British royalty Edward VII: Queen Alexandra British Royalty: Edward VII--Queen Alexandra (1844-1925) Figure 1.--Alix and Dagmar are seen here as young girls in a painting by E. Jerichau-Baumann. Alix wears long ringlets, Damar shorter curls. Both have a center part. Alix also wore ringlets at her wedding. Later she would wear her hair up. I believe ringlets were seen as a fashion for a child or very young woman. Note the stylilized leading strings. Alexandra was born in 1844, only a few years after her future husband, the Prince of Wales. Her father was Christian IX (1818- ) of Schleswig-Holstein, King of Denmark. Her mother was Princess Louise Wilhelmina of Hesse-Cassel (1818- ). Alexandria as a girl was raised in rather frugal circumstances in Copenhagen. She and her sisters sewed many of their own clothes. Occasionally they would wait on tables and perform other household chores. It was a very hapy family. She was a naural athelete and the children practiced gymastics.

She loved to ride and a very proficient horsewoman. She grew up to be a beautiful woman and like her husband had no interest in intelectual pursuits--she "had no brain" as one historian rather ineligantly phrased it. Her engaging personality and lack of pretense made her a favorite of her mother-in-law, Queen Victoria. She also was a great favorite of the British people. Her children, horses, and dogs became the center of her life. Her husband who liked not only beautiful, but also witty women would seek their companionship. The Prussian war with Denmark and the loss of Scheswig-Holstein engenderd a life-long distaste for the Germans. Her husband after the assumption of his nephew Wilhelm to the German imperial throne had his own difficulties with the Germans. Alix and her husband became King and Queen of England in 1901 and were crowned in 1902. The fashions of the entire era were named after them, the Edwardian Era. Their son George V succeed to the throne. George's children (her grandchildren) loved to visit as both grandparents doted on them in contrast to their father's strict discipline.

Childhood Alexandra was born in the Yellow Palace (not a palace in the popular sence) in Copenhagen during 1844. We have been able to find little information about Alexandra's childhood. We know ge was raised in frugal, but comfortable middle class suroudings. The Danish royals did not have the wealth of some European royals. This was especially true of Alix's family as her father while of the bluest of royal blood had no family inheritance and was not initially in line to inherit the Danish Crown. The family lived on his small incomne as an army officer. They lived in a moderate mansion and could not afford many of the glamorous trimmings often associated with royals. Alix and Dagmar were plainly dressed, primarily because money was scarce, and as teenagers they learned the best way to get a new frock was to sew one. Alix as a girl wore her hair in long ringlet curls. One painting shows Dagmar with shorter curls. Alix's family was not noted for its intellectual pursuits. There was little money for tutors. Their mother taught the children music and dance. Their father focused on gymastics which the children loved.

Family Alexandra's father was Christian IX of Schleswig-Holstein, King of Denmark. King Christian is often called the grandfather of Europe because of the number of his discendents who became monarchs. Although poorly educated, King Christian was a man of high morals and a devoted husband and father. Her mother was Princess Louise Wilhelmina of Hesse-Cassel (1818- ). Princess Christian was very different from her husband. She was much more lively and forceful. From all accounts her husband and children were devoted to her. She suffered from otosclerosis, a hereditary form of deafness, which she passed on to Princess Alexandra. Denmark at the time was not a very important country, but two King Christian's daughters marries into two of the most important dynasties in Europe, the English and Russian royal families. And boh became devoted wives. A son becane king of Greece. Christian IX (1818- Alexandra's father was Christian IX of Schleswig-Holstein, King of Denmark. King Christian is often called the grandfather of Europe because of the number of his discendents who became monarchs. Christian was born in 1818.

Christian's father was Duke Frederick William of Schleswig-Holstein (1785- ). His mother was Princess Louise Wilhelmina von Hessen-Cassel (1789- ). By his father, he was a direct descendant of King Christian III of Denmark and his mother was a granddaughter of King Frederik V. Prince Christian studied at the Militar Academy of Cophenagen and he entered the Danish army in 1837. That same year he persued the young Queen of Engalnd, Victoria, who had just acceded the throne. He was, however, judged rather a "country bumkin" because of his poor education and the view of Copenhagen as rather a backward corner of Europe. Victoria instead chose Prince Albert of Saxe Coburg. Christian then married Princess Louise Wilhelmina of Hesse-Casselin 1842. Christian produced three kings and a queen. His son Frederick succeded him as King of Denmark in 1906. His son Charles became King Haakon VII of Norway in 1905. Another son William became king of Greece. His daughter Alexandra married the Prince of Wales (future Edward VII) and became Queen of England.

Although poorly educated, King Christian was a man of high morals and a devoted husband and father. Mother Her mother was Princess Louise Wilhelmina of Hesse-Cassel (1818- ). Princess Christian was very different from her husband. She was much more lively and forceful. From all accounts her husband and children were devoted to her. She suffered from otosclerosis, a hereditary form of deafness, which she passed on to Princess Alexandra. Louise was the kindness of mothers. She helped instill a love of misic in her children. She was also strict in many ways such as threatening to box Alix's amd Dagmar's ears if they acted like a flitatious young woman they had met socially. Siblings Alix certainly grew up in a star-crossed family. It is interesting that the children from such a minor European royal family could have risen to the thrones of such major countries. Alix, as she called in the family, was deeply attached to her brother William (future King of Greece) and to her sister Dagmar (future Empress of Russia). She was less close to her elder brother or her younger siblings.

Alix's time was almost entirely spent in the company of Dagmar, with whom she shared a small barely-furnished bedroom, since the Yellow Palace was so small that it didn't allow the children to have rooms of their own. Denmark Denmark was different than most European countries in that there was a personal relationship between the Crown and the people. The country had been so reduced by the Bapoleonic Wars that in the 19th century it was possible for soverign and subjects to know each other persinally. There was not the distance that seperated soverigns and subjects in the larger, more important European countries. Subjects would appeal directly to their king for aid. When a peliness Hans Christian Anderson, for example, as a youth asked Frederick VI for aid, the king saw to his eduaction. The Danish way of life was essentially democratic even before democratic constitutional changes were made. Denmark was not as clannish as many other countries and in fact saw itself as one large family. (This was best seen in how the Danes managed to save their Jewish citizens from the NAZIs during World War II.) This was the Denmark in which Princess Alexandra was raised and in which her cahracter was shaped.

And even after marrying the Prince of Wales she never lost her fierce devotion to Denmark and the Danish people. [Battiscombe, pp. 2-4.] Personality Princess Alexandra was a beauty girl. She is said to have been quick tempered and passionate. She was deplorably unpunctual. She was, however, affectionate and honest. She was one of the most kind and giving people to reign as Queen of England. This was was noticed by her mother-in-law, Queen Victoria, while Alix was still Princess Of Wales. Princess Alix inherited her mother's slim, exquisite figure, her taste for music as well as her religious faith. As a woman she also inherited her mother's deafness too. She grew up to be a beautiful woman and like her husband and no interest in intelectual pursuits--she "had no brain" as one historian rather ineligantly phrased it. Name We have generally seen Alexandra refered to as "Alix" within in the family. A reader asks, "I note that Eric R.

Delderfield who wrote books on the genealogical trees and coats of arms of the Royal Family noted that Princess Alexandra 's name was shortened to Alex (As the boy's name) when referenced." Figure 2.--Alix and Bertie were married at St. George's Chapel, Windsor and not Westminster Abby like his parents. Note Queen Victoria in black in the Catherine of Aragon closet. I thought the boy in the painting might be Prince Leopold, but it also could be Prince Wilhelm (the future Kaisser) who appears to be wearing a kilt. He is holding on to his mother the Crown Princess Victoria. The little girl os probably Princess Beatrice. The artist was W.P Frith who encountered considerable difficulties with young Wilhelm. Click on the image for more details. Bertie Bertie was a bit of a problem in the early 1860s. He was increasingly difficult to control. In fact his father was not at all well and he made a trip to discuss his son's indistretion. The exposure and poor medical attention soon resulted in his death. Both his parents thought that marriage might settle him down.

