Queen Victoria, the British monarch from 1837 to 1901, and Prince Albert (her husband from 1840 until his death in 1861) had 9 children, 42 grandchildren, and 87 great-grandchildren. Victoria was called the "grandmother of Europe".
Victoria and Albert had 22 granddaughters and 20 grandsons, of whom two (the youngest sons of Prince Alfred and Princess Helena) were stillborn, and two more (Prince Alexander John of Wales and Prince Harald of Schleswig-Holstein) died shortly after birth.
Their first grandchild was the future German Emperor Wilhelm II, who was born to their eldest child, Princess Victoria, on 27 January 1859; the youngest was Prince Maurice of Battenberg, born on 3 October 1891 to Princess Beatrice (1857–1944), who was herself the last child born to Victoria and Albert and the last child to die. The last of Victoria and Albert's grandchildren to die (almost exactly 80 years after Queen Victoria herself) was Princess Alice, Countess of Athlone (25 February 1883 – 3 January 1981).
Just as Victoria and Albert shared one grandfather (Duke Francis of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld) and one grandmother (Countess Augusta Reuss), two pairs of their grandchildren married each other:
Prince Albert, the Prince Consort (26 August 1819 – 14 December 1861), lived long enough to see only one of his children married (Victoria, the Princess Royal) and two of his grandchildren born (Wilhelm II, 1859–1941, and his sister Princess Charlotte of Prussia, 1860–1919), while Queen Victoria (24 May 1819 – 22 January 1901) lived long enough to see not only all her grandchildren, but many of her 87 great-grandchildren as well. (Three of Victoria's 56 great-grandsons were stillborn, another died shortly after birth, and one of her 31 great-granddaughters was born out of wedlock).
Victoria, the Princess Royal and first child of Victoria and Albert (21 November 1840 – 5 August 1901), known as "Vicky", was not only the mother to their first grandchild, Wilhelm II; she was also the first of Victoria and Albert's children to become a grandparent, with the birth in 1879 of Princess Feodora of Saxe-Meiningen, who was the daughter of Princess Charlotte (Queen Victoria's first granddaughter). The Princess Royal was also the grandmother of the last of Victoria and Albert's great-granddaughters to die, Princess Katherine of Greece and Denmark (4 May 1913 – 2 October 2007), daughter of Vicky's fourth daughter, Queen Sophia of Greece.
After Katherine's death in 2007, the only surviving great-grandchild of Queen Victoria was Count Carl Johan Bernadotte of Wisborg (31 October 1916 – 5 May 2012), born to Crown Princess Margaret of Sweden, daughter of Victoria and Albert's third son, Prince Arthur, Duke of Connaught and Strathearn.
The death of Count Carl Johan Bernadotte marked the end of a generation of royalty that began in 1879 with the birth of Princess Feodora and included the British Kings Edward VIII and George VI, the Norwegian King Olav V, the Romanian King Carol II and the Greek Kings George II, Alexander and Paul—as well as six uncrowned victims of political assassination: Earl Mountbatten of Burma (last Viceroy of India), Tsarevich Alexei of Russia and his sisters, the Grand Duchesses Olga, Tatiana, Maria and Anastasia.
Queen Victoria's death in January 1901 was preceded by the deaths of three of her children (Princess Alice in December 1878, Prince Leopold in March 1884, and Prince Alfred in July 1900) and soon followed by the Princess Royal's death in August 1901. Aside from the four boys who died as infants, Queen Victoria had survived seven of her grandchildren:
Victoria and Albert had one pair of grandparents in common, Francis, Duke of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld, and Countess Augusta Reuss of Ebersdorf, who were parents both of Albert's father Ernest I, Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, and of Victoria's mother (and Ernest I's sister), Princess Victoria of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld.
Duke Francis & Countess Augusta → Duke Ernest I → Prince Albert
Duke Francis & Countess Augusta → Princess Victoria → Queen Victoria
Another of Victoria's (but not Albert's) grandfathers was King George III, father of Victoria's father, the Duke of Kent, and his brothers, King George IV and King William IV.
Queen Victoria (who had ascended to the throne on 20 June 1837 and been crowned on 28 June 1838) was married to Prince Albert on 10 February 1840 by William Howley, the Archbishop of Canterbury, in the Chapel Royal of St James's Palace in Westminster (London).[1] (Albert died nearly fifteen years before Victoria was proclaimed Empress of India on 1 May 1876.)
