The wedding of Princess Louise and John Campbell, 21st March 1871

As a result of numerous affairs, interest in liberalism, feminism and a possible illegitimate child, Queen Victoria decided it was time for Princess Louise to find a husband. As with her other siblings, Louise’s future husband had be willing to live in England near his future mother-in-law. This, and Louise’s stubbornness not to settle with her mothers first choice, led to the first match between a royal and a ‘commoner’. Read on to learn more about their wedding and marriage.

Considered the most beautiful of Victorias daughters, Louise was one of the most eligible Princess’s in Europe. Princess Alexandra, Louise’s sister-in-law, proposed her brother, the Crown Prince of Denmark but he was soon dismissed. Louise’s eldest sister, Crown Victoria of Prussia, suggested Prince Albert of Prussia. However, the Prince was unwilling to move to England. Another possible option was Prince William of Orange, who openly lived with his lover. This unusual lifestyle led to the match quickly being dismissed.

As time went on, Louise had become against the idea of marrying a Prince. Desperate to avoid scandal, Queen Victoria began searching British noble families for eligible bachelors. Before long, she came across a man named John Campbell, Marquess of Lorne, heir to the Dukedom of Argyll. Before suggesting John to Louise, the Queen met with his father, George Campbell, Duke of Argyll. At first, the Duke tried to persuade Victoria against the match as he didn’t believe his son was ready to marry but like Victoria, he felt it should be his son’s choice. When Louise found out about the meeting, she wasn’t interested and continued to look at other options. However, John Campbell felt that matters hadn’t been settled between him and Louise and refused to move on until the match had been formally dismissed.

Taking a keen interest in social events, Louise loved to mix in high societal settings away from Royal Court. After constantly asking her mother, Louise was allowed to attend one of William Gladstone’s famous breakfast parties. Coincidentally, John Campbell was also there and the two quickly began talking. Before long, the two had fallen in love and became engaged just two months later, on 3rd October 1870, while out walking at Balmoral.

Viewing John Campbell as a commoner, Louise’s brother, Prince Albert Edward, strongly opposed the match, along with their sister, Victoria. However, Queen Victoria had an unexpectedly open mind when it came to love and believed John would bring “new blood” into the royal family. In a letter to Prince Albert Edward, the Queen wrote that the march would “be for Louise’s happiness and for the peace and quiet of the family,” adding that “Louise remains what she is, and her husband keeps his rank … only being treated in the family as a relation when we are together”. As part of their engagement, Queen Victoria offered John a peerage but he refused for many reasons, but mainly because he didn’t want to give up his place in the House of Commons.

Despite family disputes, wedding plans were soon put in place and the two got married at St George’s Chapel, on 21st March 1871, making it the first marriage between a daughter of the monarch and a British subject since 1515! The guest list was much longer than some of her siblings weddings and included: British and foreign Royals; members of Victorias household; high ranking friends and acquaintances; members of the royal households; government officials; along with members of the clergy and other acquaintances.

Before the ceremony, Royal guests gathered in the Green Drawing Room in Windsor Castle and at 12pm were taken to St George’s Chapel. Once the many guests were settled in their positions, and after a short procession from the castle, Louise was escorted down the aisle by her mother; brother, Prince Albert Edward; and uncle, Ernst II, Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha. She was also accompanied by eight bridesmaids: Lady Mary Butler, Lady Elizabeth Campbell, Lady Mary Cecil, Lady Alice FitzGerald, Lady Grace Gordon, Lady Florence Gordon-Lennox, Lady Florence Montagu and Lady Constance Seymour.

Following tradition, Louise wore a white silk wedding gown, decorated with floral honiton lace and trimmed with orange blossom, white heather and myrtle. As an artist, Louise designed her veil herself, which was again made out of honiton lace and held in place by a wreath of orange blossom and myrtle, along with two of three daisy pins given as a wedding gift by her three youngest siblings: Prince Arthur, Prince Leopold, and Princess Beatrice. Once belonging to her grandmother, the Duchess of Kent, Louise’s emerald bracelet had been given to her by Prince Albert Edward and his wife, Alexandra. The sapphire mounted diamond and pearl pendant on the necklace she wore was also a gift from John Campbell and formed part of a bracelet, which could also be worn as a brooch.

After the ceremony, the royal family and their guests returned to Windsor Castle, where the marriage register was signed in the White Drawing Room. A private luncheon was then held for the royals in the Oak Room, while a buffet was held for other guests on the Waterloo Gallery. Standing at five foot and weighing 225 pounds, Louise’s wedding cake consisted of four spectacular tiers and took Samual Ponder three months to complete!

At 3:30pm, a train was put in to return guests back to London and at 4pm, the royal couple left the castle for Claremont House in Surrey, where they spent their four day honeymoon. That evening, a banquet was held in the Waterloo Chamber for remaining guests, followed by an evening party in St George’s Hall.

Once returning from their honeymoon, Princess Louise and John settled at their official residence, Rosneath House in Dumbartonshire but often travelled back to visit the Queen and carry out charitable events. In 1878, John became Governor General of Canada. Louise moved with him but her time there wasn’t always positive.

Over time, their relationship became strained, primarily because John was homosexual, which understandably meant he didn’t have much physical attraction towards his wife. This, along with Louise’s alleged infidelity, led to the couple not having any children. When they returned to England, Queen Victoria gave the couple apartments at Kensington Palace, with the aim of keeping them under one roof. However, this plan didn’t work and after Queen Victoria’s death in 1901, Louise spent most of her time at Kent House, on the Isle of Wight, only seeing her husband on their frequent trips to Scotland.

In 1911, John began struggling with his health. Between then and Johns death in 1914, the couple became closer than ever as Louise nursed him until he died from pneumonia, on 14th April 1914. After his passing, 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!”. Louise later returned to Kensington Palace, where she remained until her death on 3rd December 1939.

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