The life of Princess Helena

At 4am on 25th May 1846, Queen Victoria was ‘taken ill’ at Buckingham Palace with her fifth labour. Eleven hours later, ‘a plump, good sized little girl was born’. The labour itself had been difficult for both mother and baby. In a letter, Albert described how the baby was born looking ‘quite blue’.

She was christened two months later on 25th July in the Private Chapel at Buckingham Palace. She was given the names Helena Augusta Victoria, although she was mostly known as “Lenchen” amongst close family, after the German name “Helechen”. Her godparents included: Frederick William, Grand Duke of Mecklenburg-Strelitz; Helen, Duchess of Orléans; and Princess Augusta, Duchess of Cambridge.

she is a dear lively little thing, & smiles so sweetly when one speak to her.”

– Queen Victoria, 12th August 1846

Growing up, Helena’s tomboyish nature – and complete disregard towards her appearance – made her perhaps the least dignified of the royal children. Like her older brother Prince Alfred, – with whom she shared a close bond – she was fearless and enjoyed exploring the great outdoors. She enjoyed going on walks, running, swimming and riding. While she was a decent artist, she had primarily inherited Albert’s practical mind and took a keen interest in mechanics and engineering – often heading below deck on yachting expeditions at Osborne. Unlike her two older sisters, Helena knew how to stand up for herself and wasn’t afraid to punch or get into fights with her brothers.

Helena’s life changed in 1861 with the deaths of her grandmother, the Duchess of Kent, and her father, Prince Albert. Having ‘adored papa’, Helena was devastated by his loss. In a letter to a friend she wrote that she ‘loved him more than anything on earth’. Just like her mother, she described her time with Albert as ‘the happiest hours of my life, and now it’s all over’.

From that point, Victoria had appointed her two eldest unmarried daughters to act as her unofficial secretary. However, Helena was unable to go long between tears and was deemed unreliable by her mother. Instead, Princess Louise filled her role until 1862. From then, her daily duties involved writing the Queen’s letters, helping her with political correspondence and providing her with companionship. During this time, Helena became romantically involved with her brothers tutor, Carl Ruland, who had previously served as her father’s librarian. When she found out in 1863, Queen Victoria lost all respect for previously praised Ruland and had had him dismissed back to his home in Germany.

I know not what I should do without her, she makes herself so useful, & is so dear & attentive.”

– Queen Victoria, 25th May 1865

Wanting to prevent it from happening again, Victoria began looking at suitors for Helena. As the middle child and deemed unpretty, her prospects remained low. Queen Victoria limited her choices more by commanding Helena to remain living nearby.

Eventually the Queen settled on Prince Christian of Schleswig-Holstein. Alexandra, Princess of Wales, was extremely against the match as the Schleswig-Holstein territory had belonged to her father before the Austro-Prussian War. Alexandra’s husband, Helena’s brother, was also against the match. Along with Princess Alice, he believed that the Queen was sacrificing Helena’s happiness for her own convenience. Christian was fifteen years older than the teenage Helena and even guests at the wedding said it looked like she was marrying an aging uncle! Christian himself was shocked at the suggestion, having originally thought the Queen was planning to marry him herself!

Despite the controversy, Helena was determined to marry Christian. Their engagement was announced on 5th December 1865 and they married exactly seven months later in the Private Chapel at Windsor Castle, on the 5th July 1866. The Prince of Wales almost refused to attend out for support for his wife but finally agreed after a heated discussion with Princess Alice. He and Queen Victoria walked Helena down the aisle, along with her right bridesmaids. The newly weds spent their first night at Osborne House before honeymooning in Paris, Interlaken and Genoa.

Upon their return to England, the couple took residence at Cumberland Lodge in Windsor Great Park and used the Belgian suite at Buckingham Palace whenever they were in London. Helena gave birth to their first child, Prince Christian Victor, on 14th April 1867. She want on to have a total of six children but Prince Harald only lived eight days and her final child was a stillborn son. Despite the heartbreak, Helena and Christian remained close.

Although they led a relatively peaceful life, Helena was the most active member of the royal family. She continued to support the Queen, attended official events and was also patron to multiple charities. She hosted free dinners in Windsor Guildhall for children and anyone that was unemployed. Her main passion was nursing and was one of the founding members of the British Red Cross in 1870. Through the France-Prussian war, she recruited nurses and prepared relief supplies for the wounded.

In 1872, she became the first president of the Royal School of Needlework. Her motives were not only to “revive a beautiful art”, but also to “provide employment for gentlewomen who were without means of a suitable livelihood”. Recognising the influence her title held, she played an active part in the running of the school and wrote to the Royal Commissioner asking for funds for a school building. She took charge as sales woman at the Christmas Bazaar in order to encourage more visitors and build more funds.

In her free time, the Princess enjoyed writing and particularly translating and publishing books. Although she translated her fathers letters for a biography by Sir Charles Grey, her first published piece was a translation of ‘The Memoirs of Whilhelmine of Bayreuth’. In 1883, she began translating and publishing the letters of Princess Alice, who had died in 1878. However, production was halted when German publisher, Dr Bergsträsser, demanded a lump sum compensation for copyright breech. Eventually, as Alice’s mother (and Queen), Victoria claimed copyright of the letters and a settlement was made. The first edition sold out almost instantly and a second was soon made with the addition of Helena’s memoirs of her sister.

Through all her work, Helena suffered miserably with her health. In 1869 she had to abandon a trip to Balmoral after falling ill at the station. She began struggling with rheumatism and later also congestion on her lungs. Through trying different treatments, she developed an addiction to opium and laudanum. Despite this, and a trip to a German eye surgeon, Queen Victoria still accused her daughter of being a hypochondriac.

When Queen Victoria died in January 1901, she was pushed out of court by the new King Edward VII and Queen Alexandra. Still resenting her choice in husband, Alexandra demanded that Helena be replaced as President of the Army Nursing Service. However, she was allowed to remain President of the Army Nursing Reserve.

Unlike before, she was rarely invited to royal events. In 1906, Helena travelled to Germany to represent the King at the silver wedding anniversary of Kaiser Wilhelm II and Auguste Victoria. Helena had always been close to her nephew, who despite fighting against Britain at the time, still sent her a congratulatory telegram on the event of her golden wedding anniversary in 1916.

In 1917, King George V retracted all German titles in the royal family. Helena therefore became known as Princess Christian. Just three months later, Christian died at Schomberg House, their home in Pall Mall, London. Helena was devastated by his death and spent her final years living with her two daughters: Princess Helena Victoria and Princess Marie Louise.

Having lived during three reigns and nursed soldiers through multiple wars, Helena died on 9th June 1923 at Schomberg House. She was aged 77. She was buried at St George’s Chapel, Windsor, on 15th June. Five years later, Helena and her youngest son, Prince Harald, were moved to the Royal Burial Ground, Frogmore, on 23rd October 1828, where they were buried together.

Helena was one of the most influential of Queen Victoria’s children, yet she remains to be one of the most forgotten. I’d like to thank you for taking the time to read todays blog. If you have any questions, please feel free to leave them in the comments section below and I will do my best to try and answer. Don’t forget you subscribe for email updates about new posts. You can also follow Queen.Victoria.Roses on instagram and Facebook for daily posts about Queen Victoria, her family and reign!

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