Princess Herzeleide of Prussia


Princess Herzeleide-Ina-Marie Sophie Charlotte Else of Prussia was a member of the deposed House of Hohenzollern. She was the only daughter of Prince Oskar of Prussia and his initially morganatic wife, Countess Ina Marie von Bassewitz. She is the mother of Ernst-Johann Biron, Prince of Courland, the current head of the House of Biron.

Biography

Family and early life

Countess Herzeleide-Ina-Marie von Ruppin was born on Christmas Day 1918, shortly after the defeat of the German Empire and the collapse of the monarchy. She was consequently given the name Herzeleide, meaning "heart's sorrow". She had three brothers: Oscar, Burchard, and Wilhelm-Karl. Herzeleide and her brothers became Princess/Prince of Prussia on 21 June 1920 when their parents' morganatic marriage was recognised as dynastic by the deposed Emperor Wilhelm II.
In early 1938, Herzeleide was one of three bridesmaids at the wedding of the future King Paul of Greece to Frederica of Hanover, her first cousin.

Marriage and issue

On 15 August 1938 in Potsdam Garrison Church, Herzeleide married Karl Biron, Prince von Courland. Karl was the eldest son and heir of Prince Gustav Biron of Courland, descendants of the Biron family that obtained sovereignty of the Baltic Duchy of Courland and Semigallia by marriage in the 18th century. Along with the bride and groom's parents, in attendance were former German Crown Prince Wilhelm and Emperor Wilhelm's consort, Empress Hermine. All male guests wore uniforms of the former German army. The couple's honeymoon plans included a visit to Doorn to pay respects to Emperor Wilhelm in exile, the bride's paternal grandfather. Subsequently they took up residence in Munich.
They had three children: