Princess Marie of Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen


Princess Marie Luise Alexandra Karoline of Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen, later Countess of Flanders, was a princess of Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen, later simply of Hohenzollern. She married Prince Philippe, Count of Flanders, second son of King Leopold I of Belgium, and she was the mother of King Albert I.

Family

Marie was the youngest daughter and last of the six children of Prince Karl Anton, Prince of Hohenzollern, Prime minister of Prussia and Princess Josephine of Baden, and a younger sister of Prince Leopold, Prince of Hohenzollern, King Carol I of Romania and of Queen Stephanie, Queen Consort of Portugal.

Marriage

Marie was considered as a potential wife for the future Edward VII of the United Kingdom. Though she was considered "quite lovely" by his family, her Roman Catholic religion barred her from being a suitable consort for the head of the Anglican church. On 25 April 1867 at St. Hedwig's Cathedral in Berlin, she married Prince Philippe, Count of Flanders, second son of King Leopold I of Belgium and Louise-Marie of Orléans.
They had five children:
Princess Marie was an accomplished artist, even occasionally exhibiting her paintings at the Brussels Fair. She had a literary salon, which was the gathering place of many authors as well as a feature of Brussels social life for forty years. She also demonstrated appreciation for music, on one occasion awarding a gold medal to the Zoellner Quartet after it performed for the Belgian royalty.

Death

Marie Luise died in Belgium in 1912 at the age of 67, after suffering from pneumonia for several days. She was buried in the Church of Our Lady of Laeken.

Honours