NOTES: Victoria, Queen of England, Empress of India; a.k.a.: Alexandrina
Victoria Reign: 20 Jun 1837 - 22 Jan 1901; Crowned: Westminster Abbey 28 Jun
1838; She became queen at age 18. Her 63 year reign was the longest in the
history of England. Her descendants, including 40 grandchildren, married into
almost every royal family of Europe. With her personal example of honesty,
patriotism and devotion to family life, Victoria became a living symbol of the
solidity of the British Empire. The many years of her reign, often referred to as
the Victorian age, witnessed the rise of middle class and were marked by a deeply
conservative morality and intense nationalism. She was obsessed with the collecting
of memorabilia of her family. She mourned her late husband, Albert, for more than 40
years.
NOTES: Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, a.k.a.: The Prince Consort of
Queen Victoria; Christened: (Francis) Albert Augustus Charles Emmanuel; He was
an active and effective patron of the arts and sciences, organizing such
enterprises as the epochal Great Exhibition of 1851 to stimulate the growth of
British commerce, industry and national pride. Although regarded by many Britons
as a meddling foreigner, Albert succeeded in strengthening the monarchy and in
encouraging social progress. Overburdened with work, he succumbed to typhoid fever
at the age of 42.
NOTES: Christened: Albert Edward; called, "The Peacemaker" Reign:
1901-1910; It is not always realized that Queen Victoria was the last sovereign
of the House of Hanover and King Edward VII was the first of the House of Wettin
or the House of Saxony. Edward VII, in an outburst of anti-German feeling
engendered by the First World War, changed the name of his "House and Family" from
Wettin to Windsor in 1917. Edward gave his name to the Edwardian period.
NOTES: Alice died at thirty-five from an epidemic of diphtheria that swept
the palace affecting all but one of her children. a.k.a.: Princess Alice of Great
Britain; Alice, Reigning Grand Duchess of Hesse; Alice Maud Mary (Fatima)
NOTES: Prince Alfred; The only child of Queen Victoria not born at
Buckingham Palace; He was born at Windsor Castle; a.k.a.: Alfred Ernest Albert,
Duke of Edinburgh, reigning Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha from 1893.
NOTES: a.k.a.: Princess Beatrice, Princess Henry of Battenberg; Elizabeth
Longford, in "Life of Elizabeth II" shows Beatrice's birthdate as: 1858.
Birthdate shown from Debrett's Book of Royal Children, Charles Kidd &
Patrick Montague-Smith. Christened: Beatrice Mary Victoria Feodore.
NOTES: Towards the end of her life the Queen became almost completely deaf
and suffered from mild senile dementia. She resided chiefly at Sandringham
House, Norfolk, which Edward VII had purchased as Prince of Wales. In her
drives about the countryside she would graciously wave and bow to the cows in the
fields, the faithful Princess Victoria always in attendance. Princess of Wales
(1863-1901) Queen Alexandra (1901-1910) Queen Mother (1910-1925); Pictures of her
as a young woman show a sad, soulful look in her eyes; she walked with a limp (which
was imitated by society). She is often shown in pictures wearing gobs of jewelry.
NOTES: Albert Victor Christian Edward, Duke of Clarence; "Eddy" He was of
limited intellect, almost ineducable, and when he reached young manhood his
dandyism earned him the nickname of "Prince Collar and Cuffs". His sexual
proclivities were doubtful and he was believed to frequent a male brothel on
Cleveland Street. He became engaged to Princess May of teck, but before the
marriage could take place he succumbed to typhoid fever. Princess May was passed
on as fiancée to his younger brother George (later, George V).
NOTES: King George V of England; Christened: George Frederick Ernest
Albert; Known as "Georgie" to the family. Debrett's Book of Royal Children
list the date of death as 27 Jan. He was a very strict father. He passed away
a 5 min. before midnight on 20 Jan. At age 16, George V employed a Japanese
practitioner to tattoo a large blue and red dragon on his right arm. He was known
as the Sailor Prince; he entered the Royal Navy in 1877 and after an active naval
career and successive promotions, rose to the rank of vice admiral in 1903. The
outstanding event of the reign of George V was World War I. Following England's
declaration of war on Germany, the king renounced all the German titles belonging to
him and his family and changed the name of the royal house to Windsor. (from
Saxe-Coburg-Gotha).
NOTES: Frederick III, Emperor of Germany; German Emperor and King of
Prussia Liberal in his political views, he opposed Prince Otto von Bismark
throughout the ministry of the latter. A man of learning and culture, Frederick
patronized art and literature and encouraged the work of the royal museums. As
Crown Prince Frederick William, he was genially called "Our Fritz" by the German
people, most of whom anticipated with pleasure his accession to the throne.
Frederick became ill, however, in 1887 and lived only three months after succeeding
to the throne on his father's death. Reign: March 9-June 15, 1888.
NOTES: Emperor of Germany; a.k.a.: Kaiser Wilhelm II. Ascended the throne of
Imperial Germany in 1888. He was exiled in the Netherlands after his
abdication in 1918. He was exiled for 22 yrs. Family of the Hohenzollerns.
Full name: Friedrich Wilhelm Viktor Albert, Emperor of Germany and King of
Prussia. (1888-1918). His policies helped bring about World War I. William's
first major action as emperor was his dismissal in 1890 of the aged chancellor
Prince Otto von Bismarck, who had been largely responsible for the growth of the
German Empire under the emperor's grandfather, William I. The emperor believed that
he ruled by divine right; foreign affairs interested him, but his policies were
contradictory and confused. He professed deep friendship for Great Britain but drove
that country into an alliance with France and Russia by his aggressive program of
colonial, commercial, and naval expansion. He was buried with military honors by order of
Adolf Hitler.
NOTES: Princess of Waldeck-Pyrmont; 5th dau. of George Victor, Prince of
Waldeck and Pyrmont and Helena Wilhelmina Henrietta Pauline Marianne of Nassau;
had issue. a.k.a.: Princess Helena of Waldeck
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