Prussian Princesses: The Sisters of Kaiser Wilhelm II

by John van der Kiste

Kaiser Friedrich III and his consort Victoria, Princess Royal of Great Britain, had six children who lived to maturity, the eldest being Kaiser Wilhelm II. The three younger sisters, Victoria, Sophie and Margaret, were particularly supportive of their mother during her widowhood and remained close throughout their lives. Like their parents, they would know much sorrow as adults. Victoria's romance with Alexander of Battenberg, Prince of Bulgaria, was thwarted by Bismarck for political reasons and she married twice, firstly to a minor German prince and secondly to a young Russian adventurer who left her to die in poverty. Sophie married the future King Constantine of Greece, whose ill-starred reign saw them forced to leave their throne not once but twice, both dying in exile. Margaret married a prince of Hesse-Cassel, both became members of the Nazi party, and she lived to see her family and house become victims of theft on a major scale at the hands of occupying forces at the end of the Second World War. Using previously unpublished sources, this is the first biography to tell the lives of all three princesses.

Genres: History, Nonfiction, Royalty, Biography, European History, Germany, 19th Century

192 pages, Hardcover

First published December 3, 2014

About the author

John Van der Kiste, British author, was born in Wendover, Buckinghamshire, on September 15, 1954, son of Wing Commander Guy Van der Kiste (1912–99). He was educated at Blundell's School, Tiverton, where he briefly formed a rock band Cobweb with fellow pupil Miles Tredinnick, later vocalist with new wave band London and subsequently playwright and scriptwriter, and read Librarianship at Ealing Technical College, where he edited the librarians’ student magazine.
He has worked for several years in public and academic libraries, but is best known as a writer. His first book, Frederick III, appeared in 1981, and since then he has published over twenty historical biographies, as well as books on local history, true crime, rock music, a novel and a play. He is also a contributor to Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Guinness Rockopaedia, and has produced articles on historical, musical and art subjects in national and local journals, including Illustrated London News, Royalty Digest, European Royal History Journal, Best of British, BBC History Magazine, Record Collector, Antique Collector, This England, The Independent, and Gibbons Stamp Monthly. He has reviewed books and records for the press, written CD booklet notes, and between 1991 and 1996 edited the 70s rock fanzine Keep on Rockin.
In 2002 he was a consultant for the BBC TV documentary 'The King, the Kaiser and the Tsar', first screened in January 2003.
He married professional musician and teacher Kim Graham (née Geldard) in 2003 and lives in Devon.

Reviews

[Jo · Rating 2 out of 5]

In great need of a good editing. Hodgepodgey flow, uncles become cousins, reversed ages (pg 95 has Victoria "twenty-eight years younger" than Edward VIII. It's a chore enough to keep track of who is who without repeatedly switching from titles to given names even for someone familiar with them, let alone someone new to the family history.
I couldn't give more than two stars due to the frequency of instances where I found myself stopping to say, "Wait. What?!" followed by having to search for accurate information.

[Rebecca Huston]

I have the hardbound edition.

[Nate · Rating 3 out of 5]

A good look into some less covered lives. I was most interested in the Hesse Cassels, followed by Victoria, and lastly by Sophie. The beginning focused a lot on Victoria's(Moretta's) romance with Alexander of Battenberg, while the middle was focused on Sophie. The years after the first world war focused most on Margaret(Mossy).I wasn't too interested in the whole Battenberg affair. Overall, the novel described in good, academic, and concise terms about the lives of these three sisters

[Cindy · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book was a nice introduction to the lives of the three younger daughters of Vicky, Queen Victoria's oldest daughter. Having already read biographies of most of Queen Victoria's children, I was looking forward to learning about some of her grandchildren. Overall, it was a nice book but left something to be desired. It seemed to leave out information that left me wondering. For example, in a couple of the included photos, Princess Sophie is shown wearing a habit, yet the book never said that she joined a convent - not even a hint! I'll have to check Wikipedia to find out why she was wearing a habit. To come away from a biography feeling like I need to seek out other resources to find out major info is pretty disappointing.

