Countess Viktoria-Luise of Solms-Baruth was born on 13 March 1921 as the daughter of Count Hans of Solms-Baruth and Princess Karoline Mathilde of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glücksburg. On 25 January 1942, she married her first cousin Friedrich Josias, Prince of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha and they had one son together. Their son is now the Head of the House of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha. They divorced in 1946 and Viktoria-Luise went on to marry Richard Whitten who was stationed in Germany. They had a daughter named Victoria together and relocated to the United States. She died in 2003.
From Tyranny to Freedom – Memoirs of My Life is the life story of Viktoria-Luise in her own words. From the pages, a magnificent lady emerges with a great sense of humour and practical sense. She certainly had a flair for writing and she transports everyone with her back in time. And a difficult time it was, especially during those war years when her marriage also fell apart. She found happiness in her second marriage though and one can only be inspired by her courage.
Unfortunately, she was unable to finish her memoirs and it ends rather abruptly, only to be finished by someone else in the epilogue. It just isn’t the same.
From Tyranny to Freedom – Memoirs of My Life by Countess Viktoria-Luise of Solms-Baruth is available now in the UK and the US.
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