bgcolor=bb88ff align=center colspan="5" | The Marriage of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert | ||||||
Name | Birth | Death | Marriage and children[2] | ||||
Victoria, Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, later Empress of India | align=center valign="top" | 24 May 1819 Kensington Palace, London | align=center valign="top" | 22 January 1901 Osborne House, Isle of Wight | bgcolor=fefefe rowspan="2" | Married 10 February 1840 at St James's Palace, Westminster (London) 4 sons, 5 daughters including
20 grandsons (of whom 2 were stillborn), 22 granddaughters including
| |
Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha later Prince Consort | align=center valign="top" | 26 August 1819 Rosenau Castle, Coburg (Germany) | align=center valign="top" | 14 December 1861 Windsor Castle, Berkshire |
Queen Victoria, at times, had contentious relations with her children. She had trouble relating to her children when they were young, some of this possibly owing to her isolated childhood.[3] She also, occasionally, resented that they interfered with time that she would prefer to spend with Albert.[4] According to one modern author, both Victoria and Albert weren't above playing favourites with their children, and unfortunately did little to hide their favouritism.[4] Both Vicky and Alfred were the favorites of Albert, and Arthur enjoyed the favouritism of both his parents.[4]
According to one modern author, Victoria was initially jealous of the time that Albert had spent with Vicky, but in her widowhood, Victoria made Vicky something of her confidante,[5] and for her part, Vicky had accrued hundreds of letters from her mother, to the point that shortly before her death, she had them smuggled out of Germany by her brother's secretary, Sir Frederick Ponsonby.[6]
Of her sons, Victoria had the most trouble with her eldest, Albert Edward, and her youngest, Leopold.[5] Among her daughters, Victoria clashed often with Louise.[5] She also had an awkward relationship with her second-eldest daughter, Alice, whom the queen, despite praising her thoughtfulness, also criticised as being too melancholy and self-absorbed.[5] In her widowhood, Victoria expected Beatrice, who was only 4 when her father died, to remain at home with her, and only permitted her to marry on the condition that she and her husband would remain in England.[7]
Name | Birth | Death | Spouse (dates of birth & death) and children[8] | |
---|---|---|---|---|
1840 | 21 November1901 | 5 AugustMarried 1858 (January 25th), Prince Frederick William of Prussia (1831–1888), later Frederick III, German Emperor and King of Prussia 4 sons, 4 daughters (including German Emperor William II and Sophia, Queen of the Hellenes) | ||
The Prince Albert Edward, Prince of Wales, later Edward VII | 1841 | 9 November1910 | 6 MayMarried 1863 (March 10th), Princess Alexandra of Denmark (1844–1925); 3 sons, 3 daughters (including George V and Maud, Queen of Norway) | |
The Princess Alice | 1843 | 25 April1878 | 14 DecemberMarried 1862 (July 1st), Louis IV, Grand Duke of Hesse and by Rhine (1837–1892); 2 sons, 5 daughters (including Alexandra, the last Empress of All the Russias) | |
The Prince Alfred, Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha and Duke of Edinburgh; Admiral of the Fleet | 1844 | 6 August1900 | 30 JulyMarried 1874 (January 23rd), Grand Duchess Maria Alexandrovna of Russia (1853–1920); 2 sons (1 stillborn), 4 daughters (including Marie, Queen of Romania) | |
1846 | 25 May1923 | 9 JuneMarried 1866 (July 5th), Prince Christian of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Augustenburg (1831–1917); 4 sons (1 stillborn), 2 daughters | ||
The Princess Louise | 1848 | 18 March1939 | 3 DecemberMarried 1871 (March 21st), John Campbell (1845–1914), Marquess of Lorne, later 9th Duke of Argyll and Governor-General of Canada (1878–1883); no issue | |
The Prince Arthur, Duke of Connaught and Strathearn; Field Marshal, Governor General of Canada (1911–1916) | 1850 | 1 May1942 | 16 JanuaryMarried 1879 (March 13th), Princess Louise Margaret of Prussia (1860–1917); 1 son, 2 daughters (including Margaret, Crown Princess of Sweden) | |
The Prince Leopold, Duke of Albany | 1853 | 7 April1884 | 28 MarchMarried 1882 (April 27th), Princess Helen of Waldeck and Pyrmont (1861–1922); 1 son, 1 daughter | |
1857 | 14 April1944 | 26 OctoberMarried 1885 (July 23rd), Prince Henry of Battenberg (1858–1896); 3 sons, 1 daughter (including Victoria Eugenie, Queen of Spain) | ||
The eldest child of Victoria and Albert was Princess Victoria, the Princess Royal, called "Vicky" (1840–1901). On 25 January 1858, she married Prince Frederick William of Prussia (1831–1888; Crown Prince from 1861, German Emperor March–June 1888). They had 8 children and 23 grandchildren.
Not only was the Princess Royal the first child of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert, she also gave them their first grandchild (the future Emperor Wilhelm II, 27 January 1859 – 4 June 1941) and was the grandmother to both the first of their 87 great-grandchildren to be born, Princess Feodora of Saxe-Meiningen (12 May 1879 – 26 August 1945), daughter of Princess Charlotte, and to the last of their 29 great-granddaughters to die, Princess Katherine of Greece and Denmark (4 May 1913 – 2 October 2007), daughter of Princess Sophie.
Queen Victoria → Princess Victoria → German Emperor William II → Princess Victoria Louise of Prussia → Princess Frederica of Hanover (Queen of the Hellenes) → King Constantine II
Queen Victoria → Princess Victoria → Princess Sophie of Prussia → King Paul → King Constantine II
Queen Victoria → Princess Victoria → Princess Sophie of Prussia → Helen, Queen of Romania → King Michael I
The Marriage of Princess Victoria and Crown Prince Frederick William of Prussia | |||||
Name | Birth | Death | Notes | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Princess Victoria, Princess Royal | 21 November 1840 Buckingham Palace, Westminster (London) | 5 August 1901 Schloss Friedrichshof, Kronberg im Taunus, Grand Duchy of Hesse, (Germany) | bgcolor=fefefe rowspan="2" valign="middle" | Married 25 January 1858 in St James's Palace, Westminster (London). 4 sons, 4 daughters (including German Emperor William II and Sophia, Queen of the Hellenes); 18 grandsons, 5 granddaughters (including Kings George II, Alexander and Paul of Greece and Queen Helen of Romania) ¶ Crown Prince Frederick William succeeded his father Emperor Wilhelm I on 9 March 1888, but died in June. | |
Crown Prince Frederick William of Prussia, later Frederick III, German Emperor and King of Prussia | 18 October 1831 New Palace, Potsdam, Prussia, (Germany) | 15 June 1888 New Palace, Potsdam, Prussia, (Germany) | |||
The portrait below shows the Princess Royal with her husband Frederick William and with Victoria and Albert's first two grandchildren, the future Kaiser Wilhelm II (1859–1941) and Princess Charlotte (1860–1919), who were the only grandchildren born during Albert's lifetime.
