Elisabeth, Queen of Alessandri
 Her Majesty Queen Elisabeth of Alessandri | ||
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Her Majesty Queen Elisabeth of Alessandri (Elisabeth Caroline Viktoria Sophie of Bayern), (23 May, 1860 – ) is the wife and queen consort of King Philipp II of Alessandri. Oldest daughter of Johann, 6th Earl of Bayern and his wife, the Countess Sophie.
Childhood
Elisabeth was born Lady Elisabeth Caroline Viktoria Sophie of Bayern, daugher of Johann, 6th Earl of Bayern and Countess Sophie of Bayern. She was second child and oldest daughter of seven children. Her siblings were:
- Ludwig Wilhelm Eitel Friedrich "Fritz," 7th Earl of Bayern (1859-1931)
- Lady Margarethe Elisabeth Mary Anna of Bayern, Countess of Hohenfelsen (1862-1920)
- Lord Oskar Carl Andreas of Bayern (1864-1930)
- Lord Ivar Georg Alexander of Bayern (1866-)
- Lord Joachim Heinrich Viktor of Bayern (1868-)
- Lady Gabriella Alexandra of Bayern, Princess Gabriella of Grecia (1872-)
Elisabeth and her siblings grew up at Bayern Manor, the familial estate of Bayern earls. Fritz, Oskar, Ivar and Joachim were enrolled in the military at age eight, as required by law. Fritz and Joachim elected to enter the army, and Oskar and Ivar chose the navy.
Marriage & Children
Lady Elisabeth first met Crown Prince Philipp in 1875 at a luncheon held by the Society for Mothers and Babies, where the eighteen-year-old Crown Prince laid the groundwork for the society's new state-of-the-art building. Philipp noticed Elisabeth, who was then fifteen, right away and decided he was in love with her. He sent her flowers for her sixteenth birthday, but was not permitted to attend her party by his uncle. Elisabeth, still very much a naive child, and was unsure how to return his feelings. They did not meet again until November 1879, when Elisabeth was a newly-blossomed nineteen-year old. Her brother Fritz, a member of Philipp's Erstes Batallion des Kroneprinzen regiment, invited the Crown Prince to the funeral, where Philipp's feelings for Elisabeth intensified. They spent most of their time in one another's company. Elisabeth, now much older, was also smitten with the prince. He courted her for six months before their engagement in May 1880, their marriage following four months later on August 3, 1880. The couple had six children:
- HRH Princess Sophie Elisabeth Irmingard Adele Dagmar Marie, born June 23, 1882, died May 28, 1892 of diphtheria.
- HRH Princess Gabriella Charlotte of Altec, stillborn on May 2, 1885.
- HRH Prince Adalbert Johann Wolfgang Philipp of Altec, stillborn on June 23, 1889.
- HRH Prince Rupprecht Wilhelm Leopold Philipp Ernst Ludwig Alexander of Altec, born December 14, 1891.
- HRH Prince Nikolaus Carl Johann Eitel Joachim Ludwig Georg of Altec, born April 25, 1895.
- HRH Prince Theodor Wilhelm Rudolf Christian August Andreas Friedrich of Altec, born March 31, 1898, died May 10, 1902 of meningitis.
Although she had six children, Elisabeth had some trouble conceiving, and four of these children died in childhood. The loss of her second and third babies, Gabriella and Adalbert at their births troubled her. Barely six months after she finally delivered a healthy son, Rupprecht, her eldest daughter died of diphtheria. Her second son, Nikolaus flourished, but her youngest child, Theodor, was a fussy baby and often very ill. His death in 1902 of meningitis was a heavy blow that she never fully recovered.
