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The Kaiser's Daughter: Memoirs of H.R.H. Viktoria Luise, Duchess of Brunswick and Lüneburg, Princess of Prussia
The story of Viktoria Luise, the only daughter and sole surviving member of Kaiser Wilhelm II's imperial family, reads in part like a fairy-tale recreation of an age of vanished splendor and in part like an intimate, behind-the-scenes glimpse of eight decades of European history. It is also the narrative of an extraordinary life and an impressive self-portrait of an admirable woman.
276 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1977
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About the author
Viktoria Luise, Princess of Prussia
5 books4 followersPrincess Victoria Louise Adelaide Matilda Charlotte of Prussia (September 13, 1892 - December 11, 1980) was the only daughter and the last child of Wilhelm II, German Emperor, and Augusta Victoria of Schleswig-Holstein. Through her father, she was a great-granddaughter of both Emperor Wilhelm I and Queen Victoria.
Her 1913 wedding to Prince Ernest Augustus of Hanover was the largest gathering of reigning monarchs in Germany since German unification in 1871, and one of the last great social events of European royalty before the First World War began fourteen months later.
Her 1913 wedding to Prince Ernest Augustus of Hanover was the largest gathering of reigning monarchs in Germany since German unification in 1871, and one of the last great social events of European royalty before the First World War began fourteen months later.
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
December 31, 2012
Victoria Luise was the only daughter of the much maligned Kaiser Wilhelm II and one of the most significant royal personages of the Twentieth Century. Her memoirs present a perspective totally at odds with the mostly negative view historians have presented of the German Emperor and monarchist reality that prevailed in Europe only one hundred years ago. Victoria Luise was married to the last surviving claimant to the Guelph dynasty that had ruled as kings of Hannover from the accession of Queen Victoria to 1866. Her Husband Ernst August was given the throne of the Duchy of Brunswick (a fragment of his family's prior monarchial lands) and the marriage prospered. The wedding of Ernst and Victoria Luise in May 1913 was the last great gathering of European monarchs prior to the First World War and included royal guests such as King George V and the doomed Tsar Nicholas II with the Kaiser presiding as father of the bride. Although deposed from the rule of their small Duchy after only 5 years by the revolutions sweeping Europe in 1918, the marriage prospered. Their Daughter Fredricke became Queen of Greece and grand children became monarchs of Greece and Spain. The current Queen of Spain is the grand daughter of Ernst and Victoria Luise. Allowed to return to Brunswick in 1926, after exile following WWI, the couple raised a large family and was swept along by events including the rise of Hitler, the disaster of WWII and advent of the Cold War. Victoria Luise died in 1980 (Ernst in 1953) so their lives depict the tragic fate of German royalty during the 20th Century. --- This memoir is decidedly and understandably biased and neglects to mention the friendly attitudes many royal lines held towards the Nazi regime (seen as an ally against the more dreaded Communist rule). For many readers, the viewpoints presented may see utterly outdated and absurd. It does, however, portray an unabashedly flattering picture of the royalist and monarchist perspective that was dominant in Europe a relatively short time ago.
October 24, 2013
For decades I have been checking out "The Kaiser's Daughter" from various libraries, thumbing through it, but never reading it, so I finally decided I needed to remedy this problem.
The book is a translation from German into English and an abridgement from three volumes of memoirs into one. It covers H.R.H.'s glittering childhood and youth, her wedding (the last major gathering of European royalty before World War I), the war, her father's abdication and exile to Holland, her mother's death and father's remarriage, her family's adjustment to life out of power, the Nazi era, her daughter's marriage into the troubled Greek Royal House, World War II, her father's death, the postwar period, her husband's death, her charity work, and her thoughts about her younger descendants and their role in the future of modern European monarchy.
H.R.H.'s writing style is a bit formal, which should come as no surprise, considering her background. She gives herself the task of resolving certain controversies from the past, of clearing up misconceptions and misunderstandings. Some of these issues I'd heard of before, while quite a few I had not, but all of her points seem well-argued, and I finished the book inclined to take her side.
