of the Society of
Decorative Arts and of the Art Association, all of Montreal. One of her works as a sculptor is the statue of her Royal mother Queen Victoria erected in front of the Royal Victoria College, Montreal.
Lorne's father, the Duke of Argyll
, arrived with two of his daughters in June, and in the presence of the family, Louise caught a 28 pound (almost 13 kg) salmon
. The women's success at fishing prompted the Duke to remark that fishing in Canada required no skill.
, ordered an empty carriage to convey the injured party back to Rideau Hall
.
The doctors who attended Louise reported that she was severely concussed and in shock, and that “it was a wonder her skull was not fractured”. Louise's ear had been injured when her earring caught on the side of the sleigh, tearing her ear lobe in two. The press played down the story on instructions from Lorne's private secretary, an act that was described by contemporaries as “stupid and ill advised”. For example, one New Zealand newspaper reported, "Excepting immediately after the blow, the Princess was perfectly sensible during the whole time..." Knowledge of Louise's true condition might have elicited sympathy from the Canadian people. As it was, one Member of Parliament
wrote: “Except the cut in the lower part of the ear I think there was no injury done worth mentioning.” Therefore, when Louise cancelled her immediate engagements, people thought she was malingering
. News of the accident was also played down in Britain, and in letters home to the anxious Queen Victoria.
of 1885 she sent a certain Dr. Boyd with medical supplies and a large fund of money for distribution. Her express instructions were that assistance was to be rendered to friend and foe indiscriminately. To fulfill her wishes, the Chief of Medical Staff for the government forces, Dr. Thomas Roddick and Dr. Boyd went to the sites of the Battle of Fish Creek
and the Battle of Batoche
to locate and give medical treatment to wounded Métis
.
, with her husband on 27 October 1883, and landed at Liverpool
. Queen Victoria had prepared apartments at Kensington Palace
, and the couple took up official residence there. Louise retained those apartments until her death there 56 years later. Lorne resumed his political career, campaigning unsuccessfully for the Hampstead
seat in 1885. In 1896, he won the South Manchester
seat, entering parliament as a Liberal
. Louise, unlike Lorne and his father, was in favour of Irish Home Rule, and was disappointed when he defected
from Gladstonian Liberalism
to the Liberal Unionists
. Relations between Louise and Lorne were strained, and, despite the Queen's attempts to keep them under one roof, they often went their separate ways. Even when he accompanied Louise, he was not always received with favour at court, and the Prince of Wales did not take to him. Out of all the royal family, Lorne was the only one to be identified closely with a political party, having been a Gladstonian
liberal
in the House of Commons
. Louise's relationship with the two sisters closest to the Queen, Beatrice
and Helena
, was strained at best. Beatrice had married the tall and handsome Prince Henry of Battenberg
in a love match in 1885, and they had four children. Louise, who had a jealous nature, had grown accustomed to treating Beatrice with pity on account of the Queen's constant need for her. Beatrice's biographer, Matthew Dennison, claims that in contrast to Beatrice, Louise remained strikingly good looking throughout her forties. Louise and her husband were no longer close, and rumours spread about Lorne's alleged homosexuality. Thus, Beatrice was enjoying a satisfying sexual relationship with her popular husband, which Louise was not. Louise may have considered Prince Henry a more appropriate husband for herself. Certainly, following Prince Henry's death in 1896, Louise wrote that: “he [Henry] was almost the greatest friend I had—I, too, miss him more than I can say”. In addition, Louise attempted to champion her late brother-in-law by announcing that she was his confidante and that Beatrice, a mere cipher, meant nothing to him.
, later Lord Stamfordham, the Queen's assistant private secretary
. Beatrice mentioned the rumours to the Queen's physician, calling it a “scandal”, and Prince Henry claimed to have seen Bigge drinking to Louise's health at dinner. Louise denied the rumour, claiming that it was started by Beatrice and Helena to undermine her position at court. However, on Henry's death, relations between the sisters sporadically improved, and it was Louise, rather than the Queen, who was the first to arrive at Cimiez
to be with the widowed Beatrice. Nevertheless, Louise's jealousy did not evaporate completely. James Reid, the Queen's physician
, wrote to his wife a few years later: “Louise is as usual much down on her sisters. Hope she won't stay long or she will do mischief!”
Rumours of affairs did not surround only Bigge. In 1890, the sculptor Joseph Edgar Boehm died in Louise's presence at his studio in London
, leading to rumours that the two were having an affair. Boehm's assistant, Alfred Gilbert
, who played a central role in comforting Louise after Boehm's death, and supervised the destruction of Boehm's private papers, was rapidly promoted as a royal sculptor. Louise was also romantically linked to fellow artist Edwin Lutyens
; her equerry
, Colonel William Probert; and an unnamed music master. However, Jehanne Wake
, Louise's biographer, argues that there is no substantial evidence to suggest that Louise had sexual relationships with anyone other than her husband.
During Victoria's last years, Louise carried out a range of public duties, such as opening public buildings, laying foundation stones, and officiating at special programs. Louise, like her eldest sister Victoria
, was more liberally minded, and supported the suffragist movement, completely contrary to the Queen's views. Louise privately visited Britain's first female doctor, Elizabeth Garrett
. Queen Victoria deplored the idea of women joining professions, especially the medical profession, and described the training of female doctors as a “repulsive subject”.
. The footman was therefore sent to New Zealand
to recover. On another occasion, when she visited Bermuda
, she was invited to a reception and chose to walk rather than be driven. She became thirsty along the way and stopped at a house, where she asked a black woman named Mrs McCarthy for a glass of water. Owing to the scarcity of water, the woman had to go some distance to obtain it, but was reluctant because she had to finish her ironing. When Louise offered to continue the ironing, the woman refused, adding that she was in a great hurry to finish so that she could go and see Princess Louise. Realising that she had not been recognised, Louise enquired whether McCarthy would recognise her again. When the woman said that she would have thought so, but was admittedly unsure, Louise replied: “Well take a good look at me now, so you can be sure to know me tomorrow at St. Georges.” The Princess clung to her privacy, and enjoyed not being recognised.
Louise and her sisters had another disagreement after the death of the Queen's close friend, Jane Spencer, Baroness Churchill
. Determined not to put her mother through more misery, Louise wanted the news to be broken to the Queen gradually. When this was not done, Louise voiced her sharp criticism of Helena and Beatrice. One month later, on 22 January 1901, Queen Victoria died at Osborne House
on the Isle of Wight
. In her will, the Queen bequeathed Kent House, on the Osborne Estate, to Louise as a country residence, and gave Osborne Cottage to Louise's youngest sister, Beatrice. Louise and Beatrice were now neighbours both at Kensington Palace and Osborne.
Upon Queen Victoria's death, Louise entered the social circle of her brother, the new King Edward VII
, with whom she had much in common, including smoking. She had an obsession with physical fitness, and if she was sneered at for this, she would retort by saying: “Never mind, I'll outlive you all.” Meanwhile, Louise's husband, 9th Duke of Argyll since 1900, took his seat in the House of Lords
. The Colonial Secretary, Joseph Chamberlain
, offered him the office of Governor General of Australia that year, but the offer was declined. Louise continued her sculpture, and in 1902, designed a memorial to the colonial soldiers who died in the Boer War
. In the same year, she began a nude study on a married woman suggested by the English painter Sir William Blake Richmond
.
Louise spent much of her time at Kent House, and she frequently visited Scotland with her husband. Financial pressures did not disappear when Lorne became Duke, and Louise avoided inviting the King to Inveraray
, Argyll's ancestral home, because the couple were economising. When Queen Victoria had visited the house before Lorne became Duke of Argyll, there were seventy servants and seventy-four dogs. By the time of Edward VII's accession, there were four servants and two dogs.
The Duke of Argyll's health continued to deteriorate. He became increasingly senile, and Louise nursed him devotedly from 1911. In these years Louise and her husband were closer than they had been before. In spring 1914 Louise stayed at Kensington Palace
while her husband remained on the Isle of Wight
. He developed bronchial problems followed by double pneumonia
. Louise was sent for on 28 April 1914, and he died on 2 May. Following his death, Louise had a nervous breakdown
and suffered from intense loneliness, writing to a friend shortly afterwards: “My loneliness without the Duke is quite terrible. I wonder what he does now!”
, occupying rooms next to her sister Princess Beatrice
. She made occasional public appearances with the royal family, such as at the Cenotaph at Whitehall
on 11 November 1925. However, her health deteriorated. In 1935, she greeted her nephew, King George V
, and his wife, Queen Mary
, at Kensington Town Hall during their Silver Jubilee celebrations, and was made an Honourary Freeman of the Borough of Kensington. Her last public appearance occurred in 1937, at the Home Arts and Industries Exhibition. Between these occasions, her great nephew, King Edward VIII
, abdicated on 11 December 1936. In December 1936, Louise wrote to the British prime minister
, Stanley Baldwin
, sympathising with him about the crisis.
Following the accession of Edward's brother King George VI
, she became too ill to move around, and was confined to Kensington Palace, affectionately called the “Auntie Palace” by Princess Elizabeth and Princess Margaret
. She developed neuritis in her arm, inflammation of the nerves between the ribs, fainting fits, and sciatica
. Louise occupied herself by drafting prayers, one of which was sent to Neville Chamberlain
, reading "Guide our Ministers of State and all who are in authority over us ... "
Louise died at Kensington Palace on the morning of 3 December 1939 at the age of 91, wearing the wedding veil she wore 68 years previously. Following a simple funeral owing to the war, her remains were cremated
at Golders Green Crematorium
on 8 December. Her ashes were quietly placed in the Royal Crypt at St. George's Chapel on 12 December, with many members of the Royal and Argyll families present. Her ashes were later moved to the Royal Burial Ground, Frogmore near Windsor, on 13 March 1940.
