Queen Victoria and Prince Albert had five daughters and four sons, with 17 years between the eldest and the youngest. The Queen wasn't exactly fond of being pregnant and giving birth – and who can blame her after nine children?
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But she was proud of all her children, each of whom had incredibly unique lives. Let's take a look at Victoria's four sons, from Bertie the heir to the throne, to Leopold who died too young.
And even Prince Alfred, who was almost killed in an assassination attempt during his first tour of Australia.
Albert Edward
Queen Victoria's first son and second child, Albert Edward, was born 9 November 1841, and was always known as 'Bertie'. He was an outgoing child who had little interest in education, which was said to be a great disappointment to his father Albert, who was incredibly well read.
Bertie was heir to the throne, which meant he wasn't allowed to join the army or indulge in too much activity. At the age of 20 he was allowed to attend manoeuvres in Ireland, where he had a fling with actress Nellie Clifden.
When news of this relationship reached his father, who was incredibly moralistic, Albert was said to be mortified.
He was on his death bed at the time, seriously ill with typhoid fever and died on 14 December 1861. The Queen, who was beside herself with grief, blamed Bertie for his father's death, saying he broke his father's heart. But she eventually acknowledged that Bertie was "full of good and amiable qualities that it makes one forget and overlook much that one would wish different".
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When Queen Victoria died in 1901, Bertie became King Edward VII, a much-loved King who was a very successful ruler. He even created an alliance with France, thanks to his visit to Paris in 1903 where he won over the president and his ministers. But King Edward did little to care for his health and was known for over-eating, and died in 1910 at the age of 68 from heart failure.
Alfred Ernest Albert
Alfred was born on 6 August 1844 and was known as a cheerful child who loved to learn. He excelled at science and loved to experiment with toys, even making his own. His father, prince Albert, confided in friends that he regretted that his second son would not become king.
Instead, Alfred joined the navy at the age of 14 and was eventually made an admiral of the fleet before being given the title of Duke of Edinburgh in 1866.
Alfred had much in common with big brother Bertie – they both enjoyed partying. To keep him out of mischief his parents sent him on a long voyage in 1867, where he represented the queen in dozens of countries, including Australia (he was the first British royal to visit).
But his trip to Australia was almost tragic as he narrowly avoided an assassination attempt. An Irishman living in Sydney, Henry O'Farrell, shot and wounded the prince as "payback" following the execution of three men belonging to the Irish Republican Brotherhood. The men had been found guilty for taking part in a terrorist explosion in London.
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Alfred returned to England to recover from the shooting but was back touring again in 1868. In three years of travelling he returned to Australia and visited several other countries including Japan, Fiji and India. Alfred was clearly multi-skilled; he was talented at playing the violin and was a keen stamp collector, he even created the Royal Philatelic Collection.
But his life was far from perfect; his marriage to Grand Duchess Marie of Russia was said to be unhappy. Their only son, Prince Alfred, was involved with a married woman and, due to one drama or another, shot himself in January 1899, at his parent's 25th wedding celebration. He survived the shooting and his parents sent him away to recover but he died a few weeks later.
Towards the end of his life the Alfred fought a "battle with the bottle," and eventually died from cancer in July 1900.
Arthur William Patrick Albert
Arthur was born on 1 May 1850 and was said to be a well-mannered child who quickly became the Queen's favourite. She wrote to her husband that Arthur was "dear, dearer than any of the others put together, thus after you he is the dearest and most precious object to me on Earth".
Arthur was just 16 when he joined the army, the beginning of a career that spanned 40 years and included service in Egypt, South African and India. Known as a man who managed to get on with people from all walks of life, he eventually became inspector-general of the British forces and governor general of Canada.
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He married Princess Louise Margaret of Prussia and they had three children, Margaret (who became Crown Princess of Sweden), Arthur and Victoria. He was said to have had a long-time mistress, Lady Leonie Leslie, while publicly remaining devoted to his wife Louise.
Arthur stepped back from public duties in his old age and by the time he died in 1942 at the age of 91, he'd outlived his wife and two of his children. He was the second last of the Queen's children to die, with his younger sister Princess Beatrice passing two years later.
Leopold George Duncan Albert
Born on 7 April 1853, Leopold was said to be a very bright child but, due to his haemophilia, he caused his parents an enormous amount of anxiety. As a child he was very thin and bruised easily – even a slight accident could prove fatal.
His condition meant there were limits to what he was able to do with his life. He wasn't able to have a military career but studied at Oxford university. Then he became an unofficial secretary to the Queen and also a patron of the arts and literature . His mother was incredibly protective of Leo, something he apparently found highly irritating and he often defied her commands.
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While he wasn't expected to live for long, he survived long enough to marry Princess Helena of Waldeck-Pyrmont in 1882. Many believed Leopold was determined to marry just to move away from the watchful eye of his over protective mother.
The couple had two children; Alice and Charles but Leopold never lived to see his son as he died at the age of 30 following a fall and subsequent brain haemorrhage.