Queen Alexandra(1844-1925)
Queen Alexandra was born Princess Alexandra Caroline Mary Charlotte
Louisa Julia on December 1, 1844. She was the granddaughter of the king
of Denmark. She lived an uneventful childhood in the palaces of Denmark
with her sister, Marie, who became the mother of
Tsar Nicholas II of Russia. When Alex,
as she was called, turned 16 she was considered a great beauty, and won
the hand of the heir to the throne of England. She and Prince Albert
Edward, or "Bertie", were married on March 10, 1863. They had six
children including the future
King George V. The first 40 years of
marriage were very turbulent for Alexandra. As well as the six
children, she had to contend with a brother-in-law (the husband of
Bertie's sister Helena) whose family wanted a stake in the
Schleswig-Holstein lands that had belonged to the kings of Denmark for
generations. Finally in 1901 her mother-in-law,
Queen Victoria, died, making her
husband King Edward VII
and she, in turn, Queen Consort. During her time as Queen she did many
things to make England better, including the establishment of The Red
Cross.
In 1910, however, something happened to change everything. Her husband of almost 50 years died. On his death bed she did a very magnanimous thing: she allowed his mistress, Alice Keppel, to say goodbye to him. After his death she lived at the house in which she had lived during her marriage. Unfortunately, she also lived with the increasing deafness that plagued her life as well as that of her son Albert Victor, who would have become king if he had not died. Alexandra died in 1925 of a heart attack and is buried at Windsor near her husband and mother and father-in-law.
In 1910, however, something happened to change everything. Her husband of almost 50 years died. On his death bed she did a very magnanimous thing: she allowed his mistress, Alice Keppel, to say goodbye to him. After his death she lived at the house in which she had lived during her marriage. Unfortunately, she also lived with the increasing deafness that plagued her life as well as that of her son Albert Victor, who would have become king if he had not died. Alexandra died in 1925 of a heart attack and is buried at Windsor near her husband and mother and father-in-law.