He was not a particularly handsome youth and his behavior did not endear him to some perspective brides--especially the very high opinion he had of himself. His sister Victoria, then Crown Princess of Prussia tried to find a German princess, but first rejected them as to plain. Largely for diplomatic reasons, none wanted to see a marriage with a Danish princess--given the problems over Scheswig-Holstein. The Queen and Prince Albert at first objected because Denmark was not a very important country and they did not approve of some of her realtives. Prince Albert is reported to have said, "We take the Princess, but not her relations." A major factor had been the growing dispute between Prissia and Denmark. At the time Albert had been trying to forge stringer bonds with Prussia and influence the develoopment along moderate, democratic lines. This is why they married Crown Princess Victoria to the Prussian Crown Prince. Vicky did obtain a photograph and was impressed. Victoria and Allbert at first objected, but eventually consented. Vicky arranged a meeting in Germany, but Alix was not told about it and thought that her family just bumped into Berie by accident.

(She presumably figured it out as her mother had insisted she wear her best dress even though they were going on a train, a dusty undertaking at the time.) After the meeting Berie delayed, probably because an affair with Nelly Clifden surfaced in the press. It was this affair that caused Prince Albert to go to Cambridge and speak with his son. He got drenched. After returning home he fell sick and died of typhoid fever in December 1861. The Queen blamed her son. After his father's death, the wedding had to be further delayed. Marriage Bertie and Alexandria mairred in 1863. He was 21 and wed Danish Princess Alexandra Oldenburg, age 18. She was delivered to London aboard the royal yacht. The British public was relieved to find it was not another royal marriage to a German royal family and were delighted with the Princesses' beauty and charm. It was a time of great celebration in Britain, finally emerging from the gloom surrounding the death of Prince Albert in 1861. Mairrage into the British royal family was quite a change for Alexandra, despite her royal heritage, she had been raised in great frugality.

Marriage to Bertie, however, was no picnic. She had to contend with many infidilities. One author called him a prodigious philanderer. Her husband who liked not only beautiful, but also bright, witty women would seek their companionship. Alix while charming, was totally unable to conduct any kind of intellectual converstion. Bertie was a philanderer, although he did become more discrete after marriage. Alix knew of this, but tolerated it. She expalained, "He always loved me the most". Her tolerance and forebarence no doubt helped to endeared her to the British people who loved her from the first day she set foot on English soil. Queen Victoria The Queen's initial reluctance vanished even before she had met Alix. After they met, Alix's engaging personality and lack of pretense charmed the Queen and made her a favorite of her mother-in-law. Alix had the ability to light up any room she entered. Although Victoria's meddling caused priblems, the bonds between the two were never broken. In large measure this was due to Alix. She was able to charm the Queen when ever they were together.

It is quite amazing how often she refused to acede to Victoria's constant interfearing on her private life and in raising the children, yet avoid any open break in their relationship. Queen Victoria complained about Alix, primarily because she did not duifully follow a never ending stream of instructions. The Queen wrote to her daughter Vicky in Prussia, "Alix and I never will or can be intimate; she shows me no confidence whatsoever especially about the children..." Some letters were even more severe, at times bringing Alix to tears. In this regard Berie, despite his many failings as a husband, would stand up for his wife. The Queen always was swayed by Alix's charm when she visited. Popularity Alix from the beginning was enormously popular with the British public. In many ways it was much like the devotion that Princess Diana sparked. Alix's beauty was one factor, but it was her enormous charm that sealed the relationship. For many years she and Bertie were the public face of monarchy in Britain. The Queen secluded herself and did not attend public functions. She refused to give Bertie ant real responsibility, but it was Alizx and Bertie that the public saw.

The public adulation must have affected how Victoria regarded Alix. There must have been an element of jealousy in their relationship with the Queen resenting her daughter-in-laws great popularity. In later years, the dignity with which Alix conducted herself regarding her husband's philandering added even greater luster to her public image. Alix was for a long time the only really popular member of the royal family. There were times as Princess of Wales that crowds would cheer her, but hiss when her husband arrived. Edwardian Fashion Edwardian fashion aactually appeared in the late 19th century. Edwardian styles were not, of course, limted to Edward VII himself. The combined fashion influence of Edward VII and his beautiful Danish bride Alexandra was felt years before Edward became king. It is in fact difficult to determine just when the Victiorian era ended and ahe Edwardian era began. They both encouraged fashions that were exuberant but disciplined, gay but certainly not wanton. The Edwardian style is often said to have a more cosmopolitan flavor than Victorian fashions which were generally more formal and impressive.

One observer reportsm "Pictures of her as a young woman show a sad, soulful look in her eyes." She reportedlty walked with a limp which was imitated by society. Many phitographs show her wearing quite a bit of jewelry. Royal Homes Bertie had of course grown up in Windsor, Osborne, and Balmoral. Marlborough House was settled on Edward, Prince of Wales (later King Edward VII), with a view to it becoming his official residence on his reaching age 18. Alix enjoyed social occassions, but she was at heart a home body. She loved Marlborough House from the beginning and came feel the same about Sandringham. Social Life Alix and Bertie never tired of attending parties. Even before Edward became king, they led the way for Society. Their glitering social life could not have been any more different than the perpetual gloom suounding Victoria after her husband's death. Their older grand children, David and Bertie (George V's sons), in particular were struck by the difference. Figure 3.--The Prince and Princess of Wales are seen here in 1876 with Prince Victor Albert (Eddy) and Princess Louise.

I'm not sure why Prince George is absent. The painting is by Heinrich von Angeli. Children and Parenthood Edward VII is probably one of the most well-know royal princes. Much has been written about his upbringing. Some contend that he was not raised in a very sympathetic environment. Certainly none of his chiildren posed the problems that he as a boy had been to his parents. His children were well grown before he became king in 1901. His oldest son, Albert Victor, died much to the relief of many before Bertie became king. The most famous son was his second boy who became George V. He was to lead Britain through World War I and was much criticised for the way he raised his children. Alexandra is said to have been a very good mother. Alix was one of the very few mothers in privlidged circumstances who actually plauyed an important part in raising her own children. She did not just hand them over to nannnies and forget about them. Motherhood was Alix's principal interest, along with her horses and dogs. We have little information on Alexandra's thoughts on clothing fashions for the children.

HBC also has little information on what Bertie felt about his boyhood clothes or the clothes selected for his children. Available images provide some information. Clothing The Princess was not extravigant concerning clothes, no doubt an affect of the precarious finances of her youth. She even had her maids darning handkerchiefs and socks. She mostly bought from Englis dressmakers in London for poltical reasons. Redfern was her favirite. There were occasional trips to Paris where she would shop at Doucet, a famous shop. He also bought at the lesser known form of Fromont on the Rue de la Paix. We have no information as to where she bought the children's clothes and to who may have advised her on the matter. We know that her husband was very ibnterested in his own clothes. We do not know if he took a personal interest in the children's clothes. Illness Alix's first two pregancies were relatively uneventful except for the premature deliveries. Princess Louise's pregnancy was very different. Alix became very sick, especially after the delivery. Her husband did not appear to take it seriously. The Queen did and Alix's parents were asked to come to her bed side.

