Alexandra wasPrincess of Wales from 1863 to 1901, the longest anyone has ever held that title, and became generally popular; fashion-conscious women copied her style of dress and bearing. Largely excluded from wielding any political power, she unsuccessfully attempted to sway the opinion of British ministers and her husband's family to favour Greek and Danish interests. Her public duties were restricted to uncontroversial involvement in charitable work.
Her father's family was a distantcadet branch of the Danish royalHouse of Oldenburg, which was descended from KingChristian III of Denmark. Although they were of royal blood,[a] the family lived a comparatively modest life. They did not possess great wealth; her father's income from an army commission was about£800 per year, and their house was a rent-freegrace and favour property.[3] Occasionally,Hans Christian Andersen was invited to call and tell the children stories before bedtime.[4]
In 1848,Christian VIII of Denmark died and his only sonFrederick acceded to the throne. Frederick was childless, had been through two unsuccessful marriages, and was assumed to be infertile. A succession crisis arose because Frederick ruled in both Denmark andSchleswig-Holstein, and the succession rules of each territory differed. InHolstein, theSalic law prevented inheritance through the female line, whereas no such restrictions applied in Denmark. Holstein, being predominantly German, proclaimed independence and called in the aid ofPrussia. In 1852, the major European powers called aconference in London to discuss the Danish succession. An uneasy peace was agreed, which included the provision that Prince Christian of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glücksburg would be Frederick's heir in all his dominions and the prior claims of others (who included Christian's ownmother-in-law,brother-in-law and wife) were surrendered.[5][6]
Prince Christian was given the title Prince of Denmark and his family moved into a new official residence,Bernstorff Palace. Although the family's status had risen, there was little or no increase in their income; and they did not participate in court life in Copenhagen, for they refused to meet Frederick's third wife and former mistress,Louise Rasmussen, because she had an illegitimate child by a previous lover.[7]
Alexandra shared a draughty attic bedroom with her sister,Dagmar, made her own clothes, and waited at table along with her sisters.[8] Alexandra and Dagmar were given swimming lessons by the Swedish pioneer of women's swimming,Nancy Edberg.[9] At Bernstorff, Alexandra grew into a young woman; she was taught English by the English chaplain in Copenhagen and wasconfirmed inChristiansborg Palace.[10] She was devout throughout her life, and followedhigh church practice.[11]
Given that Albert Edward, thePrince of Wales, would reach the age of twenty in November 1861, his parentsQueen Victoria and her husband,Prince Albert, were taking steps to find a bride for him. They enlisted the aid of their eldest (and already-married) daughter,Crown Princess Victoria of Prussia, in seeking a suitable candidate. Alexandra was not their first choice because the Danes were at loggerheads with the Prussians over theSchleswig-Holstein Question, and most of theBritish royal family's relations were German. Eventually, after rejecting other possibilities, they settled on her as "the only one to be chosen".[12]
On 24 September 1861, Crown Princess Victoria introduced her brother Albert Edward to Alexandra atSpeyer. Almost a year later on 9 September 1862 (after his affair withNellie Clifden and the death of his father Prince Albert), Albert Edward proposed to Alexandra at theRoyal Castle of Laeken, the home of his great-uncle, KingLeopold I of Belgium.[13]
Thomas Longley, theArchbishop of Canterbury, married the couple on 10 March 1863 atSt George's Chapel, Windsor Castle. The choice of venue was criticised. As the ceremony took place outside London, the press complained that large public crowds would not be able to view the spectacle. Prospective guests thought it awkward to get to and, as the venue was small, some people who had expected invitations were disappointed. The Danes were dismayed because only Alexandra's closest relations were invited. The British court was still in mourning for Prince Albert, so ladies were restricted to wearing grey, lilac, or mauve.[15] As the couple left Windsor for their honeymoon atOsborne House on theIsle of Wight, they were cheered by the schoolboys of neighbouringEton College, includingLord Randolph Churchill.[16]
By the end of the following year, Alexandra's father had acceded to the throne of Denmark, her brother William had becomeKing George I of Greece,her sister Dagmar was engaged toNicholas Alexandrovich, Tsesarevich of Russia,[b] and Alexandra had given birth to her first child. Her father's accession gave rise tofurther conflict over the fate of Schleswig-Holstein. TheGerman Confederation successfully invaded Denmark, reducing the area of Denmark by two-fifths. To the great irritation of Queen Victoria and the Crown Princess of Prussia, Alexandra and Albert Edward supported the Danish side in the war. ThePrussian conquest of former Danish lands heightened Alexandra's profound dislike of the Germans, a feeling which stayed with her for the rest of her life.[17]
