Augusta Viktoria “Dona” Hohenzollern (1858-1921)

German Royalty. Empress Augusta Viktoria was the wife of Wilhelm II, the last German Emperor. She was the eldest daughter of Prince Friedrich Christian August von Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Augustenburg and Princess Adelheid Victoria Amalie Louise Maria Konstanze zu Hohenlohe-Langenburg. She and her husband, who were second cousins, had direct lines to Queen Victoria of England. "Dona", as she was called, and her husband had seven children and she was considered to be a good mother. At the end of World War I, she followed her husband into exile with the establishment of the Weimar Republic in Germany. As a dethroned royal, she never really came to terms with the collapse of the German monarchy in November of 1918 and although she continued to live in luxury, the subsequent loss of her social position. She had a slight stroke near the end of the war and was marked by a second stroke in May of 1920. She suffered further depression after the divorce and suicide of her youngest son Joachim on July 18, 1920. She died of a heart attack in House Doorn in the Netherlands, and with the approval of the government of the Weimar Republic, her body was returned to Germany. During her repatriation trip from the Netherlands to Germany, thousands of people lined the roads in respect. She was buried in the Temple of Antiquities in the gardens near the New Palais in Postdam. A great many people attended her funeral to pay their respects, yet her husband was unable to attend as he had been banned from Germany by the Weimar Republic. Her death was viewed by many as an end of an era in German history.

Bio by: Linda Davis