Unexpected love: Princess Helena and Prince Christian of Schleswig-Holstein

In 1863 Queen Victoria began looking for eligible bachelors for her fifth child, Princess Helena. While the Princess was a keen nurse and artist, Helena was mostly known for her tomboyish nature. On top of this, Helena was the middle child of the sovereign, who was considered “plump”, “dowdy” and “without charm” by her own mother, limiting her marriage prospects. Queen Victoria limited Helena’s choices even more by demanding that potential suitors must be willing to live near the Queen so that Helena could continue her duties as her secretary and companion.

With most eligible bachelor’s out of the question, King Leopold I of Belgium suggested Prince Christian of Schleswig-Holstein. Happy with the suggestion, Queen Victoria summoned Prince Christian to undergo her inspection. However, aged 35, the prince thought the Queen was planning to marry him herself and was shocked to discover that he was in fact a possible suitor for her 19 year old daughter!

Recognising her low prospects, Helena brushed past the 15 year age gap and supported the match. As a result, the two first met in Coburg in August 1865. As the Queen had hoped, Helena and Christian got along but the issues lay with her daughter-in-law, Alexandra, Princess of Wales, whose father, King Christian IX of Denmark, had previously owned the Schleswig-Holstein territory. In support of his wife, the Prince of Wales was also against the match, with Queen Victoria’s third child, Princess Alice, believing that the Queen was sacrificing Helena’s happiness for her own convenience. With Christian’s age her main concern, many wedding guests later said it looked like Helena was marrying an aged uncle!

Despite the controversy, Helena was determined to marry Christian. Their engagement was announced on 5th December 1865 and they married exactly seven months later at 12:30pm in the Private Chapel at Windsor Castle, on the 5th July 1866. The couple moved into Cumberland Lodge in Windsor. Together they had a total of seven children.

While the match seemed unconventional at first, it was me of the happiest and longest marriages of Queen Victoria’s nine children. In 1916 the couple celebrated their Golden Wedding anniversary. However, a year later on 28th October 1917 Christian passed away at their Pall Mall home, Schomberg House. Helena was devastated by his death and spent her final years living with her two daughters, Princesses Helena Victoria and Marie Louise.

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