Princess Marie Gasparine of Saxe-Altenburg (Marie Gasparine Amalie Antoinette Karoline Elisabeth Luise; 28 June 1845 – 5 July 1930) was a daughter of Prince Eduard of Saxe-Altenburg and his wife Princess Louise Caroline Reuss of Greiz.[1] She was the consort of Charles Gonthier, Prince of Schwarzburg-Sondershausen.
Princess Marie Gasparine | |||||
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Princess consort of Schwarzburg-Sondershausen | |||||
Tenure | 17 July 1880 - 28 March 1909 | ||||
Born | Munich, Kingdom of Bavaria | 28 June 1845||||
Died | 5 July 1930 Sondershausen, Weimar Republic | (aged 85)||||
Spouse | Charles Gonthier, Prince of Schwarzburg-Sondershausen | ||||
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House | House of Saxe-Altenburg (by birth) House of Schwarzburg (by marriage) | ||||
Father | Prince Eduard of Saxe-Altenburg | ||||
Mother | Princess Louise Caroline Reuss of Greiz |
Marie was considered as a potential spouse for Albert Edward, Prince of Wales, the eldest son and heir of Queen Victoria. A London newspaper speculated (supposedly from "authentic sources"[2]) that the prince's choices were limited to seven women, who were all of sufficient royal blood, followers of a Protestant religion, and his age or younger.[3][4] Some of the other candidates included Marie of the Netherlands, Elisabeth of Wied, Anna of Hesse-Darmstadt, Alexandrine of Prussia, Alexandra of Denmark, Wilhelmine of Württemberg, Catherine of Oldenburg and Augusta of Schleswig-Holstein.[2] Marie was eliminated from this list however, as she was considered "shockingly dressed and always with her most disagreeable mother,"[5] and the Prince of Wales ultimately married Alexandra of Denmark in 1863.
On 12 June 1869, Marie married Charles Gonthier, Hereditary Prince of Schwarzburg-Sondershausen in Altenburg.[1] Charles succeeded his father on 17 July 1880, and Marie became the Princess of Schwarzburg-Sondershausen. Their failure to have children meant the end of the House of Schwarzburg-Sondershausen. Charles' cousin Günther Victor succeeded him in 1909.
Marie Gasparine died on 5 July 1930 in Sondershausen, Weimar Republic.[1]