Alexandra with her firstborn child,Albert Victor, 1864
Alexandra's first child,Albert Victor, was born two months premature in early 1864. Alexandra showed devotion to her children: "She was in her glory when she could run up to the nursery, put on a flannel apron, wash the children herself and see them asleep in their little beds."[18] Albert Edward and Alexandra had six children in total: Albert Victor, George,Louise,Victoria,Maud, andAlexander. All of Alexandra's children were apparently born prematurely; biographerRichard Hough thought Alexandra deliberately misled Queen Victoria as to her probable delivery dates, as she did not want the Queen to be present at their births.[19] During the birth of her third child in 1867, the added complication of a bout ofrheumatic fever threatened Alexandra's life and left her with a permanent limp.[20]
In public, Alexandra was dignified and charming; in private, affectionate and jolly.[21] She enjoyed many social activities, including dancing and ice-skating, and was an expert horsewoman andtandem driver.[22] She also enjoyedhunting, to the dismay of Queen Victoria, who asked her to stop, but without success.[23] Even after the birth of her first child, she continued to socialise much as before, which led to some friction between the Queen and the young couple, exacerbated by Alexandra's loathing of Prussians and the Queen's partiality towards them.[17]
Albert Edward and Alexandra visitedIreland in April 1868. After her illness the previous year, she had only just begun to walk again without the aid of two walking sticks, and was already pregnant with her fourth child.[24] The royal couple undertook a six-month tour taking inAustria,Egypt andGreece over 1868 and 1869, which included visits to her brotherGeorge I of Greece, to theCrimean battlefields and, for her only, to the harem of theKhedive Ismail. InTurkey she became the first woman to sit down to dinner with the Sultan (Abdulaziz).[25]
The couple madeSandringham House their preferred residence, withMarlborough House their London base. Biographers agree that their marriage was in many ways a happy one; however, some have asserted that Albert Edward did not give his wife as much attention as she would have liked and that they gradually became estranged, until his attack oftyphoid fever (the disease which was believed to have killed his father) in late 1871 brought about a reconciliation.[26][27] This is disputed by others, who point out Alexandra's frequent pregnancies throughout this period and use family letters to deny the existence of any serious rift.[28] Nevertheless, the prince was severely criticised from many quarters of society for his apparent lack of interest in her very serious illness withrheumatic fever.[29] Throughout their marriage Albert Edward continued to keep company with other women, including the actressLillie Langtry,Daisy Greville, Countess of Warwick, humanitarianAgnes Keyser, and society matronAlice Keppel. Alexandra knew about most of these relationships and later permitted Alice Keppel to visit her husband as he lay dying.[30] Alexandra herself remained faithful throughout her marriage.[31]
An increasing degree of deafness, caused by hereditaryotosclerosis, led to Alexandra's social isolation; she spent more time at home with her children and pets.[32] Her sixth and final pregnancy ended with the birth of a son in April 1871, but the infant died the next day. Despite Alexandra's pleas for privacy, Queen Victoria insisted on announcing a period of court mourning, which led unsympathetic elements of the press to describe the birth as "a wretched abortion" and the funeral arrangements as "sickening mummery", even though the infant was not buried in state with other members of the royal family at Windsor, but in strict privacy in the churchyard at Sandringham, where he had lived out his brief life.[33]
For eight months over 1875–76, Albert Edward was absent from Britain on a tour of India, but to her dismay Alexandra was left behind. The prince had planned an all-male group and intended to spend much of the time hunting and shooting. During his tour, one of Albert Edward's friends who was travelling with him,Lord Aylesford, was told by his wife that she was going to leave him for another man,Lord Blandford, who was himself married. Aylesford was appalled and decided to seek adivorce.[34]
