Princess Helena of Waldeck and Pyrmont was the only daughter of Friedrich, Prince of Waldeck and Pyrmont, last reigning Prince of Waldeck and Pyrmont

Waldeck (state)

Waldeck was a sovereign principality in the German Empire and German Confederation and, until 1929, a constituent state of the Weimar Republic. It comprised territories in present-day Hesse and Lower Saxony, ....

, and wife of Nikolaus, Hereditary Grand Duke of Oldenburg

Nikolaus, Hereditary Grand Duke of Oldenburg

Nikolaus, Hereditary Grand Duke of Oldenburg was the eldest son of Frederick Augustus II, Grand Duke of Oldenburg, last ruling Grand Duke of Oldenburg...

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Early life

Helena was born at Arolsen

Bad Arolsen

Bad Arolsen is a small town in northern Hesse, Germany, in Waldeck-Frankenberg district. From 1655 until 1918 it served as the residence town of the Princes of Waldeck-Pyrmont and then until 1929 as the capital of the Waldeck Free State...

, Waldeck and Pyrmont

Waldeck (state)

Waldeck was a sovereign principality in the German Empire and German Confederation and, until 1929, a constituent state of the Weimar Republic. It comprised territories in present-day Hesse and Lower Saxony, ....

 the third child and first daughter of Friedrich, Prince of Waldeck and Pyrmont (1865–1946), and his wife, Princess Bathildis of Schaumburg-Lippe

Princess Bathildis of Schaumburg-Lippe

Princess Bathildis of Schaumburg-Lippe was daughter of Prince William of Schaumburg-Lippe, and consort of Friedrich, Prince of Waldeck and Pyrmont.-Early life:...

 (1873–1962), daughter of Wilhelm Karl August, Prince of Schaumburg-Lippe. She was a first cousin of Queen Wilhelmina of the Netherlands

Wilhelmina of the Netherlands

Wilhelmina was Queen regnant of the Kingdom of the Netherlands from 1890 to 1948. She ruled the Netherlands for fifty-eight years, longer than any other Dutch monarch. Her reign saw World War I and World War II, the economic crisis of 1933, and the decline of the Netherlands as a major colonial...

. She was named after her aunt Princess Helena, Duchess of Albany (1861–1922) who married Prince Leopold, Duke of Albany

Prince Leopold, Duke of Albany

The Prince Leopold, Duke of Albany was the eighth child and fourth son of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha. Leopold was later created Duke of Albany, Earl of Clarence, and Baron Arklow...

, youngest son of Queen Victoria

Victoria of the United Kingdom

Victoria was the monarch of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until her death. From 1 May 1876, she used the additional title of Empress of India....

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Marriage and family

Helena married on 26 October 1921 in Arolsen

Bad Arolsen

Bad Arolsen is a small town in northern Hesse, Germany, in Waldeck-Frankenberg district. From 1655 until 1918 it served as the residence town of the Princes of Waldeck-Pyrmont and then until 1929 as the capital of the Waldeck Free State...

, Nikolaus, Hereditary Grand Duke of Oldenburg

Nikolaus, Hereditary Grand Duke of Oldenburg

Nikolaus, Hereditary Grand Duke of Oldenburg was the eldest son of Frederick Augustus II, Grand Duke of Oldenburg, last ruling Grand Duke of Oldenburg...

 (1897–1970), third child and first son of Frederick Augustus II, Grand Duke of Oldenburg

Frederick Augustus II, Grand Duke of Oldenburg

Frederick Augustus II was the last ruling grand duke of Oldenburg. He married Princess Elisabeth Anna of Prussia, daughter of Princess Maria Anna of Anhalt-Dessau and Prince Frederick Charles of Prussia...

 and Duchess Elisabeth Alexandrine of Mecklenburg-Schwerin

Duchess Elisabeth Alexandrine of Mecklenburg-Schwerin

Duchess Elisabeth Alexandrine of Mecklenburg-Schwerin was a daughter of Frederick Francis II, Grand Duke of Mecklenburg by his third wife Princess Marie of Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt...

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They had nine children:

• Anton-Günther, Duke of Oldenburg
  Anton-Günther, Duke of Oldenburg
  Anton-Günther, Duke of Oldenburg is the head of the Grand Ducal Family of Oldenburg....
  
   (b. 16 January 1923)
• Duchess Rixa of Oldenburg (28 March 1924 – 1 April 1939)
• Duke Peter of Oldenburg (b. 7 August 1926)
• Duchess Eilika of Oldenburg (b. 2 February 1928); married Emich, 7th Prince of Leiningen
  Emich, 7th Prince of Leiningen
  Emich Kyrill, Prince of Leiningen was the son of Karl, Prince of Leiningen. He was the titular Prince of Leiningen from 1946 until his death.-Early life:...
  
  
• Duke Egilmar of Oldenburg (b. 14 October 1934)
• Duke Friedrich August of Oldenburg
  Duke Friedrich August of Oldenburg
  Duke Friedrich August of Oldenburg is a member of the House of Holstein-Gottorp. He is a son of Nikolaus, Hereditary Grand Duke of Oldenburg and Princess Helena of Waldeck and Pyrmont.-Family and early life:...
  
   (b. 11 January 1936)
• Duchess Altburg of Oldenburg (b. 14 October 1938)
• Duke Huno of Oldenburg (b. 3 January 1940)
• Duke Johann of Oldenburg (b. 3 January 1940); married Ilka Gräfin zu Ortenburg, his daughter Eilika
  Archduchess Eilika of Austria
  Duchess Eilika of Oldenburg is the wife of Georg von Habsburg, the third in the line of succession to the titular Austro-Hungarian throne. She is currently 794th in line for the British throne. She is a daughter of Duke Johann of Oldenburg and his wife Countess Ilka of Ortenburg...
  
   married Archduke Georg of Austria

She died at the age of 48, her husband married again, two years after her death in 1950 to Anne-Marie von Schutzbar gennant Milchling

Anne-Marie von Schutzbar gennant Milchling

align="right"|Anne-Marie von Schutzbar genannt Milchling was the second wife of Nikolaus, Hereditary Grand Duke of Oldenburg, pretender to the Grand Duchy of Oldenburg.-Early life:...

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Titles and styles

• 22 December 1899 – 26 October 1921 : Her Serene Highness Princess Helena of Waldeck and Pyrmont
• 26 October 1921 – 18 February 1948: Her Royal Highness The Hereditary Grand Duchess of Oldenburg
  • Title in pretence: 24 February 1931 – 18 February 1948: Her Royal Highness The Grand Duchess of Oldenburg

Ancestry