Saturday, September 24, 2016

Will William and Catherine meet Cousin Frederika who lives in British Columbia

HRH Princess Frederika of Hannover, 5 years old, arriving in London with her parents on January 13, 1960.  She and her older sister, Princess Clarissa of Hesse, were among the bridesmaids at the wedding of Lady Pamela Mountbatten to David Hicks. (Marlene A. Eilers Koenig collection)

I am going to assume that the Duke of Cambridge is aware that he has a first cousin once removed living in Vancouver, British Columbia:  HRH Princess Friederike Elisabeth Victoria Luise Alice Olga Theodora Helene of Hanover,  Duchess of Brunswick-Lüneburg, Princess of Great Britain and Ireland, who was born at Schloss Salem, Baden, on October 15, 1954. She is the youngest child of the late HRH Princess Sophie of Greece and Denmark (1914-2001) and HRH Prince Georg Wilhelm of Hanover (1915-2006).

A month after her birth,  the infant princess was baptized, according to the rites of the Lutheran Church, at Schloss Salem.  Her godparents include Queen Elizabeth II,  Queen Frederika of the Hellenes (her paternal aunt) and Queen Louise of Sweden (her maternal great aunt).

The Princess, who has used Frederika as her name for most of her life, is a niece of HRH Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, and thus, HRH The Prince of Wales' first cousin.  On her father's side, she is a first cousin of HRH Prince Ernst August of Hannover, the estranged husband of Princess Caroline of Monaco -- and the titular head of the House of Hannover.   King Constantine II and Queen Sofia of Spain are also first cousins, children of Frederika's namesake, her paternal aunt, Queen Frederika of the Hellenes (younger sister of Prince Georg Wilhelm)

Frederika is the youngest of Princess Sophie's eight children.  Princess Sophie was married twice, and her first husband was HH Prince Christoph of Hesse, a nephew of Kaiser Wilhelm II (as his mother, Princess Margarete, was Wilhelm's youngest sister.  Her second husband, Georg Wilhelm,  was a grandson of the Kaiser, as his mother Princess Viktoria Luise, was Wilhelm's youngest child and only daughter.  

The nearly 62-year-old Princess has lived in British Columbia for 40 years.   In 1977,  Frederika, then a student at Simon Fraser University,  was named  with three other German Princesses, as a possible bride for the Prince of Wales.  The story was fabricated by the tabloid Sunday newspaper, News of the World.

She was an art student at Simon Fraser, working toward a Bachelor of Arts degree.  The publicity from the story sent the princess into hiding in the Vancouver area, unwilling to speak to the press.     The press also camped out at her parents home in Neuhaus bei Schliersee in Bavaria.  A spokesman for the family said at the time that Frederika would not consent to interviews  but wanted it known that she loved living in Vancouver and attending Simon Fraser University.   The spokesman also said that the princess  was "enjoying a skiing holiday somewhere."   The skiing holiday was in British Columbia.

A Buckingham Palace spokesman denied "any romantic link" between Prince Charles and Princess Frederika.  "I must admit that I don't know her, " the palace spokesman said in a telephone interview.  Obviously, Prince Charles would know her if she is his cousin but there is nothing more to it than that."

The other three German Princesses touted as Charles' future bride were Frederika's first cousins, Princesses Marie, 25, Olga, 19 and Alexandra, 18, of Hanover.

On August 17, 1979,  Princess Frederika married  Jerry William Cyr, a British Columbia native.  They have two grown children, Julia Emma,  34, and Jean-Paul, 31.

3 comments:

Unknown said...



Indeed there is that discreet CYR family living in Vancouver.

Lane Kent said...

Please can you confirm if it is true that she is now a grandmother? Some sites say she has a grandson through her daughter. I respect their privacy so I am not asking for details. I am just curious if the sites are correct? Thank you.

Marlene Eilers Koenig said...

Yes. I can confirm Julia has a son