Meanwhile, Lord Blandford's brother,Lord Randolph Churchill, persuaded the lovers against an elopement. Now concerned by the threat of divorce, Lady Aylesford sought to dissuade her husband from proceeding, but Lord Aylesford was adamant and refused to reconsider. In an attempt to pressure Lord Aylesford to drop his divorce suit, Lady Aylesford and Lord Randolph Churchill called on Alexandra and told her that if the divorce was to proceed they would subpoena her husband as a witness and implicate him in the scandal. Distressed at their threats, and following the advice ofSir William Knollys andthe Duchess of Teck, Alexandra informed the Queen, who then wrote to the Prince of Wales. The prince was incensed. Eventually, the Blandfords and the Aylesfords both separated privately. Although Lord Randolph Churchill later apologised, for years afterwards the Prince of Wales refused to speak to or see him.[34]
Alexandra spent the spring of 1877 in Greece recuperating from a period of ill health and visiting her brother King George of Greece.[35] During theRusso-Turkish War, Alexandra was clearly partial against Turkey and towards Russia, whereher sister was married to the Tsarevitch, and she lobbied for a revision of the border between Greece and Turkey in favour of the Greeks.[36] Alexandra spent the next three years largely parted from her two sons as the boys were sent on a worldwide cruise as part of their naval and general education. The farewell was very tearful and, as shown by her regular letters, she missed them terribly.[37] In 1881, Alexandra and Albert Edward travelled toSaint Petersburg after theassassination ofAlexander II of Russia, both to represent Britain and so that Alexandra could provide comfort to her sister, who had becometsarina.[38]
Alexandra undertook many public duties; in the words of Queen Victoria, "to spare me the strain and fatigue of functions. She opens bazaars, attends concerts, visits hospitals in my place ... she not only never complains, but endeavours to prove that she has enjoyed what to another would be a tiresome duty."[39] She took a particular interest in theLondon Hospital, visiting it regularly.Joseph Merrick, the so-called "Elephant Man", was one of the patients whom she met.[40] Crowds usually cheered Alexandra rapturously,[41] but during a visit to Ireland in 1885, she suffered a rare moment of public hostility when visiting theCity of Cork, a hotbed ofIrish nationalism. She and her husband were booed by a crowd of two to three thousand people brandishing sticks and black flags. She smiled her way through the ordeal, which the British press still portrayed in a positive light, describing the crowds as "enthusiastic".[42] As part of the same visit, she received a Doctorate in Music fromTrinity College Dublin.[43]
Alexandra was deeply saddened by the death of her eldest son, Prince Albert Victor, in 1892. His room and possessions were kept exactly as he had left them, much as those of his grandfather Prince Albert were left after his death in 1861.[44] Alexandra said, "I have buried my angel and with him my happiness."[45] Surviving letters between Alexandra and her children indicate that they were mutually devoted.[46] In 1894, her brother-in-lawAlexander III of Russia died and her nephewNicholas II becameTsar. Alexandra's widowed sister, Dowager Empress Maria of Russia, leant heavily on her for support; Alexandra, who had gone to Russia accompanied by her husband, slept, prayed, and stayed beside Maria for the next two weeks until Alexander's burial.[47] Alexandra and Albert Edward stayed on for the wedding of Nicholas to their niecePrincess Alix of Hesse and by Rhine, who had taken the Russian name Alexandra Feodorovna and became the new tsarina.
With thedeath of her mother-in-law, Queen Victoria, in 1901, Alexandra became queen-empress with her husband's accession as Edward VII. Just two months later, her son George and daughter-in-lawMary left on an extensive tour of the empire, leaving their young children in the care of Alexandra and Edward, who doted on their grandchildren. On George's return, preparations forEdward and Alexandra's coronation inWestminster Abbey were well in hand, but just a few days before the scheduled coronation in June 1902, the King became seriously ill withappendicitis. Alexandra deputised for him at a military parade and attended theRoyal Ascot races without him, in an attempt to prevent public alarm.[48] Eventually, the coronation had to be postponed and Edward had an operation performed byFrederick Treves of theLondon Hospital to drain the infected appendix. After his recovery, Alexandra and Edward were crowned together in August: the King by theArchbishop of Canterbury,Frederick Temple, and the Queen by theArchbishop of York,William Dalrymple Maclagan.[49]
Despite being queen, Alexandra's duties changed little, and she kept many of the same retainers. Alexandra'sWoman of the Bedchamber,Charlotte Knollys, the daughter of Sir William Knollys, served Alexandra loyally for many years. On 10 December 1903, Knollys woke to find her bedroom full of smoke. She roused Alexandra and shepherded her to safety. In the words ofGrand Duchess Augusta of Mecklenburg-Strelitz, "We must give credit to old Charlotte forreally saving [Alexandra's] life."[50]
Alexandra (right) was an enthusiastic amateur photographer.[51] This photograph of her with her daughter Victoria is fromQueen Alexandra's Christmas gift book, which was published in 1908 to raise money for charities.
