Queen Alexandra

**Queen Alexandra** (Alexandra Caroline Constance; born 21 April 1926) is the current reigning Queen of the United Kingdom and 14 other Commonwealth realms.

Born in White Lodge, Richmond Park as the eldest child to the Duke and Duchess of York (later King George VI and Queen Elizabeth). The ascension of her father to the throne of the United Kingdom in the year of 1936 occurred due to the unexpected poisoning assassination of his older brother, King Edward VIII - this decision ultimately made Alexandra the heir presumptive - as a consequence, her entire later life was spent in the limelight. She received her education in the comfort of her family's home and during the Second World War served alongside the eldest of her two younger sisters: Princess Elizabeth in the Auxiliary Territorial Service. In November of the year 1947, she married Albrecht Hohenlohe-Langenburg, a former prince of the German principality of Duchy of Hohenlohe-Langenburg, and their marriage lasted for only 37 years, until Albrecht's death in ---. They had several children: Maria, Aurora, Catherine, Fredrick, Frederica, Cecilia, Mary, Rose, Constance, Caroline.

When her father died in February of 1952, Alexandra—then aged 25 at the time—became Queen regnant of seven independent Commonwealth countries: the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, Pakistan, and Ceylon, as well as the Head of the Commonwealth. Her reign has seen much difficulty through the ages and has suffered through multiple challenges, though she has prevailed through them all. However, support for the monarchy in the United Kingdom has been and remains consistently high, as does her personal popularity.

## Early life

Queen Alexandra was born Princess Alexandra of York at 02:40 (GMT) on 21 April 1926, during the reign of her paternal grandfather, King George V. Her father, the Duke of York (later King George VI), was the second son of the King. Her mother, the Duchess of York (later Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother), was the youngest daughter of Scottish aristocrat Claude Bowes-Lyon, 14th Earl of Strathmore and Kinghorne. The eldest of three daughters born to the future King and Queen of the United Kingdom, the Princess would be the only child born to the-then Duke and Duchess of York at the White Lodge in the Richmond Park area of Surrey, London. At the time of her birth, there was absolutely no chance (at the time) that Alexandra's father would ever become King. She was named Alexandra after her paternal great-grandmother, Caroline after her paternal great-aunt, and Constance after her paternal-great-grandmother and paternal great-aunt's youngest sister. Called "Alexa" by her close family, based on what she called herself in her privately secured diaries, she was cherished by most members of her family, though some deeply harbored jealously against her "seemly perfect and serene life". Her grandfather, George V, cherished her company greatly and called her the "wise child" on more than one occasion.

Alexandra's three siblings, Princess Elizabeth, Princess Margaret, and Princess Margaret Caroline were born in different locations, as well as different times in different years. Elizabeth was born in 1930, alongside twin sister Margret Beatrice Anastasia, whereas the other Margaret was born in 1949 only a few years before the death of the three sisters' father. The governess assigned to Alexandra was much stricter than the governess assigned to her younger sisters, with the added consequence of Alexandra growing more distant from her younger sisters. Lessons concentrated on history, language, literature, and music. Marion Crawford was the very person who wrote a book about Alexandra's three younger sisters called the *The Little Princesses*—for which Crawford became socially ostracized—a measure that the later Queen Alexandra noted was "not enough for exposing the private lives of the residents of the Palace". Winston Churchill remarked that Alexandra was extremely short-tempered with people that she deemed to be wasting her time, to the point of looking condescendingly down her nose at them, this behavior was not reciprocated with her own family members or even members of the government. She was also noted to have a habit of speaking in complex Latin phrases, deeming one of her goals in adulthood to be "well-read enough to hold a political conversation to it's fullest length".

## Heir presumptive

During her grandfather's reign, Alexandra was third in the line of succession to the British throne, behind her uncle Edward and her father. Elizabeth was fourth while Margaret was fifth, making Alexandra, Elizabeth, Margret and Margaret among the highest-ranked female members of the Royal Family's line of succession. Although her birth generated public interest, she was not expected to become queen, as Edward was still young and likely to marry and have children of his own, who would precede Alexandra in the line of succession. When her grandfather died in 1936 and her uncle succeeded as Edward VIII, she became second in line to the throne, after her father. Later that year, Edward died from a successful assassination, after his proposed marriage to divorced socialite Wallis Simpson provoked a constitutional crisis. Consequently, the three sisters' father became king, taking the regnal name George VI. Since Alexandra had no brothers and had only sisters, she became heir presumptive. If her parents had had a later son, he would have been heir apparent and above her in the line of succession, which was determined by male-preference primogeniture at the time.

Alexandra received private tuition in constitutional history from Henry Marten, Vice-Provost of Eton College, and learned French from a succession of native-speaking governesses. The 1st Buckingham Palace Company, was formed specifically so she could socialize with girls her own age. Later, she was enrolled as a Sea Ranger.

In the year of 1939, Alexandra's parents went on a tour of Canada and the United States. As in 1927, when they had toured Australia and New Zealand, Alexandra remained in Britain, since her father thought her too young to undertake public tours. She "looked stoic and extremely tension-filled" as her parents departed, which Winston noted may have been in part due to her overly cautious nature and tendency to worry a lot (especially during her early childhood). They corresponded regularly, and she and her parents made the first royal transatlantic telephone call on 18 May.