There was real concern for her life. She suvived, but emerged as quite a changed person. This was the first time this active, outgoing young woman had exoerienced such intense pain and such a severe illness. She must have been hurt by her husband's behavior. Rather than remain at her bed side, he continued his social life, including flirtations with several beautiful women. She also was left with a noticeable limp, which must have had a great impact on such an athletic young woman. Worse still was that her otosclerosis which is often activated by illness and pregnancy. Alix became increasingly deaf. Otosclerosis was untreatable at the time. It was a terrible handicap fox Alix. She was clever enough to deal with it. Her charm and grace helped. But as she was not an active reader and well educated, her deafness cut her off from the conversation that would have exposed her to the great issues of the day. It also limited her ability to share in her husband's active social life which only incouraged his indiscretions. Egypt Alix's many pregancies prevented her accompanying her husband on many of his European trips.

One trip they did take together was an epic 6-month journey to Paris, Copenhagen, Berlin, Vienna, Trieste, Egypt, Istambul, the Crimea, and Greece. One of the purposes was to show her mother Princess Louise, her name sake. Here the Queen's rudely expressed objections brought Alix to tears, but it was finally agreed that the boys and Louise would join up with their parents in Denmark to visit with their grandparents. After the visit the children tearfully returned to England and their parents continued on. The official visits wee extensive in Berlin and Vienna. They were fascinated by Egypt. The boys wrote hoping that they would not be eaten by "Crokkydiles". Berie of course shot one. Alix brought back two live trophies. One was Ali Achmet, a Nubian orphan boy, who attached himself to the expedition and became a kind of mascot. He was installed at Sandringham and baptised with Nertie and Alix as godparents. He could, however, not be disuaded from stealing things. The other was a black ram who she rescuced from the butcher and also installed at her menagerie at Sandringham. Finally they visited Alix's brother King George in Greece.

[Battiscombe, pp. 104-105.] Good Works Alexandra was an extemely generous individual on both the personal and public level. She was consantly sending small gifts both to friends and staff. The gifts and acquaintences were often charmingly inappropriate. At Sanbdringham she founded a carving school for the boys of the estate workers. Her primary public works were long association with the Red Cross and the Army Nursing Services. Alexandra helped to found the Red Cross in England. She also started several nursing programs in her own name. She helped outfit a hospital ship to hep the soldiers wounded in the Boer War. There were many smaller public charitable activities, such as a banquet for the poor boys of London. Animals Besides her children, Alix's great passion in her life was for her animals. The menangere at Sandriham which delighted her children and grand children was a testimnony to that. A good example was an incident at Vicoria Station on the way to comfort her sister Dagmar after the assasination of Tsar Alexander II , her father-in-law. She hated to be separated from her children or animals and had brought along Joss, an especially dear pet as far as Victoria Station.

Joss for his part did not want to be separated from his misstress and took off down the track as Alexandra was still waving from the window. Joss and the train disappered in the darkness. Princess Louise was, however, able to report to her grandmother Queen Elizabeth that Joss had been found. [Battiscombe, p. 159.] Art and Photography Alexandra dabbled with painting in both water colors and oil. She showed no great aptitude here. Her biographaer notes considerable differences between her own works and those supervised by a drawing master. Her photography was much more interesting. She took up photography and here showed some talent. She called her camera a "photography machine". [Battiscombe, p. 204.] Given her position she was able to photograph many of the greats of the age such as Queen Victoria and Admiral Sir John Fisher who many credit for preparing the British fleet to fight World War I. She must have taken many photographs of her grandchildren, but I do not have any information on such photographs at this time. The Germans Alexandra was not a person greatly concerned with history or European power politics.

The Prussian war with Denmark in 1864 and the loss of Scheswig-Holstein, however, intensified a life-long distaste for the Germans. Her dislike was sometimes irrational and she would often not heed even the diplomatic nicieties. For her it was a very personal matter. As Princess of Wales, she played a small, but not unimportant role in helping to reshape English opinions toward the Prussians/Germans. Alix had little influence on the British Foreign Office, but the English people's Danish Princess was enormously popular and the some of this popularity affected how many viewed Denmark. Prussia was seen as bullying and agressive. (Victoria at this stage still favored the Prussians and it was a source of irritation between them. It was only after the Prussians attacked Austria that Victoria's opinions began to change.) Alix's influence was one of many factor's that was bringing about a major shift in British public opinion. The English had traditionally viewed France as their mortal enemy and the Prussians as potential allies. This view lasted well into the 19th century, as it was the Prussians under Blutcher that had saved Wellington at Waterloo in his 1815 stand against Napoleon.

This shift in attitudes toward the Prussians was to have enormous consequences in the 20th century. Alexandra's husband after the assumption of his nephew Wilhelm to the German imperial throne had his own difficulties with the Germans. Grandmother Alexandra is said to have been a doting grandmother. She waa always more prone to spoiling rather than disciplining her own children, but this is often more of a virtue for a grandmother. Prince George children grew up next door in York Cottage. Their parents, now the Duke and Duchess of York, did not especially approve of Alix's endulgences with the children, but neither was about to make a strong issue of it which would have terribly upset Alexandra. She was allowed to have the children when ever she wanted. The young princes and princess loved to visit their grandmother who spoiled them terribly, in contrast's to their fathers' strict navy routein. The children quickly learned that the excuse, "but grandmama said we could" often got them out of difficult situations. Their grandfather was also quite endulgent, but not as engaged. Alix developed an especially close relationship to Prince John, the youngest child. Her relationship with her other grandchildren was more distant.

Not only were they in Scotalnd, but daughter Louisa now Duchess of Fife was not nearly as willing for Alexandra to have the children as often as Alexandra would have wanted. The Princess was hurt by the differing attitude of her own daughter compared to her daughter-in-law. Alexandra Becomes Queen Edward was crowned in 1902 after Victoria's death. He refused to be take his first name and be crowned Albert I--in deference to his father. Instead he was crowned Edward VII. Reign Later Years When her husband died in 1910, Queen Alexandra became Queen Mother. She bought a house in Denmark with her sister Dagmar so they would hve a place to stay when they visited Denmark as their parents had died. World War I Like many women of he social class, especially essentially uneducated women like Alix. With her anti-German sentiments she was a strong supporter of the War effort and engaged in many home-front activities. She was not untouched by the War. There were German Zephin raids. Her first thoughts were for the villagers. She wanted to take pot-shots at them. She enjoyed recounting the story as it made her feel that sge had actually joined the fight against the Germans.

Russian Revolution The Russian Revolution was terrifing for the Royal family. Knocking the Russians out of the War allowed the German to mount a massive new assault on the Western Front. Had Kaissr Wihelm II not acquiesed in military demands for unconditional sunmarinr warfare in 1917 brining America into the War, they probably would have succeeded. More directly for Alix, were family ties to the Tsar's family. Tsar Nicholas was her nephew. He and his family were assasinated in 1918, but his mother, Alix's sister Dagmar managed to get to areas controlled by the white forces in the Crimea. She was eventually rescued there by a Royal Navy ship. She refused to board until they agreed to take her family and friends. Once safely in England she was installed at Frogmore House . Final Years As Queen Mother towards the end of her life she became almost completely deaf and suffered from mild senile dementia. Her deafness was getting worse and her son, George V, on the wishes of his wife Mary, pushed his mother to the background. She resided chiefly at Sandringham House, Norfolk, which Edward VII had purchased as Prince of Wales.

In her drives about the countryside she would graciously wave and bow to the cows in the fields, the faithful Princess Victoria always in attendance. Sources Research on Queen Alexandra is complicated by the fact that, like her husband, she ordered the destruction of her letters and papers after her death. Battiscombe, Georgina. Queen Alexandra (Houghton Mifflin, Boston, 1969). Bennett, Daphne King Without a Crown: Albert Prince Consort of England, 1819-1861 (New York: J.B. Lippincott, 1977). Bradford, Sarah. The Reluctant King: The Life and Reign of George VI, 1895-1952 (New York: St. Marin's Press, 1989), 506p.