That said, and I am probably in the minority here, I would've preferred for less of the book to be devoted to the large events of history and more of it to intimate personal glimpses of her father, family, and associates.
Her greatest success, however, is in convincing the reader of the value of monarchy in modern times, that someone above the petty squabbles of politics, operating from a centuries-old tradition and a deeply-embedded sense of duty, has something to contribute to the governance of a modern nation.
That is not to say that all royals everywhere have been or are paragons. H.R.H.'s brother Prince August Wilhelm was a Nazi, though if you read between her lines he comes across as stupid and deluded rather than evil; he thought Hitler would restore the Hohenzollern monarchy, possibly with him or his son on the throne, and was shocked when Hitler had all royals removed from German military service.
It's been thirty-six years since this book was published, and in that period the concept of monarchy has taken a beating. In recent years, some modern royals have been revealed as cruel, corrupt, vulgar, licentious, or foolish.
I cannot help but wonder if now, with the First World under the thumb of a corporate dictatorship, and most elected officials merely the paid puppets of corporate interests, that the notion of monarchy is an amusing anachronism. Do royals really have anything left to contribute in these modern times?
Still, I think that as long as there are royals who take the ideas of duty and service seriously, the institution of monarchy will continue to exist, in one form or another, at least for a few more generations. Whether royals can help get us out of our current political quagmires remains to be seen.
The book is a translation from German into English and an abridgement from three volumes of memoirs into one. It covers H.R.H.'s glittering childhood and youth, her wedding (the last major gathering of European royalty before World War I), the war, her father's abdication and exile to Holland, her mother's death and father's remarriage, her family's adjustment to life out of power, the Nazi era, her daughter's marriage into the troubled Greek Royal House, World War II, her father's death, the postwar period, her husband's death, her charity work, and her thoughts about her younger descendants and their role in the future of modern European monarchy.
H.R.H.'s writing style is a bit formal, which should come as no surprise, considering her background. She gives herself the task of resolving certain controversies from the past, of clearing up misconceptions and misunderstandings. Some of these issues I'd heard of before, while quite a few I had not, but all of her points seem well-argued, and I finished the book inclined to take her side.
That said, and I am probably in the minority here, I would've preferred for less of the book to be devoted to the large events of history and more of it to intimate personal glimpses of her father, family, and associates.
Her greatest success, however, is in convincing the reader of the value of monarchy in modern times, that someone above the petty squabbles of politics, operating from a centuries-old tradition and a deeply-embedded sense of duty, has something to contribute to the governance of a modern nation.
That is not to say that all royals everywhere have been or are paragons. H.R.H.'s brother Prince August Wilhelm was a Nazi, though if you read between her lines he comes across as stupid and deluded rather than evil; he thought Hitler would restore the Hohenzollern monarchy, possibly with him or his son on the throne, and was shocked when Hitler had all royals removed from German military service.
It's been thirty-six years since this book was published, and in that period the concept of monarchy has taken a beating. In recent years, some modern royals have been revealed as cruel, corrupt, vulgar, licentious, or foolish.
I cannot help but wonder if now, with the First World under the thumb of a corporate dictatorship, and most elected officials merely the paid puppets of corporate interests, that the notion of monarchy is an amusing anachronism. Do royals really have anything left to contribute in these modern times?
Still, I think that as long as there are royals who take the ideas of duty and service seriously, the institution of monarchy will continue to exist, in one form or another, at least for a few more generations. Whether royals can help get us out of our current political quagmires remains to be seen.
October 25, 2018
I loved this book so much, and I have grown to appreciate her actions and I've grown to have a new perspective on several of her relatives, her father and mother. I am glad to have read this book though. This book presents you a world in which she was born in and the life she had to live through, through the ups and downs. The only thing I'd wish is that the book was longer. All in all, I loved the book.
January 12, 2012
Disappointing. The language, typical of anything translated into English is very stilted. She is as opinionated as her father! Not much detail on her early years which would have been more interesting. She really, really, really did not appreciate her father's remarriage!
January 17, 2021
An intimate account of an obscure historical figure, and a valuable aid to my research.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews