The life of Princess Beatrice of Edinburgh, Duchess of Galliera

On 20th April 1884, Princess Beatrice of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha was born at Eastwell Park, Kent. She was the youngest child of Alfred, Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha and his wife,
Grand Duchess Maria Alexandrovna of Russia. In her journal, Queen Victoria wrote that she ‘Heard that dear Marie had been safely confined of a girl, instead of a 2nd boy, as we had so greatly hoped. It is said to be a very fine child, & Marie is doing extremely well.’ Two days later, Victoria writes that she received “excellent accounts of dear Marie & baby,” although the labour had been difficult due to the baby being “an enormous child, weighing between 10 & 11lbs!!”

She was christened Beatrice Leopoldine Victoria, at Eastwell House on 17th May. Her godparents included her paternal Aunt, (and namesake), Princess Beatrice; Paternal aunt by marriage, Helena, Duchess of Albany; and German Emperor and King of Prussia, Wilhelm I. As the youngest of five children, she quickly gained the nicknames ‘baby’ and ‘baby-bee’ amongst her intimate family.

The family spent much of Beatrice’s childhood living between England, Malta and Saxe-Coburg and Gotha. However, this changed in August 1893, when her father succeeded his uncle, Ernst II, as Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha. The family moved to Schloss Ehrenburg on Coburg, where they continued to live until the Duke died in 1900. Afterwards, Beatrice moved into Palais Edinburg with her mother, Grand Duchess Maria Alexandrovna of Russia.

As the only unmarried sibling, rumours began to spread about possible suitors. In 1902, Beatrice became romantically involved with her cousin, Grand Duke Michael Alexandrovich or Russia, the younger brother of Tsar Nicholas II. Within months they wished to marry, however the Russian Orthodox Church forbade marriage between cousins. Despite the rule previously being overlooked, Nicholas refused to give his consent. A year later, in 1903, Michael wrote to Beatrice to end their courtship. The nineteen year old princess, devastated by their breakup, travelled to Egypt to recover. Over the next two years, she continued writing Michael letters trying to reignite the spark, unfortunately she remained unsuccessful.

The same year, Beatrice was once again overwhelmed by upset when her older sister, Princess Victoria Melita, eloped in to exile to marry another cousin, Grand Duke Kirill Vladimirovich of Russia, without the permission of the Tsar.

It wasn’t long before more rumours spread, this time suggesting that Beatrice was betrothed to marry King Alfonso XIII of Spain. However, the rumours were quickly stunted in 1906 when he married Beatrice’s cousin, Victoria Eugenie of Spain.

During the wedding celebrations, Beatrice met the kings younger cousin, Infante Alfonso, Duke of Galliera. The two quickly got on and wished to marry. Although King Alfonso supported the match, Beatrice refused to convert to Roman Catholicism. As a result, government banned the Spanish King to consent to the match; leaving Beatrice and Alfonso no choice but to give up their titles and go into exile.

The two got married on 15th July 1909, in both a Roman Catholic and Lutheran ceremony in Coburg, Germany. A year after their wedding, Beatrice gave birth to the couples first child, Alvaro, on 20th April. They later went on to have a total of three sons.

In 1912, the family was allowed to re-enter Spain, with all their titles reinstated. Tensions towards Beatrice and the kings wife, Victoria Eugenie, remained high. In 1913, Beatrice converted to the Roman Catholic Church, in attempt that it was help her to be accepted.

Life at court was made even more uncomfortable in 1916, when King Alfonso XIII made inappropriate advances on Beatrice. Annoyed that Beatrice didn’t take him up on his offer, the King sent Beatrice and her husband to Switzerland on a “mission”, however he had in fact sent them back into exile. Before long, rumours began spreading that they had been sent away due to Beatrice’s infidelity.

During their time away, Beatrice and her husband, Alfonso, moved to England; where their three sons attended Winchester College. In 1924, the family was once again allowed to return to Spain.

In April 1931, Alfonso XIII was removed from the throne and Spain became a republic. The king and his family moved to Italy in exile. Beatrice and Alfonso lost their family estate; and more tragically, their middle son Alonso, who died fighting for the Fascist Forces during the Civil war.

Eventually, in 1937, the family were able to once again return to Spain. They moved into El Botánico, in Sanlúcar de Barrameda, where the were able to finally establish a permanent home. Beatrice remained at the estate until her death on 13th July 1966. Aged 82, she was the last surviving child of Prince Alfred.

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