Princess Feodora of Saxe-Meiningen

Princess Feodora of Saxe-Meiningen (Feodora Viktoria Auguste Marie Marianne; 12 May 1879 – 26 August 1945) was born at Potsdam, the only child of Bernhard III, Duke of Saxe-Meiningen and his wife, Duchess Charlotte (the eldest daughter of Emperor Friedrich III of Germany and Empress Victoria). Feodora was the first great-grandchild of both Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom and Emperor Wilhelm I of Germany. Early life Princess Feodora was born on 12 May 1879 as the only child of Bernhard, Hereditary Prince of Saxe-Meiningen, and his wife Princess Charlotte of Prussia, herself the eldest daughter of German Crown Prince Frederick William and Crown Princess Victoria. The new baby was the first grandchild of the Crown Prince and Princess, and through her mother was also the first great-grandchild of the British Queen Victoria. Charlotte, who loved to socialize, had hated being pregnant, believing that it limited her activities. Preferring to return to enjoying social life in Berlin, she declared after Feodora's birth that she would have no further children, dismaying her mother, Crown Princess Victoria. It was unusual to be an only child in European royal families, and Feodora likely endured a lonely childhood. Charlotte loved to travel, and often left her daughter with Vicky at Friedrichshof, whom she viewed as the source of a convenient nursery. The Crown Princess, for her part, loved having the chance to spend time with her eldest granddaughter. Describing Feodora on one visit, she wrote that "she is really a good little child, & far easier to manage than her Mama".