Duchess Marie Antoinette of Mecklenburg
| Duchess Marie Antoinette | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Duchess Marie Antoinette, c. 1910 | |||||
| Born | 28 May 1884 Venice, Kingdom of Italy | ||||
| Died | 26 October 1944 (aged 60) Bled, Kingdom of Yugoslavia | ||||
| |||||
| House | Mecklenburg-Schwerin | ||||
| Father | Duke Paul Frederick of Mecklenburg | ||||
| Mother | Princess Marie of Windisch-Graetz | ||||
Duchess Marie Antoinette of Mecklenburg-Schwerin, also Manette (Marie Antoinette Margarethe Mathilde; 28 May 1884 – 26 October 1944)[1] was the Duchess of Mecklenburg-Schwerin by birth and potential bride for King Alfonso XIII of Spain.[2][3][4]
Early life
Marie Antoinette was born in Venice, into the House of Mecklenburg, as the third child and the second daughter of Duke Paul Frederick of Mecklenburg and Princess Marie of Windisch-Graetz. Her brothers and sisters were Duke Paul Friedrich of Mecklenburg, Duchess Maria Luise of Mecklenburg-Schwerin (1883–1883), Duke Heinrich Borwin of Mecklenburg-Schwerin (1885–1942), and Duke Joseph of Mecklenburg-Schwerin (1889–1889).
Biography
She had a difficult relationship with her cousin Frederick Francis IV, Grand Duke of Mecklenburg-Schwerin, who regularly had to amortize her debts. So, Marie Antoinette regularly had to sell archaeological artifacts belonging to her mother, excavated in Austria and Carniola, including Hallstatt Archaeological Site in Vače.[5][6] Some of these objects are still today in Harvard, Oxford and Berlin.[7][8][9]She regularly remained in Bled with her lady in waiting Baroness Antonia Pilars de Pilar. During World War I from 1914 to 1918 they both served in several military hospitals as red cross ladies.
Potential bride for the King of Spain
She was German Kaiser Wilhelm II's candidate for a bride for King Alfonso XIII of Spain although he would marry the Kaiser's maternal first cousin, Princess Victoria Eugenie, niece of British King Edward VII.[10][11][12]
Death
She died on 26 October 1944 in Bled, Yugoslavia, aged 60. She was the last of her siblings to die.
Honours
- Mecklenburg: Dame's Decoration of the House Order of the Wendish Crown, in Diamonds[13]
Ancestry
References
- ^ Sketch: A Journal of Art and Actuality. Ingram brothers. 1904.
- ^ Barry, William Frederick (1914). Times Law Reports. G.E. Wright.
- ^ Collier's Self-indexing Annual. P.F. Collier & Son. 1905.
- ^ Brook-Shepherd, Gordon (1975). Uncle of Europe. Collins. ISBN 978-0-00-211856-9.
- ^ Hencken, Hugh (1968). Mecklenburg Collection: The Iron Age cemetery of Magdalenska gora in Slovenia. Peabody Museum. ISBN 978-0-87365-535-4.
- ^ Sketch: A Journal of Art and Actuality. Ingram brothers. 1904.
- ^ Archaeology, Association for Field. Journal of Field Archaeology. Boston University.
- ^ Towner, Wesley (1970). The Elegany Auctioneers. Hill & Wang. ISBN 978-0-8090-4171-8.
- ^ Twayne's Rulers and Statesmen of the World Series. 1969.
- ^ Pilapil, Vicente R. (1969). "Alfonso XIII".
- ^ The Evening News. The Evening News.
- ^ The Pittsburgh Press. The Pittsburgh Press.
- ^ Grossherzoglich Mecklenburg-Schwerinscher Staatskalendar, 1908, p. 3