Princess Margarita of Baden (Margarete Alice Thyra Viktoria Marie Louise Scholastica; 14 July 1932 – 15 January 2013) was the only daughter of Berthold, Margrave of Baden, and Princess Theodora of Greece and Denmark. She was the eldest surviving cousin of King Charles III and eldest surviving niece of Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh.
Contents
Early life
Margarita was born on 14 July 1932 at Schloss Salem, Germany, and grew up there. She was the eldest child and only daughter of Berthold, Margrave of Baden, who ran a school jointly with Kurt Hahn, and Princess Theodora of Greece and Denmark, older sister of Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh. Margarita was the first great-great-great-granddaughter of Queen Victoria.
She came to live in London in 1948, and trained as a nurse at St Thomas' Hospital. During this time, she was often seen with her cousins Princess Christina of Hesse and Princess Beatrix of Hohenlohe-Langenburg. Beatrix was briefly engaged to Margarita's brother Prince Maximilian, and Christina became Margarita's future sister-in-law by marrying Prince Andrew of Yugoslavia. Also during this time, Margarita attended the 1953 coronation of her aunt, Queen Elizabeth II. While in London, she met Prince Tomislav, a member of the exiled Yugoslav royal family as a younger brother of the former King Peter II of Yugoslavia. Tomislav was a third cousin of Margarita's mother; both were great-great-grandchildren of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert. Margarita and Tomislav became engaged on 2 January 1956. She took part in the ship tour organized by King Paul of Greece and Queen Frederica in 1954, which became known as the "Cruise of the Kings" and was attended by over 100 royals from all over Europe.