Princess Victoria of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld

Viktoria of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld, Duchess of Kent

See Victoria of Saxe-Coburg for other persons similarly named.

Marie Luise Viktoria of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld (August 17, 1786-March 16, 1861) was the daughter of Duke Francis Frederick of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfield (1750-1806) and Countess Auguste Reuss zu Ebersdorf und Lobenstein (1757-1831).

First Marriage

On December 21, 1803 at Coburg, she married (as his second wife) Karl, Fürst zu Leiningen (1763 – 1814) whose first wife Henriette Reuss zu Ebersdorf was her mother's sister. They had two children:

• Carl Friedrich Wilhelm Emich (1804 – 1856)
• Feodora (1807 – 1872)

Second Marriage

On May 29, 1818 at Coburg (and again on July 11, 1818 at Kew Palace) she married Edward Augustus, Duke of Kent (1767 – 1820). Their only child was:

• Princess Alexandrina Victoria, later Queen Victoria (1819 – 1901).

Life

After the death of the Duke of Kent, his widowed Duchess had little cause to remain in England, not speaking the language and having a palace at home in Coburg, where she could live cheaply on the incomes of her first husband, Prince Karl of Leiningen. However, the English succession at this time was far from assured: the only other son of George III that had a viable marriage, the Duke of Clarence (future William IV) had yet to produce any viable heirs. The Duchess decided that she would be better served to gamble on her daughter's accession than to live quietly in Coburg, and availed herself upon the English government for support, having inherited her husband's debts. At the time, the Princess Victoria was only fourth in line for the throne, and the English Parliament was not inclined to support yet another impoverished royal. The Duchess was allowed a suite of rooms in the dilapidated Kensington Palace, along with several other impoverished nobles. There she brought up her daughter, Victoria, who would become Queen.

Viktoria, who barely spoke English, relied heavily on John Conroy, and Irish officer whom she engaged as her private secretary. Conroy had high hopes for his patroness and himself: he envisioned Victoria succeeding the throne at a young age, thus needing a regency government. And who better to be regent than the young Princess's own mother, the Duchess of Kent? As the personal secretary of the Duchess, Conroy would be the veritable "power behind the throne." Unfortunately for him, he did not count on Victoria's uncle, William IV, surviving long enough for Victoria to reach her majority. He had cultivated her mother as his ally, and ignored and insulted Victoria. Now he had no influence over her, and thus tried to force her to make him her personal secretary upon her accession. This plan too backfired, as Victoria came to associate her mother with Conroy's schemes, for pressuring her to sign a paper declaring Conroy her personal secretary. When Victoria became Queen, she relegated the Duchess to separate apartments away from her own.

When the Queen's first child, the Princess Royal, was born, the Duchess found herself unexpectedly welcomed back into Victoria's inner circle. It is likely that this came about as a result of the dismissal of the Baroness Lehzen at the behest of Victoria's husband, Prince Albert. Firstly, this removed Lehzen's influence, and Lehzen had long despised the Duchess and Conroy, suspecting them of an illicit affair. Secondly, it left Victoria wholly open to Albert's influence, and he likely prevailed upon her to reconcile with her mother.

Death

Viktoria died on 16 March, 1861. She is buried in the Kent Mausoleum at Frogmore, Windsor Great Park.

Titles from birth to death

Here is a list of titles Viktoria held from birth to death in chronological order:

• Her Serene Highness Princess Viktoria of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld
• Her Serene Highness The Princess of Leiningen
• Her Serene Highness Princess Viktoria of Leiningen
• Her Royal Highness The Duchess of Kent