A lesser known story than that of the romances of Queen Victoria and Prince
Albert, and Tsar Nicholas II and Tsarina Alexandra, is the equally lovely story
of Queen Victoria’s cousin, Leopold of Saxe-Coburg-Kohary. At one time the
Prince had been a potential candidate for the hand of the Queen of Spain but he
would eventually marry for love a former child prodigy, actress, soprano and
concert pianist, Constance Geiger. This account of their story is
taken from my book “Queen Victoria’s Cousins.”
“Miss Geiger, however, did not fit the popular image of a
disreputable actress, for, as a highly gifted musician, she had been viewed as a
child prodigy and had progressed from acting to performing as both a soprano and
concert pianist. To supplement her income she also gave music lessons in Vienna
but, when her father died, her mother opened a dressmaker’s shop in which
Constance was forced to work as a saleswoman.
By chance, one of her regular clients was the wife of the
proprietor of a local hotel where Prince Leopold regularly dined. One day, the
two men fell into a conversation about music, during which the proprietor
mentioned his wife’s connection to the former child prodigy, Constance Geiger.
Intrigued, Leopold visited the shop and, after speaking with Constance, was so
enamoured that he made many more visits until a liaison developed, resulting the
birth of a son in April 1860.
Constance’s many accomplishments could not compensate for her lack
of royal blood, and the Austrian court was aghast when Leopold chivalrously
announced his intention of marrying her. When his request for a title for her
was denied, he demonstrated his respect and love for his bride, by arranging a
lavish public wedding, presided over by Joseph Rauscher, the Cardinal Archbishop
of Vienna. On the way to the church, Leopold rode proudly beside Constance’s
carriage, which was emblazoned with his coat of arms and surrounded by footmen
and outriders; and, once inside, he further asserted her right to be viewed as
his equal by offering her his right hand, rather than the left, which was the
usual custom in the case of a morganatic marriage. When questioned about this,
he boldly replied that, since his own mother was not of royal blood, he and
Constance were equal in the sight of God, and, by rights, in the eyes of
society.
Fifteen months later, Constance was
granted the title Baroness Ruttenstein, but, while Queen Victoria and Leopold’s
brother, the former King Ferdinand of Portugal, welcomed her into the family,
his other brother, Gusti, was pressed by his wife, Clementine of Orléans, to
refuse to acknowledge her. Viennese society was equally disdainful of the
dressmaker’s daughter so the couple lived mainly in Paris, where Leopold
purchased a villa near the Bois de Boulogne. There, they formed a cultured and
lively circle of friends, including such luminaries as the actress, Sarah
Bernhardt, and the Swedish soprano, Christine Nilsson.”
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