Picture | Name | Birth | Death | Notes[9] | |||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
align=center rowspan="3" | Crown Prince Wilhelm, later Wilhelm II, German Emperor and King of Prussia | align=center rowspan="3" | Berlin, Prussia | align=center rowspan="3" | Doorn, Netherlands | Reigned from 15 June 1888 to 9 November 1918 (abdicated) | |
Married (1) 1881 (February 27), Princess Augusta Victoria of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Augustenburg (1858–1921) with issue (6 sons, 1 daughter): Crown Prince Wilhelm (1882–1951), Prince Eitel Friedrich (1883–1942), Prince Adalbert (1884–1948), Prince August Wilhelm (1887–1949), Prince Oskar (1888–1958), Prince Joachim (1890–1920) and Princess Victoria Louise (1892–1980) | |||||||
Married (2) 1922 (November 5) Princess Hermine Reuss of Greiz (1887–1947), no issue. | |||||||
Princess Charlotte of Prussia | Potsdam, Prussia | Baden-Baden, German Republic | Married 1878 (February 18) Bernhard of Saxe-Meiningen, (1851–1928), later Duke Bernhard III (1914–1918), with issue (1 daughter): Princess Feodora (1879–1945), — Queen Victoria's first great-grandchild. Modern medical tests revealed that both Charlotte and her daughter suffered from porphyria, which had afflicted Charlotte's great-great-grandfather King George III.[10] | ||||
Prince Henry of Prussia | Potsdam, Prussia | Hemmelmark, German Republic | Married 1888 (May 24) Princess Irene of Hesse and by Rhine (1866–1953), daughter of his aunt Princess Alice (see below) and had issue (3 sons): Prince Waldemar (1889–1945), Prince Sigismund (1896–1978) and Prince Heinrich (1900–1904). | ||||
Prince Sigismund of Prussia | Potsdam, Prussia | Potsdam, Prussia | Died from meningitis at 21 months old and was the first of their grandchildren to die. | ||||
Princess Viktoria of Prussia | Potsdam, Prussia | Bonn, German Republic | Married (1) 1890 (November 19) Prince Adolf of Schaumburg-Lippe (1859–1916), no issue | ||||
Married (2) 1927 (November 19) Alexander Zoubkoff, no issue. | |||||||
Prince Waldemar of Prussia | Berlin, Prussia | Potsdam, Prussia | Died from diphtheria at 11 years old. | ||||
Princess Sophie of Prussia, later Queen of the Hellenes [Greeks] | Berlin, Prussia | Frankfurt- am-Main, German Republic | Married 1889 (October 27) King Constantine I of Greece (1868–1923) and had issue (3 sons, 3 daughters): Crown Prince George (1890–1947), (see below) later King George II, Prince Alexander (1893–1920), later King Alexander I and father of Princess Alexandra of Greece and Denmark, later Queen Alexandra of Yugoslavia Princess Helen (1896–1982), (see below) later Queen of Romania and mother of King Michael I of Romania, Prince Paul (1901–1964), later King Paul I and father of Queen Sofía of Spain and King Constantine II of Greece Princess Irene (1904–1974), and Princess Katherine (Lady Katherine Brandram) (1913–2007). | ||||
Princess Margaret of Prussia | Potsdam, Prussia | Kronberg, West Germany | Married 1893 (January 25) Prince Frederick Charles of Hesse (1868–1940), later elected King of Finland (October–December 1918), and had issue (6 sons): Prince Friedrich Wilhelm (1893–1916), Prince Maximilian (1894–1914), Prince Philipp (1896–1980) and Prince Wolfgang (1896–1989) (twins), Prince Christoph (1901–1943) and Prince Richard (1901–1969) (twins). |
Prince Albert Edward (1841–1910), then the Prince of Wales, married Princess Alexandra of Denmark (1844–1925), later Queen Alexandra of the United Kingdom, on 10 March 1863. They had 3 sons (one of whom died within a day), 3 daughters, 7 grandsons (one stillborn) and 3 granddaughters. The Prince of Wales became King Edward VII and Emperor of India at the death of his mother Queen Victoria on 22 January 1901.
Edward and Alexandra's son, King George V, (reigned 1910–1936) was the father of Kings Edward VIII (reigned 1936) and George VI (1936–1952), and thereby the paternal grandfather of Queen Elizabeth II (reigned 1952–2022) and her sister Princess Margaret (1930–2002). Elizabeth and Margaret were therefore great-granddaughters of Edward VII and great-great-granddaughters of Queen Victoria.
Queen Victoria → King Edward VII → King George V → King George VI → Queen Elizabeth II → King Charles III
Edward and Alexandra's daughter Princess Maud of Wales became Queen of Norway when her husband, Prince Carl of Denmark, became King Haakon VII (1905–1957) upon the dissolution of Norway's union with Sweden in 1905. Their son, and Edward's grandson, became King Olav V (1957–1991); and Olav's children, King Harald V (since 1991), Princess Ragnhild and Princess Astrid, are thus great-grandchildren of Edward VII and great-great-grandchildren of Victoria and Albert.
Queen Victoria → King Edward VII → Princess Maud of Wales (Queen of Norway) → King Olav V → King Harald V
bgcolor=bb88ff align=center colspan="5" | The Marriage of Edward, Prince of Wales, and Princess Alexandra of Denmark | |||
Name | Birth | Death | Marriage and children | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Prince Albert Edward, Prince of Wales, later King Edward VII and Emperor of India | 9 November 1841 Buckingham Palace, Westminster (London) | 6 May 1910 Buckingham Palace, Westminster (London) | Married 10 March 1863 in St. George's Chapel, Windsor Castle. 3 sons, 3 daughters (including King George V and Maud, Queen of Norway); 7 grandsons, 3 granddaughters (including British Kings Edward VIII and George VI, and Norwegian King Olav V) ¶ Edward acceded to the throne when his mother Queen Victoria died on 22 January 1901. He and Princess Alexandra were crowned King and Queen on 2 August 1902 in Westminster Abbey (London) by Frederick Temple, the Archbishop of Canterbury. | |
