King Edward VII and Queen Alexandra and Family Discussion

[LouisFerdinand]

The 1905 opening of Parliament by King Edward VII   
http://www.alamy.com/stock-photo-the-opening-of-parliament-by-king-edward-vii-17636082.html

[LouisFerdinand]

Prince Albert Edward had hoped to send his son Prince Albert Victor to Wellington College, which, opened in 1853, had been found as a memorial to the Duke of Wellington for the sons of officers and for boys who, it was hoped, would become officers themselves.

[Curryong]

Prince Albert Edward had hoped to send his son Prince Albert Victor to Wellington College, which, opened in 1853, had been found as a memorial to the Duke of Wellington for the sons of officers and for boys who, it was hoped, would become officers themselves.

https://www.authorsden.com/visit/viewarticle.asp?AuthorID=6961&id=8425

This article about the Rev Dalton, who was tutor to Pr Albert Victor and his brother Pr George, goes into the reasons why it was not considered advisable for 'Eddy' to be separated from his brother and be sent to Wellington (or any other public school.)

'At length it would be advisable, the Prince of Wales thought, to send his sons out into the world. Even the Princess was concerned at their perpetual quarrelling, use of strong language, their habit of regularly interrupting the adults' conversation, and playing havoc with games of croquet. The solution was for them to leave home for a while, and in the summer of 1876 he decided to send them both to sea for two years, offering George the option of making the Royal Navy his career. Dalton felt that neither Prince had reached the normal educational standard for their age; Queen Victoria wanted Eddy to attend Wellington College, but Dalton believed it would be inadvisable to separate them. In a memorandum of 11 February 1877; he wrote that Prince Albert Victor required the stimulus of his brother's company to induce him to work at all. 'The mutual influence of their characters on one another (totally different as they are in many ways) is very beneficial'. Though the education of Prince Albert Victor was difficult now, 'it would be doubly or trebly so if Prince George were to leave him. Prince George's lively presence is his mainstay and chief incentive to exertion; and to Prince George again, the presence of his elder brother is most wholesome as a check against that tendency to self-conceit which is apt at times to show itself in him. Away from his brother, there would be a great risk of his being made too much of and treated as a general favourite.'

And so the brothers were indeed kept together and eventually were sent on a journey together on the SS Bacchante as midshipmen, accompanied by Dalton and visiting many parts of the world. It is clear that neither brother was academic at all. George may have suffered from a bit of ADD (something modern medical historians have speculated his father the Prince of Wales may well have also had.) As for Eddy, he was dozy and lethargic all his life. He may have inherited some deafness from his mother Prss Alexandra, and/or perhaps learning difficulties now associated with premature births, as  he was a 'prem' baby.

In my view the last thing Dalton wanted was to expose these two to fellow pupils, school teachers and possibly other parents and school governors. His teaching methods and failure to inspire much response in either brother could have come under criticism.

[LouisFerdinand]

The Three Daughters of King Edward VII and Queen Alexandra   

[LouisFerdinand]

Princess Victoria of Wales - Confirmation   
http://www.pinterest.com/pin/762586149430877115

[Curryong]

Princess Victoria of Wales - Confirmation   
http://www.pinterest.com/pin/762586149430877115

I was surprised to see how old Prss Victoria was in this photograph. Generally speaking girls and boys were (and still are) about 12 years old to 14 years at their confirmation into the C of E,  but Victoria appears to have been in her late teens.

[LouisFerdinand]

Princess Maud of Wales - Confirmation   
http://www.pinterest.com/pin/50947039525898873

[Curryong]

Princess Maud of Wales - Confirmation   
http://www.pinterest.com/pin/50947039525898873

Yes, another sister with her hair up (the sign that a girl was 'out' and in Society) getting confirmed years later than was usual. She was the youngest Wales girl, and no doubt the eldest, Victoria, was the same. I suspect that their father Bertie wasn't particular about religious customs and niceties but I'm surprised at Alex, though she she been Lutheran growing up of course.

[LouisFerdinand]

Queen Victoria allowed Albert Edward, Prince of Wales to receive the salute at her birthday parade on the retirement as Commander-in-Chief of her cousin, the Duke of Cambridge, who had formerly represented her.

