Victoria’s favorite granddaughter, Alix of Hesse, fell in love with Nicholas Romanov, heir apparent to the Russian throne. She accepted and, as queen consort of George V, became a beloved ruler.īut not everyone listened to their grandmother’s warnings. Victoria then pressured Albert’s brother, George, who was now second in line to the throne, to propose to Princess Mary. Queen Victoria with the Duke and Duchess of York (later King George and Queen Mary) while on their honeymoon at Osborne House in the Isle of Wight, 1893. Then, tragedy struck and he died suddenly of influenza in 1892. Victoria liked the German princess, who was also a cousin, because of her level-headedness, and pressured Albert to marry her even though he was rumored to be gay. Her grandson Albert Victor was second in line for the throne and, at Victoria’s behest, asked Princess Mary of Teck to marry him. Some of Victoria’s grandchildren followed their grandma’s orders without complaint. Eventually, seven of them sat on European thrones in Russia, Greece, Romania, Britain, Germany, Spain and Norway-and all would take sides during World War I with disastrous consequences.

Victoria had nine children and 42 grandchildren. Luckily, she had plenty of family members with which to do it. Victoria wanted to spread stable constitutional monarchies like Britain’s throughout Europe. “Each marriage was a form of soft power,” says Cadbury.

She thought that she could influence Europe by controlling who her family members married. But Victoria didn’t stop at just saying no. The Royal Marriage Act of 1772 gave Britain’s monarch the chance to veto any match. We will contact customers to advise on any additional charges prior to shipping.įor more information, please check our delivery information page.It wasn’t unusual for a monarch to be involved in her family’s marriages. * Exceptional delivery charges - We reserve the right to vary our standard shipping charges on items which are unusually high in weight, volume or value. If any other products, or additional guidebooks, are added to the basket, the delivery charges will apply as shown above. Official palace guidebooks, up to a maximum of 3 in a basket, are delivered to a UK address free of charge. You are considered the importer of goods and must comply with all laws and regulations of the destination country of your order. Some countries charge import duties and taxes. Postage and packing is based on geographical areas:

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Victoria and albert a royal love affair