Louise's will
stated that if she died in Scotland
she should be buried at Kilmun
next to her husband; if in England, at Frogmore
near her parents. In the end she was buried at Windsor. Her coffin was borne by her own regiment, The Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders of Canada
, whose current Colonel-in-Chief
, her great-great-niece Princess Elizabeth, later Queen Elizabeth II, was among those at her funeral on 12 December 1939. Louise also bestowed her name on three other Canadian regiments: the Princess Louise Dragoon Guards in Ottawa, Ontario (inactive since 1965); the 8th Canadian Hussars (Princess Louise's) in Moncton, New Brunswick; and the Princess Louise Fusiliers in Halifax, Nova Scotia.
Queen Elizabeth II later recalled that Louise and her sister Beatrice
would talk until they stunned their audience with their output of words.
Louise was the most artistically talented of Queen Victoria's daughters. As well as being an able actress, pianist and dancer, she was a prolific artist and sculptress. When Louise sculpted a statue of the Queen, portraying her in Coronation robes, the press claimed that her tutor, Sir Edgar Boehm, was the true creator of the work. The claim was denied by Louise's friends, who asserted her effort and independence. A memorial to her brother-in-law, Prince Henry of Battenberg
, and a memorial to the Colonial soldiers who fell during the Boer War
, reside at Whippingham
Church on the Isle of Wight
, and another statue of Queen Victoria remains at McGill University
in Montreal
.
The province of Alberta
in Canada
is named after her. Although the name “Louise” was originally planned, the Princess wished to honour her dead father, so her last name was chosen. Lake Louise
in Alberta
is also named after her, as is Mount Alberta
. Although her time in Canada was not always happy, she liked the Canadian people and retained close links with her Canadian regiments. Back at home, she gained a reputation for paying unscheduled visits to hospitals, especially during her later years.
Her relationship with her family was generally close. Although at times she bickered with the Queen, and her sisters Helena and Beatrice, the relations did not remain strained for long. She retained a lifelong correspondence with her brother, Prince Arthur
, and was one of King Edward VII's favourite sisters. Of all her siblings, she was closest to Prince Leopold
, later Duke of Albany
, and she was devastated by his death in 1884. In the younger generations of the family, Louise's favourite relatives were the Duke
and Duchess of Kent
. At the coronation of King George VI
in 1937, Louise lent the Duchess the train
that she designed and wore for the Coronation of Edward VII in 1902.
in 1936) 22 June 1914: Colonel-in-Chief, The Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders (Princess Louise's) 15 April 1930: Colonel-in-Chief, The Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders of Canada (Princess Louise's)
14 August 1936: Colonel-in-Chief, The Princess Louise Fusiliers
, with an inescutcheon of the shield of Saxony
, and differenced by a label
of three points argent
. On Louise's arms, the outer points bore cantons gules
, and the centre a rose gules. In 1917, the inescutcheon was dropped by royal warrant from George V
.
British Royal Family
The British Royal Family is the group of close relatives of the monarch of the United Kingdom. The term is also commonly applied to the same group of people as the relations of the monarch in her or his role as sovereign of any of the other Commonwealth realms, thus sometimes at variance with...
, the sixth child and fourth daughter of Queen Victoria and her husband, Albert, Prince Consort.
Louise's early life was spent moving between the various royal residences in the company of her family. When her father, the Prince Consort, died on 14 December 1861, the court went into a period of intense mourning, to which Louise was unsympathetic. Louise was an able sculptor and artist, and several of her sculptures remain today. She was also a supporter of the feminist movement
Feminist movement
The feminist movement refers to a series of campaigns for reforms on issues such as reproductive rights, domestic violence, maternity leave, equal pay, women's suffrage, sexual harassment and sexual violence...
, and corresponded with Josephine Butler
Josephine Butler
Josephine Elizabeth Butler was a Victorian era British feminist who was especially concerned with the welfare of prostitutes...
and visited Elizabeth Garrett
Elizabeth Garrett Anderson
Elizabeth Garrett Anderson, LSA, MD , was an English physician and feminist, the first woman to gain a medical qualification in Britain and the first female mayor in England.-Early life:...
. She held that "the subject of Domestic Economy lies at the root of the – highest life of every true woman."
As an unmarried daughter of Victoria, Louise served as an unofficial secretary to her mother between 1866 and 1871. The question of Louise's marriage was discussed in the late 1860s. Suitors from the royal houses of Prussia
Kingdom of Prussia
The Kingdom of Prussia was a German kingdom from 1701 to 1918. Until the defeat of Germany in World War I, it comprised almost two-thirds of the area of the German Empire...
and Denmark
Denmark
Denmark is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe. The countries of Denmark and Greenland, as well as the Faroe Islands, constitute the Kingdom of Denmark . It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries, southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and bordered to the south by Germany. Denmark...
were suggested, but Victoria wanted new blood in the family, and therefore suggested a high-ranking member of the aristocracy
Aristocracy
Aristocracy , is a form of government in which a few elite citizens rule. The term derives from the Greek aristokratia, meaning "rule of the best". In origin in Ancient Greece, it was conceived of as rule by the best qualified citizens, and contrasted with monarchy...
. Despite opposition from members of the royal family, Louise fell in love with John, Marquess of Lorne
John Campbell, 9th Duke of Argyll
John George Edward Henry Douglas Sutherland Campbell, 9th Duke of Argyll KG, KT, GCMG, GCVO, VD, PC , usually better known by the courtesy title Marquess of Lorne, by which he was known between 1847 and 1900, was a British nobleman and was the fourth Governor General of Canada from 1878 to 1883...
, the heir to the Duke of Argyll
Duke of Argyll
Duke of Argyll is a title, created in the Peerage of Scotland in 1701 and in the Peerage of the United Kingdom in 1892. The Earls, Marquesses, and Dukes of Argyll were for several centuries among the most powerful, if not the most powerful, noble family in Scotland...
, and Victoria consented to the marriage, which took place on 21 March 1871. Despite a happy beginning, the two drifted apart, possibly because of their childlessness and the Queen's constraints on their activities.
In 1878, Lorne was appointed Governor General of Canada
Governor General of Canada
The Governor General of Canada is the federal viceregal representative of the Canadian monarch, Queen Elizabeth II...
. Louise thus became viceregal consort, but her stay was unhappy as a result of homesickness and dislike of Ottawa
Ottawa
Ottawa is the capital of Canada, the second largest city in the Province of Ontario, and the fourth largest city in the country. The city is located on the south bank of the Ottawa River in the eastern portion of Southern Ontario...
. Following Victoria's death on 22 January 1901, she entered the social circle established by her brother, the new King, Edward VII
Edward VII of the United Kingdom
Edward VII was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions and Emperor of India from 22 January 1901 until his death in 1910...
. Louise's marriage survived thanks to long periods of separation, but the couple reconciled in 1911, and she was devastated by her husband's death in 1914. After the end of the First World War
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
in 1918, at the age of 70, she began to retire from public life, undertaking few public duties outside of Kensington Palace
Kensington Palace
Kensington Palace is a royal residence set in Kensington Gardens in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea in London, England. It has been a residence of the British Royal Family since the 17th century and is the official London residence of the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, the Duke and...
. She died at Kensington Palace on 3 December 1939 at the age of 91 years, 8 months and 15 days. Coincidentally, Princess Louise's younger brother Prince Arthur
Prince Arthur, Duke of Connaught and Strathearn
Prince Arthur, Duke of Connaught and Strathearn was a member of the shared British and Saxe-Coburg and Gotha royal family who served as the Governor General of Canada, the 10th since Canadian Confederation.Born the seventh child and third son of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and...
lived to be exactly the same age (to the day), making them the joint longest-lived of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert's nine children.
Early life
Louise was born on 18 March 1848 at Buckingham PalaceBuckingham Palace
Buckingham Palace, in London, is the principal residence and office of the British monarch. Located in the City of Westminster, the palace is a setting for state occasions and royal hospitality...
, London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
. She was the fourth daughter and sixth child of the reigning British monarch, Queen Victoria, and her husband Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha. As the daughter of the sovereign, Louise was styled Her Royal Highness
Royal Highness
Royal Highness is a style ; plural Royal Highnesses...
The Princess Louise from birth. Her birth coincided with revolutions
Revolutions of 1848
The European Revolutions of 1848, known in some countries as the Spring of Nations, Springtime of the Peoples or the Year of Revolution, were a series of political upheavals throughout Europe in 1848. It was the first Europe-wide collapse of traditional authority, but within a year reactionary...
which swept across Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
, prompting the Queen to remark that Louise would turn out to be “something peculiar”. The Queen's labour with Louise was the first to be aided with chloroform
Chloroform
Chloroform is an organic compound with formula CHCl3. It is one of the four chloromethanes. The colorless, sweet-smelling, dense liquid is a trihalomethane, and is considered somewhat hazardous...
. Albert and Victoria chose the names Louisa Caroline Alberta. Louise was chosen to honour Albert's mother
Louise of Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg
Princess Louise of Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg was the wife of Ernst I, Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha and the mother of Duke Ernst II and Prince Albert, husband of Queen Victoria.-Family:Princess Louise was the only daughter of Augustus, Duke of Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg and his first wife Louise Charlotte...
. Though christened Louisa in Buckingham Palace's private chapel by John Bird Sumner
John Bird Sumner
John Bird Sumner was a bishop in the Church of England and Archbishop of Canterbury.-Life:Sumner was the elder brother of Bishop Charles Richard Sumner. He was born at Kenilworth, Warwickshire and educated at Eton College and Cambridge University. In 1802 he became a master at Eton and was...
, the Archbishop of Canterbury
Archbishop of Canterbury
The Archbishop of Canterbury is the senior bishop and principal leader of the Church of England, the symbolic head of the worldwide Anglican Communion, and the diocesan bishop of the Diocese of Canterbury. In his role as head of the Anglican Communion, the archbishop leads the third largest group...
