How the children of the legendary Queen Victoria and Prince Albert are remembered in the world

2024 Author: Richard Flannagan | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-15 23:55

Queen Victoria is considered the most iconic and most prominent monarch throughout the world. Together with Prince Albert, they ruled long and wisely, and the foundations of the British monarchy that they laid are still valid today. However, did you know that the queen had as many as nine children, and that she perfectly combined maternal and royal qualities? Who were they, the royal offspring, and what are they best known for?

1. Victoria of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha

She was the oldest child in the royal couple, and was born in 1840. Mom and Dad often called her dearly - "Vicki", which emphasized her rather sweet disposition. Intelligent and developed, the girl studied well, and all thanks to the fact that her parents tried to give her the best education. So, by the age of five, the baby was already striving to learn French and German.

In 1858, when the girl was only eighteen, she fell in love with Frederick of Prussia, who would later become the emperor of Germany, and also went to live in his country. This royal couple boasted a truly large family of eight offspring - four boys and girls, respectively.

After Frederick ascended the throne in 1888, his wife, in turn, became the ruler of the German and Prussian lands. Her crowned husband, alas, died shortly after this memorable and important day. Vicki spent the rest of her life grieving for her husband, going to live in the Friedrichshof castle, built by her as a tribute to her love. The empress herself lived to be sixty years old, having passed away in 1901.

2. Edward VII

The second child in the family was Albert, aka Edward, who appeared in the fall of 1841. His parents affectionately called him "Bertie", and he also became the first heir, and therefore, after the death of his parents, he would take the British throne in accordance with English laws. In his childhood, he was known as a rather impudent child who loves various pranks. However, his parents rushed to stop this and took up his education, wanting him to be a worthy ruler of his country.

When Edward's father died, his mother, Queen Victoria, still continued to rule the country, but she ceased to lead a secular life. She allowed her son to represent her at various meetings, giving him the opportunity to appear in public more often. In 1863, the prince married Princess Alexandra of Denmark, and soon they had six children.

When his mother passed away, Bertie ascended the throne and became better known as Edward VII. Quite quickly, he won the popularity and love of the people for himself, having the reputation of a very energetic king. It was he who helped Great Britain build good relations with other European countries, and also contributed to the creation of the Entente. He managed to accomplish a great deal during his nine years in office before dying in 1910 at the age of sixty-eight.

3. Alice Great Britain

In April 1843, a replenishment happened in the royal family - a girl named Alice was born. She was known to the world for her modest and sensitive, very benevolent disposition. It was she who looked after her own father when he lay down before his death, and also took care of the mother when she grieved over his death.

In the summer of 1862, Alice married Ludwig of Hesse, after which she moved to the small German town of Darmstadt. The couple soon started a large family with seven children - Victoria, Elizabeth, Irene, Ernst, Friedrich, Alice and Maria.

Throughout her life, Princess Alice helped those who needed it. She was extremely interested in medicine, and it is rumored that she even attended classes with a famous British nurse, Mrs. Nightinglale. During the war, Alice actively visited hospitals, bandaged British soldiers and looked after them.

In 1873, a terrible thing happened in the life of Alice and her husband. Her young son, Frederick, crashed to death, leaving the princess devastated and defeated. However, this was not the only tragedy in her life. A few years later, the house in which she lived was captured by diphtheria. Despite all the efforts that Alice made, this was not enough, and the disease overcame her little daughter Maria. After some time, the princess herself fell ill with diphtheria, after which she died in 1878, when she was only thirty-five years old.

4. Alfred Saxe-Coburg-Gotha

In the summer of 1844, the royal couple had a replenishment - their second son, Alfred, was born. Relatives called him simply "Affi", and the boy himself was playful, cocky and even a little impudent.

When the kid was fourteen, he decided to try himself in military affairs. He rather successfully climbed the career ladder, and in the winter of 1866, when he was twenty-one, he received the rank of captain, having acquired a ship with the bright nickname "Galatea". In the same year, he officially received the title of Earl of Kent and Ulster.

Traveling was Alfred's greatest passion. He also married Maria Alexandrovna, with whom he later moved to his native city. They had a large and happy family with five children, where four daughters and one son were brought up in love.

After his uncle died, Alfred inherited the title of Duke of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha. Unfortunately for him, this meant that he needed to relinquish his position in the navy. However, he did not have to grieve for a long time, because in 1900 Alfred died at Rosenau Castle, in the city of Coburg, Germany. At that time he was fifty-five years old.

5. Elena Great Britain

The fifth child was Princess Helena, born in 1846. Her father and mother often called her Linchen, abbreviating the full German version of the name - Helenchen. As a child, Elena was strong and perky, she did not hesitate to fight with her brothers and sisters on equal terms.

In the summer of 1866, she married Prince Christian of Schleswig-Holstein in a sumptuous ceremony at Windsor Castle. Elena decided to stay close to her mother, whom she helped and performed some minor duties for her. For this, the newlywed couple moved to a small house near Windsor Park. In total, the couple had five children, however, unfortunately, the youngest of them, Harald, died eight days later.

Elena has often been described as an enthusiastic and very active woman. She became interested in medicine, becoming one of the founders of the Committee of the Red Cross, a society that actively helped those in need. Her creativity and potential was realized in the creation of the so-called school of needlework. Among other things, she was fond of literature, in particular, she really liked to do various translations of books and poems.