Queen Alexandra of Great Britain - Queen Victoria's Daughter-in-Law, Bertie's Patient Wife, and Her Own Person - Windows To World History Windows To World History Queen Alexandra of Great Britain- Queen Victoria's Daughter-in-Law, Bertie's Patient Wife, and Her Own Person Queen Alexandra- Wikimedia Commons Princess Alexandra of Denmark, later Queen Alexandra of Great Britain, enjoyed a historical heritage before her birth and a landmark life for 80 years afterward. In 1863, she married Albert Edward, Prince of Wales and she reigned as Princess of Wales from 1863-1901, the longest time anyone held that title. When Queen Victoria died in 1901, Albert Edward became King Edward VII, and Alexandra his queen-empress from 1901 to 1910. From the time of King Edward VII’s death in 1910 until she died in 1925, Queen Alexandra was the dowager queen and the queen mother of the reigning King, George V. She set fashion trends all over the world and in England she tried to influence her husband’s family and British ministers to favor Greek and Danish interests.

On a more personal level she withstood her husband’s infidelities, a domineering mother-in-law, the loss of two of her sons, and managed to develop her talents for woodworking and photography despite her extensive charity work and fulfilling the duties and obligations of being both the Queen and the Queen Mother. Alexandra, the Danish Princess The death of King Frederick VII of the Kingdom of Denmark in November 1863 marked the passing of the last Danish king of the older Royal branch of the House of Oldenburg. He was the last Danish monarch of the older Royal branch of the House of Oldenburg and also the last King of Denmark ruling as an absolute monarch. During his reign, he signed a constitution establishing a Danish parliament and making Denmark a constitutional monarchy. Frederick’s death created a succession crisis because he ruled in both Denmark and Schleswig-Holstein and the succession rules differed in both territories. Holstein law prevented inheritance through the female line, but predominantly German Holstein, proclaimed independence and called on Prussia for help. In 1852, the great powers of Europe-Austria, France, Prussia, Russia and the United Kingdom, called a conference in London to debate the Danish succession.

They agreed to a settlement including the principle that Prince Christian of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glucksburg would succeed Frederick and the prior claims of others including Christian’s mother-in-law, brother-in-law and wife, were nullified. Prince Christian received the title of Prince of Denmark in May 1852, succeeded the Danish throne as Christian IX in 1863, and received the title of royal highness for himself and his heirs. King Christian’s heirs included a wife and six children. On May 26, 1842, Christian had married Princess Louise Wilhelmine Friederike Caroline Auguste Julia, daughter of the Landgrave Wilhelm of Hesse-Kassel, in Copenhagen. The couple had six children: Prince Christian Frederick William Charles; Prince Christian William Ferdinand Adolf George; Princess Marie Sophie Fredericka Dagmar; Princes Thyra Amalie Caroline Charlotte Anna; Prince Waldemar; and Princess Alexandra Caroline Marie Charlotte Louise Julia, born December 1, 1844 at the Yellow Palace, an 18th century town house next to the Amalienborg lace complex in Copenhagen.

Although Princess Alexandra or Alix as her immediate family called her, and her brothers and sisters were born into royalty, she and her family lived a relatively normal life. The family moved into a new official residence, Bernstorff Palace, but Prince Christian received a modest income of 800 pounds or 1,346 dollars a year from an army commission which did not allow for an extravagant lifestyle. Alexandra shared a drafty attic bedroom with her sister Dagmar, who would marry to become princess of Russia, and made her own clothes and waited on table with her sisters. They inherited music and sewing talents from their mother and a classic photograph shows Queen Louise and her three daughters playing quartets at two pianos. Nancy Edberg, Swedish women’s swimming pioneer, gave swimming lessons to Alexandra and Dagmar. Occasionally, her parents invited Hans Christian Andersen to tell the children bedtime stories. The English chaplain at Copenhagen taught Alexandra English and she was confirmed into the Anglican High Church practice and remained a devout Christian all of her life. Princess Alexandra Meets the Prince of Wales When Princess Alexandra was sixteen, she met Albert Edward, Prince of Wales, called Bertie by his family and friends, the heir to Queen Victoria’s throne.

A legendary story of their meeting finds Prince Albert Edward out shooting with a party of friends. One of his friends took a photograph of a beautiful girl wearing a white muslin gown and a loose white jacket with a black velvet ribbon around her throat and her hair smoothed back from her forehead. The Prince of Wales quickly discovered her identity and arranged to tour the Continent making a special stop in Denmark to meet Princess Alexandra. He met her at the Cathedral of Worms in southern Germany and while he talked to the princess, his personal servant took pity on a shy looking man wandering around the Cathedral. Thinking that the man was part of the retinue of the Princess, the servant spent some time chatting with the man. Later he learned that he had been talking to King Christian IX of Denmark, the father of Princess Alexandra. The official story of the meeting of the future King and Queen of England is slightly less romantic. Acting on a request from her parents Queen Victoria and Prince Albert, Crown Princess Victoria of Prussia introduced her brother Albert Edward, the Prince of Wales to Alexandra on September 24, 1861 in Speyer, a city of Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany.

The Queen and King were searching for a suitable wife for their son Albert Edward, the Prince of Wales, although they didn’t consider Alexandra one of their top choices. Queen Victoria had reservations about the suitability of the match because when the German Confederation invaded and annexed Schleswig-Holstein, Queen Victoria adamantly took the German side and Alexandra and her family just as adamantly embraced the Danish position. Albert Edward took some time to break off his affair with Nellie Clifden, but finally on September 9, 1862, he proposed to Alexandra at the Laeken Royal Palace, the home of King Leopold I of Belgium, his great-uncle. After her engagement, Alexandra traveled from Denmark to Britain aboard the royal yacht Victoria and Albert II, arriving in Gravesend, Kent on March 7, 1863 to a royal and literary welcome when Poet Laureate Alfred Lord Tennyson wrote an ode in her honor. Thomas Longley, the Archbishop of Canterbury, married Alexandra and Albert Edward on March 10, 1863, at St. George’s Chapel, in Windsor Castle, a site that both the press and prospective guests considered too small.

Invited wedding guests included only Alexandra’s closest relatives disappointing the Danish people, and since Queen Victoria was still in mourning for Prince Albert, the ladies could wear only grey, lilac, or mauve. When the newlyweds left Windsor for their honeymoon on the Isle of Wight, schoolboys at nearby Eton College, including Lord Randolph Churchill, cheered them. Alexandra’s father became Danish King Christian IX in 1863, and her brother George accepted the throne of Greece as George I. After his marriage, Albert Edward continued his relationships with other women, including Lillie Langtry, the actress; Daisy Greville, Countess of Warwick; Agnes Keyser, humanitarian; American Jennie Jerome, the future mother of Winston Churchill; and society matron Alice Keppel. Alexandra knew about most of her husband’s relationships and bore them with dignity, remarking, “He loved me the most.” She permitted Alice Keppel to visit Albert Edward on his deathbed. Alexandra remained faithful to Albert Edward. Prince Albert Edward and Alexandra settled into Marlborough House as their London home and chose Sandringham House in Norfolk as a country retreat.

