Princess Victoria of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld

Princess Victoria of Saxe-Coburg Saalfied was born on 17th August 1786, in the Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation. She was the fourth daughter and seventh child of Franz Frederick Anton, Duke of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld, and his wife Countess Augusta Reuss of Ebersdorf.

While she was seventeen years of age, she was married to Emich Carl, 2nd Prince of Leiningen, in December 1803. She was the second wife of Carl, who was older to her by 23 years. They had two children, Carl, 3rd Prince of Leiningen, and Princess Feodora of Leiningen.

Emich Carl passed away of pneumonia in 1814, after which he was succeeded by his son Carl, who was only ten years of age. Meanwhile, Princess Victoria served as regent of the Principality of Leiningen.

In November 1818, after the death of Princess Charlotte of Wales in childbirth, it became necessary for the sons of King George III to get married, so that they could provide an heir to the throne, as Charlotte had been the only legitimate grandchild of the king.

One of the sons of King George III, Prince Edward, Duke of Kent and Strathearn, proposed to Princess Victoria, and she accepted. They got married in May 1818, and moved to Germany. The following year, in April, their daughter Alexandrina Victoria was born. Prince Edward passed away in January 1820, due to pneumonia.

Six days later, Edward’s father, King George III, also passed away. Therefore Duchess Victoria, instead of going back to Coburg, decided to stay in hopes of her daughter’s claim to accession, as young Princess Victoria was only third in line for the throne.

Though she sought support from the British government, the provisions she gained were not substantial. Along with several other impoverished members of the Royal family, she had to reside in the suite of rooms at the Kensington Palace. She received very little financial support. However, she received aid from her brother Leopold.

She also relied a lot on her personal secretary, Sir John Conroy, who wanted to use his position to garner power and influence. Both Conroy and the Duchess were quite strict with Victoria, and imposed several rules on her. Because of this, her relationship with her daughter suffered a lot.

There were several rumors that the Duchess and Conroy were lovers, and it was even alleged that Princess Victoria had cheated on her husband with Conroy. Some sources even suggested that Victoria was not the Duke of Kent’s biological daughter.