Most of you probably know a thing or two about Queen Victoria, best known as “The Grandmother of Europe,” but for those of you who don’t, here is a brief history lesson and King and Queen’s family tree.
Queen Victoria married Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha on February 10th 1840, and just a few weeks after the wedding they were blessed with their first child. Between November of that year and April 1857, this royal couple brought the total of nine children to the world – four princes and five princesses. Queen Victoria was a strict mother and she requested utter obedience from her children from infancy to adulthood. This was well received by the children and it was one of the things that made this family very close. The other thing that brought them even closer was premature death of King Albert on December 11th, 1861. Thanks to the fact that eight of the children went on with their lives and got married to other prominent royal families, Queen Victoria got to become a grandmother of 40 grandchildren from where the nickname (The Grandmother of Europe) emerged.
In the segment below, you will see brief info about all of queen Victoria children starting with the:
Victoria, Princess Royal
Born: 21 November 1840
Married: Prince Frederick William of Prussia
Died: 5 August 1901
Not much is know about this, but when Victoria gave birth to their first child, she and King were slightly disappointed about the fact that their first wasn’t a boy, but they were very happy to have a child that came into the world in good health. The firstborn Princess Royal’s full name was Victoria Adelaide Mary Louise, and at the age of 17 she married Frederick of Prussia (Fritz) in order to assure forming of a strong alliance, but it should also be noted that these two were very much in love. They had eight children together, and the eldest of whom became Kaiser Wilhelm II.
Albert, Prince of Wales
Born: 9 November 1841
Married: Princess Alexandra of Denmark
Died: 6 May 1910
Prince Albert was very often regarded as a less intelligent than his sister Victoria, and because of that, he acted up a lot more. He had a few scandals in his lifetime, and the one was particularly bad as he was caught in the affair. Queen Victoria blamed him and this affair for the death of his father that happened later that year. Prince Albert did settle down eventually and married Alexandra of Denmark in 1863, and they had six children, five of whom survived infancy. Albert was highly praised for his diplomacy and after Queen Victoria died in January 1901, he assumed the throne as King Edward VII.
Princess Alice
Born: 25 April 1843
Married: Prince Louis of Hesse and the Rhine
Died: 14 December 1878
Alice was the biggest supporter of Queen Victoria, especially after the death of her father. She got married to the German Prince Louis of Hesse with whom she had seven children (two of them died). Princess made one mistake though, and it was the decision to breastfeed her first child after which her mother Queen Victoria named one of their royal cows “Princess Alice.” During Prussian wars, Alice got heavily involved in nursing thanks to which hospital provisions in Hesse were much improved. Alice was a true workaholic and that along with the death of her two children brought to her early demise at the age of 35.
Prince Alfred
Born: 6 August 1844
Married: Marie, Grand Duchess of Russia
Died: 30 July 1900
Prince Alfred Ernest Albert was his father’s favorite son. He joined the Navy in 1858, and because of his duties, he missed his father’s death. Alfred married Grand Duchess Marie of Russia, and that brought some discomfort in the family since Marie thought that her imperial title should give her precedence over the other princesses. He became the heir of the German duchy of Saxe-Coburg which came from his father’s brother Ernest in 1893, just after his naval career ended. Albert and Marie had only one son who unfortunately died. Due to the unfortunate death of his only son and the fact that he missed the see, during the last years of his marriage he was very unhappy. Alfred died just six months before Queen Victoria near the end of July 1900.
Princess Helena
Born: 25 May 1846
Married: Prince Christian of Schleswig-Holstein
Died: 9 June 1923
Helena, King and Queen’s third daughter, had a strong stance and she was very similar to Alfred – she as well loved the outdoor activities. She wed Prince Christian of Schleswig-Holstein in 1866 and moved closer to her mother to a place called Frogmore. She loved charity work and was president of the Royal British Nurses’ Association. One of the greatest achievements of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert children was achieved by Helena and Christian, who celebrated their golden wedding anniversary in 1916.
Princess Louise
Born: 18 March 1848
Married: John Campbell, Marquis of Lorne
Died: 3 December 1939
Out of five princesses, Louise was widely considered one of the prettiest. From an early age, she demonstrated an artistic talent which bought her a ticket to National Art Training School of Kensington. She was the first female sculptor who had a statue raised in a public place. Louise married John Campbell, a Scottish marquess and Member of Parliament. She was the only one out of nine Queen Victoria and King Albert’s children who weren’t able to become a parent, but the upside was that she remained in good health well into old age. Princess displayed a huge interest in women’s rights and was considered one of the most forward-thinking members of the family.
Prince Arthur
Born: 1 May 1850
Married: Princess Louise of Prussia
Died: 16 January 1942
Prince Arthur was the favorite of all Queen Victoria’s children. He showed a huge interest in military life which is why he joined the army in 1866. In 1874 he was created Duke of Connaught and Strathearn, and from 1911 to 1916 Arthur was Governor General of Canada. He married Princess Louise of Prussia and had three children with her. He died at the age of 91 which made him Victoria and Albert’s longest-lived son.
Prince Leopold
Born: 7 April 1853
Married: Princess Helen of Waldeck-Pyrmont
Died: 28 March 1884
Prince Leopold also made history but for one thing that isn’t so praise-worthy. Prince Leopold was the first-known hemophiliac in the British royal family. This rare disorder probably came from a genetic mutation that was transferred by his mother. Thanks to the disease he had a difficult childhood and was mostly confined and restricted, but he had rebelled against his mother and went to study at Oxford University. Queen Victoria wanted for him to lead a quiet life, but despite that, Leopold travelled in North America and married Helen of Waldeck-Pyrmont in 1882. His health issue gave him a very fragile life and it wasn’t meant for him to reach an advanced age. Just before his 31st birthday, he suffered a brain haemorrhage after he fell down a flight of stairs in Cannes. Despite his disorder, Leopold fathered two children; Alice and Charles.
Princess Beatrice
Born: 14 April 1857
Married: Prince Henry of Battenberg
Died: 26 October 1944
In 1861 when King Albert died, Beatrice had only four years. After Albert died Queen Victoria held dearly to Beatrice (more than any other child), and she literally didn’t relinquish her grasp until she died in January 1901. Because Queen Victoria was afraid to remain alone she didn’t let Beatrice wed for a long time, but when they finally found her a match, Queen Victoria let her wed Henry of Battenberg in 1885, but under one condition – the couple should reside permanently with the Queen. Beatrice sadly became a widow before the age of 40, and to make matters worst she also lost two of her four children. Beatrice transcribed Victoria’s extensive journals after she died, editing as she went and destroyed the original manuscripts in the process. Beatrice was last of Queen Victoria and King Albert’s children and she passed away in 1944.
