The Year of Louise of Mecklenburg-Strelitz – The life and death of Prince Albert of Prussia (Part three)

Read part two here.

Following her father’s death, Marianne became determined to make it work with Albert. She wrote to Queen Elisabeth, “I forgive him, as I do everything else, and I do not forgive myself for my weakness and the vanity of considering his love and his pleasure more important than love for God and my duties!!! Although I cannot undo the past, I can repair it, or at least take up my cross and do penance with a humility that goes against my nature.”¹

When Marianne returned to Berlin in January 1844, Albert also appeared willing to reconcile. After just a few months in Berlin, things between Albert and Marianne worsened again.² Marianne returned to Italy, where she purchased a villa.³ Albert’s brother now realised that there was no hope of a reconciliation. He prepared the formal document for a separation in November 1844.⁴ This was signed in December by the King, bringing about their official separation.⁵ The children remained in the care of the Prussian King and Queen, but their parents would have a say and could stay with their parents too.⁶ Marianne began to spend most of her time abroad.

Albert’s brother William wrote to their sister Charlotte in December 1844, “Our Christmas celebration was once again quite brilliant. However, the day also had its painful side, as Fritz had signed the temporary separation act between Albert and Marianne! According to which they are neither ecclesiastically nor legally divorced, but a so-called separation of bed and board takes place. In September, Albert had requested such a solution to their relationship… which would result in a separation of finances and household assets. Fritz was also to stipulate that the two should never meet here. Fritz, of course, completely rejected this last point, leaving it to their own agreement. He [Albert] is an unhappy man; without reason; now without heart or soul, mistaking his stubbornness for character and energy. I am curious to see what new machinations he will get up to.”⁷

By 1847, there were rumours of her having an intimate relationship with a servant. His name was Johannes van Rossum, and he was Marianne’s coachman and secretary.⁸ In August 1847, Albert’s brother William wrote, “Fritz and Fritz Oranien told me about Albert’s new projects. I cannot advise commenting on them, because the scandal would be too great! This place shows me that quite clearly, although I am certainly not against divorces in general. That Albert will use everything to marry Röschen [Rosalie von Rauch] is crystal clear, as is the fact that he will succeed.” ⁹

In February 1848, Marianne wrote a long letter to her estranged husband, but soon Albert sought an official divorce, which his brother refused to grant. In July 1848, Albert went to the court to request a divorce himself.¹⁰ He had even submitted medical records that showed that Marianne literally made him ill.¹¹

Marianne wrote to the Prussian King, “If it is true that the thoughts of me being his wife are fatal to the father of my children, I must agree to divorce so as not to have his death on my conscience.” ¹² On 28 March 1849, the divorce was officially pronounced. Prince Albert was deemed the guilty party.¹³ On 30 October, Marianne gave birth to an illegitimate child by Johannes.¹⁴

One year after his divorce, Albert found a new residence in Dresden. The tensions at the Prussian court following the divorce prompted him to leave Prussia. His brother also disapproved of his relationship with Rosalie von Rauch. He also found a site suitable for the building of a completely new castle. Albrechtsberg Palace was finished in 1854.¹⁵

Albert began to pursue a morganatic marriage with Rosalie, much to his brother’s horror. Nevertheless, the wedding went ahead on 13 June 1853. She had been created Countess of Hohenau shortly before the wedding by the Duke of Saxe-Meiningen.¹⁶

One of the conditions of the marriage was that Rosalie was never allowed to set foot in Prussia again. With a gift of several million thalers, the couple relocated definitively to Dresden.¹⁷ At the newly built Palace, Rosalie gave birth to two sons. On 25 April 1854, she gave birth to Wilhelm, followed by Friedrich on 21 May 1857.

Marianne and Albert finally met again in 1855 under tragic circumstances. Their daughter Charlotte had married Georg, Hereditary Prince of Saxe-Meiningen, in 1850 and had given him four children in quick succession, and she died in childbirth following the birth of their fourth child, a short-lived son. Their second son had died two months before Charlotte, leaving two surviving children. Marianne and Albert met at Charlotte’s funeral, which had been a “comfort for both.”¹⁸

In 1860, Albert’s sister, also named Charlotte, also passed away. According to Victoria, Princess Royal, who had married Albert’s nephew, Frederick, in 1858, wrote to her mother, “Prince Albert is quite prostrate, does nothing but sob and cry like a child, poor man.”¹⁹

On 2 January 1861, Albert’s brother, King Frederick William IV, died, and he was succeeded by their brother, who became King, later Emperor, William I. William was more accepting of the situation, easing some of the tensions.²⁰

Part four coming soon.

1. Prinses Marianne by Arnout van Cruyningen p.105
2. Prinses Marianne by Arnout van Cruyningen p.106
3. Marianne van Preuβen by Annette Dopatka p.28
4. Prinses Marianne by Arnout van Cruyningen p.107
5. Prinses Marianne by Arnout van Cruyningen p.109
6. Prinses Marianne by Arnout van Cruyningen p.109
7. Prinz Wilhelm von Preußen an Charlotte : Briefe 1817-1860 p.252
8. Prinses Marianne by Arnout van Cruyningen p.112-114
9. Prinz Wilhelm von Preußen an Charlotte : Briefe 1817-1860 p.276
10. Prinses Marianne by Arnout van Cruyningen p.119
11. Prinses Marianne by Arnout van Cruyningen p.121
12. Prinses Marianne by Arnout van Cruyningen p.121-122
13. Marianne van Preuβen by Annette Dopatka p.37
14. Prinses Marianne by Arnout van Cruyningen p.132
15. Schlesien und Preußen by Hans-Peter Schmidt p.100
16. Die rechtmässigen Ehen des hohen Adels des heil. Römischen Reiches deutscher Nation by Arnold von Weyhe-Eimke p.36
17. Die Heiraten der Hohenzollern by Daniel Schönpflug p.104
18. Prinses Marianne by Arnout van Cruyningen p.144
19. Dearest Child edited by Roger Fulford p.277
20. Preussen Zeitungs Archiv – 3 October 2009