, on 13 May 1848, she was invariably known as Louise throughout her life. Her godparents were Duke Gustav of Mecklenburg-Schwerin (her paternal great-great-uncle, for whom Prince Albert stood proxy); The Duchess of Saxe-Meiningen (for whom her great-aunt Queen Adelaide
Adelaide of Saxe-Meiningen
Princess Adelaide of Saxe-Meiningen was the queen consort of the United Kingdom and of Hanover as spouse of William IV of the United Kingdom. Adelaide, the capital city of South Australia, is named after her.-Early life:Adelaide was born on 13 August 1792 at Meiningen, Thuringia, Germany...
stood proxy); and The Hereditary Grand Duchess of Mecklenburg-Strelitz (her first cousin once-removed, for whom her mother The Duchess of Cambridge stood proxy). During the ceremony, The Duchess of Gloucester
Princess Mary, Duchess of Gloucester and Edinburgh
The Princess Mary, Duchess of Gloucester and Edinburgh was a member of the British Royal Family, the eleventh child and fourth daughter of George III....
, one of the few children of George III
George III of the United Kingdom
George III was King of Great Britain and King of Ireland from 25 October 1760 until the union of these two countries on 1 January 1801, after which he was King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland until his death...
who were still alive, forgot where she was, and suddenly got up in the middle of the service and knelt at the Queen's feet, much to the Queen's horror.
Like her other siblings, Louise was brought up with the strict programme of education devised by her father, Prince Albert, and his friend and confidant, Baron Stockmar
Christian Friedrich, Baron Stockmar
Christian Friedrich Freiherr von Stockmar was an Anglo-Belgian statesman, who was a leading player in the affairs of the United Kingdom under Queen Victoria.-Early life and education:...
. The young children were taught practical tasks, such as cooking, farming, household tasks and carpentry.
From her early years, Louise was a talented and intelligent child, and her artistic talents were quickly recognised. On his visit to Osborne House
Osborne House
Osborne House is a former royal residence in East Cowes, Isle of Wight, UK. The house was built between 1845 and 1851 for Queen Victoria and Prince Albert as a summer home and rural retreat....
in 1863, Hallam Tennyson
Hallam Tennyson, 2nd Baron Tennyson
Hallam Tennyson, 2nd Baron Tennyson, GCMG, PC , the second Governor-General of Australia, was born at Chapel House, Twickenham, in Surrey, England. Named after his father's late friend Arthur Hallam, he was the elder son of Alfred Tennyson, the most popular and prominent poet of late Victorian...
, the son of the poet Alfred, Lord Tennyson
Alfred Tennyson, 1st Baron Tennyson
Alfred Tennyson, 1st Baron Tennyson, FRS was Poet Laureate of the United Kingdom during much of Queen Victoria's reign and remains one of the most popular poets in the English language....
, remarked that Louise could “draw beautifully”. Because of her royal rank, an artistic career was not considered. However, the Queen allowed her to attend art school under the tuition of the sculptress Mary Thornycroft
Mary Thornycroft
Mary Thornycroft was a British sculptor and a member of the Thornycroft family.-Biography:The daughter of sculptor John Francis, she was born at Thornham, Norfolk...
, and she later, in 1863, enrolled at the National Art Training School
Royal College of Art
The Royal College of Art is an art school located in London, United Kingdom. It is the world’s only wholly postgraduate university of art and design, offering the degrees of Master of Arts , Master of Philosophy and Doctor of Philosophy...
, South Kensington
South Kensington
South Kensington is a district in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea in London. It is a built-up area located 2.4 miles west south-west of Charing Cross....
. Louise also became an able dancer, and Victoria wrote, after a dance, that Louise “danced the sword dance
Scottish sword dances
Performance of sword dances in the folklore of Scotland is recorded from as early as the 15th century.Related customs are found in the Welsh and English Morris dance, in Austria, Germany, Flanders, France, Italy, Spain, Portugal and Romania...
with more verve and accuracy than any of her sisters”. Her wit and intelligence made her a favourite with her father, with her inquisitive nature earning her the nickname “Little Miss Why” from other members of the royal family.
Death of Prince Albert
Osborne House
Osborne House is a former royal residence in East Cowes, Isle of Wight, UK. The house was built between 1845 and 1851 for Queen Victoria and Prince Albert as a summer home and rural retreat....
on the Isle of Wight
Isle of Wight
The Isle of Wight is a county and the largest island of England, located in the English Channel, on average about 2–4 miles off the south coast of the county of Hampshire, separated from the mainland by a strait called the Solent...
. The atmosphere of the royal court became gloomy and morbid in the wake of the Prince's death, and entertainments became dry and dull. Louise quickly became dissatisfied with her mother's prolonged mourning. For her seventeenth birthday, Louise requested the ballroom to be opened for a debutante
Debutante
A débutante is a young lady from an aristocratic or upper class family who has reached the age of maturity, and as a new adult, is introduced to society at a formal "début" presentation. It should not be confused with a Debs...
dance, the like of which had not been performed since Prince Albert's death. Her request was refused, and her boredom with the mundane routine of travelling between the different royal residences at set times irritated her mother, who considered Louise to be indiscreet and argumentative.
The Queen comforted herself by rigidly continuing with Prince Albert's plans for their children. Princess Alice was married to Prince Louis
Louis IV, Grand Duke of Hesse
Louis IV , was the fourth Grand Duke of Hesse and by Rhine, reigning from 13 June 1877 until his death...
, the future Grand Duke of Hesse, at Osborne
Osborne House
Osborne House is a former royal residence in East Cowes, Isle of Wight, UK. The house was built between 1845 and 1851 for Queen Victoria and Prince Albert as a summer home and rural retreat....
on 1 June 1862. In 1863, Edward
Edward VII of the United Kingdom
Edward VII was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions and Emperor of India from 22 January 1901 until his death in 1910...
, the Prince of Wales
Prince of Wales
Prince of Wales is a title traditionally granted to the heir apparent to the reigning monarch of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and the 15 other independent Commonwealth realms...
, married Princess Alexandra of Denmark
Alexandra of Denmark
Alexandra of Denmark was the wife of Edward VII of the United Kingdom...
. The Queen made it a tradition that the eldest unmarried daughter would become her unofficial secretary, a position which Louise filled in 1866, despite the Queen's concern that she was indiscreet. Louise, however, proved to be good at the job: Victoria wrote shortly afterwards: “She is (and who would some years ago have thought it?) a clever dear girl with a fine strong character, unselfish and affectionate.” However, when Louise fell in love with her brother Leopold's tutor, the Reverend Robinson Duckworth
Robinson Duckworth
Reverend Robinson Duckworth DD, CVO, VD, was present in the original boating expedition of 4 July 1862 during which Alice's Adventures were first told by Lewis Carroll ....
, between 1866 and 1870, the Queen reacted by dismissing Duckworth in 1870. He later became Canon
Canon (priest)
A canon is a priest or minister who is a member of certain bodies of the Christian clergy subject to an ecclesiastical rule ....
of Westminster Abbey
Westminster Abbey
The Collegiate Church of St Peter at Westminster, popularly known as Westminster Abbey, is a large, mainly Gothic church, in the City of Westminster, London, United Kingdom, located just to the west of the Palace of Westminster. It is the traditional place of coronation and burial site for English,...
.
Louise was bored by the court. By fulfilling her duties, which were little more than minor secretarial tasks, such as writing letters on the Queen's behalf; dealing with political correspondence; and providing the Queen with company, she had more responsibility than she had before.
Suitors
As a daughter of the Queen, Louise was a desirable bride; more so as she is regarded as the Queen's most beautiful daughter by both contemporary and modern biographers. However, she was accused by the press, without substantiation, of romantic affairs. This, coupled with her liberalismLiberalism
Liberalism is the belief in the importance of liberty and equal rights. Liberals espouse a wide array of views depending on their understanding of these principles, but generally, liberals support ideas such as constitutionalism, liberal democracy, free and fair elections, human rights,...
and feminism
Feminism
Feminism is a collection of movements aimed at defining, establishing, and defending equal political, economic, and social rights and equal opportunities for women. Its concepts overlap with those of women's rights...
, prompted the Queen to find her a husband. The choice had to suit Victoria as well as Louise, and the Queen insisted that her daughter's husband should live near her, a promise also made by Helena's husband. Various suitors were proposed by the leading royal houses of Europe: Princess Alexandra
Alexandra of Denmark
Alexandra of Denmark was the wife of Edward VII of the United Kingdom...
proposed her brother, the Crown Prince of Denmark
Frederick VIII of Denmark
Frederick VIII was King of Denmark from 1906 to 1912.-Early life:Frederick was born on 3 June 1843 in the Yellow Palace in Copenhagen as Prince Frederick of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glücksburg, a junior male line of the House of Oldenburg descended from Christian III of Denmark and who had...
, but the Queen was strongly opposed to another Danish marriage that could antagonise Prussia
Kingdom of Prussia
The Kingdom of Prussia was a German kingdom from 1701 to 1918. Until the defeat of Germany in World War I, it comprised almost two-thirds of the area of the German Empire...
. Victoria
Victoria, Princess Royal
The Princess Victoria, Princess Royal was the eldest child of Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom and Prince Albert. She was created Princess Royal of the United Kingdom in 1841. She became German Empress and Queen of Prussia by marriage to German Emperor Frederick III...
, Louise's eldest sister, proposed the tall and rich Prince Albert of Prussia, but Queen Victoria disapproved of another Prussian marriage that would have been unpopular in England. Prince Albert was also reluctant to settle in England as required. William, Prince of Orange was also considered a suitor, but because of his extravagant lifestyle in Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
, where he lived openly with a mistress
Mistress (lover)
A mistress is a long-term female lover and companion who is not married to her partner; the term is used especially when her partner is married. The relationship generally is stable and at least semi-permanent; however, the couple does not live together openly. Also the relationship is usually,...
, the Queen quickly vetoed the idea.
John Campbell, 9th Duke of Argyll
John George Edward Henry Douglas Sutherland Campbell, 9th Duke of Argyll KG, KT, GCMG, GCVO, VD, PC , usually better known by the courtesy title Marquess of Lorne, by which he was known between 1847 and 1900, was a British nobleman and was the fourth Governor General of Canada from 1878 to 1883...