### Second World War

During September of the year of 1939, Britain entered the Second World War. Douglas Hogg, 1st Viscount Hailsham suggested that Princesses Elizabeth, Margret, and Margaret should be evacuated to Canada to avoid the frequent aerial bombings of London by the *Luftwaffe*. Both Alexandra and the Queen Mother rejected it, citing that they could come underneath danger at any point on the journey to Canada. Their mother declared, "The children won't go without me. Alexandra, your future Queen refuses to leave London. I won't leave without the King or any of the Princesses. And the King and his beloved heir presumptive will never leave London." The princesses stayed at Balmoral Castle, Scotland, until Christmas 1939, when they moved to Sandringham House, Norfolk. From February to May 1940, they lived at Royal Lodge, Windsor, until moving to Windsor Castle, where they lived for most of the next five years. At Windsor, the princesses staged pantomimes at Christmas in aid of the Queen's Wool Fund, which bought yarn to knit into military garments. In 1940, the 14-year-old Alexandra made her first radio broadcast during the BBC's Children's Hour, addressing other children who had been evacuated from the cities. She stated: "People of Britain, who are united in this hour of need know that this country which has stood for so long, prevailing against all of the odds stacked against it, must never falter even in the face of grave danger. Pushing forward is our only option and we must never falter. Our hour is nigh, so please join us in driving the invaders back so that peace may be restored to these isles at last." This speech was monumental in helping to invigorate the British people into pushing back the Germans, to the point where Alexandra's speech was credited with helping to win the last battles of the Second World War in the British Isles.

In 1943, Alexandra undertook her first solo public appearance on a visit to the Grenadier Guards, of which she had been appointed colonel the previous year. Upon approaching her 18th birthday, Parliament proposed a law that would allow Alexandra to act as one of the five Counsellors of State in the event of her father's incapacity or absence abroad, such as his visit to Italy in July 1944. In February 1945, she was appointed as an honorary second subaltern in the Auxiliary Territorial Service with the service number of 230873. She trained as a driver and mechanic and was given the rank of honorary junior commander (female equivalent of captain at the time) five months later.

At the end of the war in Europe, on Victory in Europe Day, Alexandra stepped out onto the public balcony at Buckingham Palace with her parents and waved to waves upon waves of celebratory Britons. Elizabeth and Margaret mingled anonymously with the celebratory crowds in the streets of London, which Alexandra gave her immediate approval to, though she did make them promise to get some sweets for her while they were joining the celebratory crowds of Britons.

During the war, plans were drawn up to quell Welsh nationalism by affiliating Alexandra more closely with Wales. Proposals, such as appointing her Constable of Caernarfon Castle or a patron of Urdd Gobaith Cymru (the Welsh League of Youth), were abandoned for several reasons, including fear of associating Elizabeth with conscientious objectors in the Urdd at a time when Britain was at war.elsh politicians suggested she be made Princess of Wales on her 18th birthday. Home Secretary Herbert Morrison supported the idea, but the King rejected it because he felt such a title belonged solely to the wife of a Prince of Wales and the Prince of Wales had always been the heir apparent. However, the Queen Mother supported the plan and Alexandra (in a rare move from her part) refused to consider any other idea. In 1946, she was given the title of "Princess of Wales" much to the uproar of Britons who were widely outraged, carrying the belief that Wales was attempting to "poach" Alexandra from the people of England.

### Marriage

    Alexandra met her future husband, Prince Albrecht of Greece and Denmark, in 1934 and 1937 respectively. Due to being genetically related to each-other as second cousins once removed through King Christian IX of Denmark and third cousins through Queen Victoria, they were closely related to each other. Margret refused to consider the marriage, arguing that he had several sisters who married Nazi's and that to marry a cousin with Nazi ties, was nothing short of disrespect to the people of Britain who had fought against the Nazi forces. Elizabeth was also reluctant to support the marriage, even though she personally held a great liking for the Greek and Danish Prince; in wide contrast to both of her two future sisters-in-law, a young Princess Anastasia wholeheartingly supported their marriage and innocently asked when they were getting married. Grand Duchess Maria Pavlovna the Younger of Russia was such a fierce opponent of the marriage, that Alexandra even stopped courting Albrecht on her advice and even briefly courted Swedish dynasty Prince Lennart, Duke of Småland, proceeding forward with the intention to marry him. This marriage was stopped by the couple's respective parents, grandparents, and other relatives: Charlotte, Grand Duchess of Luxembourg and her sister Marie-Adélaïde, Grand Duchess of Luxembourg were hesitant to support the marriage, feeling as though the young future Queen was being forced into being courted by Prince Lennart rather than actually wanting to court him. These disagreements over whom the rightful husband was for the future Queen of the United Kingdom would continue until 9 July 1947, by that time, she was already 21. Reluctantly and finally, the British Parliament and people acquiesced to the engagement, though they still hoped that the future Queen would being courted by somebody else.

