'The Princess Louise, Duchess of Argyll', (Louise Caroline Alberta;
18 March 1848 -
3 December 1939) was a member of the
British Royal Family, the sixth child and fourth daughter of
Queen Victoria. She served as
Canadian Viceregal Consort, when her husband, the Marquess of Lorne, was the
Governor General of Canada. During her time in Canada, unlike her popular husband, she evinced considerable boredom with life in the colonies.
Early life
Princess Louise was born on
18 March 1848 at
Buckingham Palace,
London. Her mother was the reigning
British monarch,
Queen Victoria, a grandchild of
King George III through his fourth son,
Prince Edward Augustus, Duke of Kent. Her father was
Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha. As a daughter of the sovereign, Princess Louise was styled
''Her Royal Highness'' from birth. She was christened in the Private Chapel at
Buckingham Palace by
John Bird Sumner,
Archbishop of Canterbury, on
13 May 1848. Her godparents were
Duke Gustav of Mecklenburg-Schwerin (for whom Prince Albert stood proxy),
The Duchess of Saxe-Meiningen (for whom
Queen Adelaide stood proxy), and
The Hereditary Grand Duchess of Mecklenburg-Strelitz (for whom
The Duchess of Cambridge stood proxy).
Louise was educated by a governess at
Windsor Castle and later attended the
Kensington National Art Training School when she was 20.
Potential husbands
Her mother, the Queen, wished for her daughter to marry and a hunt began for a suitable husband. The
Princess of Wales (later Queen Alexandra) proposed her own brother,
Crown Prince Frederick of Denmark as a possible candidate, but the Queen firmly opposed another
Danish marriage that could annoy
Prussia (see
Second War of Schleswig for details of the conflict between the two countries). Louise's eldest sister the
Crown Princess of Prussia, proposed her own candidate, the tall and rich
Prince Albrecht of Prussia, her husband's cousin. However, he was reluctant to settle in England as requested. Victoria then proposed the idea that Louise marry a member of the British
nobility. The
Prince of Wales (later King Edward VII), disapproved of this idea (in most of Europe it would have been out of the question at that time for a sovereign's daughter to marry a non-
mediatized noble).
Marriage
Eventually a suitable candidate was chosen, the
Marquess of Lorne, heir to the title of
Duke of Argyll. The Marquess' parents were known to the Queen, and they approved of the proposed union. The Marquess was also a
Member of Parliament at this time. Princess Louise married the Marquess of Lorne on
21 March 1871 in
St George's Chapel at
Windsor Castle.
Canada
In
1878, the Marquess was offered the position of
Governor General of Canada. On
14 November 1878, Lord Lorne and Princess Louise departed from
Liverpool Harbour on the long journey to
Canada. Princess Louise extensively toured the country, as well as visiting the neighbouring
United States.
Princess Louise was the most attractive of her sisters and her artistic talents were more than polite accomplishments. Her ability in the arts matched or exceeded those of many subsequent members of the Royal Family. She was an accomplished writer, sculptor and artist. She painted well in both
oils and
watercolours. A door she painted with sprigs of apple blossoms can still be seen in the Monck wing corridor at
Rideau Hall. She gave the name
Regina (which is
Latin for Queen) to the capital of the
North-West Territories (after 1905 of the province of
Saskatchewan), and both the district of Alberta in the
Northwest Territories (later the province of
Alberta) and
Lake Louise in that district were named after her. Although she was often unwell, she was a compassionate woman who, during an epidemic of
scarlet fever, personally nursed the sick.
On
14 February 1880, she was seriously injured when the viceregal sleigh overturned on the streets of
Ottawa, Ontario, an incident which provoked the anger of her mother, the Queen. Louise, though she made a full recovery, "was not the most popular chatelaine that Rideau Hall had known; her boredom with the capital was the subject of public comment"
[1] and she returned to England, leaving Lord Lorne to discharge their Vice-Regal duties alone for another two years. What was not known at the time, however, was there had been warnings of attempts on her life by
Fenians.
[Hubbard, R.H.; ‘’Rideau Hall’’; McGill-Queen’s University Press; Montreal and London; 1977; p. 53] Princess Louise visited the Toronto General Hospital on three documented occasions: 10th September 1879 and 13th September 1883, accompanied by Lord Lorne, and 29th May 1880 accompanied by H.R.H. Prince Leopold. On each of these occasions she simply signed the hospital's Visitor Register as "Louise".
[2] These visits, along with her caring for members of the
Rideau Hall household who had contracted
Scarlet fever, when the maids refused, illustrated the Princess' concern for health and medicine.
[3]
Duchess of Argyll
On
24 April 1900, the
8th Duke of Argyll died, and the Marquess of Lorne became the 9th Duke of Argyll, and Louise, the Duchess of Argyll.
The Duke died in
1914 from pneumonia. Princess Louise, now a widow, spent
World War I visiting Canadian Army units coming to fight in
France. She survived until the beginning of
World War II, dying on
3 December 1939 at
Kensington Palace, when she was ninety-one years old. At her own request, her body was cremated at
Golders Green Crematorium in North
London and her ashes were buried at
Royal Cemetery at Frogmore, where her parents are also buried.
The Duke and Duchess of Argyll did not have any children. According to one scholar, the Princess was sterile as the result of a teenage bout with meningitis. In various biographies, however, there has been much discussion over the Duke's sexuality. It is certain that he preferred the company of other men to that of his wife and that he and Princess Louise were often separated for long periods of time ostensibly for reasons of temperament.
Titles, styles, honours and arms
Titles
★ '1848-1871': ''Her Royal Highness'' The Princess Louise
★ '1871-1900': ''Her Royal Highness'' The Princess Louise, Marchioness of Lorne
★ '1900-1939': ''Her Royal Highness'' The Princess Louise, Duchess of Argyll
Honours
'CI':
Companion of the Order of the Crown of India (
1878)
'VA':
Lady of the Royal Order of Victoria and Albert (
1893)
'RRC':
Member of the Royal Red Cross'D.St.J':
Dame of Grace of St. John'GCVO':
Dame Grand Cross of the Royal Victorian Order'GBE':
Dame Grand Cross of the Order of the British Empire
Legacy
Three Canadian
regiments still honour Princess Louise in their names:
★
8th Canadian Hussars (Princess Louise's)
★
The Princess Louise Fusiliers
★ The
Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders of Canada (Princess Louise's)
Ancestors
Notes
1. Pierre Berton, ''The Last Spike: The Great Railway, 1881-1885'' (Toronto: McClelland and Stewart, 1971), p.118.
2. Source: Visitors Register, file TG 1.8.1. Toronto General Hospital fonds. University Health Network Archives [1]
3. Hubbard
External links
★
Find A Grave article about Princess Louise, Duchess of Argyll
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