[LouisFerdinand]

This video has an excellent narration about how Queen Mary and Queen Alexandra got along with their similarities and differences.   

[LouisFerdinand]

Why did King Edward VII go to Marienbad in 1905? He went for the water cure.   
http://www.alamy.com/king-edward-vii-in-marienbad-image65353854.html

[LouisFerdinand]

What if Crown Prince Carlos of Portugal married Princess Victoria of Wales, the daughter of Albert Edward, Prince of Wales?

[LouisFerdinand]

Albert Edward, Prince of Wales caught typhoid in Scarborough. He recovered.   
A service of thanksgiving for him having survived the Scarborough lurgy occurred on February 27, 1872 at St. Paul's Cathedral. As Albert Edward drove through the streets to the cathedral, he was cheered by the grateful public.

[Curryong]

Albert Edward, Prince of Wales caught typhoid in Scarborough. He recovered.   
A service of thanksgiving for him having survived the Scarborough lurgy occurred on February 27, 1872 at St. Paul's Cathedral. As Albert Edward drove through the streets to the cathedral, he was cheered by the grateful public.

And none more 'grateful' among the public, probably,than royalists and traditionalists. Bertie was of a very strong Hanoverian physical constitution, unlike his late father. Nevertheless there was a point in his illness when his life was despaired of. His family were dreadfully worried as were many members of the public.

Nevertheless, Bertie survived. And historians of the period have pointed to his recovery as being a turning point against a growing tide of republicanism in the UK. It wasn't that Bertie was so extraordinarily popular that people couldn't have borne it if he had died. It was that his mother the Queen had dropped so many public engagements and tours to UK regional towns and cities since Pr Albert's death, instead spending her time in seclusion at Windsor and her other homes that she was hardly ever in London. That had become a talking point around the nation, as in 'if she never shows her face what is the use of her!'

Republicanism had become a growing movement in Britain in the mid 1860s and later and a practically invisible monarch certainly hadn't helped. Bertie's illness came at a very important point in Victoria's reign. The population at large were very glad he had recovered and subsequent to that Prime Minister Disraeli charmed Victoria into going out in public more and taking up some social activities rather than glooming away privately in her court at Windsor, Osborne and Balmoral. Although she never had a full diary Queen Victoria's seclusion had been breached and her son's recovery from serious illness was the catalyst.

[LouisFerdinand]

The meeting between Albert Edward, Prince of Wales and Princess Alexandra of Denmark took place at Speyer in the Rhineland-Palatinate on September 24, 1861. The place chosen for the meeting was the Speyer Cathedral. Here Princess Alexandra with her parents and the Crown Princess of Prussia all assembled during the morning of that day. Prince Albert Edward was pleased with Princess Alexandra.

[Curryong]

The meeting between Albert Edward, Prince of Wales and Princess Alexandra of Denmark took place at Speyer in the Rhineland-Palatinate on September 24, 1861. The place chosen for the meeting was the Speyer Cathedral. Here Princess Alexandra with her parents and the Crown Princess of Prussia all assembled during the morning of that day. Prince Albert Edward was pleased with Princess Alexandra.

Alexandra was a stunning looking beauty until her late middle age, so it's hardly surprising that Bertie, who incidentally looked like a frog, was pleased. His parents and older sister had pored over the Almanach de Gotha for more than a year and all plain princesses had been regretfully crossed off. It has to be said of course that Bertie, at only 20 did not want to become engaged to anyone.

 Victoria and Albert were very taken aback at the lack of enthusiasm. Such undutiful response was very strange and they were aware of course that Alexandra, this beautiful girl, was being looked at by Tsar Alexander of Russia and his wife Marie as a distinct prospect for the Tsarevich. As for Alexandra's feelings we know little, though later, at the engagement, she responded to Bertie's considerable charm. She was told nothing with regard to this meeting 'by chance' at Speyer.

[LouisFerdinand]

Edward VII: King at Last     
 

[LouisFerdinand]

The thrones were newly made for the Coronation of King Edward VII of England.