View source for Princess Beatrice of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha

{{About|the daughter of Alfred, Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha|the daughter of Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha|Princess Beatrice of the United Kingdom}}
{{Use British English|date=August 2011}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=September 2021}}
{{Infobox royalty
| name         = Princess Beatrice
| title        = [[Duchess of Galliera]]
| image        = Beatrice of Edinburgh and Saxe-Coburg-Gotha by Uhlenhuth.jpg
| caption      = Photograph by Eduard Uhlenhuth, 1907
| alt          = A photograph of Beatrice at age 23
| spouse       = {{marriage|[[Infante Alfonso, Duke of Galliera]]|15 July 1909}}
| issue        = {{plainlist|
*[[Infante Álvaro, Duke of Galliera]]
*Prince Alonso
*[[Prince Ataúlfo of Orléans|Prince Ataúlfo]]}}
| full name    = Beatrice Leopoldine Victoria
| house        = [[House of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha|Saxe-Coburg and Gotha]]
| father       = [[Alfred, Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha]]
| mother       = [[Grand Duchess Maria Alexandrovna of Russia]]
| birth_name   = Princess Beatrice of Edinburgh
| birth_date   = {{Birth date|1884|4|20|df=y}}
| birth_place  = [[Eastwell Park]], [[Kent]], England
| death_date   = {{Death date and age|1966|7|13|1884|4|20|df=y}}
| death_place  = El Botánico, [[Sanlúcar de Barrameda]], Spain
}}
{{House of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha (UK)|albertg}}

'''Princess Beatrice of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha''' (Beatrice Leopoldine Victoria; 20 April 1884 – 13 July 1966) was a member of the [[British royal family]], a male-line granddaughter of [[Queen Victoria]]. She later married into the [[Spanish royal family]], and was the wife of Prince [[Alfonso de Orleans y Borbón]], [[Infante]] of Spain, a first cousin of [[Alfonso XIII of Spain]].

==Early life==
Princess Beatrice was born on 20 April 1884 at [[Eastwell Park]], Kent. Her father was [[Alfred, Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha|Prince Alfred, Duke of Edinburgh]], the second son of [[Queen Victoria]] and [[Albert, Prince Consort]]. Her mother was [[Grand Duchess Maria Alexandrovna of Russia]], the only surviving daughter of [[Alexander II of Russia]] and [[Marie of Hesse and by Rhine|Princess Marie of Hesse and by Rhine]]. She was called "Baby Bee" by her family.<ref name="eilers">Eilers, Marlene. ''Queen Victoria's Descendants''. Rosvall Royal Books, Falkoping, Sweden, 1997. p. 85. {{ISBN|91-630-5964-9}}</ref>

She was baptised at Eastwell House on 17 May 1884 by the Rev. William Lloyd (her father's chaplain); her godparents were [[Princess Beatrice of the United Kingdom]] (her paternal aunt), the [[Princess Helena of Waldeck and Pyrmont|Duchess of Albany]] (her paternal uncle's wife, represented by her mother), and [[William I, German Emperor]] (represented by her father).

Beatrice spent much of her childhood in [[Malta]], where her father was serving in the Royal Navy. On 22 August 1893, following the death of [[Ernest II, Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha]], Beatrice's father's uncle, the vacant duchy fell to her father, as Albert Edward, then Prince of Wales and future King [[Edward VII|Edward VII of the United Kingdom]], had renounced his rights to the duchy in favor of succession to the British crown. The Duke and Duchess of Edinburgh therefore travelled shortly afterwards to Coburg with their five children, where they took up residence. At the end of July 1899, she received the sacrament of confirmation at the Church of St. John in Oeslau, a village near Coburg. 

She was a bridesmaid at the wedding of their paternal cousins the [[George V|Duke]] and [[Mary of Teck|Duchess of York]] (the future King George V and Queen Mary) on 6 July 1893.<ref>{{cite web |title=The Duke and Duchess of York and Bridesmaids |url=http://www.npg.org.uk/collections/search/portrait/mw189219/The-Duke-and-Duchess-of-York-and-Bridesmaids |publisher=[[National Portrait Gallery, London]]}}</ref>

Bee's eldest sister, Queen Marie of Romania, described her in her memoirs:<blockquote>''Baby Bee had always been a child of exceptional intelligence. Being the youngest, Mamma guarded and adored her with special fervour, but for all that Baby Bee was a forerunner of the youth today. In spite of all Mamma's love and care, Baby Bee generally outwitted her anxious parent and had most things her own way.''<ref>{{Cite book |last=Marie |first=Queen |url=http://archive.org/details/storyofmylifebym00mari |title=The story of my life [by] Marie, queen of Romania. |date=1934 |publisher=C. Scribner’s sons |others=State Library of Pennsylvania |pages=316 |language=english}}</ref></blockquote>