Alexandra again looked after her grandchildren when George and Mary went on a second tour, this time toBritish India, over the winter of 1905–06.[52] Her father, Christian IX of Denmark, died that January. Eager to retain their family links, both to each other and to Denmark, in 1907 Alexandra and her sister, Dowager Empress Maria, purchased a villa north of Copenhagen,Hvidøre, as a private getaway.[53]
Alexandra was denied access to the King's briefing papers and excluded from some of his foreign tours to prevent her meddling in diplomatic matters.[54] She was deeply distrustful of Germans, particularly her nephew German EmperorWilhelm II, and she invariably opposed anything that favoured German expansion or interests. For example, in 1890 Alexandra wrote a memorandum, distributed to senior British ministers and military personnel, warning against the planned exchange of the BritishNorth Sea island ofHeligoland for the German colony ofZanzibar, pointing out Heligoland's strategic significance and that it could be used either by Germany to launch an attack, or by Britain to contain German aggression.[55] Despite this,the exchange went ahead. The Germans fortified the island and, in the words ofRobert Ensor and as Alexandra had predicted, it "became the keystone of Germany's maritime position for offence as well as for defence".[56] TheFrankfurter Zeitung was outspoken in its condemnation of Alexandra and her sister Maria, saying that the pair were "the centre of the international anti-German conspiracy".[57] Alexandra despised and distrusted Emperor Wilhelm, calling him "inwardly our enemy" in 1900.[58]
In 1910, Alexandra became the first queen consort to visit theBritish House of Commons during a debate. In a remarkable departure from precedent, for two hours she sat in the Ladies' Gallery overlooking the chamber while theParliament Bill, to remove the right of theHouse of Lords to veto legislation, was debated.[59] Privately, Alexandra disagreed with the bill.[60] Shortly afterwards, she left to visit her brother George inCorfu. While there, she received news that King Edward was seriously ill. Alexandra returned at once and arrived only the day beforeher husband died. In his last hours, she personally administered oxygen from a gas cylinder to help him breathe.[61] She toldFrederick Ponsonby, "I feel as if I had been turned into stone, unable to cry, unable to grasp the meaning of it all."[62] Later that year she moved out ofBuckingham Palace toMarlborough House, but she retained possession of Sandringham.[63] The new king, Alexandra's son George V, soon faced a decision over the Parliament Bill. Despite her personal views, Alexandra supported her son's reluctant agreement to Prime MinisterH. H. Asquith's request to create sufficient Liberal peers after a general election if the Lords continued to block the legislation.[64]
From Edward's death, Alexandra wasqueen mother, being adowager queen and the mother of the reigning monarch. She did not attendthe coronation of her son and daughter-in-law in 1911 since it was not customary for a crowned queen to attend the coronation of another king or queen, but otherwise continued the public side of her life, devoting time to her charitable causes. One such cause wasAlexandra Rose Day, where artificial roses made by people with disabilities were sold in aid of hospitals by women volunteers.[65][c] During theFirst World War the custom of hanging the banners of foreign princes invested with Britain's highest order of knighthood, theOrder of the Garter, inSt George's Chapel, Windsor Castle, came under criticism, as the German members of the Order were fighting against Britain. Alexandra joined calls to "have down those hateful German banners".[66] Driven by public opinion, but against his own wishes, the King had the banners removed; but to Alexandra's dismay, he had taken down not only "those vilePrussian banners" but also those of herHessian relations who were, in her opinion, "simply soldiers or vassals under that brutal German Emperor's orders".[66] On 17 September 1916, she was at Sandringham during aZeppelin air raid,[67] but far worse was to befall other members of her family. In Russia, her nephewTsar Nicholas II was overthrown and he, his wife and their children werekilled by revolutionaries. Dowager Empress Maria was rescued from Russia in 1919 byHMS Marlborough and brought to England, where she lived for some time with her sister Alexandra.[68]
Alexandra retained a youthful appearance into her senior years,[69] but during the war her age caught up with her.[70] She took to wearing elaborate veils and heavy makeup, which was described by gossips as having her face "enamelled".[8] She made no more trips abroad, and her health worsened. In 1920, a blood vessel in her eye burst, leaving her with temporary partial blindness.[71] Towards the end of her life, her memory and speech became impaired.[72] Alexandra died at 5:25 pm on 20 November 1925 atSandringham House from a heart attack, aged 80.[73] Shelay in state atWestminster Abbey and was interred on 28 November next to her husband inSt George's Chapel, Windsor Castle.[1][74]
Alexandra was highly popular with the British public.[77] Unlike her husband and mother-in-law, Alexandra was not castigated by the press.[78] Funds that she helped to collect were used to buy a river launch, calledAlexandra, to ferry the wounded during theSudan campaign,[79] and to fit out a hospital ship, namedThe Princess of Wales, to bring back wounded from theBoer War.[80] During the Boer War, Queen Alexandra's Imperial Military Nursing Service, later renamedQueen Alexandra's Royal Army Nursing Corps, was founded under Royal Warrant.