The newlyweds entertained lavishly, and Queen Victoria disapproved what she considered their excessive socializing. Her contemporaries reported that Alexandra was dignified and charming in public and affectionate and fun loving in private. She enjoyed activities including dancing, ice skating, and she also was a skilled horsewoman and tandem driver. Much to Queen Victoria’s dismay, Princess Alexandra also enjoyed hunting although the Queen unsuccessfully tried to make her refrain from hunting. According to Queen Victoria, Princess Alexandra also performed many public and charitable duties “to spare me the strain and fatigue of functions…” The Queen reported that Alexandra never complained about her round of opening bazaars, attending concerts, and visiting hospitals in the Queen’s place. Alexandra selected the London Hospital for special attention, visiting it frequently. During one of her visits she met Joseph Merrick, the “Elephant Man,” who was a patient there. Besides her family, Alexandra pursued her own talents and interests. She excelled at woodcarving and specimens of her work were featured at various exhibitions. In England, Queen Alexandra often visited the Technical Schools at Sandringham where handicrafts like woodcarving were taught. Queen Alexandra’s chief hobby was photography and she took Kodak pictures during trips and tours.

In 1908, the Queen Alexandra published a book of her photographs called Queen Alexandra’s Christmas Gift Book to raise money for charity. Because Alexandra had a small scar on her neck, she hid it by wearing choker necklaces and high necklines, inadvertently setting a fashion precedent that survived for fifty years. A bout with rheumatic fever in 1867 left her with a stiff leg and a limp, but society ladies even copied her limping walk which came to be known as the “Alexandra limp.” Alexandra didn’t understand money well and she left managing her finances to her comptroller Sir Dighton Probyn VC, who performed the same role for King Edward VII. She practiced frugality when she had her old stockings darned for reuse and recycled her old dresses as furniture covers, but when her comptroller protested her more extravagant spending, she would wave her hand or pretend that she had not heard the complaints. Edward VIII, Queen Alexandra’s grandson who would later become the Duke of Windsor, summarized her attitude about money when he remarked that her generosity embarrassed her financial advisers because whenever she received a letter asking for money she would immediately send out a check without investigating the organization or people requesting the funds.

The Social and Political Alexandra Even after the couple’s first child, Prince Albert Victor was born, Alexandra socialized as much as she had before which caused some problems with her mother in law the Queen, especially since Alexandra hated Prussians and Queen Victoria favored them. Although the two women were genuinely fond of each other, the relationship between Alexandra and her mother-in-law Queen Victoria could at times be strained. From the beginning Alexandra, the Princess of Wales, enjoyed immense popularity with the British public, much like her 20th century counterpart Princess Diana. Her beauty captivated many of her subjects, but her enormous charm made them love her. For many years she and Prince Bertie were the public symbols of British monarchy, because Queen Victorian secluded herself after Prince Albert’s death and did not attend public functions. The Queen did not give the Prince of Wales any real responsibility, forcing him to serve his country in indirect ways and perhaps encouraging his womanizing. As the years passed, Alexandra endured her husband’s philandering with dignity, which further endeared her to the British public. For a long time, Alexandra was the most popular member of the royal family and at times the crowds would cheer her and boo the Prince of Wales.

Queen Victoria must have noted this and perhaps resented her daughter-in-law’s popularity. The Queen also gave the young couple unwanted advice on many matters, eventually including the names of their children. Albert Edward and Alexandra had six children. Prince Albert Victor, Duke of Clarence and Avondale; Prince George who later would become King George V of the United Kingdom; Louise, Princess Royal and Duchess of Fife; Princess Victoria; Maud, Queen of Norway; and Prince Alexander John of Wales born in the spring of 1871, who lived only a few hours. The births of Alexandra’s first two children, Albert Victor and George were premature, but she survived them in good health. The birth of Princess Louise on February 20, 1867, was quite different. After the delivery Alexander became ill enough for the doctors to ask Queen Victoria and her own parents to come to her bedside. Her husband carried on his social life and flirtations, and did not appear. Alexander survived, but recovered as a changed person, both physically and emotionally.

She had been an active, outgoing young woman, but now had a noticeable limp and her illness had aggravated her otosclerosis, abnormal bone growth in the middle ear that causes hearing loss, and she became increasingly deaf. She used her charm and grace to deal with her otosclerosis that some biographers say she inherited from her mother. The early years of Alexandra’s marriage were taken up with her husband and children and her siblings. Princess Alexandra spent the spring of 1877 in Greece visiting her brother King George. During the Russo-Turkish War of 1877-1878, Alexandra favored Russia and lobbied for a border adjustment between Greece and Turkey, favoring the Greeks. In 1881, Alexandra and Albert Edward travelled to Saint Petersburg after the assassination Tsar Alexander II of Russia to represent Britain and provide comfort to Alexandra’s sister Marie who had become Tsarina at Alexander’s death. During a visit to Ireland in 1885, Alexandra and Albert Edward in the City of Cork encountered a crowd of over two thousand people waving sticks and black flags favoring Irish nationalism.

She smiled her way through the crowd’s hostility and in the same visit accepted a Doctorate in Music from Trinity College in Dublin. Prince Alexandra placated the Irish, but she continued to hate Germans. Her biographers including David Duff in his 1980 biography Alexandra: Princess and Queen, contend that the Albert Edward and his advisers denied her access to his briefing papers and excluded her from some of his foreign tours so that she could not be involved in diplomatic matters. She still distrusted Germans and opposed anything favoring German expansion or interests. In 1890, Alexandra wrote and distributed a memorandum to senior British ministers and military people warning them against exchanging the British North Sea island of Heligoland for the German colony of Zanzibar. She pointed out the strategic significance of Heligoland, arguing that either Germany could use it to launch an attack or Britain could use it to contain German aggression. The ministers and military ignored her warning and continued with the exchange. The Germans fortified the island which became a keystone in Germany’s maritime operations.

Alexandra detested and distrusted her nephew Wilhelm II of Germany, calling him an “inward enemy.” Alexandra never recovered from the death of their oldest son Prince Albert Victor, Duke of Clarence, who died on January 14, 1892, during an influenza epidemic. Much like her mother-in-law Queen Victoria did for Prince Albert, she left her son’s room and possessions exactly as they had been the day he left them. In 1894, her brother-in-law Alexander III of Russia died and her nephew Nicholas II became Tsar. Alexandra traveled to Russia to support her widowed sister Marie Sophie Fredericka Dagmar or Maria Feodorovna, Empress of all the Russias, as she was known in Russia. She slept, prayed, and stayed by her sister’s side until Alexander was buried and stayed on in Russia for some time despite the objections of her mother-in-law Queen Victoria. The death of her mother Queen Louise of Denmark in 1898 added to her mourning. Princess Alexandra Becomes Queen Alexandra After Queen Victoria died in January 1901, Albert Edward became King Edward VII and Alexandra his Queen-Empress consort.

In March 1901, the King and Queen’s son George and their daughter-in-law Mary embarked on an extensive tour of the empire, leaving their young children with their grandparents. While George and Mary toured the Empire, Edward and Alexandra minded their grandchildren and prepared for the coronation of Edward Albert as King Edward the VII in June 1902. A few days before the coronation, King Edward became seriously ill with appendicitis and Alexandra stood in for him at a military parade and attended the Royal Ascot races in his place so the public wouldn’t be alarmed at his absence. The coronation was postponed and Dr. Frederick Treves of the London Hospital operated on Edward to drain his infected appendix. After he recovered, Alexandra and Edward were crowned together in August 1902, with the Archbishop of Canterbury Frederick Temple crowning Edward and the Archbishop of York, William Dalrymple Maclagan crowning Alexandra. In 1910, Alexander set a precedent when she became the first queen consort to visit the British House of Commons during a debate.

