The Tragically Short Life Of Prince Leopold
Public DomainPrince Leopold was the youngest of Queen Victoria’s children to die.
On April 7, 1853, Queen Victoria’s final son, Leopold, was born. Tragically, he’d inherited hemophilia from his mother, which led to health problems throughout his life — and his untimely death at age 30.
Leopold was a brilliant child, and he enrolled at the University of Oxford in 1872. There, he became president of the chess club, and he later funded chess tournaments across the country. He was also a Freemason.
Because of his hemophilia, he could not pursue a military career like his brothers, so he acted as a patron of the arts and helped his mother with secretarial duties. He also struggled to find a wife, as Queen Victoria kept him close by due to his health.
Leopold eventually met Helen, whose father was a prince of the German state Waldeck and Pyrmont. They wed in 1882 and had two children, although Leopold died while Helen was pregnant with their son, Charles.
Public DomainA painting depicting Prince Leopold’s wedding in 1882. Queen Victoria commissioned the artwork in 1885 while grieving Leopold’s death.
Five months before Charles was born, Leopold’s doctor suggested he travel to Cannes, France, to escape England’s cold winter climate, which was contributing to his joint pain. While there, he slipped and fell, hitting his head and suffering a cerebral hemorrhage. He died on March 28, 1884.
That day, Queen Victoria wrote in her journal, “Another awful blow has fallen upon me & all of us today. My beloved Leopold, that bright, clever son, who had so many times recovered from such fearful illness, & from various small accidents, has been taken from us!”
