Wednesday, April 4, 2012

Schaumburg-Lippe royals die within hours of each other

April 4, 1906

What a sad day in Nachrod, Bohemia, as two members of the Schaumburg-Lippe family are mourning the deaths of Prince Wilhelm of Schaumburg-Lippe and his daughter-in-law, Princess Luise.

According to a New York Times dispatch, Prince Wilhelm died at 4 a.m, "from heart trouble," at his home, Schloss Ratiboritz in Nachod.  Five hours later, Princess Luise, the daughter of King Frederik VIII of Denmark, succumbed to meningitis.  She also died at Schloss Ratiboritz. 

Prince Wilhelm, 62, was an officer in the Austrian army.  In 1862, he married Princess Bathildis of Anhalt. She died in 1902.  His eldest son, Prince Friedrich married Princess Luise in 1896. 

Princess Luise is survived by her husband, and their three young children, Princess Marie Luise, 9, Prince Christian, 8, and 4-year-old Princess Stephanie.

The marriage between Princess Luise and Prince Wilhelm was not a happy one, and the princess often spent several months of each year with her family in Denmark.  It has been suggested that the Princess did not die of meningitis, but from a chill that she had caught while trying to drown herself in a lake on the Ratiboritz estate. 

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