, Marquess of Lorne, heir to the Dukedom of Argyll
Duke of Argyll
Duke of Argyll is a title, created in the Peerage of Scotland in 1701 and in the Peerage of the United Kingdom in 1892. The Earls, Marquesses, and Dukes of Argyll were for several centuries among the most powerful, if not the most powerful, noble family in Scotland...
. No such marriage, between a daughter of a Sovereign and a British subject, had been given official recognition since 1515, when Charles Brandon
Charles Brandon, 1st Duke of Suffolk
Charles Brandon, 1st Duke of Suffolk, 1st Viscount Lisle, KG was the son of Sir William Brandon and Elizabeth Bruyn. Through his third wife Mary Tudor he was brother-in-law to Henry VIII. His father was the standard-bearer of Henry Tudor, Earl of Richmond and was slain by Richard III in person at...
, the first Duke of Suffolk
Duke of Suffolk
Duke of Suffolk is a title that has been created three times in British history, all three times in the Peerage of England.The third creation of the dukedom of Suffolk was for Henry Grey, 3rd Marquess of Dorset, in 1551. The duke also held the title Baron Ferrers of Groby...
, married Mary Tudor. Louise's brother, the Prince of Wales, was strongly opposed to a marriage with a non-mediatized
Mediatization
Mediatisation is the loss of imperial immediacy. Broadly defined it is the subsumption of one monarchy into another monarchy in such a way that the ruler of the annexed state keeps his sovereign title and, sometimes, a measure of local power...
noble. Furthermore, Lorne's father, George Campbell
George Campbell, 8th Duke of Argyll
George John Douglas Campbell, 8th Duke of Argyll KG, KT, PC, FRS, FRSE , styled Marquess of Lorne until 1847, was a Scottish peer, Liberal politician as well as a writer on science, religion, and the politics of the 19th century.-Background:Argyll was born at Ardencaple Castle, Dunbartonshire, the...
, the eighth Duke of Argyll, was an ardent supporter of William Ewart Gladstone
William Ewart Gladstone
William Ewart Gladstone FRS FSS was a British Liberal statesman. In a career lasting over sixty years, he served as Prime Minister four separate times , more than any other person. Gladstone was also Britain's oldest Prime Minister, 84 years old when he resigned for the last time...
, and the Prince of Wales was worried that he would drag the royal family into political disputes. Nevertheless, the opposition was crushed by the Queen, who wrote to the Prince of Wales in 1869:
The Queen also stated that Louise's marriage to a subject would bring “new blood” into the family, while all European princes were related to each other. She was convinced that this would strengthen the royal family morally and physically.
Engagement and wedding
John Campbell, 9th Duke of Argyll
John George Edward Henry Douglas Sutherland Campbell, 9th Duke of Argyll KG, KT, GCMG, GCVO, VD, PC , usually better known by the courtesy title Marquess of Lorne, by which he was known between 1847 and 1900, was a British nobleman and was the fourth Governor General of Canada from 1878 to 1883...
on 3 October 1870. Lorne was invited to Balmoral Castle
Balmoral Castle
Balmoral Castle is a large estate house in Royal Deeside, Aberdeenshire, Scotland. It is located near the village of Crathie, west of Ballater and east of Braemar. Balmoral has been one of the residences of the British Royal Family since 1852, when it was purchased by Queen Victoria and her...
in Scotland
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
, and accompanied Louise, the Lord Chancellor
Lord Chancellor
The Lord High Chancellor of Great Britain, or Lord Chancellor, is a senior and important functionary in the government of the United Kingdom. He is the second highest ranking of the Great Officers of State, ranking only after the Lord High Steward. The Lord Chancellor is appointed by the Sovereign...
, Lord Hatherley
William Wood, 1st Baron Hatherley
William Page Wood, 1st Baron Hatherley PC, QC was a British lawyer and statesman who served as a Liberal Lord Chancellor between 1868 and 1872 in William Ewart Gladstone's first ministry.-Background and education:...
and Queen Victoria's lady-in-waiting
Lady-in-waiting
A lady-in-waiting is a female personal assistant at a royal court, attending on a queen, a princess, or a high-ranking noblewoman. Historically, in Europe a lady-in-waiting was often a noblewoman from a family highly thought of in good society, but was of lower rank than the woman on whom she...
, Jane, Marchioness of Ely
Marquess of Ely
Marquess of Ely, of the County of Wexford, is a title in the Peerage of Ireland. It was created in 1800 for Charles Loftus, 1st Earl of Ely. He was born Charles Tottenham, the son of John Tottenham, who had been created a Baronet, of Tottenham Green in the County of Wexford, in the Baronetage of...
on a drive. Later that day, Louise returned and announced to the Queen that Lorne had “spoken of his devotion” to Louise, and she accepted his proposal in the knowledge of the Queen's approval. The Queen found it difficult to let go of her daughter, confiding in her journal that she “felt painfully the thought of losing her”. The new breach in royal tradition caused surprise, especially in Germany, and Queen Victoria wrote to the Queen of Prussia
Augusta of Saxe-Weimar
Augusta of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach was the Queen of Prussia and the first German Empress as the consort of William I, German Emperor.-Early life:...
that princes of small impoverished German houses were “very unpopular” in Britain and that Lord Lorne, a “person of distinction at home” with “an independent fortune” was “really no lower in rank than minor German Royalty”.
Victoria settled an annuity on Louise shortly before her marriage. The ceremony was conducted at St George's Chapel at Windsor Castle on 21 March 1871, and the crowd outside was so large that, for the first time, policemen had to form chain barriers to keep control. Louise wore a wedding veil of Honiton
Honiton
Honiton is a town and civil parish in East Devon, situated close to the River Otter, north east of Exeter in the county of Devon. The town's name is pronounced in two ways, and , each pronunciation having its adherents...
lace that she designed herself, and was escorted into the Chapel by her mother, and her two eldest brothers, the Prince of Wales
Edward VII of the United Kingdom
Edward VII was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions and Emperor of India from 22 January 1901 until his death in 1910...
and the Duke of Edinburgh
Alfred, Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha
Alfred, Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha was the third Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, and reigned from 1893 to 1900. He was also a member of the British Royal Family, the second son and fourth child of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha...
. On this occasion, the usually severe black of the Queen's mourning dress was relieved by the crimson rubies and blues of the Garter star. Following the ceremony, the Queen kissed Louise, and Lorne – now a member of the royal family, but still a subject – kissed the Queen's hand. The couple then journeyed to Claremont
Claremont (country house)
Claremont, also known historically as 'Clermont', is an 18th-century Palladian mansion situated less than a mile south of Esher in Surrey, England...
in Surrey
Surrey
Surrey is a county in the South East of England and is one of the Home Counties. The county borders Greater London, Kent, East Sussex, West Sussex, Hampshire and Berkshire. The historic county town is Guildford. Surrey County Council sits at Kingston upon Thames, although this has been part of...
for the honeymoon, but the presence of attendants on the journey, and at meal times, made it impossible for them to talk privately. The short four-day visit did not pass without an interruption from the Queen, who was curious about her daughter's thoughts on married life.
Inauspicious arrival
In 1878, British Prime MinisterPrime Minister of the United Kingdom
The Prime Minister of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the Head of Her Majesty's Government in the United Kingdom. The Prime Minister and Cabinet are collectively accountable for their policies and actions to the Sovereign, to Parliament, to their political party and...
, Benjamin Disraeli, chose Lorne to be Canada's new Governor General
Governor General of Canada
The Governor General of Canada is the federal viceregal representative of the Canadian monarch, Queen Elizabeth II...
, and he was duly appointed by Queen Victoria. Louise thus became his Viceregal Consort
Viceregal consort of Canada
The viceregal consort of Canada is the spouse of the serving governor general of Canada, assisting the viceroy with ceremonial and charitable work, accompanying him or her to official state occasions, and occasionally undertaking philanthropic work of their own...
. On 15 November 1878, the couple left Liverpool
Liverpool
Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough of Merseyside, England, along the eastern side of the Mersey Estuary. It was founded as a borough in 1207 and was granted city status in 1880...
and arrived to be sworn in at Halifax
City of Halifax
Halifax is a city in Canada, which was the capital of the province of Nova Scotia and shire town of Halifax County. It was the largest city in Atlantic Canada until it was amalgamated into Halifax Regional Municipality in 1996...
on 25 November.
Rideau Hall
Rideau Hall is, since 1867, the official residence in Ottawa of both the Canadian monarch and the Governor General of Canada. It stands in Canada's capital on a 0.36 km2 estate at 1 Sussex Drive, with the main building consisting of 170 rooms across 9,500 m2 , and 24 outbuildings around the...
, officially the Queen's royal residence in Ottawa
Ottawa
Ottawa is the capital of Canada, the second largest city in the Province of Ontario, and the fourth largest city in the country. The city is located on the south bank of the Ottawa River in the eastern portion of Southern Ontario...
. However, the hall was far from the splendour of British royal residences, and, as each viceregal couple decorated the hall with their own furnishings, and thus took them when they departed, the Lornes found the palace sparse in décor upon their arrival. Louise put her artistic talents to work and hung many of her watercolour and oil paintings around the hall, also installing her sculpted works. Though the news that a daughter of the Queen would be viceregal consort of Canada first saw a "thrill of joy burst upon the Dominion", it being felt that the Princess would be a strong link between Canadians and their sovereign, the arrival of the new governor general and his wife was not initially welcomed by the Canadian press, which complained about the imposition of royalty on the country's hitherto un-regal society. Relations with the press further deteriorated when Lorne's private secretary, Francis de Winton, threw four journalists off the royal train. Although the Lornes had no knowledge of de Winton's action, it was assumed by the press that they did, and they earned an early reputation for haughtiness. Louise was horrified by the negative press, and when she heard about reports of "a nation of flunkies" at the viceregal court, taking lessons in "the backward walk," Louise declared that she "wouldn't care if they came in blanket coats!" Eventually the worries of a rigid court at Rideau Hall and the "feeble undercurrent of criticism" turned out to be unfounded as the royal couple proved to be more relaxed than their predecessors.
