Prince Aribert of Anhalt
| Aribert of Anhalt | |
|---|---|
| Prince of Anhalt | |
 |
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| Spouse | Princess Marie Louise of Schleswig-Holstein |
| Full name | |
| German: Aribert Joseph Alexander | |
| House | House of Ascania |
| Father | Frederick I, Duke of Anhalt |
| Mother | Princess Antoinette of Saxe-Altenburg |
| Born | 18 June 1866 Wörlitz, Duchy of Anhalt |
| Died | 24 December 1933 (aged 67) Munich, Nazi Germany |
Prince Aribert of Anhalt (Aribert Joseph Alexander), (18 June 1866 - 24 December 1933) was a Prince of the German Duchy of Anhalt.
He was regent of Anhalt from September to November 1918 on behalf of his underage nephew Duke Joachim Ernst. As regent, following the German revolution, he abdicated in the name of his nephew on 12 November 1918, thus ending the rule of the House of Ascania in Anhalt.
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[edit] Early life
Prince Aribert was born in Wörlitz, Germany. He was the third son of Frederick I, Duke of Anhalt, and Princess Antoinette of Saxe-Altenburg. Anhalt was a Sovereign Duchy in the German Empire.
[edit] Marriage
On 6 July 1891, he married Princess Marie Louise of Schleswig-Holstein at St. George's Chapel in Windsor Castle. Princess Marie Louise was the daughter of Prince Christian of Schleswig-Holstein and Princess Helena of the United Kingdom, making her a granddaughter of Queen Victoria. The bride's first cousin, the German Emperor Wilhelm II, had been instrumental in arranging the match. The marriage, however, was unhappy and childless. In December 1900, the Duke of Anhalt used his prerogative as reigning Duke to annul the marriage.
Princess Marie Louise, on an official visit to Canada at the time, immediately returned to England. According to her memoirs, she regarded her marriage vows as binding, so she never remarried. Her memoirs do, however, indicate rage over her marital experience and an obvious dislike of her former husband.[1]
[edit] Regent
When his nephew, Joachim Ernst, succeeded his father as Duke of Anhalt on September 13, 1918, Prince Aribert was appointed regent due to the young age of Joachim Ernst. Aribert's brief regency came to an end on November 12, 1918 when he abdicated in the name of his nephew following the German revolution. The duchy subsequently became the Free State of Anhalt.
[edit] Later life
Prince Aribert died in Munich aged 67 on December 24, 1933.
[edit] Ancestry
[edit] Footnotes
- ^ The circumstances of the end of the marriage of Princess Marie Louise and Prince Aribert are unclear. The 1903 edition of the Almanach de Gotha states that they were divorced on 13 December 1900. The 1904 edition of Whitaker's Almanack, on the other hand, states that "her marriage was dissolved by joint request on account of a new family law of that Ducal House." Marlene A. Eilers suggests that Prince Aribert had been discovered in a compromising position with another man. Princess Marie Louise's uncle, Edward VII, summed up the situation, saying, "Ach, poor Louise, she has returned as she went-- a virgin."
