The life of Princess Beatrice of Battenberg

Born at Buckingham Palace on 14th April 1857, Princess Beatrice was the youngest child of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert. Two weeks after she was born, Victoria wrote that “I was amply rewarded and forgot all I had gone through when I heard dearest Albert say ‘It’s a fine child, and a girl!”

She was baptised in the Palace’s Private Chapel on 16th June and was given the names Beatrice Mary Victoria Feodore. Her godparents were: Victoria, Princess Royal; Prince Friedrich of Prussia; Victoire, Duchess of Kent.

As the youngest of nine children it’s no wonder Beatrice quickly became the favourite child of both of her parents. ‘Baby’, as she was known by her family, didn’t have to fight for her parents attention like her older siblings had and enjoyed a much more relaxed childhood. Despite not being fond of babies, the Queen found Beatrice particularly ‘pretty’ and a found much pleasure in bathing her and described her as: “a pretty, plump and flourishing child … with fine large blue eyes, pretty little mouth and very fine skin”.

For Albert, Beatrice filled the void of her eldest sister, Vicky, who had recently moved to Germany. As his love for Beatrice continued to grow, he admired her intelligence and charisma, describing her in a letter to Baron Stockmar as “the most amusing baby we have had.” 

Like all her siblings, Beatrice’s education started at a young age and followed Albert’s strict lesson plan and was particularly good at singing and dancing. In a letter to Augusta of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach, mother Prince Friedrich of Prussia, Prince Albert wrote that “Baby practises her scales like a good prima donna before a performance and has a good voice!”

In March 1861, Beatrice’s life started changing for the worst when her grandmother, the Duchess of Kent, passed away. Queen Victoria understandably broke down with her grief and it was four year old Beatrice that tried to console her mother by telling her that the Duchess was “in heaven, but […] hopes she will return”. Just nine months later tragedy struck again when Prince Albert died on 14th December. That night, Victoria sent for Baby to be woken and brought to her bed, wrapped in Prince Albert’s night clothes. This practice would quickly become routine as Victoria became more dependent on her three-year-old daughter.

Despite Albert’s passing, Beatrice’s education continued just as he had planned. She learnt French, German, gardening, baking and often visited historical sites. When she was aged just six, Beatrice stated that “I don’t like weddings at all. I shall never be married. I shall stay with my mother”, a vow that Victoria certainly agreed to: “She is my constant companion and hope and trust will never leave me while I live.” However the Queen’s wish failed to come true.

When Princess Louise married John Campbell in 1871, Princess Beatrice, now the only unmarried daughter, became the Queen’s unofficial secretary. Her daily tasks involved writing for the Queen and assisting with political correspondence. In 1878, Victoria allowed Beatrice to sort the music that had once been played by her and Albert, suggesting that her grief had temporarily lifted. However after the death of Queen Victoria’s highland servant, John Brown, in 1883, Victoria once again reached out to Beatrice for support, just as she had when Albert died.

In the 1870’s, rumours began to spread that Beatrice was engaged to the exhaled French Prince Imperial, Louis Napoleon. However, these rumours were quickly halted when he died in June 1879, during the Anglo-Zulu War. Victoria wrote in her journal that “Dear Beatrice, crying very much as I did too, gave me the telegram … It was dawning and little sleep did I get … Beatrice is so distressed; everyone quite stunned.”

After the death of her sister, Princess Alice, Beatrice’s oldest brother, the Prince of Wales, suggested she marry Alice’s widower, Louis IV, Grand Duke of Hesse and by Rhine. Victoria agreed as Beatrice would be able to spend most of her time in Britain, as well asp acting as a surrogate mother to her sister’s children. The Prince of Wales, Albert Edward, supported a bill allowing this kind of marriage. The bill was passed through the House of Commons but failed to make it through the House of Lords.

Other suggestions included Prince’s Alexander and Louis of Battenberg. The latter was invited to dinner with the the family, however Victoria sat between him and Beatrice, who she had told not to speak to Louis. Eventually, Louis gave up and married Beatrice’s nice, Princess Victoria of Hesse and by Rhine. However, it was at their wedding in 1884 that Beatrice met Louis’ bother, Prince Henry of Battenberg, with whom she immediately fell in love. When Beatrice told her mother that she wished to marry, she was greeted by seven months of silence, instead communicating only by notes, despite living together. Victoria’s two eldest children, Vicky and Bertie, along with his wife, the princess of wales and Alice’s widower, Louis, all tried to persuade the Queen to agree to the marriage.

