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Princess Victoria of the United Kingdom

This page is about the daughter of King Edward VII. For her aunt, see Victoria, Princess Royal.

Princess Victoria (Victoria Alexandra Olga Mary; 6 July 1868 – 3 December 1935) was the fourth child and second daughter of King Edward VII and Queen Alexandra and the younger sister of King George V. She was also a granddaughter of Queen Victoria and King Christian IX of Denmark.

Princess Victoria
Princess Victoria of the United Kingdom (1868-1935).jpg
Princess Victoria, late 1800s
BornPrincess Victoria of Wales
(1868-07-06)6 July 1868
Marlborough House, London, England
Died3 December 1935(1935-12-03) (aged 67)
Coppins, Iver, Buckinghamshire, England
Burial7 December 1935
St George's Chapel, Windsor Castle;
8 January 1936
Royal Burial Ground, Frogmore
Full name
Victoria Alexandra Olga Mary
HouseWindsor (from 1917)
Saxe-Coburg and Gotha (until 1917)
FatherEdward VII
MotherAlexandra of Denmark
SignaturePrincess Victoria's signature

Biography

Early life

Victoria Alexandra Olga Maria was born on 6 July 1868 at Marlborough House, London. She was the fourth child of Edward, Prince of Wales, and his wife Alexandra, Princess of Wales.[1] From birth, as the granddaughter of the British monarch, she had the title Her Royal Highness Princess Victoria of Wales.[2][3][4]

Personal life

In 1885, Victoria was a bridesmaid at the wedding of her aunt Princess Beatrice to Prince Henry of Battenberg.[5] She was also a bridesmaid at the wedding of her brother George V, Duke of York and Mary of Teck.[6]

Princess Victoria was educated at home with her sisters. The princess grew up at Marlborough House and Sandringham under the supervision of tutors. She occasionally spent the summer in Denmark, her mother's homeland. In her youth, she was described as "a lively, mischievous girl ... smart, tall and elegant; she had a wonderful sense of humour and was a good friend to everyone; she had big expressive blue eyes; there was no pretense or hint of a high position in her." Victoria loved horse riding, cycling, reading, listening to music and dancing. The princess's particular passion was photography. She compiled several albums of family photographs. Victoria's works have been displayed at several different exhibitions. She was very fond of animals. Her favorites were dogs named Sam, Mas and Punchy. For six years Victoria had a tamed pigeon, which she took with her on walks and travels in a small basket.[7]

Family relations

Victoria maintained friendly relations with her cousins in Russia and Greece.[8] The future Emperor Nicholas II of Russia, who was her first cousin (her mother's sister's son), and exactly the same age, was in love with her in his youth. The Tsarevich liked Victoria for her seriousness, thoroughness, and "unfeminine mind." In 1889, describing the princess, Nicholas told his close friend, Grand Duke Alexander Mikhailovich: "She is a truly wonderful creature, and the more and deeper you delve into her soul, the clearer you see all her virtues and qualities. I must confess that it is very difficult to figure it out at first, i.e. to learn her view of things and people, but this difficulty is a special charm for me, which I am unable to explain."[9] The princess also caught the eyes of Grand Duke Alexander Mikhailovich, and later, Grand Duke Michael Alexandrovich was fascinated by her.[9]

Another candidate to seek Victoria's hand in marriage was her cousin, Crown Prince Christian of Denmark, who later became Christian X. The princess rejected him, much to the disappointment of her parents. Yet another contender for marriage was the Portuguese king Carlos I. He demanded that Victoria accept the Catholic faith, which did not sit well with her parents. The 5th Earl of Rosebery also attempted to win her attention, in vain. Victoria never married, and her mother was said to be supportive of this decision.[8]

Victoria was particularly close to her parents, and if she appeared in public, it was usually in their company, as was usual in those days for an unmarried adult woman. The princess accompanied her parents during official events and ceremonies, and helped them in private life. Her first cousin, the Grand Duchess Olga Alexandrovna of Russia, remarked in later life that she "felt so very sorry" for Victoria, as she seemed within her family to be "a glorified maid to her mother," attributing her staying unmarried to a disinclination to oppose her mother. "I'd something of a rebel in me. Toria had not."[10]

