Wedding of the Prince of Hohenlohe-Langenburg and Princess Alexandra of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, 1896

The Wedding of the Prince Ernst II of Hohenlohe-Langenburg, son of the Prince of Hohenlohe-Langenburg and Princess Leopoldine of Baden, and Princess Alexandra of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, Prince Alfred, Duke of Edinburgh and Saxe-Coburg and Gotha and Grand Duchess Marie Alexandrovna of Russia, at Schloss Ehrenburg in Coburg on this day in 1896. The couple had five children, including Prince Gottfried, who married Princess Margarita of Greece exactly 35 years later.

Royal Guests and Relatives in attendance included the Grand Duke and Grand Duchess of Hesse (wearing the Hesse Emerald Tiara), Crown Prince Ferdinand and Crown Princess of Romania (in her Diamond Tiara), Emperor William II and Empress Augusta Victoria (wearing her Diamond Scroll Tiara) of Germany, Grand Duchess Vladimir (wearing the Vladimir Tiara), Grand Duchess Maria Alexandrovna (in the Saxe-Coburg-Gotha Diamond Tiara), the Duke and Duchess of York (future Queen Mary, wearing the Girls of Great Britain & Ireland Tiara), Prince Philip and Princess Louise of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha (in her Sapphire Tiara), Princess Charlotte of Prussia, Duchess of Saxe-Meiningen, Prince Heinrich XXVII Reuss, and Prince Maximilian of Baden. 20

3 thoughts on “Wedding of the Prince of Hohenlohe-Langenburg and Princess Alexandra of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, 1896

  1. A very interesting post – as always 🙂 To think that two of the couples present at this wedding would break and later ending in divorces – and one of them not very long after. The Princess Philip (née Princess Louise of Belgium) of Saxe-Coburg & Gotha would leave her husband that same year though the divorce was not finalized until later.
    Your post also shows that one cannot always rely 100% on illustrations from these events. In the illustration from the magazine “Black & White” it looks like the Duke of Saxe-Coburg & Gotha (Prince Alfred) wore the Order of the Garter at the ceremony or at least an order where the Sash going from his left shoulder to his right side (could also have been the Order of the Black Eagle – especially since the German Emperor was present) while in the photo the Duke is wearing a Sash from his right shoulder to his left side… probably the Saxe-Ernestine House Order.

    1. Thank you! Orders are so interesting and while I rarely notice them in black and white photos, you have pointed out such a fascinating detail. I wonder if details were provided to illustrators or if they copied orders from photographs of other events.

  2. They are such a fascinating subject (well, I think so anyway) and it is a real shame that they do not stand out very well on black and white photographs. I mean, in real life these gatherings must have been soooo colourful with all the dresses in all kind of colours and then the orders and the different coloured gemstones in their jewels. Of course, the men would not be left far behind with the full dress uniforms also donned with all sorts of coloured orders – sashes and stars and medals – and the decorative golden emboroidery.
    I must say I have also wondered about how the illustrations came about – where the artists actually present or where they just a product of the artist’s imagination based on previously released official portraits?
    Also, it must be said that usually a wedding such as this would mean several grand events – so maybe the photograph is from one of those other events? Oh, what I would give for a time machine! 🙂

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