Princess Frederica of Hanover

other people called Princess Frederica of Hanover

Princess Frederica of Hanover (Friederike Sophie Marie Henriette Amelie Therese; 9 January 1848 – 16 October 1926) was a member of the House of Hanover. After her marriage, she lived mostly in England, where she was a prominent member of society.

Frederica was born 9 January 1848 in Hanover, the elder daughter of the Hereditary Prince of Hanover (later King George V of Hanover) and of his wife, Princess Marie of Saxe Altenburg. She held the title of Princess with the style Her Royal Highness in Hanover. In the United Kingdom, she held the title of Princess with the style Her Highness as a male line great granddaughter of King George III. She was known as "Lily" within her family. In January 1866, the Prime Minister of Prussia Otto von Bismarck began negotiations with Hanover, represented by Count Adolf Ludwig von Platen Hallermund, regarding the possible marriage of Frederica to Prince Albrecht of Prussia. These plans came to nothing as tensions grew between Hanover and Prussia finally resulting in the Austro Prussian War (14 June – 23 August 1866). In 1866, Frederica's father was deposed as King of Hanover. Eventually, the family settled at Gmunden in Austria, where they owned Schloss Cumberland (named for the British Ducal title held by Frederica's father). Frederica visited England with her family in May 1876, and again, after her father's death, in June 1878.

Frederica was involved with numerous charitable activities. In August 1881 she established the Convalescent Home, an institution for poor women who have given birth but have been discharged from maternity hospitals. Because her father had been blind, she was a benefactress of the Royal Normal College and Academy of Music for the Blind at Upper Norwood. Frederica was interested in children and became patron of the Church Extension Association, then based in Kilburn, which wished to set up schools in Willesden, then a new suburb of London. On 24 July 1889 she opened Princess Frederica School in Kensal Rise. She was also patron of the Training College for Teachers of the Deaf at Ealing, of the Strolling Players' Amateur Orchestral Society, of the Hampton Court and Dittons Regatta of the Home for Foreign Governesses, of the Mission to the French in London, and of the Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals. She was President of the Middlesex Branch of SSFA (Soldiers' and Sailors' Families Association).

Frederica and Alfons gave up their apartment at Hampton Court Palace in 1898. While they continued to live part of the year in England, they subsequently spent more time in Biarritz in France where they had previously vacationed. They owned Villa Mouriscot there. Frederica died in 1926 at Biarritz. She was buried in the Royal Vault in St George's Chapel at Windsor Castle. Her will was sealed in London in 1927. Her estate was valued at £85 (or £3,700 in 2022 when adjusted for inflation). In 1927 a window in her memory was unveiled in the English Church in Biarritz.