Later years and death

After her father's death in 1910, Victoria remained in the shadow of her mother. Queen Alexandra suffered from constant depression and was practically deaf. Victoria accompanied her mother during her visits to various institutions and on holidays. Once, when the dowager queen was unable to attend the charity event Alexandra Rose Day, she sent her daughters Louise and Victoria together, and the latter later recorded in her diary that "it was terrible to be there without dear Mama." With continuing public hostility toward Germany during World War I, King George V decided to renounce all German titles and honours. He asked all members of the royal family to do the same. The king renamed the ruling dynasty from Saxe-Coburg and Gotha to Windsor, after his favourite castle. Princess Victoria followed suit and adopted the surname Windsor.[11][12]

After the death of Queen Alexandra in 1925, Victoria moved to Coppins, in the village of Iver, Buckinghamshire, where she lived until her death. In her final years, Victoria enjoyed listening to music, gardening, and taking an active part in addressing local issues and problems. Victoria became a patron to the young cellist Beatrice Harrison and her sisters May and Margaret, who also studied music, and she paid for Harrison's valuable Guarneri cello.[13][14] Victoria received the Harrison sisters regularly at her home and at Sandringham, and attended concerts at the Wigmore Hall with them.[14][15][16][17]

Victoria died on December 3, 1935 at the age of 67 at her home. Her funeral took place on 7 December 1935 at St George's Chapel, Windsor Castle, where she was initially buried. The mourners at the funeral included Victoria's brother George V. George himself was in poor health, and his doctor pushed for the funeral service to be shortened; he was unsuccessful, and George's final deterioration and death soon after would later be blamed on the physical strain of the long event.[18] Victoria's remains were later moved and reburied at the Royal Burial Ground, Frogmore, Windsor Great Park, on 8 January 1936.[19][4] Her will was sealed in London in 1936. Her estate was valued at £237,455 (or £11.7 million in 2022 when adjusted for inflation).[20]

References

  1. ↑ Basford, Elisabeth (5 February 2021). Princess Mary: The First Modern Princess. The History Press. p. 168. ISBN 9780750997003.
  2. ↑ Template:Cite ODNB
  3. ↑ Eilers 1987, p. 176.
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 Weir 2008, p. 320.
  5. ↑ "Prince and Princess Henry of Battenberg with their bridesmaids and others on their wedding day". National Portrain Gallery.
  6. ↑ "The Duke and Duchess of York and Bridesmaids". National Portrain Gallery.
  7. ↑ Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; no text was provided for refs named Oxford Dictionary National Biography2.
  8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; no text was provided for refs named Oxford Dictionary National Biography3.
  9. ↑ 9.0 9.1 Bokhanov 2008, p. 79.
  10. ↑ Vorres, Ian (1965). The last grand duchess: Her Imperial Highness Grand Duchess Olga Alexandrovna 1 June 1882–24 November 1960. Charles Scribner's Sons. p. 39.
  11. ↑ Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; no text was provided for refs named Oxford Dictionary National Biography4.
  12. ↑ Nicolson 1952, p. 310.
  13. ↑ "Pietro Guarneri of Venice, Cello, Venice, c. 1739, the 'Beatrice Harrison'". Tarisio. Retrieved 2022-04-17.
  14. ↑ 14.0 14.1 "The nightingale sings again - the life, career, and recordings of Beatrice Harrison".
  15. ↑ Recordings (1928-08-25). "Concerto for cello and orchestra. Adagio ; Salut d'amour [sound recording] in SearchWorks catalog". Searchworks.stanford.edu. Retrieved 2022-04-17.
  16. ↑ Elgar Remastered "Among the many appetising miniatures, perhaps the best is the performance of the Cello Concerto’s slow movement by Beatrice Harrison with piano accompaniment from Princess Victoria – HRH’s contribution not blemish-free, but very touching."
  17. ↑ The Harrison Sisters An English Musical Heritage "Truth to tell, the royal playing is almost comically inept and Princess Victoria is brought back from a wrong turning in Salut d'amour in an amusingly adroit fashion by her string-playing colleagues."
  18. ↑ Vickers, Hugo (31 March 2013). Elizabeth, the Queen Mother. Random House. ISBN 9781448150724.
  19. ↑ Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; no text was provided for refs named Oxford Dictionary National Biography5.
  20. ↑

    Princess Victoria Of The United Kingdom Media

    • Princess Victoria of Wales (left) as a teenager, together with her sisters Maud (centre) and Louise (right)

    • Portrait by Philip de László, 1907

    • Princess Victoria of Wales

    • Coat of Arms of Victoria of Wales

    Evans, Rob; Pegg, David (18 July 2022). "£187m of Windsor family wealth hidden in secret royal wills". The Guardian. Retrieved 19 July 2022.

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