Canadian entertainments
Louise's first few months in Canada were tinged with sadness as her favourite sister, Alice, Grand Duchess of Hesse, died on 14 December 1878. Although homesick over that first Christmas, Louise soon grew accustomed to the winter climate. Sleighing and skating were two of her favourite pastimes. In Canada, as the monarch's direct representative, Lorne always took precedence over his wife, so that at the Canadian State Opening of ParliamentState Opening of Parliament
In the United Kingdom, the State Opening of Parliament is an annual event that marks the commencement of a session of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It is held in the House of Lords Chamber, usually in November or December or, in a general election year, when the new Parliament first assembles...
on 13 February 1879, Louise was ranked no differently than others in attendance. She had to remain standing with the MPs, until Lorne asked them to be seated. In order for Lorne to meet every Canadian member of parliament, he held bi-weekly dinners for 50 people. However, some of the Canadian ladies responded negatively to the British party. One of Louise's ladies-in-waiting reported that some of them had an “‘I'm as good as you’ sort of manner when one begins a conversation.” Court entertainments were open; anyone who could afford the clothing to attend functions was simply asked to sign the visitor's book. Louise's first state ball was given on 19 February 1879, and she made a good impression on her guests when she ordered the silk cordon, separating the viceregal party from the guests, be removed. However, the ball was marred by various mishaps, including a drunken bandsman nearly starting a fire by pulling a curtain over a gas lamp. The open house practice was criticised by guests who complained about the low social status of other guests. One attendee was horrified on discovering that they were dancing in the same social set as their grocer.
Royal Canadian Academy of Arts
The Royal Canadian Academy of Arts is a Canadian arts-related institution founded in 1880, under the patronage of the Governor General of Canada, Sir John Douglas Sutherland Campbell, the Marquess of Lorne. Canadian landscape painter Homer Watson was a member and president of the Academy...
, and enjoyed visiting Quebec
Quebec
Quebec or is a province in east-central Canada. It is the only Canadian province with a predominantly French-speaking population and the only one whose sole official language is French at the provincial level....
, which they made their summer home, and Toronto
Toronto
Toronto is the provincial capital of Ontario and the largest city in Canada. It is located in Southern Ontario on the northwestern shore of Lake Ontario. A relatively modern city, Toronto's history dates back to the late-18th century, when its land was first purchased by the British monarchy from...
. Louise served as the patroness of the Ladies' Educational Association, of the Woman's Protective Immigration Society, of the Society of
Decorative Arts and of the Art Association, all of Montreal. One of her works as a sculptor is the statue of her Royal mother Queen Victoria erected in front of the Royal Victoria College, Montreal.
Lorne's father, the Duke of Argyll
George Campbell, 8th Duke of Argyll
George John Douglas Campbell, 8th Duke of Argyll KG, KT, PC, FRS, FRSE , styled Marquess of Lorne until 1847, was a Scottish peer, Liberal politician as well as a writer on science, religion, and the politics of the 19th century.-Background:Argyll was born at Ardencaple Castle, Dunbartonshire, the...
, arrived with two of his daughters in June, and in the presence of the family, Louise caught a 28 pound (almost 13 kg) salmon
Salmon
Salmon is the common name for several species of fish in the family Salmonidae. Several other fish in the same family are called trout; the difference is often said to be that salmon migrate and trout are resident, but this distinction does not strictly hold true...
. The women's success at fishing prompted the Duke to remark that fishing in Canada required no skill.
Sleigh accident
Louise, Lorne, and two attendants, were the victim of a sleigh accident on 14 February 1880. The winter was particularly severe, and the carriage in which they were travelling overturned, throwing the coachman and footman from the sleigh. The horses then panicked, and dragged the overturned carriage over more than 400 yards (365.8 m) of ground. Louise was knocked unconscious when she hit her head on the iron bar supporting the roof, and Lorne was trapped underneath her, expecting “the sides of the carriage to give way at any moment”. Eventually, as they overtook the sleigh ahead, the horses calmed, and the occupant of that sleigh, Princess Louise's aide-de-campAide-de-camp
An aide-de-camp is a personal assistant, secretary, or adjutant to a person of high rank, usually a senior military officer or a head of state...
, ordered an empty carriage to convey the injured party back to Rideau Hall
Rideau Hall
Rideau Hall is, since 1867, the official residence in Ottawa of both the Canadian monarch and the Governor General of Canada. It stands in Canada's capital on a 0.36 km2 estate at 1 Sussex Drive, with the main building consisting of 170 rooms across 9,500 m2 , and 24 outbuildings around the...
.
The doctors who attended Louise reported that she was severely concussed and in shock, and that “it was a wonder her skull was not fractured”. Louise's ear had been injured when her earring caught on the side of the sleigh, tearing her ear lobe in two. The press played down the story on instructions from Lorne's private secretary, an act that was described by contemporaries as “stupid and ill advised”. For example, one New Zealand newspaper reported, "Excepting immediately after the blow, the Princess was perfectly sensible during the whole time..." Knowledge of Louise's true condition might have elicited sympathy from the Canadian people. As it was, one Member of Parliament
Member of Parliament
A Member of Parliament is a representative of the voters to a :parliament. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, the term applies specifically to members of the lower house, as upper houses often have a different title, such as senate, and thus also have different titles for its members,...
wrote: “Except the cut in the lower part of the ear I think there was no injury done worth mentioning.” Therefore, when Louise cancelled her immediate engagements, people thought she was malingering
Malingering
Malingering is a medical term that refers to fabricating or exaggerating the symptoms of mental or physical disorders for a variety of "secondary gain" motives, which may include financial compensation ; avoiding school, work or military service; obtaining drugs; getting lighter criminal sentences;...
. News of the accident was also played down in Britain, and in letters home to the anxious Queen Victoria.
Continued Interest in Canada
After returning to Britain in 1879, Louise continued to take an interest in Canada. During the North-West RebellionNorth-West Rebellion
The North-West Rebellion of 1885 was a brief and unsuccessful uprising by the Métis people of the District of Saskatchewan under Louis Riel against the Dominion of Canada...
of 1885 she sent a certain Dr. Boyd with medical supplies and a large fund of money for distribution. Her express instructions were that assistance was to be rendered to friend and foe indiscriminately. To fulfill her wishes, the Chief of Medical Staff for the government forces, Dr. Thomas Roddick and Dr. Boyd went to the sites of the Battle of Fish Creek
Battle of Fish Creek
The Battle of Fish Creek , fought April 24, 1885 at Fish Creek, Saskatchewan, was a major Métis victory over the Dominion forces attempting to quell Louis Riel's North-West Rebellion...
and the Battle of Batoche
Battle of Batoche
The Battle of Batoche was the decisive battle of the North-West Rebellion. Fought from 9 May to 12 May 1885 at the ad hoc Provisional Government of Saskatchewan capital of Batoche, the greater numbers and superior firepower of Middleton's force could not be successfully countered by the Métis ,...
to locate and give medical treatment to wounded Métis
Métis people (Canada)
The Métis are one of the Aboriginal peoples in Canada who trace their descent to mixed First Nations parentage. The term was historically a catch-all describing the offspring of any such union, but within generations the culture syncretised into what is today a distinct aboriginal group, with...
.
Family conflict
Louise returned to Britain, from QuebecQuebec
Quebec or is a province in east-central Canada. It is the only Canadian province with a predominantly French-speaking population and the only one whose sole official language is French at the provincial level....
, with her husband on 27 October 1883, and landed at Liverpool
Liverpool
Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough of Merseyside, England, along the eastern side of the Mersey Estuary. It was founded as a borough in 1207 and was granted city status in 1880...
. Queen Victoria had prepared apartments at Kensington Palace
Kensington Palace
Kensington Palace is a royal residence set in Kensington Gardens in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea in London, England. It has been a residence of the British Royal Family since the 17th century and is the official London residence of the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, the Duke and...
, and the couple took up official residence there. Louise retained those apartments until her death there 56 years later. Lorne resumed his political career, campaigning unsuccessfully for the Hampstead
Hampstead (UK Parliament constituency)
Hampstead was a borough constituency, centered on the Hampstead area of North London. It returned one Member of Parliament to the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, who was elected using the first-past-the-post voting system....
seat in 1885. In 1896, he won the South Manchester
Manchester South (UK Parliament constituency)
Manchester South was one of six parliamentary constituencies created in 1885 by the division of the Parliamentary Borough of Manchester, England. It returned one Member of Parliament to the House of Commons of the Parliament, elected by the first-past-the-post voting system...
seat, entering parliament as a Liberal
Liberal Party (UK)
The Liberal Party was one of the two major political parties of the United Kingdom during the 19th and early 20th centuries. It was a third party of negligible importance throughout the latter half of the 20th Century, before merging with the Social Democratic Party in 1988 to form the present day...
. Louise, unlike Lorne and his father, was in favour of Irish Home Rule, and was disappointed when he defected
Defection
In politics, a defector is a person who gives up allegiance to one state or political entity in exchange for allegiance to another. More broadly, it involves abandoning a person, cause or doctrine to whom or to which one is bound by some tie, as of allegiance or duty.This term is also applied,...
from Gladstonian Liberalism
Gladstonian Liberalism
Gladstonian Liberalism is a political doctrine named after the British Victorian Prime Minister and leader of the Liberal Party, William Ewart Gladstone. Gladstonian Liberalism consisted of limited government expenditure and low taxation whilst making sure government had balanced budgets...
to the Liberal Unionists
Liberal Unionist Party
The Liberal Unionist Party was a British political party that was formed in 1886 by a faction that broke away from the Liberal Party. Led by Lord Hartington and Joseph Chamberlain, the party formed a political alliance with the Conservative Party in opposition to Irish Home Rule...