Princess Alexandra of Denmark | 1 December 1844 Yellow Palace, near Amalienborg Palace, Copenhagen, Denmark | 20 November 1925 Sandringham House, Norfolk, England |
Name | Birth | Death | Notes | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Frogmore House, Windsor, Berkshire | Sandringham House, Norfolk | Created Duke of Clarence and Avondale in 1890; died of influenza six days after his 28th birthday. Engaged in 1891 to his cousin Princess Mary of Teck, later Queen Mary. | |||
Prince George, Prince of Wales, later George V, King of the United Kingdom | Marlborough House, London | Sandringham House, Norfolk | Reigned from 6 May 1910 to 20 January 1936; married 1893 (July 6) Princess Mary of Teck, (26 May 1867 – 24 March 1953), later Queen Mary, and had issue (5 sons, 1 daughter): Edward, Prince of Wales (1894–1972) — later King Edward VIII (20 January – 11 December 1936) — later Prince Edward, Duke of Windsor (8 March 1937 – 28 May 1972), Prince Albert, Duke of York (1895–1952) — later King George VI (11 December 1936 – 6 February 1952) and father of Elizabeth II (1926–2022; reigned 1952–2022), Mary, Princess Royal (1897–1965), — later Countess of Harewood, Prince Henry, Duke of Gloucester (1900–1974), Field Marshal, Marshal of the RAF, Governor-General of Australia, Prince George, Duke of Kent (1902–1942, killed on active duty). and Prince John (1905–1919). | ||
Princess Louise, Princess Royal | Marlborough House, London | Portman Square, London | Married 1889 (July 27) Alexander Duff, 1st Duke of Fife (1849–1912) and had issue (1 son, 2 daughters): Alastair Duff, Earl of Macduff (stillborn, 1890), Princess Alexandra, 2nd Duchess of Fife (1891–1959) (see below) and Maud Carnegie, Countess of Southesk (1893–1945). | ||
Princess Victoria | Marlborough House, London | Coppins, Buckinghamshire | Died unmarried. | ||
Princess Maud of Wales later Queen of Norway | Marlborough House, London | London | Married 1896 (July 22) Prince Carl of Denmark (1872–1957), — later King Haakon VII of Norway (1905–1957) and had issue (1 son): Prince Alexander (1903–1991), — later Crown Prince and King Olav V of Norway (1957–1991) father of King Harald V of Norway. | ||
Prince Alexander John of Wales | Sandringham House, Norfolk | Sandringham House, Norfolk | Born prematurely at 2:45 p.m., and died 24 hours later. He was christened privately by Reverend W. Lake Onslow in the evening after his birth. His christening was attended by the Prince and Princess of Wales, a lady-in-waiting and a doctor who had been at the birth. |
Princess Alice (1843–1878) married Prince Louis of Hesse (1837–1892), later Grand Duke Louis IV of Hesse, on 1 July 1862. They had 2 sons (one of which, "Frittie", Prince Friedrich of Hesse, was a haemophiliac and died from bleeding out after a fall out of his mother's bedroom window), 5 daughters (one of whom died of diphtheria) and 15 grandchildren (two of whom died at a young age). Prince Ludwig succeeded to the Grand Duchy of Hesse as Grand Duke Louis IV of Hesse, and Princess Alice as the Grand Duchess of Hesse, on 13 July 1877.
Alice and Louis's daughter, Princess Victoria of Hesse and by Rhine, married Prince Louis of Battenberg, and was the mother of Princess Alice of Battenberg (1885–1969), who became Alice, Princess Andrew of Greece and Denmark, when she married Prince Andrew of Greece and Denmark on 6 October 1903. Princess Alice was the mother of Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, the prince consort of the United Kingdom who was the husband of Queen Elizabeth II. Princess Victoria was also the mother of Queen Louise of Sweden.
Queen Victoria → Princess Alice → Princess Victoria of Hesse → Princess Alice of Battenberg → Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh
Alice and Louis's second daughter, Princess Elisabeth of Hesse and by Rhine, married, in 1884, the Russian Grand Duke Sergei Alexandrovich, the fifth son of Tsar Alexander II and Empress Maria Alexandrovna, and younger brother of the then reigning Tsar Alexander III. They had no children, but were the foster parents to Grand Duchess Maria Pavlovna and Grand Duke Dmitri Pavlovich, children of Sergei's youngest brother, Grand Duke Paul Alexandrovich of Russia. Following Sergei's assassination in February 1905, she eventually became a nun and was killed by the Bolsheviks on 18 July 1918. She was canonized by the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia in 1981 and in 1992 by the Moscow Patriarchate.
Prince Ernest Louis became Ernest Louis, Grand Duke of Hesse, upon his father's death in March 1892. He married his first cousin, Princess Victoria Melita of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha (1876-1936), in April 1894, and had one daughter, Princess Elisabeth of Hesse who died of typhoid fever, aged 8. The couple were divorced on 21 December 1901. The Grand Duke married for a second time to Princess Eleonore of Solms-Hohensolms-Lich (1871–1937), and had two sons: Georg Donatus, Hereditary Grand Duke of Hesse who married Princess Cecilie of Greece and Denmark, sister of Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, and had issue, and Prince Louis of Hesse and by Rhine.
Princess Alix of Hesse, the youngest surviving child of the Grand Ducal pair, became the last Empress of All the Russias through her marriage to Nicholas II of Russia in 1894. They had five children: four daughters, the Grand Duchesses Olga, Tatiana, Maria, and Anastasia, and one son, the Tsarevich Alexei, who was a haemophiliac. The Russian Imperial Family was executed on 17 July 1918 by Bolsheviks. The entire family was canonized by the Russian Orthodox church in 2000.
