Short biography of the talented and independent-minded daughter of England's Queen Victoria.
The Young Princess and Art Student
The sixth child of Prince Albert and Victoria, Queen of England, Louise Caroline Alberta would prove herself to be an accomplished artist and independent spirit. Born in March 1848, Princess Louise soon began to test the confines of her royal station and convinced her formidable mother to allow her to receive formal art instruction. Initially taking lessons from sculptress Mary Thorneycroft, Louise then enrolled at The Kensington National Art Training School. In studying to be an artist, Louise was the first British princess to be educated among non-royals.
Lovely and charming, Louise met sculptor Sir Joseph Boehm during her education, and the two became quite close. Louise proved talented at watercolor and oil painting as well as sculpting, and she began to champion the right of female students to work with actual models in life drawing class, as opposed to protecting their more “fragile” feminine psyches through the use of mannequins instead.
Louise also supported the suffragist movement and general educational rights for women. She enjoyed interacting with artistic and creative acquaintances in London, rather than limiting herself to royal circles. A bit bohemian fashion-wise, Louise disliked oppressive Victorian tones and preferred to dress in lighter colors, and she often wore her long brown hair around her shoulders or in a loose knot, as opposed to having it crimped and tightly styled.
Marriage and Canada
Beyond her artistic ventures, the British Royal Family was trying to arrange a suitably noble union for Louise. Louise was not thrilled with the thought of being paired off with a stuffy blueblood and seemed to impress this fact upon her mother during the crucial time of marriage negotiations. Louise’s progressive attitudes and artistic talents would most likely have caused conflict in more traditional European royal circles, and she preferred to remain in England.
Fortunately, Louise eventually wed John Douglas Sutherland Campbell, Marquis of Lorne and heir to the Dukedom of Argyll. While Campbell was a descendant of the original Kings of Scotland, he was still considered a commoner, but Queen Victoria along with Prime Minister Benjamin Disraeli held firm and the marriage took place in 1871. At the ceremony, there was much favorable commentary on the lace veil that Louise had designed herself.
Louise continued to pursue her artistic interests throughout her marriage. Her husband was initially a member of Parliament and then became Governor-General of Canada from 1878 to 1883. Canada’s natural beauty was aesthetically inspiring to Louise and she enjoyed exploring and making sketches and studies of the sights. The province of Alberta was named in her honor, as well as the wondrous Lake Louise.
Later Years and Legacy
Following her return to England and the death of her husband in 1914, Louise withdrew from public life a bit, though she was always willing to make an appearance for a worthy cause. The public’s fascination with her had been something of a double-edged sword for Princess Louise, who realized that while her talents and beauty allowed her to sway public opinion and change society for the better, she was also always on view. "Oh, why; oh, why, do people want to know about me?" she once complained. Louise died in 1939, at the age of 91.
Princess Louise’s marble statue of her mother is on display at Kensington Palace, and her decorative work can be seen at Ottawa's Rideau Hall. She designed the memorial at London's St. Paul's Cathedral for Canadian soldiers who died in the Boer War, and she is honored by three Canadian military regiments.
Sources
- The Victoria Regina Tarot Companion – Georg Patterson and Sarah Ovenall (Llewelyn Worldwide Press, 2002)
- The Legislative Assembly of Alberta: Princess Louise
- Answers.com: Princess Louise, Duchess of Argyll
- Brittania Biography: Princess Louise
