The marriage of Princess Victoria Melita, AKA Ducky, and Grand Duke Ernest of Hesse was ill-matched and shockingly scandalous, even by royal standards. The relationship was unconventional, to say the least, and their 1901 divorce sent shockwaves through European nobility, resulting in Ducky’s permanent banishment overseas.
Ducky was the granddaughter of both Queen Victoria and Tsar Alexander II. Ernest was also Victoria’s grandchild, making him and his future wife first cousins. Still, that’s no biggie for the monarchy. Victoria played matchmaker between Ducky and Ernest, pressuring them into marriage. However, in her book, “Inglorious Royal Marriages,” historian Leslie Carroll claimed that there was no sexual attraction between the two. “[Ducky’s] feelings for Ernie were fraternal,” she wrote. Ducky did have very strong feelings for another first cousin, though — the Grand Duke Kirill Vladimirovich, “whose smoldering looks and temperament made her nervous.”
Ernest couldn’t have cared less about his wife’s passion for the duke. He was way too busy working his way through their male staff. “No boy was safe, from the stable hands to the kitchen help,” Carroll shared. Not surprisingly, the marriage was miserable, and over time, they grew to loathe each other, engaging in bitter fights and mud-slinging. But they had to wait until Victoria died to get divorced. Their separation caused outrage among the elite — Ducky added yet further to the scandal by marrying Kirill, and she lived in exile until her death.
