King Edward VII (1841-1910) and Queen Alexandra (1844-1925)

[pdas1201]

Originally Posted by Beetlejuice

Thank you so, so much! Where did you find them?

They are from several different books.

[Squidgy]

Photo 1: March 1863 This has to be one of the most depressing wedding photos ever taken. Victoria is in mourning clothes and staring at the bust of her late husband.

Photo 2: Queen Alexandra with her grandson Prince George

[michelleq]

Alexandra was a most beautiful Queen! Quite elegant!

[morgaine]

A Picture of Alexandras and Edward VI daughter Victoria from 1885:

[gogm]

There are wonderful color pictures of this beautiful and regal lady.



:)

There is a Yahoo! group about her at:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/queenalix/ :)

[Beetlejuice]

Here are some I found.

[Squidgy]

Thanks Beetlejuice! Lovely pictures!

My eye kept being drawn to one of the pictures at the bottom of your post - the one where she is holding one of her children. It took me awhile to realize that the reason I was being drawn to this picture was because she is really smiling in this picture - the most I have ever seen her smile. I know it wasn't the fashion back then to really look too happy in a picture, so this one is special.

[Vecchiolarry]

Hi Everyone,

This was the most exquisite queen!! Not many people could have carried off that look of so many jewels. Only she and her sister, the Russian Empress, and Queen Mary accomplished this well......

In Edmonton, which is the capital of Alberta, Canada, there is a very large hospital called 'The Royal Alexandra Hospital' and in the lobby there is a huge painting of Queen Alexandra that takes up nearly the whole west wall. It shows her in all her jewels and crown and robes - similar to the picture in #11 here and #71, picture 3.
Everyone who enters this lobby takes time to stare at this beautiful painting even if they don't know who she is. Most little girls know she is a queen just by looking at her.
Yes, I would say she was a successful queen -- certainly!!!!!! :)

There is a new book out called "Developing The Picture" by Frances Dimond that publishes pictures taken by Alexandra, as Princess of Wales and as Queen......

Regards,
Larry

[Elspeth]

I'd never really thought of Queen Maud of Norway as being a beauty or resembling her mother in any way, but in a couple of those pictures, especially the first of the sepia ones at the end of the set of photos, I had to look twice to be sure which of them it really was!

[strengthnhonor]

Those are really great pictures!

I read somewhere that she tried to commit suicide by slicing her neck but was unsuccessful and she wore choker necklaces to hide the scars.

[Jackswife]

I actually think Queen Alexandra wore chokers to hide a tracheotomy scar from when she had scarlet fever as a child (which is also why she walked with a slight limp ever afterwards), and not as a result of attempting suicide. And yes, she was quite the beauty of her day, more so than I think her sister Dagmar (Marie of Russia) and Thyra. A very elegant royal lady.

[Elspeth]

Unfortunately, physical beauty isn't the only component of compatibility. They don't sound as though they had a great deal in common apart from their royal birth.

[Jackswife]

I think Alexandra and Edward had more or less an arranged marriage, and though I'm sure there was mutual fondness and even affection on both their parts, there was *not* great passion or romantic love. Alexandra seemed extraordinarily tolerant of Edward's other ladies, probably because she knew her own position was totally secure and also because of her great popularity among the British people. I guess it was a different era and the press of the time was pretty discreet when it came to royal love affairs. I'm not defending Edward but I do think there was a sort of understanding between him and Alexandra.

[EmpressRouge]

Originally Posted by Jackswife

I think Alexandra and Edward had more or less an arranged marriage

I would disagree on that. Alexandra of Denmark, although young, royal, pretty, and Protestant, was NOT an ideal choice. The Danes and Germans were at odds over territorial claims, and most of Queen Victoria's lineage/relatives were German (Her eldest daughter, Vicky the Princess Royal, was Crown Princess of Germany). Because he was heir apparent to the British throne from birth, a lot care was taken into finding a future bride for Edward (young, royal, Protestant, etc.). Also, at the time, Edward was very wayward and had had a few liaisons with young actresses/dancers so scandalous that Queen Victoria forever blamed Edward's behavior for Prince Albert's death. So at the time, it was also essential for Edward to actually like his future bride. Edward did take a liking to Alexandra, and thus they were married. Alexandra managed to curb Edward's behavior for a short while, but he reverted back to his old ways. I think Edward, although he did care for his wife, was that type of man who could never control his wandering eye, and his position and times allowed him to pursue his interests. Alexandra, being the dignified royal she was, never complained. However she did manage to make herself irreplacable in the eyes of her devoted children and subjects. I'd call her one smart and dignified cookie...the perfect royal

[gogm]

Alexandra wore chokers because of a tracheotomy sore and not a suicide attempt. Edward's parents wanted someone who might hold his interest and Alexandra was the choice. Alexandra was not fond of the Hohenzollern clan. I Googled on Alexdra and found "Historical Boys Clothing" had this in an article "Queen Alexandra and the Germans;"

"Personal Matter
Queen Alexandra was not a person greatly concerned with history or European power politics. She did, however, have one political obsession, a deeply felt dislike for the Gerrmnas. The Prussian war with Denmark in 1864 and the loss of Scheswig-Holstein, however, intensified a life-long distaste for the Germans.

Prussia War with Denmark
Although now a little known historical footnote, the consequences of the Danish War were incalcuable. It was the first step in the organizatin of a future Germany under the most miliataraistic and conservative state in the German Confederation. There were German states with more liberal, democratic institutions (Bavaria, Hanover, and others) and less belicose, militaristic outlooks. The Danish War was the first step in Prussia's absorbtion of some of the more liberal German states such as Hannover and Hesse and the end of their constitutional monarchies. If there had been a more democratic, less miliatristic approch taken to German unification, the history of the 20th century may have been quite different. The Danish War was also an important step in changing the British perception of Prussia and Germany from a potential ally against their historical enemy France to a dangerous enemy. The fact that their popular Princess of Wales was Danish was an important factor in shaping British attitudes."

She wasn't perfect, hanging on to her daughter Princes Victoria, but she did very well, especially given the circumstances.

[EmpressRouge]

Vicky, the Princess Royal and Crown Princess of Germany, shared the more liberal views of her father, Prince Albert. However her son, Wilhem II followed Bismark's militaristic approach, to the horror of his parents. Vicky actually encouraged her brother's marriage w/ Alexandra, an unpopular moved in Germany. She didn't approach it politically and thought as gogm said, hold his attention. Alexandra's hatred of all things Prussian/German extended throughout the family. Her sister Dagmar, Empress Marie of Russia shared similar anti-German sentiment, and was greatly opposed to her son Nicholas's marriage to Alix of Hesse.

[lashinka2002]

Does anyone know what colour Alexandra's eyes are? I can't seem to tell exactly from the portraits. In some they look blue, others green and sometimes even hazel.

[pdas1201]

I would say she had hazel color eyes. Most of the pics I have seen of her point to that.

[gogm]

This well-known Winterhalter suggests brown eyes (even if the color is a little off) —



Here's an autographed picture of Victoria (her duaghter), her, and Dagmar (Wow! :)):

[betina]

she has blue eyes. Her sister Dagmar had brown eyes. On a painting at Amalienborg Castle of the two sisters Alexandra and Dagmar is it easy to see