It is also said that the princess and her husband were incredibly in love with each other. However, her husband passed away in 1917, after they celebrated fifty years from their wedding date. Six decades later, Elena died at the Schomberg House residence.

6. Louise of Great Britain

In March 1848, the world was seen by the charming Lou - Duchess of Argyll. Among all the offspring of the queen, it was Louise who was considered the most beautiful, as well as the most talented, because already from infancy Lou showed a craving for art.

In 1871, Louise married the Duke John Campbell, Marquis of Lorne. Then the marriage of a princess with a young man who did not bear the title of prince was very rare. After some time, Victoria approved the union. She believed that this would help make British monarchs more popular in Canada.

The princess wanted to improve the woman's position in every possible way and fought hard for it. In 1872, Louise organized the opening of the Girl's Day School Trust. She helped educate young girls whose parents were not wealthy enough to pay for regular school. In 1875, she also became the founder of the Ladies Work Society, which gave the opportunity to engage in creativity and handicraft, receiving a reward for this.

After a couple of years, her husband John became Governor General of Canada, and the couple decided to change their place of residence to her capital. They returned home only in 1883, and immediately after that, the princess again took up the fight for women's rights. She did not forget about her love for creativity, which was expressed in the creation of a statue of her queen mother, which to this day is in one of the palaces.

This married couple did not have children, and therefore, when her husband died in 1914, Lou felt very lonely. The princess herself left this world in 1939, more than ninety-one years later.

7. Arthur, Duke of Connaught

Soon the world saw one of Victoria's favorites - Arthur. His birthday fell on May 1850. The Queen appreciated the fact that the child was very obedient from the cradle and did not cause any inconvenience to her.

Arthur grew up with a dream to be engaged in military affairs. At the age of sixteen, he was already studying at the Royal Military College, and after graduating from it, he was promoted to lieutenant. Thanks to his work, he was able to see and appreciate a variety of countries around the world, visited both Asia and Africa, as well as America. In 1879, being Duke of Connaught, he married Louise of Prussia. An extraordinary ceremony took place in Windsor, and soon their family was replenished with three children - two girls and an heir son.

In 1911, he took over as Governor General of Canada, which forced the family to travel to its cold capital. After the First World War broke out three years later, he became actively involved in the life of charitable organizations, and also helped the soldiers.

Unfortunately, his wife, Louise, was seriously ill, and therefore passed away in 1917, a very short time after their return home. However, after that, Arthur did not give up and continued to live an active, colorful life, and even found the beginning of World War II. The Duke passed away in the winter of 1942 at the age of ninety-one.

8. Leopold, Duke of Albany

Among the Queen's sons, Leopold, born in 1853, stood out. Already from the moment of birth, Leopold was diagnosed with hemophilia, which meant a fairly low blood clotting and the ability to die from any, even the most insignificant, scratch. Because of this, his mother zealously made sure that the boy did not play with his relatives, thanks to which Leo was forced to live alone for quite a long time.

However, despite her fear for her son's life, Victoria still allowed him to study at Oxford, where he became interested in studying a variety of subjects, including literature and art. Just like one of his brothers, he loved travel, and in 1880 he even went to the USA and Canada with his sister Louise.

In addition to hemophilia, Leo was also diagnosed with epilepsy, which often made his life unbearable. Such health problems meant that it would be very difficult for Leopold to find a bride for himself. However, love met him when he did not expect this at all, namely, when his mother, Victoria, agreed on his acquaintance with Princess Helena Waldeck-Pyrmont. The couple did not last long and soon got married, and also had two children - Alice and Karl.

However, the couple's happiness was very short-lived. In the spring of 1884, Leo accidentally fell down the stairs while in Cannes. The fall was quite unfortunate, with the result that Leo died at the age of thirty-one, literally a few months before his cheese, Karl, was due to be born. His wife Elena lived for many more years (over 38), and raised their children on her own.

nine. Beatrice of Great Britain

And finally, the last child of Queen Victoria was a girl named Beatrice, who was born on April 14, 1857. She was often called "Baby", and she was also an incredibly happy child who was pampered by both parents and siblings.

After her husband, Prince Albert, died, Queen Victoria devoted herself entirely to raising the little, four-year-old girl, creating a close, emotional bond with her that remained strong throughout their lives. From an early age, Bea was attached to her mother and even promised her that she would never leave her. A little later, at a more conscious age, she became the first helper for her mother, solving all her important and not so matters.

However, her plans were destined to change after she met the German prince, Heinrich Battenberg. Ultimately, Beatrice asked her mother to bless their marriage. The queen herself was furious, afraid of the possibility of losing her precious baby, but soon gave her consent. As a result of this marriage, the world saw four children - Victoria, Alexander, Leopold and Moritz. Unfortunately, Henry died in 1896 as a result of the Anglo-Ashantian wars, leaving his wife in utter sorrow. As a widow, she continued to help her mother for the rest of her life. After the queen passed away, broken and lonely, Beatrice finished keeping her mother's personal diaries, the number of which was surprising and amazing - about 122 volumes. She also helped ensure that they were soon published and made available to the public. Beatrice lived a very long life. She died when she was eighty-seven years old, in 1944 at the country house of Brentridge Park.

Read in the next article about how and where the children of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert grew up, and why.