Marriage
On 24 May 1888, Irene married Prince Albert Wilhelm Heinrich of Prussia, the third child and second son of German Emperor Friedrich III and German Empress Victoria. As their mothers were sisters, Irene and Heinrich were first cousins. Their marriage displeased Queen Victoria because she had not been told about the courtship until they had already decided to marry. Heinrich's mother, Victoria, Empress Victoria, was fond of Irene. However, Empress Victoria was shocked because Irene did not wear a shawl or scarf to disguise her pregnancy when she was pregnant with her first son, the haemophiliac Prince Waldemar, in 1889. Empress Victoria, who was fascinated by politics and current events, also couldn't understand why Heinrich and Irene never read a newspaper. However, the couple were happily married and they were known as "The Very Amiables" by their relatives because of their pleasant natures. The marriage produced three sons:
Read more about this topic: Princess Irene Of Hesse And By Rhine/Comments
Famous quotes containing the word marriage:
“Always the same old story—
Father Time and Mother Earth,
A marriage on the rocks.”
—James Merrill (b. 1926)
“With my desire to write he seemed in full sympathy, and in urging our early marriage he argued that my first necessity was leisure in which to develop and to master my craft. It appeared to me that with such a man as teacher and guide I could not fail, and it was in a queer mixture of young love and vaulting ambition that I became a wife.”
—Rheta Childe Dorr (1866–1948)