For two hours she sat in the Ladies’ Gallery that overlooked the chamber while members of Parliament debated the Parliament Bill which would remove the right of the House of Lords to veto legislation, a bill that Alexandra opposed. A few weeks later while Alexandra visited her brother, King George I of Greece in Corfu, her family sent her word that her husband had been stricken with several heart attacks. She arrived home on May 5, 1910, and on May 6, she personally administered oxygen from a gas cylinder to help him breathe. King Edward VII died on May 6, 1910, and Queen Alexandra observed that she felt like she had been turned into stone, “unable to cry, unable to grasp the meaning of it all.” Edward VII and Queen Alexandra’s son George became the new King and later in the year Queen Alexandra moved out of Buckingham Palace to Marlborough House, keeping Sandringham in Norfolk as her residence. Her son, the new King George, immediately faced a decision about the Parliament Bill, and he reluctantly agreed to Prime Minister H.H. Asquith’s request to create an adequate number of Liberal peers after a general election if the House of Lords continued to block the legislation.

Although she opposed the bill, Alexandra supported her son. In 1911, Alexandra did not attend the coronation of King George because tradition dictated that a crowned queen should not attend the coronation of another king or queen, but she continued her charitable work. One of her favorite charities was Alexandra Rose Day, where women volunteers sold artificial roses that disabled people made to raise funds to aid hospitals. World War I only intensified Alexandra’s dislike and distrust of Germans. She detested her nephew Kaiser Wilhelm II and voiced her revulsion in no uncertain terms during the controversy about the banners of foreign princes. During World War I, some people criticized the custom of hanging the banners of foreign princes awarded the Order of the Garter, Britain’s highest order of knighthood, in St. George’s chapel, Windsor Castle. The critics said that since the German members of the Order were fighting against Britain their banners should be removed. Bowing to public opinion, King George had the banners taken down, but he went a step further and ordered both the Prussian banners and Hessian banners removed.

In Alexandra’s opinion, their Hessian relatives were just soldiers or servants acting under “that brutal German Emperor’s orders.” On September 17, 1916, Queen Alexandra endured a Zeppelin air raid close to her Sandringham residence, but the Russian branch of her family suffered much worse. In Russia, the Bosheviks overthrew her nephew Tsar Nicholas II and murdered him and his wife and children. In 1919, HMS Marlborough rescued the Dowager Empress, Alexandra’s sister Marie, and brought her to England where she lived with Alexandra for some time. In her senior years, Alexandra no longer traveled abroad and her health deteriorated. On November 20, 1925, at age 80 she suffered a fatal heart attack at Sandringham House in Norfolk. She was buried on November 28, 1925, beside her husband at St. George’s Chapel, Windsor Castle. Tradition has it that when Diana became Princess of Wales on July 29, 1981, well-wishers handed her a biography of Queen Alexandra by Georgina Battiscombe.

They believed it would be a helpful guide to coping with her new position, the same position that Alexandra had assumed on March 10, 1863 and filled so successfully. References Battiscombe, Georgina. Queen Alexandra. Constable First Printing Edition, 1969. Hough, Richard Alexander. Edward and Alexandra: Their Private and Public Lives. St. Martin’s Press, 1st ed edition, 1993. Ridley, Jane. The Heir Apparent: A Life of Edward VII, the Playboy Prince. Random House, 2013. Copyright Notice All of the material on this website is copyrighted. You are free to link to any of the articles and to download any of the PDF books to read and use as long as you credit me as the author. I fully hope and expect the classroom activities to be freely used. kathywarnes@gmail.com Proudly powered by Weebly Deaf History: Queen Alexandra | BSL Zone Deaf History: Queen Alexandra Camilla Arnold introduces the Danish princess who married King Edward VII Documentary as part of the Deaf History series.

The monarchy has been endlessly recorded in history, but not many people know that at the beginning of the 20th Century, Britain had a Deaf queen. Reporter Camilla Arnold tells us about the life of Queen Alexandra, who was born in Denmark in 1844. When she was 16, she was chosen to be the wife of Albert, Prince of Wales and became the daughter-in-law of Queen Victoria. It is believed that Alexandra taught the Queen to fingerspell, and she made a point of supporting Deaf arts, buying work from Deaf artists and sculptors. Watch it to find out more! Read more Tick here to confirm that you are over 16 - You must be over 16 to post a video comment Videos must be in BSL. They must also be clear, with good lighting. Tick here to say you will do this. - Please tick here to say you will do this. (Your name / email address will be private) Next Thank you for your submission. Your comment will be moderated before being publicly visible. Name: (Your name / email address will be private) Comment: What you thought about Deaf History: Queen Alexandra... Wow fantastic history story I loved it!

Posted on 30th Nov 2015 151130 I surprised she was deaf, I born in Lincoln, England, I'm deaf, live in San Antonio, Tx. Posted on 24th Sep 2015 150924 History deaf pricess Alice and Alexandra queen copy facebook Posted on 24th Sep 2015 150924 Pls advice me any deaf history of the queen Victoria's family or more. I'm deaf too n interest thankyou. Posted on 11th Sep 2015 150911 please send me e mail about deaf history,,I really like it very much. Very inter stings about deaf history. Thank you Posted on 11th Sep 2015 150911 Very interested history on Deaf Royal /Ordinary people. Posted on 11th Sep 2015 150911 I had never known of King'wife Queen Alexandra is really deaf. I am in interesting to learn more about her and her life.

I am aware of Queen Elizabeth's husband Philp's mother named Alice was deaf. Thank you for sharing that with you. Posted on 24th Jun 2014 140624 Queen Alexandra with queen Victoria finger spell great wow Posted on 24th Jun 2014 140624 I watch your programming from the USA and enjoyed learning about Queen Alexandra. I enjoy all your programs and wish we had something like BSL Zone here. BSL is different from ASL. It is very interesting to see the differences. Thank you for the subtitles. Your work is appreciated. Posted on 17th Jul 2013 130717 is Queen Alexandra deaf or hearing ? Im amazed that she is involved in the deaf history i hear a lot about her marriage to King Edward. He is mentioned a lot as womanizer and his wife is mentioned to be long suffering wife. Posted on 17th Jul 2013 130717 This is the first time this information about her being deaf i have ever seen.

Posted on 17th Jul 2013 130717 Hello Kati, Thank you so much for sharing this wonderful video about Princess Alexandra! I taught about Princess Alexandra in my Deaf History class at TAFE some years ago. Receiving this video is even better because students will be interested in seeing the different pictures about Alexandra. So, many thanks again for sharing with me. Big warm smiles and a big hello to you and Alan from Adelaide. xxx Posted on 17th Jul 2013 130717 Queen Alexandra and her husband, King Edward VII, had six children. Posted on 2nd Mar 2013 130302 How many children did Queen Alexandra and her husband have? Posted on 2nd Mar 2013 130302 It was a great to see the story of Queen Alexandra. I like it, because I am living in Denmark and had never heard about her life. Did Queen Alexandra came from the family of King in Denmark or how? I heard also someone deaf in family in Spain, did he and Queen Alexandra was related?

Posted on 2nd Mar 2013 130302 Queen Victoria had a granddaughter called Victoria Eugenie of Battenberg (1887-1969) Princess Victoria Eugenie, who was a cousin to King George V, married King Alfonso XIII of Spain. The current King Juan Carlos I of Spain is her grandson. King Alfonso died in exile in 1941. Posted on 25th Feb 2013 130225 I would like to ask Camilla Arnold exactly how Queen Victoria and Spain's Prince Don Alfonso become related to one another? What happened to Spain's Prince Don Alfonso? Posted on 25th Feb 2013 130225 I like the history of Queen Alexandra of Denmark was deaf. I'm proud of her. Posted on 25th Feb 2013 130225 Princess Alexandra of Denmark / Queen Alexandra of the United Kingdom - YouTube Princess Alexandra of Denmark / Queen Alexandra of the United Kingdom Want to watch this again later? Sign in to add this video to a playlist. Need to report the video?

