HH Princess Marie Louise became a princess of nowhere after 1917 when King George V changed the name of the Royal House from Saxe Coburg Gotha to Windsor. All the remaining German titles of the members of the Royal Family were changed to English sounding names. The princess's father, Prince Christian had died in 1917 so was unaffected by the change and the princess's mother simply reverted to her original name, Princess Helena or was known as Princess Christian. Princess Helena was a daughter of Queen Victoria.
The princess was on the sidelines of the Royal Family but still undertook many public duties on behalf of her cousin, King George V. After her mother died in 1923, the princess lived with her sister, HH Princess Helena Victoria in Shomberg House, in Pall Mall.
The princess attended the coronations of Edward VII, George V, George VI and Elizabeth II. As she wasn't a princess of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, she was not entitled to the the ermine lined and edged train and so attended in her own long train. It is said that the princess ensured the whole event of the coronation of Elizabeth II was comfortable by sustaining herself with an ample supply of gin.
The princess is also remembered for publishing her memoirs just before she died in 1956. The memoirs are entitled, My Memories of Six Reigns and proved to be a very successful publication. Although nothing revealing was mentioned in the book, it did deal with the princess's short lived marriage and also daly domestic royal life. An interesting read for those who have in interest in the subject.
The princess had a large collection of Napoleonic memorabilia and left most of this and her jewellery to the Gloucester's. The tiara the princess wore to the coronation of Elizabeth II is still worn today by the current Duchess of Gloucester. A princess who did a lot of work for the Royal Family but not more or less forgotten, which is a shame as these princes and princesses did so much good for the country and all this before 24 hour news coverage.
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