Perhaps the biography does not say as many kind words as about Queen Alexander. She was a very kind, caring, affectionate and beautiful girl - a queen whom she could only dream of. Having inherited from her mother a taste for music, an elegant figure and facial features, as well as being a sincere person and having a deep Christian faith, she immediately liked Queen Victoria, and therefore became a favorite for the whole British people.
Princess Biography: The Early Years
Alexandra Carolina Maria Charlotte Louise Julia was born on the first day of December 1844. She was the daughter of the German prince Christian Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glucksburg and Princess Louise of Hesse-Kassel. As the biography of Alexandra Danish states, she appeared in the Yellow Palace of Copenhagen, which is not far from the royal palace complex Amalienborg. She had three brothers and two sisters. Given that all of them in the future concluded quite successful marriages with members of the royal families, Christiana and Louise were called "father-in-law and mother-in-law of Europe." Alexandra had eminent relatives, since both her parents were descendants of King Frederick V of Denmark and George II (Britain). The girl received her name in honor of the youngest daughter of Nicholas I and Alexandra Fedorovna - Grand Duchess Alexandra Romanova, the ex-wife of the brother of the mother of the Danish princess and who died 4 months before her birth.
Inheritance of the Danish throne and life in the palace of Bernstorf
Alexandra of Denmark’s father was not a direct heir to the throne of Denmark. It became such only in 1847 at the behest of the then-reigning King of Denmark Christian VIII. He was Louise's uncle. The decision was supported by all the major powers of Europe, and therefore in the middle of November 1863, she became Princess Alexandra. Louise, it is worth saying, was a very strong woman and easily experienced any difficulties. Their family was simple, good-natured and exemplary, like all Danes. Queen Louise took care of the family and her husband, she instilled in children a love of music, excellently raised them all, and made girls also good housewives who sewed their own clothes, always cooked and set the table. In general, they did their homework like ordinary children, not princesses and princes.
Alexandra's education
When the father of the future Queen Alexandra ascended the throne, he was granted the Bernstorf Palace. As a child, Alix, as her relatives called her, was not as charming as she was in her teens. She was a dummy. Alexandra loved swimming with her sister Dagmar, as well as gymnastics and horse riding under the control of her father. She studied English, French and German, the basics of religion, history and geography. In general, the girl developed in all directions. She loved music, drew well, sewed, sang and played the piano. Together with her mother and younger sisters, she was engaged in gardening. Already a princess of Wales, Alix ennobled the garden around Sandringham Palace.
Alexandra grew up as a comprehensively developed princess. In adolescence, she significantly changed, becoming a sophisticated lady with a beautiful figure and amazing facial features. And at the end of October 1860, a confirmation ceremony was held in the Christiansborg Palace.
The choice of the future British Queen - Alexandra
I sent you a photo of the charming daughter of Prince Christian. I met several people who saw her - their opinions converge in beauty, charm, good nature, sincere naturalness in behavior and many other excellent character traits. I believe that it is right to tell you that all these qualities are of interest to Bertie, although I, as a Prussian, do not want him to marry her. I know her nanny, who told me that she is in excellent health and has never been sick ... Looking at the photo, I can say that she is charming and in the taste of Berti, but I repeat that an alliance with Denmark will be a disaster for us.
This letter was written to Queen Victoria by her daughter, Crown Princess of Prussia Victoria. Mother herself asked to find a suitable spouse from among the German princesses for Bertie (her son - Prince of Wales Albert Edward). However, the choice of the sister fell precisely on Alexandra. Queen Victoria did not even consider Alix before receiving her daughter’s letter. The fact is that the "grandmother of Europe" knew about supporting the girls who were also part of the British royal family, the side of Prussia in the Schleswig-Holstein issue, with their relatives. And therefore, her candidacy was previously of last interest to Victoria. However, the daughter's letter made the Queen think. As a result, together with their spouse, they decided in favor of Alexandra Danish. In the future, she had a good relationship with the Queen of England, but there were cases when the daughter-in-law and mother-in-law completely refused to understand each other. Nevertheless, at the time of the Queen's death, in early 1901, Alix knelt before her and held her hand.
The marriage of Alix and Bertie
The future spouses and their parents met several times, after which the date of the wedding ceremony was determined. Before that, the young people, together with Queen Victoria, visited the Royal Mausoleum, where Prince Albert, the father of Bertie, rests. There, the "grandmother of Europe" said that he approves of their marriage and blesses. The celebration took place in the spring of 1863 in the chapel of St. George under the leadership of Archbishop Charles Thomas Longley. It is not known how reliable this information is, but it is believed that Bertie and Alix loved each other very much. However, Bertie had many lovers. Alexandra knew about it and was quite worthy of adultery. This woman had the strength to even maintain equal relations with each of them.