Sign in to report inappropriate content. Rating is available when the video has been rented. This feature is not available right now. Please try again later. Uploaded on Feb 12, 2010 Alexandra of Denmark (Alexandra Caroline Marie Charlotte Louise Julia; 1 December 1844 20 November 1925) was Queen of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions and Empress of India from 1901 to 1910 as the consort of Edward VII. Her family had been relatively obscure until her father was chosen with the consent of the great powers to succeed his distant cousin to the Danish throne. At the age of sixteen she was chosen as the future wife of Albert Edward, Prince of Wales, the heir of Queen Victoria. They married eighteen months later. As Princess of Wales from 1863 to 1901, the longest anyone has ever held that title, she won the hearts of the British people and became immensely popular; her style of dress and bearing were copied by fashion-conscious women. Although she was largely excluded from wielding any political power, she unsuccessfully attempted to sway the opinion of ministers and her family to favour her relations who reigned in Greece and Denmark.

Her public duties were restricted to uncontroversial involvement in charitable work. On the death of Queen Victoria in 1901, Albert Edward became King-Emperor as Edward VII, with Alexandra as Queen-Empress consort. From Edward's death in 1910 until her own death, she was the Queen Mother, being a queen and the mother of the reigning monarch, George V of the United Kingdom, though she was more generally styled Her Majesty Queen Alexandra. She greatly distrusted her nephew, Wilhelm II of Germany, and supported her son during World War I, in which Britain and its allies defeated Germany. Category The Royal Order of Sartorial Splendor: Flashback Friday: The Splendor of Queen Alexandra The Rundell Tiara plus necklaces & diamond stars A few months ago we talked about Queen Mary , that notorious magpie and mega curator of the British jewel collection, and her penchant for piling it on, gem-wise. And at that time, some of you felt that Mary's level of ornamentation had crossed your line into too much territory. If you are among those people, may I suggest that you fashion yourselves some sort of seatbelt? Because Queen Alexandra may just redefine too much for you.

The future Queen Alexandra had a quiet childhood in Denmark. Her family lived very modestly, despite the grandeur to come for all of them. Her parents would eventually become King Christian IX and Queen Louise of Denmark; Alexandra's siblings included the King of Denmark, the King of Greece, the Empress of Russia, and the Crown Princess of Hanover. Christian IX is referred to as the "father-in-law of Europe" - just like with Queen Victoria, most royal families of Europe can trace their family trees to him. For her part, Alexandra was essentially handpicked by Queen Victoria and her eldest daughter to marry Bertie, the playboy Prince of Wales, and marry him she did, in 1863. Her marriage thrust her immediately into the center of sparkling royal life. Queen Victoria was deeply lost in her mourning for Prince Albert, and essentially had no public presence. In addition to filling in the gaps left in the royal duties by the monarch's absence, Bertie and Alix became the heart of the court social life.

Left, with her diamond kokoshnik tiara, multiple necklaces and brooches, and the serpent bracelet she favored; right, covered in ornamentation for a costume ball She grew ever more bejewelled, seemingly encouraged by her husband. Bertie spent lavishly on dresses and jewels for Alexandra - much to his mother's despair - and was a stickler for protocol. It's easy to imagine that the man that once confronted the Duchess of Marlborough for wearing only a diamond crescent in her hair instead of a tiara when Alexandra had taken the trouble to wear one encouraged his wife to adorn herself appropriately for her status. (Fortunately the duchess, a.k.a. Consuelo Vanderbilt, had a good excuse: she hadn't been able to get to the bank in time to retrieve her tiara.) With the George IV State Diadem plus many necklaces and brooches Alexandra was a fashionable woman who cared about her appearance and set several trends. Women clamored for the chokers she wore to conceal a scar on her neck; some even went so far as to imitate the limp Alexandra was left with after a bout with rheumatic fever.

Court standards didn't bother her so much; she gladly wore faux jewels when it suited her, and didn't fuss much with traditions for coronation dressing as she believed she knew best. (This strategy did find her meeting her stickler husband's line of tolerance, though: she showed up once with her Garter sash worn the wrong way because it looked better, and was promptly ordered to change it.) Alexandra's coronation outfit Bertie became King Edward VII on Queen Victoria's death in 1901. The new Queen Alexandra reached the heights of her sparkly splendor for their coronation in 1902, wearing literal layers of jewels - so much you can't even tell what's what. Starting at the bottom and working up, her skirt featured Queen Victoria's set of diamond bow brooches with gems dangling from each down the front; a diamond fringe girdle encircled her waist - there's got to be enough for two fringe tiaras minimum right there.

On her bodice she affixed the Dagmar necklace as a reminder of her Danish roots (it was a gift from Frederik VII) and then covered the rest with brooches, including an enormous diamond cockade at center and Prince Albert's sapphire among others, most of which were covered up by the strings of pearls she draped around her neck. Also around her neck, she wrapped Queen Victoria's so-called "coronation" necklace of mega-diamonds which ended up blending in to the rest of her diamonds and pearls. All of this rested on a dress which was sparkling all on its own. Detail of the mounds of jewels on her bodice for the coronation On top of it all sat a brand new queen consort's crown. By the time Alexandra became queen it had been so long since Britain had a queen consort it was thought appropriate to make a new crown. Hers was the first to include the famed Koh-i-Noor diamond which has sat in every consort crown since and added extra arches in the fashion used in Denmark; however, no one else has ever used this particular crown. The diamonds - more than 3,000 - are now represented by paste.

Alexandra's consort crown - here, set with paste stones As for the rest of her life...well, you know, it's not necessarily a delightful story. Her mother-in-law was overbearing. Her husband was a notorious gambler who had many a public mistress (the group of them invited to his coronation sat in what was termed "the king's loose box"). She was kept out of state affairs as much as possible but was prone to meddling and was known for her strongly anti-German stance. As she aged, she grew increasingly deaf due to a hereditary condition inherited from her mother. Edward and Alexandra had six children: Albert Victor (Duke of Clarence and Avondale who died in his late 20s), George V, Louise (Princess Royal and Duchess of Fife), Princess Victoria (who never married), Maud (Queen of Norway), and Alexander John (he died right after birth). By many accounts, Alexandra was a stifling mother who was overly attached to her children.

﻿﻿ In her regal circlet with Queen Victoria's small crown behind (a small crown which includes more than 1,000 diamonds, mind you), plus the diamond collier résille around her neck and Victoria's fringe brooch on her bodice ﻿﻿Personally, I've always preferred Queen Mary's version of excess. Mary had a more formidable frame on which to display her jewels, and she seems to have had a better eye for coordinating them. She may have waltzed around with hundreds of carats on her person, but they were always well put together and you could always pick each element out - no, there was no danger Mary was going to drown precious jewels underneath strands of possibly fake pearls. Is Alexandra's brand of splendor more or less to your taste?

Photos: The Royal Collection/Suzy Menkes Queen Alexandra - Biography - IMDb Queen Alexandra Jump to: Overview (4) | Mini Bio (1) | Spouse (1) | Trivia (9) Overview (4) Alexandra Caroline Mary Charlotte Louisa Julia Height 5' 5" (1.65 m) Mini Bio (1) Queen Alexandra was born Princess Alexandra Caroline Mary Charlotte Louisa Julia on December 1, 1844. She was the granddaughter of the king of Denmark. She lived an uneventful childhood in the palaces of Denmark with her sister, Marie, who became the mother of Tsar Nicholas II of Russia. When Alex, as she was called, turned 16 she was considered a great beauty, and won the hand of the heir to the throne of England. She and Prince Albert Edward, or "Bertie", were married on March 10, 1863. They had six children including the future King George V . The first 40 years of marriage were very turbulent for Alexandra.