The writing/editing was not really up to par either. Quite a number of errors made it through, and not just typos but errors in syntax and usage. The author jumped from subject to subject in a way that was sometimes confusing, and at least once, a totally unrelated sentence was tacked on at the end of a paragraph where it made no sense.

The book had a lot of potential but fell short in comparison to other royal biographies I've read. Not enough info and sub par writing.

[Brian · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book by John van der Kiste deals with three of the four sisters of Kaiser Wilhelm II. This slim volume will fit easily into anyone's collection of royalty, particularly German royalty. The story covers the lives of his youngest sisters: Victoria, Sophie, and Margaret. It's an interesting look at the familial relations of the sisters and their various family members. The book does have a few minor mistakes, but otherwise is an excellent read.

[Patricia Richardson]

I enjoyed the immersion into these Belle Epoch European royal families, many the children and grandchildren of Queen Victory. However, the familial connections grew more intricate and more difficult for me to follow with interest. There are interesting domestic details of Queen Victoria’s relationship to her eldest daughter, Vicky, the Empress Frederick.

[Elizabeth V'R · Rating 3 out of 5]

Needs some editing. The section on Princess Viktoria and Alexander of Battenberg went on forever and I almost gave up. After that it does improve. Also too many name changes for the women as their status changed. Calling someone Empress Friedrich Wilhelm is counterintuitive to readers.

[Linda · Rating 4 out of 5]

An interesting summary of the lives of 3 women overshadowed by their infamous oldest brother.

[Amanda · Rating 4 out of 5]

The title is deceiving because it really only focuses on the three younger sisters, but it is still informative, though quick.

[Colleen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Short intertwined biographies of the three youngest sisters of the Kaiser (Charlotte is mostly excluded). I've read more about Sophie as Queen of the Hellenes, so it was nice to round out the family.

[Ken Sampson · Rating 3 out of 5]

[17 Nov 2024] A classic well written biography of the three youngest sisters of the last German Kaiser, Wilhelm II. Sophia, Victoria and Margaret had complex and interesting lives at the close of the Victorian era and the first part of the calamitous twentieth century. The names take a bit of getting use to, but on the whole it is an easy read. Grandchildren of Queen Victoria they shared much of the glamour of court life, including the endless, almost obsessive preoccupation of marriage prospects and partners. They witnessed the disaster of World War I and the eventual abolition of the German monarchy. They did their best to survive the turmoil and live quietly, adapting best they could to their reduced circumstances - making mistakes and errors of judgement as they went.

As I read, I thought it was strange that the older sister Charlotte hardly gets a mention, Queen Victoria is once referred to as 'Queen of England' - unforgivable for a serious historian. There was an incorrect reference to one sister being younger than her nephew. Overall it was an informative, interesting read which was enjoyable and illuminated a neglected area of European history - It was a shame the stupidity of the Kaiser - which directly contributed to carnage, millions of deaths, destruction and the loss of his own throne didn't get much attention. Overall I really enjoyed this sad tale.

[Robin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Informative and a quick read. Kudos to Mr. Van der Kiste for juggling this large cast of characters, made all the more difficult by so many of them named Victoria. There are some obvious editorial gaffes, such as the one I found on page 95, where it was stated that Victoria of Prussia was 28 years younger than the Prince of Wales (later the infamous Edward VIII). This should have read "older". A background and interest in the royalty of that era is essential to enjoy the book to its fullest, but it is not overdone and plodding like so many tomes in this category are.

[Roy Bower · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was hard to get through this book. Too much minutia about the youngest three and hardly anything about Princess Charlotte. Many characters with the same name. You will need to take notes and highlight to keep track.

[Wilde Sky · Rating 3 out of 5]

This description of the lives of the Prussian Princesses was interesting in places, but overall I found the writing style to be dry / academic.

[Katie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ok only - I was left wanting more. Could have been longer and at the end there were so many people of the same name, Victoria, Philipp that I got completely confused/