The wedding of Princess Marie Louise of Schleswig-Holstein and Prince Aribert of Anhalt

Out of all the marriages of Queen Victoria’s grandchildren, the match between Princess Marie Louise and Prince Aribert of Anhalt was by far one of the unhappiest. Join me as I explore their short and unhappy marriage!

Princess Marie Louis first met Prince Aribert in Berlin at the wedding of her cousin, Princess Viktoria of Prussia, in November 1890. After some flirtation from Aribert, the Princess quickly fell in love with his charming ways and within four weeks of meeting they had become engaged. After just eight months of planning, the Prince and Princess tied the knot at 4pm on 6th July 1891 at St George’s Chapel, Windsor. It was the first royal wedding to be held at the Chapel since that of the brides uncle, Prince Leopold, in 1882. Once all of the guests and the groom were in place, Prince Christian of Schleswig-Holstein began walking his daughter up the isle. Following the tradition followed by all royal brides, Marie Louise wore a “creamy white satin gown” with a long train. It decorated with orange blossom and myrtle, which she also wore on her head to secure her mothers honiton lace veil in place. She was accompanied by six bridesmaids: Lady Emily Cadogan, Lady Edith Ward, Lady Mabel Egerton, Lady Elizabeth Meade, Lady Esther Gore and the Hon. Beatrice Bridgeman. All were dressed in “handsome white satin dressed, draped with delicate white crepe de chine and caught with bows of frosted silver.”

After the service, the couple led the procession back to Windsor Castle. Marie Louise, Aribert, Queen Victoria and other royal guests gathered in the Green Drawing Room for the signing of the marriage registry, before heading into the Dining Room for tea. Once all the main festivities were over, the newlyweds left Windsor for Clivedon, where they spent their honeymoon. That night, a dinner was held at Windsor Castle for the remaining guests.

Despite appearing happy on their wedding day, things changes when the couple arrived at their home in Dessau. Unlike in England, Marie’s freedom was governed and restricted by strict protocols. Not only was she unable to go out alone, she had to send for a maid each time she wanted to speak to someone. The maid would then take a message to a footman, who would then pass it onto the person she wanted to see. Her loneliness was increased by Ariberts lack of interest. Although he had originally been the one to initiate the relationship, Prince Aribert often left his wife alone for weeks in a country she didn’t know. On top of that, he wouldn’t make an effort to see her on the rare occasions they were in the same house; instead, making it clear that he would rather spend time with male companions. In her memoirs, Marie wrote that she “was not wanted”, adding how they “were two complete strangers living under the same roof”. Wanting to make the most of her situation, Marie took every opportunity she could to escape Dessau and often accompanied her cousins on versions foreign tours. However, the strains of her marriage took a toll on her health. The Princess began losing an unhealthy amount of weight and caught almost every virus going.

At the end of 1900, the princess embarked on a tour of America and Canada. In early December, she received a telegram from her father-in-law, Friedrich I of Anhalt, demanding she return to Dessau with immediate effect. Soon after, she received another one, this time from Queen Victoria, telling her to “come home to me”. Alarmed at what was going on, Princess Marie Louise decided to listen to her grandmother and head home to England. When she arrived at her parents home, Cumberland Lodge, she was shocked to learn that Friedrich had began the process to annul her marriage to Aribert, on the prince’s request. Not only did he claim that Marie had made his life “intolerable”, but he also blamed her of neglecting her “marital duties”. He did however neglect to tell his father that he had spent all of Marie’s money, giving him no reason to stay with her. To make matters worse, rumours began to spread that Aribert had been having an affair with a male servant. Upon hearing this, and knowing that a failed marriage would potentially ruin Marie’s life, Queen Victoria agreed to annul the marriage as quickly as possible. After eight unhappy years, Marie Louise was finally free from the restrictions in Dessau. Despite this, she believed that marriage was a lifelong commitment and decided never to remarry. Aribert also never remarried.

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Queen Victoria’s Journal- The Wedding of Princess Marie Louise and Prince Aribert of Anhalt, 6th July 1891: