"Queen Victoria's Children" (2013) - BBC Two Documentary


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Dman

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Queen Victoria's Children:
Spanning 60 years, this three-part family saga explores the reign of Victoria through her personal relationships with her husband and her nine children. It is a story of manipulation, conflict, intimidation, emotional blackmail and fevered attempts by her children to escape the clutches of their domineering and needy mother.
The series uses a wealth of written material and photos left by Victoria, Albert and her children, including letters, diaries, memoirs, and journals, to bring the subject and characters to life.
This first episode focuses on Victoria’s tempestuous relationship with Prince Albert and their attempts to engineer the upbringing of their children, and to save the monarchy by projecting a modern image of the royal family.

Tuesday 1 January
9.00-10.00pm
BBC TWO

BBC - Media Centre - Programme Information - Queen Victoria's Children
 
That sounds very interesting.
 
Any news on if this is going to be shown in the States?
 
Sounds interesting but will it be just more of the same or will it show something new?
 
Maybe it will show up on BBC America?
 
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Sounds interesting but will it be just more of the same or will it show something new?
I doubt there will be, or can be, anything new as the source material, stated as "including letters, diaries, memoirs, and journals" has been thoroughly mined by biographers for over a century. Chances are that any material which did come to light and which hadn't been seen before will merely reinforce what is already known.

Nonetheless, VRI is eminently quotable; despite the prevailing view of the Victorian era as being somewhat reticent or "buttoned up", the Queen certainly didn't hold back in her private correspondence. The success or otherwise of the series will more than likely depend on how the material is presented, the areas on which the producers have chosen to focus, and whether there is a particular line they want to push.
 
Something interesting to watch on New Years day then!
 
The 'angle' for this series seems to be to emphasise what an absolute monster of a mother Victoria was. I think most people know that she wasn't exactly Maria von Trapp, but the people behind this seem to think that we have this idea of Victoria and Albert as living in familial perfection and want to set us straight. Sigh.

Anyhow, it's unlikely to be much worse than anything else on tonight. Those overseas should be able to find a link or two in the usual places.
 
Watching it on BBC2 now its quite interesting!
 
I agree, I really enjoyed the first part of the series.

I hope Victoria & Albert learned somewhere down the line that there's no such thing as the "perfect family" and there's no guarantee that your children will grow up and become the people you always hoped they will be. Royal or not.
 
Yes, it seems that Victoria figured out far too late that the more parents try to control every aspect of their children's lives, the more likely they are to rebel against it.

I wonder how different Victoria might have been had she had easy access to reliable contraception in the way that women do now? She enjoyed the physical aspect of marriage so much, but that only led to her being almost continually pregnant, which she hated. The breastfeeding that she so detested would, ironically, have made her much less likely to get pregnant again so soon after each birth, but she wanted nothing to do with it.

I wonder if she'd been able to control when and how often she got pregnant, she might have been a much more contented person? I know she had a weird childhood, to put it mildly, but she seemed to resent the fact that having so many children in such a short time meant she couldn't do the things she wanted to do (mainly be with Albert as much as possible).
 
Yes, it seems that Victoria figured out far too late that the more parents try to control every aspect of their children's lives, the more likely they are to rebel against it.

I agree with your observation,sadly for Victoria her beloved Albert was no longer around when it was too late!
 
I guess at that time there was no Dr Phil or someone to tell Victoria & Albert that raising children is hard and forcing them to be something that they're not wasn't the best thing to do.

I know Victoria loved her husband and wanted to be around him all the time but those children also needed some tender love and care too.
 
I know Victoria loved her husband and wanted to be around him all the time but those children also needed some tender love and care too.

Perhaps, but we cannot expect them to have given something neither had experienced in their own childhoods. They probably thought they were doing the best possible thing for their children compared to the upbringing they had received.
 
Yeah I see what you mean.
 
Nothing new in this series, I'll probably watch the other two parts out of historical interest and to be fair what's left to examine about Victoria? She's been done to death.
 
I didn't think it said anything new. I'll watch the other 2 parts, but I assume it's going to be same old, same old - not wanting Beatrice to marry and move away, not being keen on Affie marrying a Russian Grand Duchess, pressurising poor old Louis of Hesse have his second marriage annulled, etc!

I don't think they needed to be quite so negative: Victoria and Vicky wrote to each other several times a week for as long as Victoria lived, which hardly suggests a bad mother-daughter relationship. Also, trying to control your children was fairly normal for upper and middle class families at the time. Victoria's own mother was very controlling, and George III was another one who tried to control his children. It was hardly something Victoria and Albert were the only people in the world to do! & they did try to find their children partners whom they genuinely liked, whereas the BBC made out that Vicky was virtually forced to marry Fritz at 17.
 
I agree with all who said the series sheds nothing new so far but I will watch the next 2 episodes tonight and tomorrow.
 
There seems to be a rash of royal documentaries lately, I suppose they're trying to cash in on the royal wedding/diamond jubilee success. The BBC have had multi-part docs on George V and Mary, now on Victoria. Ch4 also recently showed a doc on Prince Philip's mother which got a surprisingly big audience.
 
When are these going to be released in the US? I would so like to see these programs!!
 
I like the title for tonight's episode 'a Domestic Tyrant' :D
 
I would love them for them to do a show on Victoria's granddaughters....Something along the lines of Born to Rule...a great book on Victoria Eugenia of Spain, Alexandra of Russia (which we already know alot about), Marie of Romania, Sophie of Greece and Maud of Norway with a bit on some other lesser known royals. I mean the granddaughters were just as if not more interesting than the actual kids. Now that would have been something!
 
I agree. Other than Maud of Norway the other ladies had rather difficult/interesting lives in the countries they married into.
 
Yes, it seems that Victoria figured out far too late that the more parents try to control every aspect of their children's lives, the more likely they are to rebel against it.

I wonder how different Victoria might have been had she had easy access to reliable contraception in the way that women do now? She enjoyed the physical aspect of marriage so much, but that only led to her being almost continually pregnant, which she hated. The breastfeeding that she so detested would, ironically, have made her much less likely to get pregnant again so soon after each birth, but she wanted nothing to do with it.

I wonder if she'd been able to control when and how often she got pregnant, she might have been a much more contented person? I know she had a weird childhood, to put it mildly, but she seemed to resent the fact that having so many children in such a short time meant she couldn't do the things she wanted to do (mainly be with Albert as much as possible).

Hello, EIIR:
Your thoughts seem on point. I have Cecil Woodham-Smith's biography of Victoria - all 486 pages of it. :) One of the things that is rather sad is that Victoria dreaded pregnancy so much (and the thought of numerous children especially)...so really too bad that she had to have so many. I can't imagine having so little freedom in childhood as she had...having to share a room with her mother...even to sleeping in the same bed. I don't mean to be disrepectful...but, it seems to me that it would stunt the growth of one's personal development. Victoria seems to have been immature...throughout her life. Just my view...not necessarily correct. :)
 
I agree. Other than Maud of Norway the other ladies had rather difficult/interesting lives in the countries they married into.
I agree; a documentary of Victoria's granddaughter would have been fantastic.
Just as an overview of who Victoria's granddaughters were:

- Princess Margaret of Connaught, Crown Princess of Sweden
It is said her pro-reform attitude (one she gently passed to her husband as well) might have well saved the Swedish Monarchy.

- Princess Patricia of Connaught, Lady Patricia Ramsay
The Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry was the very last privately raised regiment in the British Empire. It was raised by Andrew Hamilton Gault at his own expense.

- Princess Alice of Albany, Countess of Athlone
Alice was the longest-lived British Princess by blood, as well as the last surviving grandchild of Queen Victoria. During her tenure as vicereine of Canada, many royal refugees from various European monarchies stayed at their residence, including Crown Prince Olav (Olav V) and Crown Princess Martha of Norway, King Peter of Yugoslavia, King George of Greece, Empress Zita with her daughters, Queen Wilhelmina and Princess Juliana (Queen Juliana) of the Netherlands (Alice would later become godmother of Juliana's daughter, Beatrix), Grand Duchess Charlotte and Prince Felix of Luxembourg.

- Victoria Eugenie of Battenberg, Queen of Spain
The deeply unhappy wife of King Alfonso who never forgave her for passing the haemophilia gene to two of their sons.

- Louise Princess Royal and Duchess of Fife
The eldest daughter of Edward VII, to me personally she is mostly interested in connection with her husband's title of the Duke of Fife (and how it was allowed to be inherited in female line).

- Princess Victoria of the United Kingdom
The younger daughter of Edward VII, she was also George V's favourite sibling.

- Maud of Wales, Queen of Norway
Nicknamed "Harry" because of her liveliness, she came to be known as a style icon later in her life.

- Victoria Mountbatten, Marchioness of Milford Haven (Princess Victoria of Hesse and by Rhine)
After the death of her mother, she became a mother figure to he younger siblings. Unfortunately, she got to see two of her sisters (Empress Alexandra and Grand Duchess Elizabeth) murdered during the Russian Revolution (it is said that during her last visit to Russia, Victoria drove past the house the Imperial Family would be murdered in three years later), as well her daughter's nervous breakdown. After Alice was diagnosed with schizophrenia, she took care of Prince Philip (the Duke of Edinburgh), who later recalled: "I liked my grandmother very much and she was always helpful. She was very good with children ... she took the practical approach to them. She treated them in the right way – the right combination of the rational and the emotional." Victoria also thought Winston Churchill (then First Lord of the Admiralty) was unreliable because he once borrowed a book from her and never returned it.