Queen Victoria → Princess Alice → Princess Alix of Hesse (Tsarina Alexandra Feodorovna of Russia)
bgcolor=bb88ff align=center colspan="5" | The Marriage of Princess Alice and Louis IV of Hesse | |||
Name | Birth | Death | Marriage and children | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Princess Alice | 25 April 1843 Buckingham Palace, London, England | 14 December 1878 New Palace, Darmstadt, Hesse (Germany) | Married privately on 1 July 1862 (six months after the death of Alice's father, Prince Albert), in the dining room of Osborne House, East Cowes (Isle of Wight), England 2 sons, 5 daughters (including Alexandra, the last Empress of Russia); 9 grandsons (1 stillborn), 7 granddaughters (including Queen Louise of Sweden and Earl Mountbatten of Burma, the last Viceroy of India) ¶ Prince Louis became Grand Duke of Hesse on 13 June 1877, less than two years before Princess Alice's death. | |
Prince Louis of Hesse, later Louis IV, Grand Duke of Hesse and by Rhine | 12 September 1837 Darmstadt, Hesse | 13 March 1892 |
Picture | Name | Birth | Death | Notes | |||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Princess Victoria of Hesse and by Rhine | Windsor Castle, Berkshire, England | Kensington Palace, London, England | Married 1884 Prince Louis of Battenberg (1854–1921), Admiral of the Fleet, First Sea Lord [''later'' Louis Mountbatten, 1st Marquess of Milford Haven,<br> after renouncing German style and titles in July 1917], and had issue (2 sons, 2 daughters): Princess Alice (1885–1969), later Princess Andrew of Greece and Denmark, and mother of Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh Princess Louise (1889–1965), later Louise Mountbatten, Queen of Sweden and stepmother of Queen Ingrid of Denmark Prince George (1892–1938), later George Mountbatten, 2nd Marquess of Milford Haven and Prince Louis (1900–1979), later Earl Mountbatten of Burma, Admiral of the Fleet, last Viceroy of India & First Sea Lord | ||||
Princess Elisabeth of Hesse and by Rhine | Bessungen, Hesse, Germany | Alapaevsk, Russia | Married 1884 Grand Duke Sergei Alexandrovich of Russia (born 1857; assassinated 1905), No children Princess Elisabeth was assassinated by the Bolsheviks after the October Revolution, as was, separately, her sister Alix (Empress Alexandra) | ||||
Princess Irene of Hesse and by Rhine | Darmstadt, Hesse, Germany | Hemmelmark, West Germany | Married 1888 Prince Henry of Prussia (1862–1929), son of her aunt Victoria, the British Princess Royal & German Empress (see above), and had issue (3 sons): Prince Waldemar of Prussia (1889–1945), Prince Sigismund of Prussia (1896–1978) and Prince Henry of Prussia (1900–1904). | ||||
align=center rowspan="3" | Ernest Louis, later Grand Duke of Hesse | align=center rowspan="3" | Darmstadt, Hesse, Germany | align=center rowspan="3" | Langen, Germany | Succeeded as head of the House of Hesse-Darmstadt in 1892. | |
Married (1) 1894 Princess Victoria Melita of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha (1876–1936), daughter of his uncle Prince Alfred (see below), and had issue (1 son, 1 daughter): Princess Elisabeth (1895–1903) and an unnamed stillborn son (1900); ¶ the marriage ended in divorce in 1901. | |||||||
Married (2) 1905 Princess Eleonore of Solms-Hohensolms-Lich (1871–1937) and had issue (2 sons): Hereditary Grand Duke Georg Donatus (1906–1937) and Prince Louis (1908–1968). | |||||||
Prince Friedrich of Hesse and by Rhine | Darmstadt, Hesse, Germany | Darmstadt, Hesse, Germany | Suffered from haemophilia and died from a brain haemorrhage after falling from a bedroom window. | ||||
Princess Alix of Hesse and by Rhine, later Empress Alexandra of All the Russias | Darmstadt, Hesse, Germany | Ekaterinburg, Russia | Married 1894 Tsar Nicholas II of Russia (1868–1918), taking the name Alexandra Feodorovna, and had issue (1 son, 4 daughters): Grand Duchess Olga (1895–1918), Grand Duchess Tatiana (1897–1918), Grand Duchess Maria (1899–1918), Grand Duchess Anastasia (1901–1918), Tsarevich Alexei (1904–1918).¶ The entire family was killed in July 1918 in the aftermath of the Bolshevik Revolution, as was Alexandra's sister, the Grand Duchess Elisabeth (Princess Elisabeth of Hesse) the following day. | ||||
Princess Marie of Hesse and by Rhine | Darmstadt, Hesse, Germany | Darmstadt, Hesse, Germany | Died from diphtheria at 4 years old. | ||||
Prince Alfred (1844–1900) married the Grand Duchess Maria Alexandrovna of Russia (1853–1920), the only surviving daughter of Tsar Alexander II and Empress Marie Alexandrovna, on 23 January 1874 at the Winter Palace in St Petersburg, Russia. They had 2 sons (one stillborn), 4 daughters, 10 grandsons (8 of whom survived their first week of life) and 9 granddaughters. In June 1893, Prince Alfred achieved the Royal Navy rank of Admiral of the Fleet, shortly before succeeding his paternal uncle, Ernest II, as Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha in August 1893.
Prince Alfred's daughter (and Queen Victoria's granddaughter) Princess Marie of Edinburgh became Queen of Romania in 1914 after marrying the future King Ferdinand in 1893.
Queen Victoria → Prince Alfred → Princess Marie of Edinburgh (Queen of Romania) → King Carol II → King Michael I
Queen Victoria → Prince Alfred → Princess Marie of Edinburgh (Queen of Romania) → Princess Elisabeth of Romania (Queen of the Hellenes)
Queen Victoria → Prince Alfred → Princess Marie of Edinburgh (Queen of Romania) → Princess Marie of Romania (Queen of Yugoslavia) → King Peter II
bgcolor=bb88ff align=center colspan="5" | The Marriage of Alfred, Duke of Edinburgh, and Grand Duchess Maria Alexandrovna of Russia | |||
Name | Birth | Death | Marriage and children | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Prince Alfred, later Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha and Duke of Edinburgh; Admiral of the Fleet | 6 August 1844 Windsor Castle, Berkshire, England | 30 July 1900 Rosenau Castle, Coburg, Germany | Married 23 January 1874 at the Winter Palace, St Petersburg, Russia; 2 sons (1 stillborn), 4 daughters (including Marie, Queen of Romania) 10 grandsons (of whom 1 stillborn), 9 granddaughters (including King Carol II of Romania, Queen Elisabeth of Greece and Queen Maria of Yugoslavia) ¶ Prince Alfred was made Duke of Edinburgh on 24 May 1866, and succeeded as Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha on 22 August 1893, living there until his death in 1900. | |
Grand Duchess Maria Alexandrovna of Russia | 17 October 1853 Tsarskoye Selo, Russia | 24 October 1920 Zürich, Switzerland |
