[72], Alice's death was felt in both Britain and Hesse. Why is fate so cruel? In November 1878, the Grand Ducal household fell ill with diphtheria. In the Autumn of 1878, Queen Victoria paid for the Grand Ducal family to holiday in Eastbourne, where they stayed in a house on the Grand Parade. They planned to marry on 1 July the following year. Alice performed various royal duties on this trip and visited her mother at Osborne before returning to the New Palace at Darmstadt in late 1878. [69] Writing in her journal on the day of Alice's death, Queen Victoria referred to the recent sufferings of the family: "This terrible day come round again! Alice’s line still continues today; however, her great-grandson is Prince Philip, meaning her great-great-grandson Charles will be the next king.
Your contribution is much appreciated! George II, Prince of Waldeck and Pyrmont: 6. Princess Alice of the United Kingdom was born on April 25, 1843 and died on December 14, 1878. "[54] Alice took Louis's letter to heart, responding: "I shall certainly say nothing to you about Darmstadt when you come...I have no intention of saying anything unpleasant, least of all to you. Alice was given away by her uncle, Albert's brother Ernest II, Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, and was flanked by four bridesmaids: her younger sisters, Princesses Helena, Louise and Beatrice, as well as Louis's sister Princess Anna. Victoria's marriage to Prince Frederick of Prussia in 1858 greatly upset her. [58] Alice used her new role to reform the social conditions of Darmstadt, but found the responsibility of being Landesmutter (mother of her people) strenuous. At the time of her death she was great-aunt to the King of Sweden and great-aunt by marriage to the Queen of the United Kingdom. The marriage had been planned a year earlier before the death of Prince Albert, but by the time it came around Queen Victoria, and the whole court were still officially in mourning for Albert. Queen Victoria said that “dear good Alice was full of intense tenderness, affection and distress for me.” Once Queen Victoria plunged into a long period of mourning, Alice became her mother’s secretary and representative for six months and took on many of her mother’s duties along with her sister Louise.
[32] After being introduced to town officials, they took a train to Mainz, where they had breakfast, before taking a steamer along the Rhine to Gustavsburg. Please review SoundCloud’s privacy policy and cookie policy for more information. Princess Beatrice of the United Kingdom, VA, CI, GCVO, GBE, RRC, GCStJ (Beatrice Mary Victoria Feodore; later Princess Henry of Battenberg; 14 April 1857 – 26 October 1944) was the fifth daughter and youngest child of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert.Beatrice was the last of Queen Victoria's children to die, 66 years after the first, her elder sister Alice. [29] The ceremony—described by Gerard Noel as "the saddest royal wedding in modern times"[30]—was over by 4 pm, and the couple set off for their honeymoon at St Claire in Ryde, a house lent to them by the Vernon Harcourt family. The viceregal couple also played host at Quebec City to prime minister Mackenzie King, as well as Churchill and United States president Franklin D. Roosevelt, who all gathered to take part in what would become known as the Quebec Conferences, with the first taking place between 17 and 24 August 1943 at the viceregal residence in La Citadelle, and the second occurring from 12 to 16 September 1944 at the Château Frontenac. Her husband Louis became infected shortly thereafter. If you visit a page on this website with embedded SoundCloud audio content, SoundCloud.com will place a cookie (sc_anonymous_id) to enable the SoundCloud player. Alice supported this suggestion, and on the same day she wrote to the Queen about how much she missed Frittie, the Queen wrote to Alice in scathing terms: "You have entirely taken the Russian side, and I do not think, dear child, that you should tell me...what I ought to do."[49]. When Princess Alice – Princess Andrew of Greece and the mother of the Duke of Edinburgh – died at Buckingham Palace 50 years ago today, few people knew she was even living there at the time. The infection ravished the family, and only Elizabeth was free from it. Princess Alice of the United Kingdom was the third child and second daughter of Queen Victoria and Albert, Prince Consort. Sadly, after the death of her father, his death cast a shadow over the wedding, which dampened the atmosphere somewhat. Cookie information is stored in your browser and performs functions such as recognizing you when you return to our website and helping us understand which sections of the website you find most interesting and useful.
Alice was 35 years old at the time of death. Alice, learning of her brother's incarceration, came to Germany with her husband to plead with his American captors for his release. [28] Amongst Alice's other wedding presents was a tiara designed by Prince Albert before his death. When war broke out between Austria and Prussia and her husband had to join the conflict on the side of Austria, she dutifully went to work making bandages for troops and preparing hospitals, despite being pregnant with her third child. Sadly, Alice did not receive the support she needed from her busy mother and felt rather isolated in her grief.
Despite the Queen's grief, she ordered that the wedding should continue as planned.
That they were happy was never in doubt, as Victoria’s own letters and diary entries attest: On the evening of their wedding day, 10 February 1840, Victoria wrote: With such a match made in heaven, one would imagine all of Victoria’s children living charmed, blissful lives. This caring nature would grow as Alice did.
… to be called by names of tenderness, I have never yet heard used to me before – was bliss beyond belief!
A distraught Alice wrote to Queen Victoria that the "pain is beyond words". In 1873, Alice and Louis suffered a terrible loss, when their young son Friedrich died after a fall from a window. At that moment, the hand of fate dealt Alice a life-threatening blow.