- Grand Duchess Elizabeth Feodorovna of Russia, St. Elizabeth Romanova (Princess Elizabeth of Hesse and by Rhine)
One of the tragic victims of the Russian Revolution who never did harm to anyone in her life.

- Empress Alexandra of Russia (Princess Alix of Hesse and by Rhine)
Another of the victims of the Russian Revolution, she is sometimes blamed for the fate of the Imperial Family because of her influence over her husband, and personal decisions which alienated the Imperial Family from the people.

- Princess Irene of Hesse and by Rhine, Princess of Prussia
Despite the many tragedies which befell her family, and despite giving birth to two sons affected with haemophilia, Irene found happiness in her marriage. She and Prince Henry of Prussia were known as "The Very Amiables" by their numerous relatives for their pleasant natures and togetherness.

- Princess Marie of Hesse and by Rhine
One of the tragic Hesse children, Marie died aged just six from diphtheria. She was a much loved child and her death devastated her family. Her mother was even forced to hide news over her death from the rest of her family (all infected too) until they got a little better. Marie was particularly close to Alix; Princess Alice wrote to Queen Victoria that the two girls were inseparable.

- Queen Marie of Romania (Princess Marie of Edinburgh)
Largely known for her somewhat scandalous love life, Marie was also a great influence in politics. It is said her pro-Allies (mainly, pro-British) sympathies brought Romania to their side during World War I. She was also instrumental in Romania's highly successful post-war negotiations; she personally travelled to Paris and persuaded all the great powers to agree to Romania's requests, which eventually expanded the country's territory by over 60%.

- Princess Victoria Melita of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha (Grand Duchess of Russia)
She scandalized the royal families of Europe when she divorced her first husband in 1901. After the divorce, she married her first love, Grand Duke Kirill Vladimirovich - without the Emperor's consent. For that, they were initially banned from court and forced to leave Russia; later, however, the Emperor relented and they were allowed to go back. Maria Vladimirovna, the current claimant to the Russian Throne and Headship of the Imperial House, is Victoria's granddaughter.

- Princess Alexandra of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha
Her great-grandson, Christoph, Prince of Schleswig-Holstein, is head of the House of Oldenburg. As such, he is the head of the family that includes current and future Monarchs of Denmark, Norway, Greece and the United Kingdom (Margrethe II, Harald V, Constantine II and Prince Charles). He is also the senior male-line descendant of Christian III of Denmark, and as such, the heir to the headship of the entire Kalmar Union.

- Princess Beatrice of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha
She is perhaps best known because of the Spanish Affair scandal. There is some evidence that King Alfonso XIII of Spain (who was married to her cousin, Victoria Eugenie) tried to seduce her but she rebuffed him. In retaliation, Beatrice and her husband, Infante Alfonso, were exiled and the King's circle spread rumours the exile was because of Beatrice's unsavoury behaviour. The Queen was aware of the true nature of the scandal but was unable to help her cousin.

- Princess Helena Victoria (of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Augustenburg)
After George V relinquished (on behalf of himself and all members of the British Royal Family who were British subjects) all foreign titles, Princess Helena and Princess Marie Louise acquired the distinction of being Princesses but not members of any particular Royal Family or Sovereign House.

- Princess Marie Louise (of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Augustenburg)
Like her sister, she held the distinction of being Princesses but not members of any particular Royal Family or Sovereign House. Marie Louise is also known for her deeply unhappy (and eventually annulled) marriage to Prince Aribert of Anhalt.

- Sophia of Prussia, Queen of the Hellenes
Three of her sons became Kings of Greece, one of her daughters was Queen of Romania, the other - Duchess of Aosta. She is also grandmother of Queen Sofia of Spain and King Constantine of Greece.

- Princess Margaret of Prussia
She almost became Queen of Finland when her husband, Frederick Charles of Hesse-Kassel accepted the offer of the throne of the newly-formed independent Finland. However, Germany's defeat in World War I changed the game and Frederick Charles renounced the offer.

- Princess Charlotte of Prussia, Duchess of Saxe-Meiningen
The favourite sister of the Emperor, she was nevertheless unpopular with the German people. The Jagdschloss Grunewald scandal and neglect of her only child, Princess Feodora (Queen Victoria's eldest great-grandchild) did little to improve the image.

- Princess Viktoria of Prussia
Young Vicky is perhaps best remembered for her unfortunate love life; first, plans of her engagement to the dashing Alexander of Battenberg came to nothing. Her marriage to Adolf of Schaumburg-Lippe was not an unhappy one but he died in 1916, leaving her a widow. Her third marriage to a dancer decades her junior (who swiftly squandered her entire fortune) scandalised the royal families.
 
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