==Marriage prospects==
In 1902, Princess Beatrice had a romance with Russian [[Grand Duke Michael Alexandrovich of Russia|Grand Duke Michael]], the younger brother of [[Tsar]] [[Nicholas II of Russia|Nicholas II]], and at that time the [[heir presumptive]] to the Imperial Throne. She began receiving letters from him in September 1902 and, although he was a Russian Grand Duke and she now a German Princess, they corresponded in English, and he nicknamed her "Sima".<ref name= "crawford">Crawford, Rosemary & Donald. "An Innocent Abroad", ''Michael and Natasha: The Life and Love of Michael II, the Last of the Romanov Tsars'', pp. 50–52. New York: Scribner, 1997; {{ISBN|0-684-83430-8}}</ref> However she was prevented from marrying the Grand Duke as the [[Russian Orthodox Church]] forbade the marriage of first cousins. Although such marriages had been allowed previously in the House of Romanov ([[Grand Duchess Catherine Pavlovna of Russia|Grand Duchess Catherine Pavlovna]], whose hand was denied to [[Napoleon I of France|Napoleon I]], was twice allowed to wed first cousins; her descendants became the Russian branch of the Dukes of Oldenburg), the devout Nicholas II, official head of Russia's church, refused to relax the rules for the sake of his brother.<ref name="crawford"/>

In November 1903, Michael wrote to Beatrice telling her that he could not marry her. The situation was aggravated by a letter Beatrice then received from her elder sister [[Princess Victoria Melita of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha|Victoria Melita]] ("Ducky"), in which Michael was blamed for having callously initiated the doomed romance (when, a couple of years later Ducky, having divorced her first cousin [[Ernest Louis, Grand Duke of Hesse]], was told that remarriage to another first cousin, [[Grand Duke Kirill Vladimirovich of Russia|Grand Duke Kirill Vladimirovich]], would likewise be forbidden by the Tsar, she refused to take no for an answer; the couple eloped into [[exile]]).<ref name="crawford"/> The humiliated Beatrice was sent to [[Egypt]] to recover from [[broken heart|heartbreak]], but [[grief|pined]] and wrote reproachful letters to Michael until 1905.<ref name = "crawford"/>

Beatrice was then rumoured to be intending to marry [[Alfonso XIII of Spain]], but this proved to be a false rumour also as he married her cousin [[Victoria Eugenie of Battenberg]] in 1906. It was at their wedding that Beatrice met a cousin of King Alfonso, [[Alfonso de Orleans y Borbón]] (12 November 1886 [[Madrid]], Spain – 10 August 1975), [[Infante]] of Spain, [[Duke of Galliera|5th Duke of Galliera]]. The Spanish government objected to an ''[[infante]]''{{'}}s proposed match with a British Princess who, unlike Queen Victoria Eugenie, had not agreed to convert to Roman Catholicism: the King was obliged to make clear that, should the wedding take place, the couple would have to live in exile.{{CN|date=June 2022}}

Nonetheless, Beatrice and Alfonso married in a Roman Catholic and [[Lutheran]] ceremony at Coburg on 15 July 1909. The couple settled in Coburg until, in 1912, Alfonso and Beatrice were allowed to return to Spain and his rank of ''Infante'' was restored.{{CN|date=June 2022}}

In August 1913, Beatrice was received into the Roman Catholic Church.<ref>"Princess to Enter Catholic Church", ''The New York Times'' (15 August 1913): p. 4</ref>

===Scandal and exile===
During King Alfonso XIII's unhappy marriage, he had numerous affairs and dalliances, some of which produced illegitimate children. He allegedly also made advances toward Princess Beatrice, which she rebuffed. The King expelled her and her husband from Spain in 1916 under the pretext of sending Infante Alfonso on a mission to Switzerland. At the same time, the King's circle of friends, who despised both Beatrice and Queen Ena, started to spread claims that Beatrice had been expelled because of her bad behaviour. Beatrice and her spouse were allowed to return to Spain in 1924.<ref>{{cite book |last=Sagrera |first=Ana de |lang=es |title=Ena y Bee: en defensa de una amistad |date=2006 |publisher=Velecío Editores |location=Madrid |isbn=978-84-935000-2-3 |page=160}}</ref>

[[File:Beatrice of Edinburgh and Saxe-Coburg-Gotha with son Alvaro.jpg|thumb|left|Princess Beatrice and her eldest son]]

The couple had three sons:

* [[Infante Alvaro, Duke of Galliera|Alvaro Antonio Fernando Carlos Felipe]] (20 April 1910 [[Coburg]], Germany–22 August 1997)
* Alonso María Cristino Justo (28 May 1912 [[Madrid]], Spain–18 November 1936 Spain); Killed in action during the [[Spanish Civil War]]
* [[Prince Ataúlfo of Órleans|Ataúlfo Carlos Alejandro Isabelo]] (20 October 1913 [[Madrid]], Spain–4 October 1974 [[Málaga]], Spain)

==Civil War==
The family moved to England, where their three sons were educated at [[Winchester College]]. The Spanish royal family eventually relented, and Beatrice and her family were allowed to return to Spain where they established their home at an estate in [[Sanlúcar de Barrameda]].{{CN|date=June 2022}}

The 1930s were an unhappy time for the family, as the collapse of the Spanish monarchy and the subsequent civil war led to the loss of much of the family's wealth. After the establishment of the [[Second Spanish Republic]] in 1931, King Alfonso and his family fled into exile in Italy. In the years that followed, the political situation in Spain worsened as various groups wrestled for power. By the late-1930s, the conflicts had erupted into all-out [[Spanish Civil War|civil war]]. Beatrice and Alfonso lost their estate during the war and the couple's middle son, Alonso,  was killed fighting for the fascist forces.