As well as the six children, she had to contend with a brother-in-law (the husband of Bertie's sister Helena) whose family wanted a stake in the Schleswig-Holstein lands that had belonged to the kings of Denmark for generations. Finally in 1901 her mother-in-law, Queen Victoria , died, making her husband King Edward VII and she, in turn, Queen Consort. During her time as Queen she did many things to make England better, including the establishment of The Red Cross. In 1910, however, something happened to change everything. Her husband of almost 50 years died. On his death bed she did a very magnanimous thing: she allowed his mistress, Alice Keppel, to say goodbye to him. After his death she lived at the house in which she had lived during her marriage. Unfortunately, she also lived with the increasing deafness that plagued her life as well as that of her son Albert Victor, who would have become king if he had not died. Alexandra died in 1925 of a heart attack and is buried at Windsor near her husband and mother and father-in-law.

- IMDb Mini Biography By: CR Spouse (1) ( 10 March 1863 - 6 May 1910) (his death) (6 children) Trivia (9) Through marriage and blood Alexandra was an aunt to both Tsar Nicholas II and his wife Tsarina Alexandra . Nicholas was the son of her sister Marie and Alexandra was the daughter of her husband's sister Alice. Alexandra of Denmark, Queen of Great Britain ~ A guest post by Jayne Smith « The Freelance History Writer April 11, 2014 By Susan Abernethy in 19th Century , Women's History Tags: Crown Princess Victoria , Dagmar necklace , King Christian IX , King Edward VII , Kokoshnik tiara , Louise , Prince Albert , Prince Christian of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glücksburg , Prince of Wales , Princess of Hesse-Cassel , Queen Alexandra , Queen Louise of Denmark , Queen Victoria , Russian Empress Maria Feodorovna , Sandringham House 9 Comments Portrait of Queen Alexandria (Attribution: ) Albert Edward, Prince of Wales and the son and heir of Queen Victoria was a notorious rake.

His parents recognized this when he was very young and arranged a marriage in the hopes of keeping him from getting into further trouble. The wife chosen for him was Alexandra of Denmark. My friend Jayne Smith is a big fan of Alexandra and wrote this article as a guest post for The Freelance History Writer. Here’s Jayne. Alexandra was born at the Gule or Yellow Palace in Copenhagen, Denmark on December 1, 1844 and was given the names Alexandra Caroline Mary Charlotte Louisa Julia. She was the eldest daughter and the second of the six children of Prince Christian of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glücksburg (1818–1906) and his wife Louise, Princess of Hesse-Cassel (1817–1898) who eventually become King Christian IX and Queen Louise of Denmark. They lived modestly for royals as the prince was an officer of the Danish Guards but this changed once he became heir to the throne. Alexandra’s childhood seemed to be happy and she was particularly close to her second brother William, who became the King of Greece and her sister Dagmar (Minny), who became Russian Empress Maria Feodorovna.

Alexandra’s education was not extensive but she was taught French, German and religion, and she developed a liking for music and became rather proficient at it. She was also quite shy which was maybe due to her being slightly deaf after having a fever in childhood. Edward, Prince of Wales was in need of a wife and his mother Queen Victoria and his sister Crown Princess Victoria started looking for a suitable candidate. Alexandra’s name came up and she was vetted by them. Originally it was felt she was not suitable as Queen Victoria’s family were German and they were the enemies of Denmark but eventually it was decided she was the one, so a marriage was arranged. It took place on March 10, 1863 at St. George’s Chapel, Windsor which was not the usual choice for the marriage of the heir to the throne. But the decision was up to Queen Victoria who was still in mourning for her husband Prince Albert who had died in 1861. Alexandra fit in very well within the royal family and developed her own style of dress and taste. She and Edward made an attractive couple and they received a lot of attention as many people flocked to them.

She loved jewels and began to acquire them and gradually over the years she amassed a handsome collection. She had her own favourites, especially pearls which she wore as collars to hide a scar she had on her neck. This can be seen in the picture at the top of the page. Court standards didn’t bother her so much; she gladly wore faux jewels when it suited her, and didn’t fuss much with traditions for coronation dressing as she believed she knew best. The royal couple spent a lot of time renovating Sandringham House, which Edward had acquired a few months before his marriage. Sandringham became a much loved home to them although it drastically reduced their finances. It is still one of our current Queen’s favourite homes. Sandringham House (Attribution: ) It was a hard life in one way for Alexandra as Edward had many affairs but she supported him in public. The couple had six children with five surviving into adulthood and she was a loving mother to them, although sometimes a bit possessive of them at times. She was jolly and much fun but was a little extravagant which did not go down well with Queen Victoria. She hunted and drove tandem carriages.

Edward and Alexandra represented the Queen in Ireland and then took a six-month tour of Europe through Egypt, Austria and Greece where she visited the Crimean battle fields and then toured the harem of the Khedive Ismail l in Turkey where she became the first woman to sit down to dinner with the Sultan Abdulaziz. Then in 1875-76 much to Alexandra’s dismay, the Prince of Wales set out on an eight-month trip to India without her. He came back with lots of fine jewellery given to him as presents, which mollified her a little. The majority of it was altered and is now part of the crown jewels handed down throughout the generations although some stayed as private jewels. Below in the first picture is the Dagmar Necklace which was made for her when she got married and was given to her by King Frederik VII of Denmark. The second picture is a Russian style tiara commissioned by 365 peeresses on the occasion of Alexandra and Edward’s silver wedding anniversary in 1888. It is known as the Kokoshnik tiara.

Dagmar Necklace (Attribution: ) Kokoshnik Tiara (Attribution: ) During Queen Victoria’s declining years, Alexandra stood in for her many times, opening bazaars, attending concerts and functions, without much grumbling although the deafness had gotten progressively worse. When Edward became King in 1901, she carried on the role she had carved out for herself. She looked after her grandchildren whenever she could. But one thing that upset her was she had no access to the king’s private papers as the courtiers thought she meddled where she shouldn’t and her anti-German feelings were well known. She was gracious, kind and gave many presents. She formed Queen Alexandra’s Imperial Military Nursing Service in 1902, and she presided over the first council meeting of the British Red Cross Society in 1905. A favourite charity was the London Hospital, which she referred to as ‘my hospital’. In my opinion she must be given much credit for her part in developing one of the most important roles of the modern monarchy. The patronage and encouragement of charitable institutions and societies which she started has continued to be carried out since then by the following generations of monarchy.

The king and queen lived separate lives most of the time due to their different tastes. She liked the quietness of Sandringham and he liked the court life in London. This arrangement was by mutual agreement and was not an estrangement. She even accepted Edwards’s mistress Alice Keppel in his life. Edward died in 1910 and she settled into the role of queen mother which was the title she used for herself. She didn’t relinquish the role of queen very easily to her daughter-in-law, Queen Mary, wife of George V, her second son, and she took a long time relinquishing the crown jewels to Mary as was required. She carried on with her charities and during the First World War, continuing her hospital visiting although she was becoming very frail and blind. She was frankly anti-German and was very upset over what happened to her nephew Nicholas the last tsar of Russia. She had frequent visits from her sister Dagmar (Empress Maria of Russia who had been rescued from the revolution in Russia) and was looked after by her unmarried daughter Victoria. She died of a heart attack at Sandringham House on November 20, 1925 and was buried in Windsor.

Further reading: Entry on Alexandra in the “Oxford Dictionary of National Biography”, “The Royal Jewels” by Suzy Menkes Share this:

Question: Queen Alexandra was the wife of which British King?
Answer: EDWARD VII