Picture | Name | Birth | Death | Notes | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Prince Alfred, later Hereditary Prince of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha | Buckingham Palace, London | Martinnsbrunn Sanatorium, Gratsch, Merano (Meran), Austria | Rumoured, but never proven to have married in 1898 Mabel Fitzgerald (with no issue). ¶ Alfred suffered from nervous depression and possibly syphilis. He supposedly attempted suicide by shooting himself with a revolver, and was sent to recover at Schloss (Castle) Friedenstein in Gotha, Germany, before being moved, while still badly wounded, to the Martinnsbrunn Sanatorium in Gratsch near Merano (Meran) in the South Tyrol (Austria, now Italy), where he died; however, this rumor is unproven. | ||
Princess Marie of Edinburgh, later Queen of Romania | Eastwell Park, Kent | Sinaia, Romania | Married 1893 Ferdinand, Hereditary Prince of Romania (1865–1927), — later King Ferdinand I (1914–1927), and had issue (3 sons, 3 daughters): Crown Prince Carol (1893–1953), (see above) later King Carol II (1930–40), father of King Michael, Princess Elisabeta (1894–1956), (see above) later Queen of Greece, Princess Maria (1900–1961), later Queen of Yugoslavia and mother of King Peter II of Yugoslavia, Prince Nicholas (1903–1978), Princess Ileana (1909–1991), and Prince Mircea (1913–1916). | ||
align=center rowspan="2" | Princess Victoria Melita of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha later Grand Duchess Victoria Feodorovna of Russia | San Antonio Palace, Malta | Amorbach, Bavaria, Germany | Married 1894 (1) her paternal first cousin, Ernest Louis (1868–1937), Grand Duke of Hesse (1892–1918), the son of her aunt Princess Alice (see above), and had issue (1 stillborn son, 1 daughter): Princess Elisabeth (1895–1903) and an unnamed stillborn son (1900). ¶ The marriage ended in divorce in 1901. | |
Married 1905 (2), her maternal first cousin, Grand Duke Cyril Vladimirovich of Russia (1876–1938) (heir to the Russian throne and self-proclaimed Emperor of all the Russias from 1924), and had issue (1 son, 2 daughters): Princess Maria Kirillovna (1907–1951), Princess Kira Kirillovna (1909–1967), and Prince Vladimir Kirillovich (1917–1992). | |||||
Princess Alexandra of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha | Rosenau Castle, Coburg, Germany | Schwäbisch Hall, Germany | Married 1896 Prince Ernest II of Hohenlohe-Langenburg (1863–1950) and had issue (2 sons, 3 daughters): Prince Gottfried (1897–1960), Princess Marie-Melita (1899–1967), Princess Alexandra Beatrice (1901–1963), Princess Irma (1902–1986), and Prince Alfred (16–18 April 1911) ¶ The senior Princess Alexandra joined the National Socialist German Workers Party (NSDAP) in 1937. | ||
Stillborn son | Eastwell Park, Kent, England | Eastwell Park, Kent, England | Died at birth. | ||
Princess Beatrice of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha | Eastwell Park, Kent, England | Sanlúcar de Barrameda, Spain | Married 1909 Prince Alfonso de Orléans y Borbón, Duke of Galliera (1886–1975), Spanish Air Force chief of staff, and had issue (3 sons): Prince Álvaro de Orléans (1910–1997), later Duke of Galliera, Prince Alonso de Orléans (1912–1936) and Prince Ataúlfo de Orleans (1913–1974). | ||
Princess Helena (1846–1923) married Prince Christian of Schleswig-Holstein (1831–1917) in Windsor Castle's private chapel on 5 July 1866. Two sons and two daughters survived childhood; two other sons died within ten days of their birth. Princess Helena and Prince Christian had no legitimate grandchildren and one natural granddaughter who died without having issue of her own. Like other British royal holders of German titles (such as Admiral Louis Battenberg), Princess Helena, Prince Christian, and their two daughters gave up their titles to Schleswig-Holstein in 1917 when the British and German Empires were at war.
bgcolor=bb88ff align=center colspan="5" | The Marriage of Princess Helena and Prince Christian of Schleswig-Holstein | ||||
Name | Birth | Death | Marriage and children | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Princess Helena | 25 May 1846 Buckingham Palace, London, England | 9 June 1923 Schomberg House, London, England | bgcolor=fefefe rowspan="2" valign="middle" | Married 5 July 1866 in Windsor Castle, Windsor, Berkshire. 4 sons (of whom 2 survived their first month), 2 daughters (including Duke Albert, Princess Helena Victoria, and Princess Marie Louise of Schleswig-Holstein); 1 natural granddaughter (Valerie Marie zu Schleswig-Holstein, Duchess of Arenberg) ¶ Princess Helena and Prince Christian have no surviving descendants today; Valerie Marie died childless. | |
Prince Christian of Schleswig-Holstein | 22 January 1831 Augustenborg, Denmark | 28 October 1917 Schomberg House, London, England |
Picture | Name | Birth | Death | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|
Windsor Castle, Berkshire, England | Pretoria, South Africa | Christian Victor died of malaria while serving as a British officer on active duty in the Boer War. | ||
Prince Albert, later Duke of Schleswig-Holstein | Frogmore House, Windsor, Berkshire | Berlin, Germany | Succeeded as head of the House of Oldenburg in 1921. Never married, but had a twice-married and childless natural daughter, Valerie Marie zu Schleswig-Holstein (née Schwalb) (1900–1953). | |
Princess Helena Victoria, until 1917: Princess of Schleswig-Holstein | Frogmore House, Windsor, Berkshire | Berkeley Square, London, England | Died unmarried. | |
Princess Marie Louise, until 1917: Princess of Schleswig-Holstein | Cumberland Lodge, Windsor, Berkshire | Berkeley Square, London, England | Married 1891 to Prince Aribert of Anhalt (1866–1933); no issue; marriage was dissolved in 1900. | |
Prince Harald of Schleswig-Holstein[11] | Cumberland Lodge, Windsor, Berkshire | Cumberland Lodge, Windsor, Berkshire | Died in infancy. | |
Stillborn son | Died at birth. | |||
Princess Louise (1848–1939), who married John Campbell, 9th Duke of Argyll (1845–1914) in 1871, was the only one of Victoria's nine children who was childless. She was the first British monarch's child since 1515 to marry a subject rather than someone of royal blood.
bgcolor=bb88ff align=center colspan="5" | The Marriage of Princess Louise and John Campbell, Marquess of Lorne | |||
Name | Birth | Death | Notes | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Princess Louise | 18 March 1848 Buckingham Palace, Westminster (London) | 3 December 1939 Kensington Palace, London | Married 21 March 1871, in St. George's Chapel, Windsor Castle (Berkshire) no issue ¶ The Marquess of Lorne was a member of the British House of Commons from 1868 to 1878 and from 1895 to 1900. From 1878 to 1883 he served as Governor General of Canada, representing his mother-in-law, Queen Victoria. In 1900, he succeeded as 9th Duke of Argyll (and thus joined the House of Lords). | |
John Campbell, M.P., Marquess of Lorne, later Governor General of Canada, later 9th Duke of Argyll | 6 August 1845 London | 2 May 1914 Cowes, Isle of Wight |
Prince Arthur (1850–1942) married Princess Louise Margaret of Prussia (1860–1917) on 13 March 1879 at St George's Chapel in Windsor Castle. They had 2 daughters and 1 son.
