Albert, Duke Of Schleswig-Holstein

Albert, Duke of Schleswig-Holstein (full name: Albert John Charles Frederick Alfred George), was born on 26 February 1869 and died on 27 April 1931. He was a grandson of Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom. His parents were Princess Helena of the United Kingdom, daughter of Queen Victoria, and Prince Christian of Schleswig-Holstein.

Early Life and Upbringing

Albert was raised at Cumberland Lodge in Windsor Great Park and was known within his family as "Abby." He was baptized in the private chapel at Windsor Castle on 31 March 1869. His godparents included representatives from various European royal and noble families: the Dowager Queen of Denmark (represented by Queen Victoria), the Princess of Wales (represented by Princess Louise), Princess Louis of Hesse and by Rhine (represented by the Duchess of Roxburghe), the Duke of Edinburgh (represented by Prince Arthur), the Duke of Schleswig-Holstein (represented by Prince Leopold), the King of Saxony (represented by Baron Oswald von Fabrice), and the Duke of Cambridge.

Education and Military Career

Albert attended Lambrook Preparatory School in Berkshire, as did his elder brother Prince Christian Victor. He was destined for a military career; unlike his brother, who served in the British Army, Albert served with the Prussian Army. He received a commission as a Lieutenant in the 1st Hessian Dragoon Guards and eventually attained the rank of Lieutenant Colonel in the 3rd Uhlans of the Guard regiment. During World War I, he was excused from combat against Britain by the German Emperor and spent the war period in Berlin working on the staff of the city's governor.

Titles and Succession

In 1921, Albert succeeded as the head of the House of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Augustenburg, following the death of his childless cousin, Duke Ernst Gunther of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Augustenburg. This branch of the House of Oldenburg was the senior line, which included the Russian Emperor, the Danish and Norwegian monarchs, the Hellenic King, and the Grand Duke of Oldenburg.

He held the title of the fourth Duke of Schleswig-Holstein from 1921 until his death in 1931. After his death, he was succeeded by his distant cousin, Friedrich Ferdinand, Duke of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glücksburg, who was also married to a daughter of Albert’s uncle, Frederick VIII, Duke of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Augustenburg.

Family and Issue

Albert never married. However, he fathered an illegitimate daughter, Valerie Marie, born on 3 April 1900 in Liptovský Mikuláš, then part of Austria-Hungary. She was placed with Anna Rosenthal and Rubin Schwalb, a Jewish couple, shortly after her birth. In 1931, shortly before his death, Albert acknowledged paternity in a letter to Valerie Marie. Subsequently, she changed her surname from Schwalb to "zu Schleswig-Holstein."

Valerie Marie's parentage remained private, with the identity of her mother never publicly disclosed. Albert informed his sisters that her mother was of "high noble birth." She married Ernst Johann Wagner, a lawyer, in Vienna on 28 June 1925; the marriage ended in divorce in 1938, and was annulled in 1940. She later married Prince Engelbert-Charles of Arenberg in 1939 after her first marriage was annulled. The second marriage was childless. Valerie Marie died in Nice, France, on 14 August 1953, reportedly by suicide.

Honors and Awards

Albert received several orders and decorations, including:

- Knight Grand Cross of the Royal Victorian Order (UK, 1897)

- Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath (UK, 1900)

- Knight of Justice of the Venerable Order of Saint John

- Grand Cross of the Order of the Red Eagle (Prussia)

- Service Award Cross (Prussia)

- Grand Cross of the Order of Albert the Bear (Duchy of Anhalt, 1891)

- Grand Cross of the Saxe-Ernestine House Order (Ernestine duchies)

- Grand Cross of the Ludwig Order (Grand Duchy of Hesse, 1898)

- Knight of the Order of Saint Vladimir, 4th Class (Russian Empire)

- Grand Cross of the Order of the White Falcon (Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach)

Military appointments included the rank of Major General à la suite of the Prussian Army.