Princess Victoria (Vicky), Empress Frederick (1840-1901)

[Warren]

Originally Posted by windsorbrides1

The picture identified as Vicky's Wedding is actually Edward and Alexandra's Wedding.

Possibly, but both Elizabeth Longford in Victoria RI and Hannah Pakula in An Uncommon Woman caption the same photograph as Vicky at her own wedding in 1858.

[PssMarie-Elisabeth]

Vicky c1861

[marian]

I want to know about the life of Vicky, daughter of Queen Victoria. I want to Know if she was happy with her husband, if he didnt unfaithful to her. I know that she was a inteligent woman, and that she had bad relation with her older son, the kaiser. I want to know about her because I belive that she was a great woman, and, I am sorry that she died at 60's, in 1901, the same year that her mother and her brother, Alfred, dead.

[Jo of Palatine]

Here you can see some of her paintings -
Kaiserin Friedrich - Startseite
in Germany the widowed Viktoria was known as "Kaiserin Friedrich" - on google you might find lots of references to her under this name.

Here is an online-version of an exhibit: Victoria und Albert, Vicky and The Kaiser. A chapter of Anglo-German family relations

And here I found a book about her life in English:

Hannah Pakula: An uncommon woman. The empress Frederick. Daughter of Queen Victoria, wife of the crown prince of Prussia, mother of Kaiser Wilhelm, Simon & Schuster, New York, 1995

[Avareenah]

Vicky and Fritz were said to have had a blissfully happy marriage and both remained faithful to the other.

She died of cancer - said to be cancer of the spine because of the severe pain she suffered - but it is thought now that it was more likely due to breast cancer which had spread to other areas of the body, including the spine.

[Panicgrl]

She and her husband had a genuine love match. She had a very bad relationship with her son, partly due to her in-laws, partly due to Otto Von Bismarck.

I can't help but think what would have happened in Europe if her husband Kaiser Frederick had ruled for longer than 88 days. He was shaped by Vicky politically, who was shaped by her father, Prince Albert.

[gogm]

There are a number of pictures of her in this album:

Grand Ladies pictures from fashion photos on webshots .

[LadyCat]

Why would her jewelry been hidden in the basement during WWI? She had been dead several years at the time. I loved the way Vicky managed to get her personal papers and correspondence out of the house prior to her death, just as sh and Frederick had the foresight to spirit the same away from Prussia prior to Frederick's death. These two were true visionaries and had no illusions when it came to their eldest son.

Cat

[Emerald12]

Originally Posted by LadyCat

Why would her jewelry been hidden in the basement during WWI? She had been dead several years at the time.
Cat

Cat, the jewels were still in the family & her house, Friedrikshof (now Schlosshotel Kronberg), was still used by them. I guess they hid them to keep them safe in case of invasion -- succeeded too well. How can you possibly FORGET you hid a cache like that? Wouldn't happen in my basement (for more reasons than one)!

Emerald

[Mermaid1962]

I often wonder how different our world would be now if Frederick had lived to a ripe old age. If there was no World War I, Iraq wouldn't even exist.

[Avicenna]

Originally Posted by Mermaid1962

I often wonder how different our world would be now if Frederick had lived to a ripe old age. If there was no World War I, Iraq wouldn't even exist.

It would have been worse.

Actually Friedrich had the possiblity to take over the throne in 1862 when his father was willing to abdicate in his favour. Fortunatly for Prussia he hesitated and refused. The man was a big hesitator, no or poor will-power. Whereas his wife was willing to change the monarchy according to the English system, but refused all kind of social reforms. Remember, end of the 1860 ies Bismarck introduced a whole series of social reforms. All refused by the Crown Prince Couple and most of all the Crown Princess. She was so terribly focused on the English way of life that she forgot reality. Pathetic indeed.

WW1 would have come anyway. At this time there was a mood for war throughout Europe. Barbara Tuchman (Ambassador Morgenthau's grandchild) has described it clearly in her book "The guns of August".

[Lady Marmalade]

Beautiful...her wedding picture.

I think it is so sad..the relationship she had with Willy, Charlotte, and Henry. At least her three youngest daughters gave her unconditional love and support.