==Later life==
Beatrice died at her estate of El Botánico in [[Sanlúcar de Barrameda]] on 13 July 1966. Her husband survived her by nine years. Their son Ataulfo died, unmarried, in 1974. Their only grandchildren are the children of Prince Alvaro.

At the time of her death, Beatrice was the last surviving child of Prince Alfred and Grand Duchess Maria Alexandrovna.

==Arms==
<gallery class="center" widths="200" heights="200">
File:Coat of Arms of Beatrice of Edinburgh.svg|British coat of arms
File:Coat of Arms of Beatrice of Edinburgh as Duchess of Galliera.svg|Spanish coat of arms<br/><small>(As Duchess of Galliera)</small>
</gallery>

==Honours==
* {{flagcountry|Restoration (Spain)}}: Dame of the [[Order of Queen Maria Luisa]], ''18 March 1912''<ref>{{cite book|url=http://hemerotecadigital.bne.es/issue.vm?id=0001059782&search=&lang=es|chapter=Real orden de Damas Nobles de la Reina Maria Luisa|title=Guía Oficial de España|date=1928|access-date=21 March 2019|page=233|language=es}}</ref>
* {{flag|Two Sicilies}}: [[Sacred Military Constantinian Order of Saint George|Dame Grand Cross of Justice of the Sacred Military Constantinian Order of Saint George]]<ref name=":0">[http://www.constantinianorder.org/the-order/necrologies-from-1969.html Constantinian Order] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130921113315/http://www.constantinianorder.org/the-order/necrologies-from-1969.html |date=21 September 2013 }}</ref>
{{clear}}

==Ancestry==
{{ahnentafel
|collapsed=yes |align=center
|boxstyle_1=background-color: #fcc;
|boxstyle_2=background-color: #fb9;
|boxstyle_3=background-color: #ffc;
|boxstyle_4=background-color: #bfc;
|1= 1. '''Princess Beatrice of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha'''
|2= 2. [[Alfred, Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha]]
|3= 3. [[Grand Duchess Maria Alexandrovna of Russia]]
|4= 4. [[Albert, Prince Consort|Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha]]
|5= 5. [[Queen Victoria|Victoria of the United Kingdom]]
|6= 6. [[Alexander II of Russia]]
|7= 7. [[Maria Alexandrovna (Marie of Hesse)|Princess Marie of Hesse and by Rhine]]
|8= 8. [[Ernest I, Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha]]
|9= 9. [[Princess Louise of Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg (1800–1831)|Princess Louise of Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg]]
|10= 10. [[Prince Edward, Duke of Kent and Strathearn]]
|11= 11. [[Princess Victoria of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld]]
|12= 12. [[Nicholas I of Russia]]
|13= 13. [[Alexandra Feodorovna (Charlotte of Prussia)|Princess Charlotte of Prussia]]
|14= 14. [[Louis II, Grand Duke of Hesse|Louis II, Grand Duke of Hesse and by Rhine]]
|15= 15. [[Princess Wilhelmine of Baden]]
|ref=<ref name=louda>{{citation| last1 = Louda| first1 = Jiří|author1-link=Jiří Louda|last2=Maclagan |first2=Michael|author2-link=Michael Maclagan| title = Lines of Succession: Heraldry of the Royal Families of Europe| year = 1999| publisher = Little, Brown| location = London| isbn = 978-1-85605-469-0| page = 34 }}</ref>}}

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
* {{Commons category-inline|Princess Beatrice of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha and Edinburgh}}
* {{NPG name|name=Princess Beatrice, Duchess of Galliera}}

{{British princesses}}
{{Princesses of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha}}
{{Princesses of Orléans by marriage}}
{{Infantas of Spain by marriage}}
{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Beatrice of Saxe-Coburg And Gotha, Princess}}
[[Category:1884 births]]
[[Category:1966 deaths]]
[[Category:British princesses]]
[[Category:Converts to Roman Catholicism from Anglicanism]]
[[Category:English emigrants to Spain]]
[[Category:English people of Russian descent]]
[[Category:Ladies of the Royal Order of Victoria and Albert]]
[[Category:Duchesses of Galliera]]
[[Category:House of Orléans-Galliera]]
[[Category:House of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha (United Kingdom)]]
[[Category:People from Ashford, Kent]]
[[Category:Princesses of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha]]
[[Category:Spanish infantas]]
[[Category:Spanish people of Russian descent]]
[[Category:Daughters of dukes]]
[[Category:Daughters of British dukes]]