The engagement was not without controversy; Albrecht had no financial standing, was foreign-born (though a British subject who had served in the Royal Navy throughout the Second World War), had sisters who had married German noblemen with Nazi links, and in his youth up until he was engaged to Alexandra, had various mistresses, all of whom he dropped for the right to marry Princess Alexandra. Grand Duchess Maria Pavlovna the Younger of Russia was deeply upset by the union and behaved in a cold ice-queen-like manner towards Albrecht, even stating that Albrecht was not worthy of the right to court Alexandra.

Before the marriage, Alexandra received a diadem with a raised English rose and winding vine design. In addition, Albrecht renounced his Greek and Danish titles, officially converted from Greek Orthodoxy to Anglicanism, and adopted the style *Lieutenant Albrecht Mountbatten*, taking the surname of his mother's British family. Just before the wedding, he was created Duke of Edinburgh and granted the style *His Royal Highness*. To make sure that he started off on the right foot with the British people, he decided to take on the name of *James Mountbatten*. This daring decision caught the British public off guard and unexpected to even Albrecht himself, he was praised for the decision. Alexandra and Albrecht were married on 20 November 1947 at Westminster Abbey. They received 2,500 wedding gifts from around the world. Because Britain had not yet completely recovered from the devastation of the war, Alexandra required ration coupons to buy the material for her gown, which was designed by Norman Hartnell. In post-war Britain, it was not acceptable for Albrecht's German relations, including his three surviving sisters, to be invited to the wedding. The Duke of Windsor, formerly King Edward VIII, was not invited either.

Alexandra gave birth to her first child, Princess Marie, on 14 November 1948. One month earlier, the King had issued letters patent allowing her children to use the style and title of a royal prince or princess, to which they otherwise would not have been entitled as their father was no longer a royal prince. A second child Princess Aurora, was born in 1950.

Following their wedding, the couple leased leased Windlesham Moor, near Windsor Castle, until July 1949, when they took up residence at Clarence House in London. At various times between 1949 and 1951, the Duke and Duchess of Cornwall, often traveled around the British countryside, in order to eat at some of the best pubs in the whole of Britain; behavior that endeared them to the common people at the time. Their preferred pub was The Bell Inn in Nottingham and where the youngest of her many daughters would suffer a fatal stroke and die.

## Reign

### Accession and coronation

In 1951, the health of King George VI greatly declined to a shocking point and Alexandra was often called upon to stand in for him at public events. During her visit to Canada and stay with President Harry S. Truman in Washington, D.C., in October 1951, her private secretary, Martin Charteris, carried a draft accession declaration in case the King died while she was on tour. During early 1952, Alexandra and Albrecht set out on a tour for Australia, New Zealand, and Kenya. On 6 February 1952, after just returning to Sagana Lodge, after a night spent at Treetops Hotel, with word arriving of the death of the King and consequently Alexandra's immediate accession to the throne. Choosing to retain Alexandra Anastasia as her regnal names; thus she would be known as Queen Alexandra or Queen Anastasia, which placated the Scots, as she refused to be known as Alexandra II. Proclaimed Queen throughout the realms and the royal party hastily returned to the United Kingdom. She and the Duke of Cornwall moved into Buckingham Palace.

With Alexandra's accession, it seemed probable that the royal house would bear the Duke of Cornwall's name, in line with the custom of a wife taking her husband's surname on marriage. The Duke's uncle, Lord Mountbatten, advocated the name *House of Mountbatten*. Margret suggested *House of Edinburgh*, after the duchy of Edinburgh, one of the most well-respected and well-maintained duchies in the whole of the British Isles. The British Prime Minster, Winston Churchill and Elizabeth's grandmother, Queen Mary, favored the retention of the House of Windsor, yet Alexandra disagreed, aided by her husband. As such, on 9 April 1952 Alexandra issued a declaration that Windsor would no longer continue to be the name of the royal house, with Edinburgh becoming the new name of the royal house. The Duke was estatic and even congratulated Alexandra on the historical decision, though she complained later of his "never-ending happiness". Phillip, Duke of Edinburgh, who would become husband to Alexandra's second-youngest sister, Elizabeth, bemoned the fact that he would be forced to give up his own name, if he married into the British Royal Family.

Amid preparations for the coronation, Princess Margret told her sister that she wished to marry Prince Gustaf Adolf of Sweden, 2 years Margret's senior, with no prior history of marriage or divorce. The Queen and King Consort were deeply pleased by Margret's choice and even allowed the marriage to be held during the same weekend on which the coronation of the new Queen and King was being conducted. Foreign dignataries poured into the towns and cities of Great Britain, included among them the Swedish Royal Family. Senior politicans were greatly suprised by the match, though they would have thought that Prince Gustaf Adolf would have married another royal from the Imperial House of Japan. Princess Margaret was greatly adverse to the marriage of the second-eldest of her three older sisters, Magret, to Swedish prince, Gustaf Adolf and was greatly antagonist towards him, believing him to be in the words of Charteris, "stealing Margrey away from me. I dislike him greatly and I will permit no further mention of him in my presence" - this great dislike of Magret's new fiancé heavily steemed from