. Relations between Louise and Lorne were strained, and, despite the Queen's attempts to keep them under one roof, they often went their separate ways. Even when he accompanied Louise, he was not always received with favour at court, and the Prince of Wales did not take to him. Out of all the royal family, Lorne was the only one to be identified closely with a political party, having been a Gladstonian
Gladstonian Liberalism
Gladstonian Liberalism is a political doctrine named after the British Victorian Prime Minister and leader of the Liberal Party, William Ewart Gladstone. Gladstonian Liberalism consisted of limited government expenditure and low taxation whilst making sure government had balanced budgets...
liberal
Liberal Party (UK)
The Liberal Party was one of the two major political parties of the United Kingdom during the 19th and early 20th centuries. It was a third party of negligible importance throughout the latter half of the 20th Century, before merging with the Social Democratic Party in 1988 to form the present day...
in the House of Commons
British House of Commons
The House of Commons is the lower house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, which also comprises the Sovereign and the House of Lords . Both Commons and Lords meet in the Palace of Westminster. The Commons is a democratically elected body, consisting of 650 members , who are known as Members...
. Louise's relationship with the two sisters closest to the Queen, Beatrice
Princess Beatrice of the United Kingdom
The Princess Beatrice was a member of the British Royal Family. She was the fifth daughter and youngest child of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert. Juan Carlos, King of Spain, is her great-grandson...
and Helena
Princess Helena of the United Kingdom
Princess Helena was a member of the British Royal Family, the third daughter and fifth child of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert....
, was strained at best. Beatrice had married the tall and handsome Prince Henry of Battenberg
Prince Henry of Battenberg
Colonel Prince Henry of Battenberg was a morganatic descendant of the Grand Ducal House of Hesse, later becoming a member of the British Royal Family, through his marriage to Princess Beatrice.-Early life:...
in a love match in 1885, and they had four children. Louise, who had a jealous nature, had grown accustomed to treating Beatrice with pity on account of the Queen's constant need for her. Beatrice's biographer, Matthew Dennison, claims that in contrast to Beatrice, Louise remained strikingly good looking throughout her forties. Louise and her husband were no longer close, and rumours spread about Lorne's alleged homosexuality. Thus, Beatrice was enjoying a satisfying sexual relationship with her popular husband, which Louise was not. Louise may have considered Prince Henry a more appropriate husband for herself. Certainly, following Prince Henry's death in 1896, Louise wrote that: “he [Henry] was almost the greatest friend I had—I, too, miss him more than I can say”. In addition, Louise attempted to champion her late brother-in-law by announcing that she was his confidante and that Beatrice, a mere cipher, meant nothing to him.
Rumours of affairs
Further rumours spread that Louise was having an affair with Arthur BiggeArthur Bigge, 1st Baron Stamfordham
Arthur John Bigge, 1st Baron Stamfordham, GCB, GCVO, GCIE, KCSI, KCMG , ISO, PC , was a British soldier and courtier. He was Private Secretary to Queen Victoria during the last few years of her reign, and to King George V during most of his reign...
, later Lord Stamfordham, the Queen's assistant private secretary
Private Secretary to the Sovereign
The Private Secretary to the Sovereign is the senior operational member of the Royal Household of the Sovereign of the United Kingdom, as distinct from the Great Officers of the Household. The Private Secretary is the principal channel of communication with Her Majesty's Government and the...
. Beatrice mentioned the rumours to the Queen's physician, calling it a “scandal”, and Prince Henry claimed to have seen Bigge drinking to Louise's health at dinner. Louise denied the rumour, claiming that it was started by Beatrice and Helena to undermine her position at court. However, on Henry's death, relations between the sisters sporadically improved, and it was Louise, rather than the Queen, who was the first to arrive at Cimiez
Cimiez
Cimiez is a neighborhood in Nice, southern France. The area contains the Musée Matisse and the ruins of Cemenelum, capital of the Ancient Roman province Alpes Maritimae on the Ligurian coast...
to be with the widowed Beatrice. Nevertheless, Louise's jealousy did not evaporate completely. James Reid, the Queen's physician
Physician
A physician is a health care provider who practices the profession of medicine, which is concerned with promoting, maintaining or restoring human health through the study, diagnosis, and treatment of disease, injury and other physical and mental impairments...
, wrote to his wife a few years later: “Louise is as usual much down on her sisters. Hope she won't stay long or she will do mischief!”
Rumours of affairs did not surround only Bigge. In 1890, the sculptor Joseph Edgar Boehm died in Louise's presence at his studio in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, leading to rumours that the two were having an affair. Boehm's assistant, Alfred Gilbert
Alfred Gilbert
Sir Alfred Gilbert was an English sculptor and goldsmith who enthusiastically experimented with metallurgical innovations...
, who played a central role in comforting Louise after Boehm's death, and supervised the destruction of Boehm's private papers, was rapidly promoted as a royal sculptor. Louise was also romantically linked to fellow artist Edwin Lutyens
Edwin Lutyens
Sir Edwin Landseer Lutyens, OM, KCIE, PRA, FRIBA was a British architect who is known for imaginatively adapting traditional architectural styles to the requirements of his era...
; her equerry
Equerry
An equerry , and related to the French word "écuyer" ) is an officer of honour. Historically, it was a senior attendant with responsibilities for the horses of a person of rank. In contemporary use, it is a personal attendant, usually upon a Sovereign, a member of a Royal Family, or a national...
, Colonel William Probert; and an unnamed music master. However, Jehanne Wake
Jehanne Wake
Jehanne Wake is a British biographer, historian and archivist. She has written critically acclaimed biographies of Princess Louise, the sixth child of Queen Victoria, and of the four early American Caton sisters known as "the American graces", amongst other books.-Life:Jehanne Wake had an...
, Louise's biographer, argues that there is no substantial evidence to suggest that Louise had sexual relationships with anyone other than her husband.
During Victoria's last years, Louise carried out a range of public duties, such as opening public buildings, laying foundation stones, and officiating at special programs. Louise, like her eldest sister Victoria
Victoria, Princess Royal
The Princess Victoria, Princess Royal was the eldest child of Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom and Prince Albert. She was created Princess Royal of the United Kingdom in 1841. She became German Empress and Queen of Prussia by marriage to German Emperor Frederick III...
, was more liberally minded, and supported the suffragist movement, completely contrary to the Queen's views. Louise privately visited Britain's first female doctor, Elizabeth Garrett
Elizabeth Garrett Anderson
Elizabeth Garrett Anderson, LSA, MD , was an English physician and feminist, the first woman to gain a medical qualification in Britain and the first female mayor in England.-Early life:...
. Queen Victoria deplored the idea of women joining professions, especially the medical profession, and described the training of female doctors as a “repulsive subject”.
Unconventional royal
Louise was determined to be seen as an ordinary person and not as a member of the court. When travelling abroad, she often used the alias “Mrs Campbell”. Louise was known for her charity towards servants. On one occasion, the butler approached her and requested permission to dismiss the second footman, who was late getting out of bed. When she advised that the footman be given an alarm clock, the butler informed her that he already had one. She then went so far as to suggest a bed that would throw him out at a specified time, but she was told this was not feasible. Finally, she suggested that he might be ill, and when checked, he was found to be suffering from tuberculosisTuberculosis
Tuberculosis, MTB, or TB is a common, and in many cases lethal, infectious disease caused by various strains of mycobacteria, usually Mycobacterium tuberculosis. Tuberculosis usually attacks the lungs but can also affect other parts of the body...
. The footman was therefore sent to New Zealand
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
to recover. On another occasion, when she visited Bermuda
Bermuda
Bermuda is a British overseas territory in the North Atlantic Ocean. Located off the east coast of the United States, its nearest landmass is Cape Hatteras, North Carolina, about to the west-northwest. It is about south of Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada, and northeast of Miami, Florida...
, she was invited to a reception and chose to walk rather than be driven. She became thirsty along the way and stopped at a house, where she asked a black woman named Mrs McCarthy for a glass of water. Owing to the scarcity of water, the woman had to go some distance to obtain it, but was reluctant because she had to finish her ironing. When Louise offered to continue the ironing, the woman refused, adding that she was in a great hurry to finish so that she could go and see Princess Louise. Realising that she had not been recognised, Louise enquired whether McCarthy would recognise her again. When the woman said that she would have thought so, but was admittedly unsure, Louise replied: “Well take a good look at me now, so you can be sure to know me tomorrow at St. Georges.” The Princess clung to her privacy, and enjoyed not being recognised.
Louise and her sisters had another disagreement after the death of the Queen's close friend, Jane Spencer, Baroness Churchill
Jane Spencer, Baroness Churchill
Jane Spencer, Baroness Churchill, VA , born Lady Jane Conyngham, daughter of the Earl of Mount Charles , married, on 19 May 1849, the Francis Spencer, 2nd Baron Churchill, at Bifrons House, Kent.From 1854 to her death, Lady Churchill was a Lady of the Bedchamber to Queen Victoria...
. Determined not to put her mother through more misery, Louise wanted the news to be broken to the Queen gradually. When this was not done, Louise voiced her sharp criticism of Helena and Beatrice. One month later, on 22 January 1901, Queen Victoria died at Osborne House
Osborne House
Osborne House is a former royal residence in East Cowes, Isle of Wight, UK. The house was built between 1845 and 1851 for Queen Victoria and Prince Albert as a summer home and rural retreat....
on the Isle of Wight
Isle of Wight
The Isle of Wight is a county and the largest island of England, located in the English Channel, on average about 2–4 miles off the south coast of the county of Hampshire, separated from the mainland by a strait called the Solent...
. In her will, the Queen bequeathed Kent House, on the Osborne Estate, to Louise as a country residence, and gave Osborne Cottage to Louise's youngest sister, Beatrice. Louise and Beatrice were now neighbours both at Kensington Palace and Osborne.
