19th Century, History

The Children of King Edward VII and Queen Alexandra

Albert Edward, Prince of Wales married Princess Alexandra of Denmark on 10 March 1863 at Windsor Castle. The Prince and Princess of Wales, Bertie and Alix, as they were known, went on to have six children, five surviving to adulthood.

The nine children of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert married into many European royal households and subsequently, King Edward VII was known as the uncle of Europe. His sister Victoria married Prince Frederick William of Prussia, making Bertie the uncle of the German Kaiser, Willhelm II.

Alix’s younger sister Dagmar was the wife of Tsar Alexander III and the mother of Tsar Nicholas II. This makes Edward VII the uncle of Tsar Nicholas II via marriage and the uncle of Nicholas’ wife, another Alexandra (of Hesse and the Rhine) through her mother and Edward VII’s sister, Princess Alice of Hesse.

Alexandra, the Princess of Wales, and her children
Alexandra, the Princess of Wales, and her children
  • Prince Albert Victor Christian Edward, Duke of Clarence and Avondale
    • He was born prematurely on 8 January 1864 and died on 14 January 1892
      • I’ve discussed Prince Albert Victor in other posts. He was posthumously accused of being Jack the Ripper and was engaged to Princess May of Teck but died of influenza before they could marry. She later became engaged to his brother, Prince George, the Duke of York. Eddy, as he was known, was considered educationally subnormal by his tutors and today would probably be diagnosed with ADHD or similar. It was a trait that echoed his father’s schoolroom career, his early death denied him the opportunity of proving his doubters wrong.
Prince Albert Victor, Duke of Clarence and Avondale
King George V
  • Prince George Frederick Ernest Albert, Duke of York. Married Princess May of Teck
    • He was born prematurely on 3 June 1865 and died on 20 January 1936
      • He succeeded his father to the throne, he reigned from 6 May 1910 to his death. You can read my Thoughts on George V here.
  • Princess Louise Victoria Alexandra Dagmar, later Princess Royal. Married Alexander Duff, 1st Duke of Fife
    • She was born prematurely 20 February 1867 and died 4 January 1931
  • Princess Victoria Alexandra Olga Mary
    • She was born 6 July 1868 and died on 3 December 1935
      • Victoria was her mother’s companion and never married. She spoke to her brother, the King, daily, and was once overheard saying to him, ‘Hello, you old fool’.
  • Princess Maud Charlotte Mary Victoria
    • She was born on 26 November 1869 and died 20 November 1938. Married Prince Carl of Denmark
      • Prince Carl of Denmark was Maud’s cousin. He was elected King of Norway in 1905. Prince Carl became King Haakon VII and their son Crown Prince Olav. Carl and Maud were crowned King and Queen of Norway on 22 June 1906.
King Haakon and Queen Maud
King Haakon VII and Queen Maud of Norway
  • Prince Alexander John Charles Albert
    • He was born 6 April 1871 and died 7 April 1871
      • This little prince was born prematurely and lived only 24 hours. He is buried at Sandringham.

 

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18 thoughts on “The Children of King Edward VII and Queen Alexandra”

    1. Even though they mixed as a large family unit, they held sway over disparate political and monarchical states and had quite opposing views at times that had the potential to cause friction.

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    1. I’m not sure why it seems she was predisposed to it – but initially with the first baby (if I remember rightly) she was out enjoying a winter’s day watching ice-skating and she had her pains come on. With one child, she fell ill, possibly rheumatic fever and took months to recover. She was a very slim woman and comments from family correspondents to Bertie would say how thin and ill she would look. She hid a lot of stress, I dare say, with Bertie’s constant philandering.

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    2. There is speculation that Alexandra did not want Victoria present at the births of her children so lied about her due dates to fool her. Victoria was very overbearing and made sure she knew about every detail of Alexandra’s health.

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    1. Haha, probably!
      King Edward VII was known as Bertie (Albert) but his regal name was Edward (against his mother’s wishes if I remember correctly).
      King Edward VIII was known by his family as David, but he was named Edward Albert Christian George Andrew Patrick David. That is a mouthful. The George Andrew Patrick and David come from the patron saints of the British​ Isles!
      My children have 1 middle name.

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      1. And I have no middle name at all. Suddenly I’m grateful. I remember reading a Shakespeare play in high school and the characters went by their names and also by their–I guess you’d say locations, so that the Duke of Bedford would be Bedford. (I have no idea if there is a duke of Bedford. I pulled that out of a hat.) It was like reading a Russian novel, with everyone running around with multiple names. I not only couldn’t keep the characters straight, I wasn’t even sure how many there were. Now, if it had been on stage I’d have been fine. There’d be the guy in the red cloak, the guy in black, and so forth.

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