Prince Waldemar of Prussia (1868–1879)

Prince Waldemar
Prince Waldemar of Prussia
Born	(1868-02-10)10 February 1868 Crown Prince's Palace, Berlin, Prussia
Died	New Palace, Potsdam, Prussia, German Empire
Burial	29 March 1879 Friedenskirche, Potsdam, Prusssia, German Empire
House	Hohenzollern
Father	Frederick III, German Emperor
Mother	Victoria, Princess Royal

Prince Waldemar of Prussia (Joachim Friedrich Ernst Waldemar; 10 February 1868 – 27 March 1879) was the sixth child and youngest son of Crown Prince Friedrich (later Emperor Friedrich III), and Victoria, Princess Royal, the eldest daughter of the Queen Victoria.

Biography

Early life

Waldemar was the favourite of both the Princess Royal and her husband. He was a lively, cheerful boy, boisterous and high-spirited, with a sensible, independent and honest nature. He was quick to learn and his mother found him a pleasure to teach. Waldemar had a "fun loving" character and a great sense of humour and love for animals. On one occasion, when visiting his grandmother, Queen Victoria, Waldemar let loose his pet crocodile in her study, much to the shock of the middle-aged queen. The Princess Royal wrote that she would be unhappy when Waldemar went off to school, "as he is my very own boy." She seemed to prefer Waldemar over his elder brothers Wilhelm and Heinrich.

Death

Less than four months after the deaths of his maternal aunt, Alice, Grand Duchess of Hesse and cousin, May, Waldemar became seriously ill with diphtheria and died in Berlin, Germany on 27 March 1879. He was buried in the royal mausoleum attached to the Friedenskirche at Potsdam, near the main altar and his elder brother Prince Sigismund of Prussia. His parents were later buried not far away in the centre of the mausoleum directly under the dome.

Ancestry

Family of Prince Waldemar of Prussia (1868–1879)

16. Frederick William II of Prussia               8. Frederick William III of Prussia                       17. Frederica Louisa of Hesse-Darmstadt               4. William I, German Emperor                             18. Charles II, Grand Duke of Mecklenburg-Strelitz               9. Louise of Mecklenburg-Strelitz                       19. Princess Friederike of Hesse-Darmstadt               2. Frederick III, German Emperor                                   20. Charles Augustus, Grand Duke of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach               10. Charles Frederick, Grand Duke of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach                       21. Louise of Hesse-Darmstadt               5. Augusta of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach                             22. Paul I of Russia               11. Grand Duchess Maria Pavlovna of Russia                       23. Princess Sophie Dorothea of Württemberg               1. Prince Waldemar of Prussia                                         24. Francis, Duke of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld               12. Ernest I, Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha                       25. Princess Augusta of Reuss-Ebersdorf               6. Albert, Prince Consort                             26. Emil, Duke of Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg               13. Princess Louise of Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg                       27. Louise Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Schwerin               3. Victoria, Princess Royal                                   28. George III of the United Kingdom               14. Prince Edward, Duke of Kent and Strathearn                       29. Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz               7. Queen Victoria                             30. Francis, Duke of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld (= 24)               15. Princess Victoria of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld                       31. Princess Augusta of Reuss-Ebersdorf (= 25)

References

• Richard Hough, Advice to a Grand-daughter. Letters from Queen Victoria to Princess Victoria of Hesse. London, 1975, p. 12.