In March 1911, the Duke of Connaught's nephew, George V (son of the Duke's recently deceased brother Edward VII), appointed his paternal uncle to represent him as Governor General of Canada. He thus became the first, and so far only, Governor General of Canada to be of the Blood Royal, although he had been preceded in this office from 1878 to 1883 by the Marquess of Lorne, the non-royal husband of his sister Princess Louise (see above). [George V's son, the [[Prince Henry, Duke of Gloucester|Duke of Gloucester]], was later Governor-General of Australia, and the Duke of Connaught's son was later Governor-General of South Africa. See above and below.]
Prince Arthur's elder daughter (and Queen Victoria's granddaughter) Princess Margaret of Connaught became Crown Princess of Sweden in 1907 after marrying the future Gustaf VI Adolf of Sweden in 1905 (however, Margaret died before Gustav became king).
Queen Victoria → Prince Arthur → Princess Margaret of Connaught → Prince Gustaf Adolf, Duke of Västerbotten → King Carl XVI Gustaf
Queen Victoria → Prince Arthur → Princess Margaret of Connaught → Princess Ingrid of Sweden → Queen Margrethe II of Denmark → King Frederik X of Denmark
Queen Victoria → Prince Arthur → Princess Margaret of Connaught → Princess Ingrid of Sweden → Queen Anne Marie of Greece
Queen Victoria → Prince Arthur → Princess Margaret of Connaught → Count Carl Johan Bernadotte
bgcolor=bb88ff align=center colspan="5" | The Marriage of Arthur, Duke of Connaught, and Princess Louise Margaret of Prussia | |||
Name | Birth | Death | Notes | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Prince Arthur, Duke of Connaught and Strathearn Field Marshal, Governor General of Canada | 1 May 1850 Buckingham Palace, Westminster (London) | 16 January 1942 Bagshot Park, Surrey | Married 13 March 1879 in St. George's Chapel of Windsor Castle (Berkshire) 1 son, 2 daughters 6 grandsons, 1 granddaughter (including Queen Ingrid of Denmark and Count Carl Johan Bernadotte, the last great-grandchild of Queen Victoria to die) ¶ The Duke of Connaught was made a Field Marshal in 1902 and served as Governor General of Canada (representing his nephew George V) from 1911 to 1916. | |
Princess Louise Margaret of Prussia | 25 July 1860 Potsdam, Germany | 14 March 1917 Clarence House, Westminster (London) |
Picture | Name | Birth | Death | Notes | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Princess Margaret of Connaught later Crown Princess of Sweden | Bagshot Park, Surrey | Stockholm, Sweden | Married 1905 Prince Gustaf Adolf of Sweden (1882–1973) — later King Gustav VI (1950–1973) and had issue (4 sons, 1 daughter): Prince Gustaf Adolf, Duke of Västerbotten (1906–1947) — father of King Carl XVI Gustaf, Prince Sigvard, Duke of Uppland (1907–2002), — later Count Sigvard Bernadotte of Wisborg Princess Ingrid (1910–2000), later Queen of Denmark, mother of Queen Margrethe II of Denmark, and Queen Anne-Marie of Greece, Prince Bertil, Duke of Halland (1912–1997), and Prince Carl Johan, Duke of Dalarna (1916–2012), — later Count Carl Johan Bernadotte of Wisborg and, after 2007, the last surviving great-grandchild of Queen Victoria. ¶ Princess Margaret died suddenly during medical treatment while 8 months pregnant with her 6th child, on her father's 70th birthday and 30 years before her husband would ascend the Swedish throne in 1950. | ||
Prince Arthur of Connaught, Governor-General of the Union of South Africa (1920–24) | Windsor Castle, Berkshire | London, England | Married 1913 Princess Alexandra, 2nd Duchess of Fife (1891–1959), granddaughter of Edward VII (her husband's uncle) and thus Arthur's first cousin once removed, (see above) having issue (1 son): Prince Alastair (1914–1943), later 2nd Duke of Connaught and Strathearn. ¶ Prince Arthur became the third Governor General of South Africa in November 1920, and was succeeded in January 1924 by Alexander Cambridge, 1st Earl of Athlone, husband of his cousin, Princess Alice of Albany (see below). | ||
Princess Patricia of Connaught later Lady Patricia Ramsay | Buckingham Palace, Westminster (London) | Windlesham, Surrey | Married 1919 the Honourable Alexander Ramsay (1881–1972) and had issue (1 son): Alexander Ramsay of Mar (1919–2000). ¶ Princess Patricia relinquished her title of Princess and style of Her Royal Highness upon her marriage and was known as Lady Patricia Ramsay. (However, she kept her place in line of succession). |
Prince Leopold (1853–1884) married Princess Helen of Waldeck and Pyrmont (1861–1922) on 27 April 1882 at St George's Chapel, Windsor Castle. They had 1 daughter and 1 son. He inherited the disease of haemophilia from his mother, Queen Victoria, and spent most of his life as a semi-invalid.
His daughter, Princess Alice of Albany, married Prince Alexander of Teck, the younger brother of Queen Mary, in February 1904 and became Countess of Athlone when her husband was created Earl of Athlone in June 1917. She has, so far, been the longest-lived Princess of the Blood Royal of Britain and was the last surviving grandchild of Queen Victoria.
Prince Charles Edward, Prince Leopold's posthumous son, succeeded him at birth as the 2nd Duke of Albany. In 1900, Charles Edward succeeded his paternal uncle, Alfred, as Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, but was forced to abdicate his ducal throne during the German Revolution of 1918, later gaining high positions in and through the Nazi movement. Because of his support for Germany in World War I, he lost his English knighthood in the Order of the Garter in 1915 and his British royal titles, peerages and honours in 1919. He is the grandfather of Carl XVI Gustaf of Sweden through his elder daughter, Princess Sibylla.