Her last days echo those of Queen Marie and her son Carol, when he refused treatment for his mother, and then made her take a train trip back to her home knowing full well that it did her more damage to her health and probably hastened her death.

How could two sons do this to their mothers?

[Roderick]

If one studies the life and character of the Empress Frederik it becomes apparent that she was not always the most benevolent of mothers and unfortunately this resulted in several of her children rejecting her and the ideals of herself and her husband.

[Menarue]

Originally Posted by Roderick

If one studies the life and character of the Empress Frederik it becomes apparent that she was not always the most benevolent of mothers and unfortunately this resulted in several of her children rejecting her and the ideals of herself and her husband.

That still doesn´t explain how a son could let his mother die in the most excruciating pain.

[Vasillisos Markos]

Originally Posted by Menarue

That still doesn´t explain how a son could let his mother die in the most excruciating pain.

I am not sure that Wilhelm allowed his mother to suffer from the cancer; I had always assumed that there was little the doctors could do to allay the pain short of overdosing her with morphine until she died. However, Wilhelm was a cruel and petty man and he certainly did not get along with his mother and she did not like him as well.

[Leslie2006]

Originally Posted by Roderick

If one studies the life and character of the Empress Frederik it becomes apparent that she was not always the most benevolent of mothers and unfortunately this resulted in several of her children rejecting her and the ideals of herself and her husband.

Right. Similar to how Vicky's mother treated Bertie (Edward VII). Thus, they did not get along well either.

[Avicenna]

Originally Posted by Leslie2006

Right. Similar to how Vicky's mother treated Bertie (Edward VII). Thus, they did not get along well either.

However, Queen Victoria would only stiffen towards Bertie after her husband's death. Surely Bertie created sufficient anxiety before and both parents had little confidence - documented in a letter of the Queen to her eldest daughter in April 1859, but at least he "showed quite a turn for social functions" (Hibbert in his biography on Edward VII) and e.g. Disraeli found him "intelligent, informed and with a singularly sweet manner". His weakness was his laziness. But when the Prince Consort had to sort out the Prince's liaison with a certain Nellie while being already ill, it was too much. The subsequent death was blamed by the Queen to Bertie ... at least according to Hibbert and I have no reason to doubt him. His argumentation appears conclusive to me.

Thus Wilhelms situation cannot be compared to the QV-Bertie relationship. It would be more appropriate to look into his fathers (Friedrich III) relationship with his respective father Wilhelm (the grandfather).

[Lady Marmalade]

I agree.. Her relationship with her three eldest has always fascinated me. I think some of that comes from the fact, that she was, shall we say, a bit over-confident in herself and a perfectionist. Her father and mother treated her like the princess she was and lavished their love on her. Albert's tutelage of her made her incredibly brilliant, that with her self-confidence, made her a very independent thinking princess at the time.

When she had Willy, and he was injured during birth physically with his arm, I don't think she could ever really accept a child who had somewhat of a physical handicap.

That coupled with his paternal grandparents' impressions on him, left him somewhat at a difficult crossroads with his mother.

Many of these women in this family seem to have such difficult and sad relationships with their oldest son...you see somewhat of a pattern.

[Martha]

I read that Vicky had a lot problemas with her son William.

[Leslie2006]

Vicky was the little perfectionist, but only because Queen Victoria was so quick to point out all her faults shortly after complimenting her daughter---she was that way with all of her children, and as a result, Vicky was that way, especially with her eldest three. Prince Albert was too confidant that his daughter was going to change the Prussian royal family in a good way, and he and his wife both refused to let Vicky forget the fact that she was born an English princess and should remain as such, therefore she was never able to fully become a Prussian---which is what would have saved her alot of scrutiny from her in-laws and her subjects. Vicky may very well have been in love with Fritz, but she was in a bad situation---her mother married her off way too young, and only did she realize this after Vicky had given birth to Charlotte in 1860. QV expected Vicky to write her all the time and any minute error that was made, she harped on her daughter for it. So being overly critical of her children (and herself) was not entirely Vicky's fault.