[3] She was confirmed at the Royal Memorial Church of St George, Cannes, in 1898 with Queen Victoria present. Both suffered drawn-out illnesses and by their sides was Alice, who was known to be the caregiver of the family. Princess Alice of the United Kingdom married Prince Louis of Hesse on July 1, 1862 in a private ceremony in the dining room of Osborne House. [21] As Chancellor, she visited the university every year, staying as a guest of Sir Kenneth Blackburne, Governor-General of Jamaica, and his wife. As a granddaughter of the Sovereign through the male line, she was a Princess of the United Kingdom and a Royal Highness. [23] The Queen persuaded the Prime Minister, Lord Palmerston, to vote Alice a dowry of £30,000 (£2.82 million as of 2020). Updated 3:59 AM ET, Tue November 19, 2019. In 1860, Queen Victoria and her daughter Victoria, Princess Royal, had begun to try to look for a match for Alice. Alice passed away on December 14, 1878 at the age of 35 in New Palace, Darmstadt. This website uses cookies so that we can provide you with the best user experience possible. Season 3 of The Crown introduced us to Prince Phillip's mother, Princess Alice of Battenberg, in episode 4.; Spoiler: But after we get a glimpse into Alice's intriguing life, we rarely hear more about her until her death is depicted later in the season. As a result of this activity, Queen Victoria became concerned about Alice's directness about medical and, in particular, gynaecological, matters. She was the third child and second daughter of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert, by virtue of which she was related to many notable monarchs throughout Europe. [36] The Darmstadt court chaplain was called over to England especially for the christening. Both were invited to Windsor Castle in 1860, ostensibly so they could watch the Ascot Races in the company of the royal family, but in reality, the visit was a chance for the Queen to inspect her potential son-in-law.
She always looked after her little siblings and was involved in charitable works at an early age – during the Crimean war, she visited soldiers in hospitals at the age of just eleven.
Her name was chosen because Lord Melbourne, the former prime minister had expressed to Queen Victoria that it was his favourite name. In another letter to her mother, she wrote that her duties were "more than she could stand in the long run". Deaf from birth, she apparently learned to read lips in multiple languages. He thereafter spoke in speeches about Canada's future being marked not by war but by a strong role in reconstruction and reconciliation.
[47] However, Alice's relationship with Strauss angered Empress Augusta, who labelled Alice a "complete atheist" after hearing about his promotion. Highly contagious, the family had to be contained in separate bedrooms, and Alice kept the news of Marie’s death from her children for several weeks. Lord Athlone and Princess Alice had a coastal beach house constructed at Muizenberg, which still stands today and is one of South Africa's national monuments. "[70] Shocked by grief, she wrote to her daughter Princess Victoria: "My precious child, who stood by me and upheld me seventeen years ago on the same day taken, and by such an awful and fearful disease...She had darling Papa's nature, and much of his self-sacrificing character and fearless and entire devotion to duty!" [1] At her death, she was the longest-lived British Princess of royal blood and the last surviving grandchild of Queen Victoria. [65] At first, however, Alice did not fall ill. She met her sister Victoria as the latter was passing through Darmstadt on the way to England, and wrote to her mother with "a hint of resumed cheerfulness" on the same day. Cookies can be “persistent” or “session” cookies. The couple had a further six children in the following decade, their daughters; Irene, Elisabeth, Alix and Marie and their sons Friedrich and Ernst. She also held the titles of Princess of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha and Duchess in Saxony from birth, as well as being a Princess of Teck by marriage, until 1917 when the British royal family ceased usage of German titles. After her loss, Alice became more involved with charity work; she worked on housing reforms and social issues which became her passion, and she made real changes during her lifetime. He was reunited with Alice after the two met unexpectedly in the street, and they visited the wounded together. It wasn’t long before more painful tragedy would befall Alice.
Alice and Louis arrived at Bingen on 12 July 1862 and were greeted by cheering crowds gathered in spite of pouring rain. Here are a few things you need to know about. [14] The Queen was distraught by her husband's death, and the court entered a period of intense mourning. [33] Alice wrote back to her mother that "I believe the people never gave so hearty a welcome",[34] while her sister Helena wrote that "nothing could have been more enthusiastic than her entry into Darmstadt was″. So Louis and Alice settled on a house in Darmstadt’s “Old Quarter”, overlooking the street. Princess Alice of the United Kingdom Birthday and Date of Death Princess Alice of the United Kingdom was born on April 25, 1843 and died on December 14, 1878. [64] Alice was buried on 18 December 1878 at the Grand Ducal mausoleum at Rosenhöhe outside Darmstadt, with the Union Flag draped over her coffin. [10] In her childhood, Alice formed a close relationship with her brother, the Prince of Wales, and her eldest sister, The Princess Royal. She was also the Colonel-in-Chief of two British Army units and one Rhodesian Army unit. Alice's cause of death was diphtheria. Victoria was trying to pair her son Prince Alfred with the Russian Grand Duchess Maria Alexandrovna, but the Russians had refused to send her to England for “pre-marriage inspection”.