Stars in Her Crown #7: Arthur, Duke of Connaught

#7 Arthur by Becky Brown

"The First of May" painted by Franz Xaver Winterhalter,

to celebrate Prince Arthur's first birthday and the Iron Duke's 82nd.

Victoria's seventh child Prince Arthur William Patrick Albert (1850-1942) was born on the birthday of Arthur Wellesley, the Duke of Wellington. The baby was named for the hero of Waterloo.

Arthur at 7 (posed as a Rafael angel in reverse)

I wonder if one could have persuaded Bertie and Affie to pose naked and wear lip rouge.

Queen Victoria played favorites and her third son, "lovely and engaging…sensible & clever,”

was "dearer than any of the others put together." 

After her husband, "the dearest and most precious object to me on earth."

The two youngest boys Leopold and Arthur in kilts

are at the bottom of the family photograph.

Portrait of Arthur by his sister Louise in 1869

Artist Louise was two years older than Arthur.

He also painted in watercolors. 

Arthur dreamed of soldiering and joined the army when he was sixteen. Ten years later his mother praised him: "I have excellent accounts of Arthur....He is called 'the model Prince' for his wonderfully steady and perfect conduct. He at least follows in his beloved father's footsteps as regards character and sense of duty."

Victoria created the title Duke of Connaught and Strathearn for him when he was 24. 

Arthur gave his mother little trouble until he fell in love with Princess Louise Margaret of Prussia, a cousin of sister Vicky's husband. The Queen did not like her looks and frowned upon her scandalous parents who were separated. (Who is good enough for a favorite son?)

"I shall no doubt be reconciled to [the marriage]...and...no doubt be very fond of her. I wish she were prettier!"

Louise Margaret, Duchess of Connaught

by John Singer Sargent, 1908

Louise Margaret and Arthur had three children. Their eldest girl Margaret may have been the most successful of the royal grandchildren if we consider the long-term goals of  Uncle Leopold, Albert and Victoria for a Europe unified by cousins. Margaret married the heir to the Swedish throne; her offspring are the royal families of Sweden, Denmark and Greece.

Swedish Crown Prince Gustav Adolph of Sweden (1882-1973)

 with first wife Margaret of Connaught (1882-1920). 
She died in her sixth pregnancy at 38.

Victoria's descendants have occupied the thrones of

• Britain
• Denmark
• Germany
• Greece
• Norway
• Romania
• Russia
• Spain
• Sweden
• Yugoslavia

The Block

#7 Arthur by Mark Lauer

The larger pattern is for a 12" Block; the smaller for an 8" Block.

To Print:

Create a word file or an empty JPG file.

Click on the image above.

Right click on it and save it to your file.

Print that file 8-1/2" x 11". Check to be sure the inch square box measures 1".

You'll need 4 copies if you are going to piece it over paper foundations.

The block is constructed in triangles—-Triangles are flipped and pieced into squares, four to a block. Each pattern includes paper foundations for 8” & 12” blocks, which you can also use for template piecing. Add a 1/4” seam allowance when you cut the fabric using the templates

In Block #7 they are identical except four are flipped over.

And those four have different colors for Point A & B, white in one set in the sketch, brown in the other.

#7 Arthur by Denniele Bohannon

Textile of the Week

A cotton cretonne attributed to the Jubilee year

of 1887. As in last week's print the thistle, rose and shamrock

symbolize Great Britain.

This fabric is on the reverse of a quilt made by Australian Mary Ann Bruton (1851-1930).

See her quilt here:

https://www.ngv.vic.gov.au/custom/screens/making-the-australian-quilt/gallery.php?loc=2

Similar colors in a smaller scale print in a piece of patchwork

in the collection of the Quilters Guild, a typical Jubilee portrait.

Following sister Louise's husband, Arthur served a term

as Governor General of Canada and like Louise he

lived to be 91, dying during World War II, the last of the royal children.

Read a Book a Week:
Queen Victoria's Matchmaking: The Royal Marriages that Shaped Europe by Deborah Cadbury.

A preview:

https://books.google.com/books?id=5JkoDwAAQBAJ&printsec=frontcover&source=gbs_ge_summary_r&cad=0#v=onepage&q&f=false

Denniele's quilt is quilted, bound and going to the Chicago Quilt Festival

March  28-30, 2019.