Victoria (24 May 1819 – 22 January 1901) was Queen of the United Kingdom from 1837 to 1901. She and her prince consort, Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha (26 August 1819 – 14 December 1861), became the ancestors of many members of European royalty.
Victoria married Albert, her first cousin, on 10 February 1840, less than three years after she acceded to the throne. Although Victoria and Albert had a loving and intimate marriage, she struggled with pregnancy and motherhood. Her relationship with her eldest son, Albert Edward, Prince of Wales (later Edward VII) was notably strained, and her animosity intensified following Albert's death in 1861.
Eight of Victoria and Albert's nine children had children of their own. Through these marriages, their descendants married into royal families across Europe, where many became either monarchs themselves or royal consorts, earning Victoria the nickname "grandmother of Europe." Their grandson Wilhelm II, for instance, became the Emperor of Germany, while their granddaughter Alix became the ill-fated empress consort of Russia.
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Background
Queen Victoria
The daughter of Prince Edward, Duke of Kent and Strathearn and Princess Victoria of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld, Victoria experienced the death of her father at eight months of age. Consequently, she was raised in isolation by her mother until becoming Queen of the United Kingdom in 1837.
In the early years of her reign, Victoria's first prime minister, William Lamb, 2nd Viscount Melbourne, influenced her to govern as a constitutional monarch. Throughout her reign, events such as the passing of the Reform Act 1867 and the introduction of the secret ballot in 1872 broadened the British electorate.
Following Albert's death in 1861, Victoria withdrew from public life, eroding the popularity of the British monarchy. However, by the time of her Golden Jubilee in 1887, she had restored her public popularity. Victoria celebrated her Diamond Jubilee a decade later, eventually dying in 1901.
Prince Albert
The younger son of Ernest I, Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha and Princess Louise of Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg, Albert spent his childhood at Schloss Rosenau, Coburg. His uncle, Leopold I of Belgium, hoped that Albert would marry Victoria. Leopold arranged the first meeting between Albert and Victoria in 1836, with the latter two eventually marrying four years later.
After marrying Victoria, Albert had considerable influence over her in foreign affairs, freely corresponding with European monarchs. In addition, Albert believed that the United Kingdom should be at the forefront of modern science and art education.
During the 1850s, overwork caused Albert to become increasingly tired and suffer from ill health. Eventually, Albert died from typhoid fever in 1861, with Victoria and five of his children at his side.
Marriage
Victoria was married to Albert on 10 February 1840 by William Howley, the Archbishop of Canterbury, in the Chapel Royal of St James's Palace in Westminster.
Children
Queen Victoria, at times, had contentious relations with her children. Possibly due to her own childhood isolation, Victoria struggled to connect with and relate to her own children, particularly in their younger years. She also, occasionally, resented that they interfered with time that she would prefer to spend with Albert. According to one modern author, both Victoria and Albert habitually displayed undisguised favouritism amongst their children. Both Victoria and Alfred were the favourites of Albert, and Arthur enjoyed the favouritism of both his parents.
According to one modern author, Queen Victoria was initially jealous of the time that Albert had spent with Princess Victoria, but in her widowhood, Queen Victoria made Princess Victoria something of her confidante. For her part, Princess Victoria had accrued hundreds of letters from her mother, to the point that shortly before her death, she had them smuggled out of Germany by her brother's secretary, Sir Frederick Ponsonby.
Of her sons, Queen Victoria had the most trouble with her eldest, Albert Edward, and her youngest, Leopold. Among her daughters, Victoria clashed often with Louise. She also had an awkward relationship with her second-eldest daughter, Alice, whom the queen, despite praising her thoughtfulness, also criticised as being too melancholy and self-absorbed. In her widowhood, Victoria expected Beatrice, who was only four when her father died, to remain at home with her, and only permitted her to marry on the condition that she and her husband would remain in England.
Grandchildren
Children of Victoria and Frederick III
In 1851, at the Great Exhibition, Victoria met her future husband, Frederick. When Victoria was 15 years old, Frederick proposed to her. Eventually, on 25 January 1858, they married.
Upon her husband becoming German Emperor as Frederick III, Victoria became German Empress on 9 March 1888. However, only 99 days later, Frederick died of cancer. Consequently, their eldest son, Wilhelm II, became German Emperor, Victoria’s only grandchild besides George V of her native UK to become a monarch.
Children of Alice and Louis IV
Less than a year after her father, Albert, died, Princess Alice married Louis IV, Grand Duke of Hesse. However, Alice later wrote to her husband that she "longed for a real companion, for apart from that life had nothing to offer me in Darmstadt".
Even after moving to Germany, Alice's love of the United Kingdom did not waver. She possessed numerous portraits of her relatives, and she instilled in her children an admiration for the United Kingdom. Even after her death, her family's life was organised with English influences.
Alice devoted her life to her husband and children. Her children followed rules similar to those that Alice's own mother, Queen Victoria, made her follow. Her family spent winters in Darmstadt and summers at either Kranichstein or Seeheim-Jugenheim. Also, Alice and her family made annual trips to the United Kingdom, staying either at Windsor Castle, Osborne House or Balmoral Castle.
Children of Alfred and Maria
In 1874, Alfred married Grand Duchess Maria Alexandrovna of Russia. They had five children together, and their descendants became part of the Romanian royal family. In particular, Alfred and Maria's daughter, Marie of Edinburgh, married Ferdinand I of Romania.
Children of Helena and Christian
Queen Victoria sought a suitable husband for her daughter Princess Helena, eventually choosing Prince Christian of Schleswig-Holstein. Helena, having helped her mother keep up with royal engagements, was able to remain in England with her husband. Defying expectations, Helena and Christian enjoyed a happy marriage that lasted 51 years. In addition, Helena and Christian had six children. However, two of these children died in infancy.
Children of Arthur and Louise Margaret
In 1879, Prince Arthur married Princess Louise Margaret of Prussia. They had three children: Margaret, Arthur, and Patricia. Margaret later married Gustaf VI Adolf, and Arthur later served as Governor-General of South Africa. Additionally, Patricia accompanied her father on some of his tours as Governor General of Canada.
Children of Leopold and Helen
Feeling restricted by his mother, Queen Victoria, Leopold reasoned that marriage was his best path to independence. Because of Leopold's haemophilia, he struggled to find a suitable wife. Consequently, his mother intervened, suggesting a meeting with Princess Helen of Waldeck and Pyrmont. Leopold and Helen later married in 1882.
Leopold and Helen had two children: Alice and Charles Edward. Charles Edward was born four months after Leopold died of a brain haemorrhage.
Children of Beatrice and Henry
In 1884, Beatrice became enamoured with Prince Henry of Battenberg. This strained the relationship with her mother Queen Victoria, as Victoria wanted Beatrice to be her caretaker. However, Victoria later allowed Beatrice to marry Henry, conditioned on Beatrice residing with her. Eventually, Beatrice and Henry wed in 1885.
Beatrice and Henry's four children were born between 1886 and 1891. Also, in 1890, a private suite was built for Beatrice and Henry at Osbourne House. Following her husband's death from malaria in 1896, she resided at Carisbrooke Castle in the summers beginning in 1913.