Edwardian period
Edward VII of the United Kingdom
Edward VII was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions and Emperor of India from 22 January 1901 until his death in 1910...
, with whom she had much in common, including smoking. She had an obsession with physical fitness, and if she was sneered at for this, she would retort by saying: “Never mind, I'll outlive you all.” Meanwhile, Louise's husband, 9th Duke of Argyll since 1900, took his seat in the House of Lords
House of Lords
The House of Lords is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Like the House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminster....
. The Colonial Secretary, Joseph Chamberlain
Joseph Chamberlain
Joseph Chamberlain was an influential British politician and statesman. Unlike most major politicians of the time, he was a self-made businessman and had not attended Oxford or Cambridge University....
, offered him the office of Governor General of Australia that year, but the offer was declined. Louise continued her sculpture, and in 1902, designed a memorial to the colonial soldiers who died in the Boer War
Second Boer War
The Second Boer War was fought from 11 October 1899 until 31 May 1902 between the British Empire and the Afrikaans-speaking Dutch settlers of two independent Boer republics, the South African Republic and the Orange Free State...
. In the same year, she began a nude study on a married woman suggested by the English painter Sir William Blake Richmond
William Blake Richmond
Sir William Blake Richmond KCB , English painter and decorator, was born in London. His father, George Richmond, R.A...
.
Louise spent much of her time at Kent House, and she frequently visited Scotland with her husband. Financial pressures did not disappear when Lorne became Duke, and Louise avoided inviting the King to Inveraray
Inveraray
Inveraray is a royal burgh in Argyll and Bute, Scotland. It is on the western shore of Loch Fyne, near its head, and on the A83 road. It is the traditional county town of Argyll and ancestral home to the Duke of Argyll.-Coat of arms:...
, Argyll's ancestral home, because the couple were economising. When Queen Victoria had visited the house before Lorne became Duke of Argyll, there were seventy servants and seventy-four dogs. By the time of Edward VII's accession, there were four servants and two dogs.
The Duke of Argyll's health continued to deteriorate. He became increasingly senile, and Louise nursed him devotedly from 1911. In these years Louise and her husband were closer than they had been before. In spring 1914 Louise stayed at Kensington Palace
Kensington Palace
Kensington Palace is a royal residence set in Kensington Gardens in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea in London, England. It has been a residence of the British Royal Family since the 17th century and is the official London residence of the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, the Duke and...
while her husband remained on the Isle of Wight
Isle of Wight
The Isle of Wight is a county and the largest island of England, located in the English Channel, on average about 2–4 miles off the south coast of the county of Hampshire, separated from the mainland by a strait called the Solent...
. He developed bronchial problems followed by double pneumonia
Pneumonia
Pneumonia is an inflammatory condition of the lung—especially affecting the microscopic air sacs —associated with fever, chest symptoms, and a lack of air space on a chest X-ray. Pneumonia is typically caused by an infection but there are a number of other causes...
. Louise was sent for on 28 April 1914, and he died on 2 May. Following his death, Louise had a nervous breakdown
Nervous breakdown
Mental breakdown is a non-medical term used to describe an acute, time-limited phase of a specific disorder that presents primarily with features of depression or anxiety.-Definition:...
and suffered from intense loneliness, writing to a friend shortly afterwards: “My loneliness without the Duke is quite terrible. I wonder what he does now!”
Last years
Louise spent her last years at Kensington PalaceKensington Palace
Kensington Palace is a royal residence set in Kensington Gardens in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea in London, England. It has been a residence of the British Royal Family since the 17th century and is the official London residence of the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, the Duke and...
, occupying rooms next to her sister Princess Beatrice
Princess Beatrice of the United Kingdom
The Princess Beatrice was a member of the British Royal Family. She was the fifth daughter and youngest child of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert. Juan Carlos, King of Spain, is her great-grandson...
. She made occasional public appearances with the royal family, such as at the Cenotaph at Whitehall
Whitehall
Whitehall is a road in Westminster, in London, England. It is the main artery running north from Parliament Square, towards Charing Cross at the southern end of Trafalgar Square...
on 11 November 1925. However, her health deteriorated. In 1935, she greeted her nephew, King George V
George V of the United Kingdom
George V was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Emperor of India, from 6 May 1910 through the First World War until his death in 1936....
, and his wife, Queen Mary
Mary of Teck
Mary of Teck was the queen consort of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Empress of India, as the wife of King-Emperor George V....
, at Kensington Town Hall during their Silver Jubilee celebrations, and was made an Honourary Freeman of the Borough of Kensington. Her last public appearance occurred in 1937, at the Home Arts and Industries Exhibition. Between these occasions, her great nephew, King Edward VIII
Edward VIII of the United Kingdom
Edward VIII was King of the United Kingdom and the Dominions of the British Commonwealth, and Emperor of India, from 20 January to 11 December 1936.Before his accession to the throne, Edward was Prince of Wales and Duke of Cornwall and Rothesay...
, abdicated on 11 December 1936. In December 1936, Louise wrote to the British prime minister
Prime Minister of the United Kingdom
The Prime Minister of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the Head of Her Majesty's Government in the United Kingdom. The Prime Minister and Cabinet are collectively accountable for their policies and actions to the Sovereign, to Parliament, to their political party and...
, Stanley Baldwin
Stanley Baldwin
Stanley Baldwin, 1st Earl Baldwin of Bewdley, KG, PC was a British Conservative politician, who dominated the government in his country between the two world wars...
, sympathising with him about the crisis.
George VI of the United Kingdom
George VI was King of the United Kingdom and the Dominions of the British Commonwealth from 11 December 1936 until his death...
, she became too ill to move around, and was confined to Kensington Palace, affectionately called the “Auntie Palace” by Princess Elizabeth and Princess Margaret
Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon
Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon was the younger sister of Queen Elizabeth II and the younger daughter of King George VI....
. She developed neuritis in her arm, inflammation of the nerves between the ribs, fainting fits, and sciatica
Sciatica
Sciatica is a set of symptoms including pain that may be caused by general compression or irritation of one of five spinal nerve roots that give rise to each sciatic nerve, or by compression or irritation of the left or right or both sciatic nerves. The pain is felt in the lower back, buttock, or...
. Louise occupied herself by drafting prayers, one of which was sent to Neville Chamberlain
Neville Chamberlain
Arthur Neville Chamberlain FRS was a British Conservative politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from May 1937 to May 1940. Chamberlain is best known for his appeasement foreign policy, and in particular for his signing of the Munich Agreement in 1938, conceding the...
, reading "Guide our Ministers of State and all who are in authority over us ... "
Louise died at Kensington Palace on the morning of 3 December 1939 at the age of 91, wearing the wedding veil she wore 68 years previously. Following a simple funeral owing to the war, her remains were cremated
Cremation
Cremation is the process of reducing bodies to basic chemical compounds such as gasses and bone fragments. This is accomplished through high-temperature burning, vaporization and oxidation....
at Golders Green Crematorium
Golders Green Crematorium
Golders Green Crematorium and Mausoleum was the first crematorium to be opened in London, and one of the oldest crematoria in Britain. The land for the crematorium was purchased in 1900, costing £6,000, and was opened in 1902 by Sir Henry Thompson....
on 8 December. Her ashes were quietly placed in the Royal Crypt at St. George's Chapel on 12 December, with many members of the Royal and Argyll families present. Her ashes were later moved to the Royal Burial Ground, Frogmore near Windsor, on 13 March 1940.
Legacy
Will (law)
A will or testament is a legal declaration by which a person, the testator, names one or more persons to manage his/her estate and provides for the transfer of his/her property at death...
stated that if she died in Scotland
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
she should be buried at Kilmun
Kilmun
Kilmun is a linear settlement on the north shore of the Holy Loch in Argyll and Bute, Scotland. It runs between the head of the loch and connects with the village of Strone at Strone Point, where the loch joins the Firth of Clyde....
next to her husband; if in England, at Frogmore
Frogmore
The Frogmore Estate or Gardens comprise of private gardens within the grounds of the Home Park, adjoining Windsor Castle, in the English county of Berkshire. The name derives from the preponderance of frogs which have always lived in this low-lying and marshy area.It is the location of Frogmore...
near her parents. In the end she was buried at Windsor. Her coffin was borne by her own regiment, The Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders of Canada
The Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders of Canada (Princess Louise's)
The Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders of Canada , or A & SH of C, is a Primary Reserve Highland infantry regiment of the Canadian Forces, based at John W...
, whose current Colonel-in-Chief
Colonel-in-Chief
In the various Commonwealth armies, the Colonel-in-Chief of a regiment is its patron. This position is distinct from that of Colonel of the Regiment. They do not have an operational role. They are however kept informed of all important activities of the regiment, and pay occasional visits to its...
, her great-great-niece Princess Elizabeth, later Queen Elizabeth II, was among those at her funeral on 12 December 1939. Louise also bestowed her name on three other Canadian regiments: the Princess Louise Dragoon Guards in Ottawa, Ontario (inactive since 1965); the 8th Canadian Hussars (Princess Louise's) in Moncton, New Brunswick; and the Princess Louise Fusiliers in Halifax, Nova Scotia.
Queen Elizabeth II later recalled that Louise and her sister Beatrice
Princess Beatrice of the United Kingdom
The Princess Beatrice was a member of the British Royal Family. She was the fifth daughter and youngest child of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert. Juan Carlos, King of Spain, is her great-grandson...
would talk until they stunned their audience with their output of words.
Louise was the most artistically talented of Queen Victoria's daughters. As well as being an able actress, pianist and dancer, she was a prolific artist and sculptress. When Louise sculpted a statue of the Queen, portraying her in Coronation robes, the press claimed that her tutor, Sir Edgar Boehm, was the true creator of the work. The claim was denied by Louise's friends, who asserted her effort and independence. A memorial to her brother-in-law, Prince Henry of Battenberg
Prince Henry of Battenberg
Colonel Prince Henry of Battenberg was a morganatic descendant of the Grand Ducal House of Hesse, later becoming a member of the British Royal Family, through his marriage to Princess Beatrice.-Early life:...