Alexandra had little understanding of money.[81] The management of her finances was left in the hands of her loyalcomptroller, SirDighton ProbynVC, who undertook a similar role for her husband. In the words of her grandson,Edward VIII (later the Duke of Windsor), "Her generosity was a source of embarrassment to her financial advisers. Whenever she received a letter soliciting money, a cheque would be sent by the next post, regardless of the authenticity of the mendicant and without having the case investigated."[82] Though she was not always extravagant (she had her old stockings darned for re-use and her old dresses were recycled as furniture covers),[83] she would dismiss protests about her heavy spending with a wave of a hand or by claiming that she had not heard.[84]
Alexandra hid a small scar on her neck, which was probably the result of a childhood operation,[85] by wearingchoker necklaces and high necklines, setting fashions which were adopted for fifty years.[86] Alexandra's effect on fashion was so profound that society ladies even copied her limping gait, after her serious illness in 1867 left her with a stiff leg.[87] This came to be known as the "Alexandra limp".[88][89] She used predominantly the London fashion houses; her favourite wasRedfern's, but she shopped occasionally atDoucet and Fromont of Paris.[83]
Queen Alexandra's arms upon theaccession of her husband in 1901 were theroyal coat of arms of the United Kingdom impaled with the arms of her father, the King of Denmark.[111][112] The shield is surmounted by the imperial crown, and supported by the crowned lion of England and a wild man or savage from theDanish royal arms.[111]
^"Luisen-orden",Königlich Preussische Ordensliste (in German), vol. 1, Berlin: Königlichen General-Ordens-Kommission, 1886, p. 1056, archived fromthe original on 1 October 2022 – via hathitrust.org
^"Goldener Löwen-orden",Großherzoglich Hessische Ordensliste (in German), Darmstadt: Staatsverlag, 1914, p. 2 – via hathitrust.org
^"Court Circular".The Times. No. 36794. London. 14 June 1902. p. 12.
^"Court Circular".The Times. No. 36808. London. 1 July 1902. p. 3.
^"Elisabeth-orden",Hof- und Staatshandbuch der Österreichisch-Ungarischen Monarchie, Vienna: Druck und Verlag der K.K. Hof- und Staatsdruckerei, 1918, p. 328, archived fromthe original on 8 March 2023
Duke of Windsor, Edward (1952).A king's story : the memoirs of H.R.H. the Duke of Windsor K.G. London: Prion.ISBN1-85375-303-3.OCLC40768465.{{cite book}}:ISBN / Date incompatibility (help)
The generations include wives of princes descended fromGeorge I, who formalised the use of the titlesprince andprincess for members of the British royal family.
1 Also princess of Norway 2 Also princess of Greece 3 Also princess of Iceland 4 Not Danish princess by birth, but created princess of Denmark Princesses that lost their title are shown in italics
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![As a Lady of the Garter, Alexandra's banner of arms hung in St George's Chapel, Windsor Castle, during her lifetime despite the objections of Garter Principal King of Arms Sir Albert Woods. When Woods complained that placing her banner in the chapel would be unprecedented, "the King promptly ordered the banner to be put up."[113]](/mt/?noimg=&dark=on&url=http%3a%2f%2fen.wikipedia.org%2fwiki%2fFile%3aRoyal_Standard_of_Alexandra_of_Denmark%2c_Queen_Consort.svg)
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