Queen Victoria → Prince Leopold → Prince Charles Edward → Princess Sibylla of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha → Carl XVI Gustaf
bgcolor=bb88ff align=center colspan="5" | The Marriage of Leopold, Duke of Albany, and Princess Helen of Waldeck and Pyrmont | |||
Name | Birth | Death | Notes | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Prince Leopold, Duke of Albany | 7 April 1853 Buckingham Palace, Westminster (London) | 28 March 1884 Cannes, France | Married 27 April 1882 in St. George's Chapel of Windsor Castle (Berkshire) 1 son, 1 daughter 5 grandsons, 3 granddaughters | |
Princess Helen of Waldeck and Pyrmont | 17 February 1861 Arolsen, Waldeck (now Hesse, Germany) | 1 September 1922 Hinteriss, Tyrol, Austria | ||
Picture | Name | Birth | Death | Notes | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Princess Alice of Albany later Countess of Athlone | Windsor Castle, Berkshire | Kensington Palace, London | Married 1904 Prince Alexander of Teck (1874–1957), later Alexander Cambridge, 1st Earl of Athlone, Governor-General of South Africa and Canada and had issue (2 sons, 1 daughter): Princess May (1906–1994), Prince Rupert (1907–1928) and Prince Maurice (March–September 1910) | ||
Prince Charles Edward, Duke of Albany, later Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha | Claremont House, Surrey | Coburg, Germany | Married 1905 Princess Victoria Adelaide of Schleswig-Holstein (1885–1970) and had issue (3 sons, 2 daughters): Hereditary Prince Johann Leopold (1906–1972), Princess Sibylla (1908–1972), (see above) later a Swedish princess and mother of King Carl XVI Gustaf (acceded 1973) Prince Hubertus (1909–1943), Princess Caroline Mathilde (1912–1983), and Prince Friedrich Josias (1918–1998). ¶ Last Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, 1900–1918. Deprived of Duchy of Albany, 1919. Joined 1935 the National Socialist German Workers Party (NSDAP) and SA (Sturmabteilung). Member of the German Reichstag, 1937–1945. |
Princess Beatrice (1857–1944) married Prince Henry of Battenberg (1858–1896) on 23 July 1885 in St. Mildred's Church, Whippingham on the Isle of Wight. They had 3 sons, 1 daughter (the future Queen Victoria Eugenia of Spain), 5 grandsons (1 stillborn) and 3 granddaughters. The present King Felipe VI of Spain, as the great-grandson of Victoria Eugenie, is the great-great-grandson of Princess Beatrice and thus the great-great-great-grandson of Queen Victoria.
Queen Victoria → Princess Beatrice → Princess Victoria Eugenie of Battenberg (Queen of Spain) → Infante Juan, Count of Barcelona → King Juan Carlos I → King Felipe VI
Due to anti-German feeling during the First World War, the members of the Battenberg family who were British citizens relinquished their titles of Prince and Princess of Battenberg and the styles of Highness and Serene Highness. Under Royal Warrant, they instead took the surname Mountbatten, an Anglicised form of Battenberg.
Both Prince Henry and his youngest son Prince Maurice (the lastborn of Victoria's grandchildren) died on active military service, the father from malaria contracted during the Ashanti War and the son in battle on the Western Front of World War I.
bgcolor=bb88ff align=center colspan="5" | The Marriage of Princess Beatrice and Prince Henry of Battenberg | |||
Name | Birth | Death | Marriage and children | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Princess Beatrice | 14 April 1857 Buckingham Palace, Westminster (London) | 26 October 1944 Brantridge Park, Sussex | Married 23 July 1885, at St. Mildred's Church, Whippingham (near Osborne House) on the Isle of Wight 3 sons, 1 daughter (Victoria Eugenie, Queen of Spain) 5 grandsons (one of them stillborn), 3 granddaughters (including Infante Juan, Count of Barcelona, Spanish heir apparent from 1933 to 1969) | |
Prince Henry of Battenberg | 5 October 1858 Milan, Italy | 20 January 1896 , near Sierra Leone (West Africa) |
Picture | Name | Birth | Death | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|
Windsor Castle, Berkshire, England | Kensington Palace, London | In 1917, Prince Alexander became Sir Alexander Mountbatten. On 7 November 1917, he was created Marquess of Carisbrooke, Earl of Berkhampsted and Viscount Launceston. Married 1917 Lady Irene Denison (1890–1956) and had issue (1 daughter): Lady Iris Mountbatten (1920–1982). | ||
Princess Victoria Eugenie of Battenberg, later Queen of Spain | Balmoral Castle, Aberdeenshire Scotland | Lausanne, Switzerland | Married in 1906 Alfonso XIII of Spain (1886–1931) and had issue (5 sons, 2 daughters): Alfonso, Prince of Asturias (1907–1938), Infante Jaime, Duke of Segovia (1908–1975), Infanta Beatriz (1909–2002), Infante Fernando (stillborn 1910), Infanta Maria Cristina (1911–1996), Infante Juan, Count of Barcelona (1913–1993) — heir apparent and father of Juan Carlos I, and Infante Gonzalo (1914–1934) — a haemophiliac who died from bleeding after a car crash | |
Prince Leopold of Battenberg, later Lord Leopold Mountbatten | Windsor Castle, Berkshire, England | Kensington Palace, London | As with his elder brother, he relinquished his title of Prince of Battenberg and the style His Highness and became Sir Leopold Mountbatten, by virtue of his being a Knight Grand Cross of the Royal Victorian Order. Under a further Royal Warrant, in September 1917, he was granted the style and precedence of the younger son of a Marquess, and became Lord Leopold Mountbatten. He suffered from haemophilia; died unmarried and without issue during a hip operation. | |
Prince Maurice of Battenberg | Balmoral Castle, Aberdeenshire, Scotland | Zonnebeke, Flanders, Belgium | Killed in action during World War I. He was the last grandchild of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert. | |