Within a few years after the wedding, Alexandra Danish and Edward VII had six children. Meanwhile, they traveled for the first 6 years. For example, in 1864 they traveled to the countries of the Scandinavian Peninsula, and in 1868 to Ireland. By this time, being already the third time pregnant, Alix began to suffer from pains associated with rheumatism, was severely limp and mainly walked with crutches. But this did not stop her from bearing the fourth child. From 1868 to 1869, the heirs of the royal throne visited Compiegne (Emperor Napoleon III), Paris, and then went to Denmark. After spending Christmas holidays with Alix's parents, her brothers and sisters, they went to Hamburg, and from there they returned to Britain. Then they traveled to Berlin, Vienna, Egyptian Alexandria, Luxor and Thebes. In the last city, the princess took shelter of a Nubian orphan, who was baptized upon arrival in England in 1869. Before that, they also managed to visit Cairo, Istanbul, Crimea, Greece, and then arrived home through France.
Throne of Great Britain
Queen Alexandra and King Edward VII became British monarchs in August 1902. The coronation procedure took place at Westminster Abbey in London. At that time, Alix was already 56 years old, and Bertie was 59. Their adult children got their families and gave the queen and king the grandchildren. In honor of their rule, an entire era was named - Edwardian.
King Edward VII passed away in 1910. His wife became the Queen Mother under George V, her second son. Having become a widow, he bought a house in Sandringham and lived there in solitude for several months, admitting only the closest relatives and faithful servants to him. She did not participate in public events, even did not come to the coronation of her son. Having recovered a little after the loss of her beloved husband, Alexandra returned to business. Her responsibilities included education, charity, health, and nursing. The years of the reign of Alexandra - the Queen of Great Britain and Ireland - were from 1901-1910.
Children of Alexandra and Edward
I buried my angel, and with it my happiness.
The British monarchs Alexandra and Edward VII had six children. Albert Victor Christian Edward (1864-1892) was the first to be born. He was supposed to become a British monk after his father, but died long before that, and his younger brother, who was born next, entered the throne. This is Georg Frederick Ernest Albert (1865-1936). He had five sons and one daughter. Among his children, George VI is the father of the current Queen Elizabeth II. The third, fourth and fifth child were the long-awaited daughters - Louise Victoria Alexandra Dagmar (1867-1931), Victoria Alexandra Olga Maria (1868-1935) and Maud Charlotte Maria Victoria (1869-1938). The sixth of the children of Queen Alexandra and Edward VII was again a boy. Alexander John was born on April 6, 1871 and died the next day.
The texts that the mother wrote to her children and their answers are preserved. They testify that Alexandra was madly in love with each of them - in fact, like them. The family had a very warm relationship. Therefore, when her eldest son died in 1892, she was very difficult to bear this loss. And these lines in the quote were devoted specifically to Albert Victor. She ordered to leave everything in the prince’s room in the same form as was during his lifetime.
The last years of the Queen’s life
Alexandra has experienced many losses in her life. These were the people whom she loved very much. But because of old age, it began to look much worse. And in general, her state of health left much to be desired. In recent years, she practically did not hear, because of a bursting vessel in the eye she began to see poorly, suffered from amnesia and had problems with speech. But until the end of her days, the Queen was interested in politics, in particular, all that concerned her native Denmark. Alexandra loved attending church near her home. Sometimes she was accompanied by her son. Mother and Princess Victoria, the middle daughter, did not leave. It is believed that precisely because of Alexandra’s unwillingness to let go of the child, the princess never got married and, accordingly, did not have children.
The queen died at the end of November 1925 at the age of 80 in the arms of her younger sister Dagmar. Alexander was buried next to her husband in the chapel of St. George on November 28.
Her Majesty Queen Alexandra in the cinema
The British nun was portrayed in several films. Among them:
- "Edward the Seventh" (1975);
- Lilly (1978);
- The Elephant Man (1980);
- Mrs. Brown (1997);
- “The entire royal army” (1999);
- “Passion” (1999);
- The Lost Prince (2003).
It is safe to say that Alexandra did not live in vain. She herself was perfectly raised by her mother, and gave a quality education to her children. She was married to a man whom she loved immeasurably. She maintained warm relations with all members of her family throughout her life. She tried to be the perfect daughter-in-law for Queen Victoria. Alix was always ready to help, including ordinary people, and she did not consider it shameful to visit the hospital during the First World War to learn how to help the wounded and nurses. This is a man with a capital letter, until the end of his days devoted to his native Denmark and Britain.