, and a memorial to the Colonial soldiers who fell during the Boer War
Second Boer War
The Second Boer War was fought from 11 October 1899 until 31 May 1902 between the British Empire and the Afrikaans-speaking Dutch settlers of two independent Boer republics, the South African Republic and the Orange Free State...
, reside at Whippingham
Whippingham
Whippingham is a village and civil parish on the Isle of Wight. It is located two kilometres south of East Cowes in the north of the Island.Whippingham is best known for its connections with Queen Victoria, especially its church, redesigned by Prince Albert. The church has a tower reminiscent of a...
Church on the Isle of Wight
Isle of Wight
The Isle of Wight is a county and the largest island of England, located in the English Channel, on average about 2–4 miles off the south coast of the county of Hampshire, separated from the mainland by a strait called the Solent...
, and another statue of Queen Victoria remains at McGill University
McGill University
Mohammed Fathy is a public research university located in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. The university bears the name of James McGill, a prominent Montreal merchant from Glasgow, Scotland, whose bequest formed the beginning of the university...
in Montreal
Montreal
Montreal is a city in Canada. It is the largest city in the province of Quebec, the second-largest city in Canada and the seventh largest in North America...
.
The province of Alberta
Alberta
Alberta is a province of Canada. It had an estimated population of 3.7 million in 2010 making it the most populous of Canada's three prairie provinces...
in Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
is named after her. Although the name “Louise” was originally planned, the Princess wished to honour her dead father, so her last name was chosen. Lake Louise
Lake Louise, Alberta
Lake Louise is a hamlet in Alberta, Canada within Improvement District No. 9 Banff . It is named for the nearby Lake Louise, which in turn was named after the Princess Louise Caroline Alberta , the fourth daughter of Queen Victoria, and the wife of John Campbell, the 9th Duke of Argyll, who was the...
in Alberta
Alberta
Alberta is a province of Canada. It had an estimated population of 3.7 million in 2010 making it the most populous of Canada's three prairie provinces...
is also named after her, as is Mount Alberta
Mount Alberta
Mount Alberta is a mountain located in the upper Athabasca River Valley of Jasper National Park, Canada. J. Norman Collie named the mountain in 1898 after Princess Louise Caroline Alberta.Mount Alberta is the sixth highest peak of the Canadian Rockies...
. Although her time in Canada was not always happy, she liked the Canadian people and retained close links with her Canadian regiments. Back at home, she gained a reputation for paying unscheduled visits to hospitals, especially during her later years.
Her relationship with her family was generally close. Although at times she bickered with the Queen, and her sisters Helena and Beatrice, the relations did not remain strained for long. She retained a lifelong correspondence with her brother, Prince Arthur
Prince Arthur, Duke of Connaught and Strathearn
Prince Arthur, Duke of Connaught and Strathearn was a member of the shared British and Saxe-Coburg and Gotha royal family who served as the Governor General of Canada, the 10th since Canadian Confederation.Born the seventh child and third son of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and...
, and was one of King Edward VII's favourite sisters. Of all her siblings, she was closest to Prince Leopold
Prince Leopold, Duke of Albany
The Prince Leopold, Duke of Albany was the eighth child and fourth son of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha. Leopold was later created Duke of Albany, Earl of Clarence, and Baron Arklow...
, later Duke of Albany
Duke of Albany
Duke of Albany is a peerage title that has occasionally been bestowed on the younger sons in the Scottish, and later the British, royal family, particularly in the Houses of Stuart and Hanover....
, and she was devastated by his death in 1884. In the younger generations of the family, Louise's favourite relatives were the Duke
Prince George, Duke of Kent
Prince George, Duke of Kent was a member of the British Royal Family, the fourth son of George V and Mary of Teck, and younger brother of Edward VIII and George VI...
and Duchess of Kent
Princess Marina, Duchess of Kent
Princess Marina, Duchess of Kent, née Princess Marina of Greece and Denmark was a member of the British Royal Family; the wife of Prince George, Duke of Kent, the fourth son of King George V of the United Kingdom and Mary of Teck....
. At the coronation of King George VI
George VI of the United Kingdom
George VI was King of the United Kingdom and the Dominions of the British Commonwealth from 11 December 1936 until his death...
in 1937, Louise lent the Duchess the train
Train (clothing)
A train in clothing is the long back portion of a skirt or dress that writes a trail on the ground behind the wearer in ruler , or a separate trailing overskirt. It is a common part of a court dress or a wedding dress....
that she designed and wore for the Coronation of Edward VII in 1902.
Titles, styles, honours and arms
Titles and styles
- 18 March 1848 – 21 March 1871: Her Royal Highness The Princess Louise
- 21 March 1871 – 24 April 1900: Her Royal Highness The Princess Louise, Marchioness of Lorne
- 24 April 1900 – 3 December 1939: Her Royal Highness The Princess Louise, Duchess of Argyll
Honours
- 21 January 1865: Lady of the Royal Order of Victoria and Albert (first class)Royal Order of Victoria and AlbertThe Royal Order of Victoria and Albert was a British Royal Family Order instituted in on 10 February 1862 by Queen Victoria, and enlarged on 10 October 1864; 15 November 1865; and 15 March 1880. No awards were made after the death of Queen Victoria....
- 1 January 1878: Companion of the Order of the Crown of IndiaOrder of the Crown of IndiaThe Imperial Order of the Crown of India is an order in the British honours system.The Order was established by Queen Victoria in 1878, when she became Empress of India. The Order is open only to women; no new appointments have been made after the Partition of India in 1947...
- 10 February 1904: Royal Family Order of King Edward VII (second class)Royal Family Order of King Edward VIIThe Royal Family Order of King Edward VII was a high honour bestowed as a mark of personal esteem on titled female members of the British Royal Family for personal service to King Edward VII...
- 3 June 1911: Royal Family Order of King George V (second class)Royal Family Order of King George VThe Royal Family Order of King George V was a high honour bestowed as a mark of personal esteem on titled female members of the British Royal Family for personal service to King George V.Queen Elizabeth II is the only surviving member of the Order....
- 11 May 1937: Dame Grand Cross of the Royal Victorian OrderRoyal Victorian OrderThe Royal Victorian Order is a dynastic order of knighthood and a house order of chivalry recognising distinguished personal service to the order's Sovereign, the reigning monarch of the Commonwealth realms, any members of her family, or any of her viceroys...
- 3 June 1918: Dame Grand Cross of the Order of the British EmpireOrder of the British EmpireThe Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is an order of chivalry established on 4 June 1917 by George V of the United Kingdom. The Order comprises five classes in civil and military divisions...
- 7 August 1885: Member of the Royal Red CrossRoyal Red CrossThe Royal Red Cross is a military decoration awarded in the United Kingdom and Commonwealth for exceptional services in military nursing.The award was established on 27 April 1883 by Queen Victoria, with a single class of Member...
- 12 June 1927: Dame Grand Cross of the Venerable Order of St. JohnVenerable Order of Saint JohnThe Most Venerable Order of the Hospital of Saint John of Jerusalem , is a royal order of chivalry established in 1831 and found today throughout the Commonwealth of Nations, Hong Kong, Ireland and the United States of America, with the world-wide mission "to prevent and relieve sickness and...
Honorary military appointments
3 July 1911: Honorary Colonel, 5th Princess Louise Dragoon Guards (which became 4th Princess Louise Dragoon Guards4th Princess Louise Dragoon Guards
The 4th Princess Louise Dragoon Guards is an inactive armoured regiment of the Canadian militia.-Lineage:The Regiment's history dates back to Ottawa in the early 1870s and its membership in Canada's militia...
in 1936) 22 June 1914: Colonel-in-Chief, The Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders (Princess Louise's) 15 April 1930: Colonel-in-Chief, The Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders of Canada (Princess Louise's)
The Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders of Canada (Princess Louise's)
The Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders of Canada , or A & SH of C, is a Primary Reserve Highland infantry regiment of the Canadian Forces, based at John W...
14 August 1936: Colonel-in-Chief, The Princess Louise Fusiliers
The Princess Louise Fusiliers
The Princess Louise Fusiliers is a Primary Reserve infantry regiment of the Canadian Forces.-History:Based in Halifax, Nova Scotia, this infantry regiment traces its local roots as a Halifax unit of Militia back to June 18, 1798 when Sir Edward Cornwalis formed a local Militia under his own command...
Honorary roles
- President of the Women's Education Union from 1871.
- Patron of the Girls' Day School Trust, 1872–1939.
Arms
In 1858, Louise and the three younger of her sisters were granted use of the royal armsRoyal coat of arms of the United Kingdom
The Royal coat of arms of the United Kingdom is the official coat of arms of the British monarch, currently Queen Elizabeth II. These arms are used by the Queen in her official capacity as monarch of the United Kingdom, and are officially known as her Arms of Dominion...
, with an inescutcheon of the shield of Saxony
Coat of arms of Saxony
-See also:*Royal Arms of England*Coat of arms of Portugal*Coat of arms of Belgium*Coat of arms of Bulgaria...
, and differenced by a label
Label (heraldry)
In heraldry, a label is a charge resembling the strap crossing the horse’s chest from which pendants are hung. It is usually a mark of difference, but has sometimes been borne simply as a charge in its own right....
of three points argent
Argent
In heraldry, argent is the tincture of silver, and belongs to the class of light tinctures, called "metals". It is very frequently depicted as white and usually considered interchangeable with it...
. On Louise's arms, the outer points bore cantons gules
Gules
In heraldry, gules is the tincture with the colour red, and belongs to the class of dark tinctures called "colours". In engraving, it is sometimes depicted as a region of vertical lines or else marked with gu. as an abbreviation....
, and the centre a rose gules. In 1917, the inescutcheon was dropped by royal warrant from George V
George V of the United Kingdom
George V was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Emperor of India, from 6 May 1910 through the First World War until his death in 1936....
.