Eventually by November 1884, the Queen realised that Beatrice wasn’t going to back down and agreed on the condition that Henry give up his German titles and career to live near her. Soon after, wedding plans began and the two got married at St Mildred’s Church on the Isle of Wight, on 23rd July 1885. Although the wedding was much smaller than those of her siblings, the guest list was still filled with royalty. By the time of the wedding, tensions between the bride and her mother had completely cleared and Beatrice was the only one of her sisters allowed to wear the veil worn by Victoria to her own wedding in 1840.

After a short honeymoon at Quarr Abbey House, Beatrice and Henry soon returned to Victorias side. With the couples new love believed to be as strong as Victoria and Albert’s, life at court relaxed. Victoria made it clear that she couldn’t cope without them and although she initially insisted on always travelling with them, she soon allowed them to go on short family trips alone. 

Despite suffering a miscarriage during the early months after her marriage, Beatrice gave birth to the couples first child, Prince Alexander, on 23rd November 1886. She later went on to have a total of three sons and one daughter.

In 1895, Henry managed to convince Victoria to let him join the Ashanti expedition fighting in the Anglo-Asante war. While there, Henry contracted malaria. The decision was made to send him home, however he does on 20th January while onboard HMS Blonde, just off the coast of Sierra Leone. Beatrice, didn’t receive the news until two days later. 

Following Henry’s death, Beatrice withdrew from court. In her journal, Queen Victoria wrote that she “went over to Beatrice’s room and sat a while with her. She is so piteous in her misery”.

A month later, Beatrice returned to her mothers side. Their bond had got stronger, perhaps because they both had grief in common. Realising that her daughter probably needed occasional space, Victoria allocated her rooms at Kensington Palace and also gave her the governorship of the Isle of Wight, the position which had previously been help by Henry. In addition, Victoria also had a darkroom installed at Osborne House so Beatrice could experiment with photography.

Beatrice’s life was torn apart when Queen Victoria died on 22nd January 1901, at Osborne House. In a letter she wrote “… you may imagine what the grief is. I, who had hardly ever been separated from my dear mother, can hardly realise what life will be like without her, who was the centre of everything.”  

As she wasn’t close to her brother, the new King Edward VII, her role at court had diminished. During his coronation she accidentally dropped her service book from the royal gallery onto a table of gold plate, causing a loud, disruptive noise.

Beatrice’s dedication to Victoria continued throughout the next thirty years as she edited and rewrote hundreds of volumes of her mothers journals, ready to one day be published.

Although the King gifted Osborne House to the nation, Beatrice was allowed to keep Osborne Cottage, which had been allocated to her by Victoria. However, she later sold it in 1913 so she could move into Carisbrook Castle, home to Governor of the Isle of Wight. 

During the First World War, the aging Beatrice began to retire from public life. Her 23 year old son, Prince Maurice died during the First Battle of Ypres. Beatrice was devastated and never truly got over his death.

In 1917, George V removed all German titles from the royal family. At that time Beatrice lost the title “Princess Henry of Battenberg” and simply became known as HRH Princess Beatrice. Her eldest son, became Sir Alexander Mountbatten, later Marquess of Carisbrooke; and the youngest surviving son became Lord Leopold Mountbatten. 

Beatrice faced more heartbreak in 1922, when Leopold died aged just 32, while undergoing a knee operation. He had suffered from haemophilia, which he had inherited from his mother. Along with her mother, Queen Victoria, and daughter, Victoria Eugenie, Queen Consort of Spain, Princess Beatrice was a carrier of the disease.

After the war, Beatrice rarely made public appearances, many of which involved laying wreaths at the Cenotaph in 1930 and 1935 to mark the 10th and 15th anniversaries of the founding of the League.

As she aged, she suffered immensely with arthritis, causing her to become a permanent wheelchair user. In 1941, she translated and edited the memoirs of her great-grand-mother Augusta, Duchess of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha. This would be her final publication.

Her final home was Brantridge Park in West Sussex, owned by  Alexander Cambridge, 1st Earl of Athlone, and his wife (Beatrice’s niece) Princess Alice, Countess of Athlone. At the time, they were living in Canada.

Beatrice died on 26th October 1944, aged 87. She was buried at St George’s Chapel, Windsor on 3rd November and was later moved inside a joint tomb with Prince Henry, at St Mildred’s Church, Isle of Wight, on 27th August 1945.

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