The Intelligent and Dutiful Princess Helen, Duchess of Albany

Princess Helen of Waldeck and Pyrmont (born February 17, 1861, died September 1, 1922) was beloved by Englishmen, as she was, for decades, esteemed by society and the members of the British Royal Family. The fifth daughter and child of George Victor, Prince of Waldeck and Pyrmont, and his first wife, Princess Helena of Nassau, she grew up to be very intelligent lady with a strong sense of duty, and a genuine love of welfare work, which was quite uncommon to the stereotypically-remote German princess of her generation. She reveled in solving mathematical problems and reading philosophy, which made her the ideal match to Prince Leopold, who was Helen’s equal in terms of brainpower. Prince Leopold’s accidental death in 1884 due to complications brought by hemophilia ended their happy marriage. Helen raised her two children, Princess Alice (born in 1883), and Prince Charles Edward (born posthumously in 1884), while throwing herself to causes close to her heart, like hospital charities and with those dedicated to ending human trafficking. She also co-founded the Deptford Fund for women and girls and the  Albany Institute. Here are some heartwarming stories about the Duchess of Albany.

From the Liverpool Herald , Saturday, Sept. 3, 1904. 

Since the death of Prince Leopold she has devoted her life to her children and to works of philanthropy. Withal she has not neglected self-culture. She is a talented musician and painter, and good judges of embroidery say that the Duchess's skill in this direction is remarkable. If it came to an impartial examination it is probable that the Duchess would prove the most expert chemist in the Royal Family, the King, thanks to his practical training under Lyon Playfair, being her most formidable rival. She has a taste for literature, and Ruskin used to be a much favoured friend of the family. Of all literary men, however, Lewis Carroll  was the darling of the Albany household.

He recited the whole of Bruno's thrilling adventures to them before the manuscript had passed to the printer's hands; and to his sweet little friend Alice, now Princess Alexander of Teck, he sent a specially prepared copy of the exploits of her namesake in “Wonderland.”

From a correspondent to The Weekend

I forget whether it was at Esher or at some neighbouring village, but the function at which she was residing was the inauguration of a new fire engine. The ceremony of turning on taps and making a speech had been successfully performed, and the Duchess, all smiles and pretty compliments, began to walk towards a tent in which tea was served. Suddenly she stooped and took up the end of a hose, and at that identical moment someone turned on the water!

There was a spurt, a gurgle, and the Duchess received a stream of cold water full in her face. The consternation of the local dignitaries can perhaps be better imagined than described! It was a moment for heroic action, and I wondered if the Duchess would take it, but her femininity was stronger than her Royal dignity at that moment. With a despairing shriek she put her hand to her ruined bonnet, glanced down at her dripping laces and fled!

The death of Prince Leopold has left the Duchess of Albany to singlehandedly raise her two children, although, Queen Victoria, for as long as she lived, also looked after her two fatherless grandchildren. Despite their exalted position, the Duchess of Albany never permitted her children to be spoilt, as what this story tells, which appeared on Newcastle Morning Herald and Miners' Advocate.  

The present Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha went to Sandroyd House School, Cobham, kept by the Rev. L.H. Wellesley-Wesley, a descendant of both the Iron Duke and the great preacher.  It was a rule of the school that a boy who spilt ink on the boards scrubbed it out.  One day the little Duke of Albany was the  culprit, and was told to go to the housemaid and bring a pail and scrubbing brush.

With an indignant look he reminded his tutor that he was "the Queen's grandson." 

The protest brought a quiet repetition of the order, and the angry youngster was compelled to perform his task. The Duchess expressed his great appreciation on hearing the story.

The sudden death of the Duchess of Albany  September 1, 1822 proved to be  a “real loss to this country. She was not only the most lovable lady in the royal circle, but her sympathy and her work for the poor bore comparison with the well-known benevolence of Queen Mary.” She passed away her sixty-first year, at Innsbruck, while on a visit to her son, the Duke of Saxe-Coburg.   

The Duchess’ only son, Prince Charles Edward, who was born Duke of Albany, inherited the Duchy of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha when his uncle, Prince Alfred, died in 1900.  This sudden change of fortune for the young prince was met with initial reluctance from his mother. 

From The Argus Saturday October 14, 1922 

 The story of her son's acceptance of the dukedom of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha has a touch of romance. Our Duke of Edinburgh, Queen Victoria's second son, held the title and estates of Saxe Coburg by inheritance. After his death they passed to the Duke of Connaught, but he, not caring to live in Germany, renounced his succession on behalf of himself and his son.

The next heir was the son of his younger brother, the Duke of Albany. This boy was at school. His mother… reluctant to allow her child to live out of England, and desired to renounce the inheritance. But Queen Victoria had other views. Her husband had come from Saxe-Coburg, and the income from the dukedom was a consideration of the Duchess of Albany and her boy. Queen Victoria overbore the duchess's objections, and with great reluctance the duchess assented to her son taking the oath of allegiance to the German Emperor. She preferred to live in England, and to have her son educated amid British surroundings.

She confessed to her friends that she had misgivings about the wisdom of accepting the Saxe-Coburg honours, and that feeling was fulfilled when the crash came in 1914. Bound by, the oath he had taken, the duke was required to go over to Germany and take up arms against his native land. It is not generally known that when he arrived in Germany he approached the Kaiser in person, and begged to be released from fighting against England. The Emperor was adamant, and the young man was given the alternative of obeying the orders of his military superiors or being sent to a fortress. I never heard that the duke was ever sent under fire. He was placed in charge of a large encampment of prisoners, and whenever British prisoners were under his direction, or under arrest in the duke's dominions, they were well, treated. But loyalty to the Kaiser cost the duke his English dukedom, all his honours, and his Knighthood of the Garter.