Victoria Queen of Great Britain 1819-1901 - Born to rule : five reigning consorts, granddaughters of Queen Victoria

Five Reigning Consorts, Granddaughters of Queen Victoria

JULIA P. GELARDI

St. Martins Press
New York

BORN TO RULE . Copyright 2005 by Julia P. Gelardi. All rights reserved. Printed in the United States of America. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles or reviews. For information, address St. Martins Press, 175 Fifth Avenue, New York, N.Y. 10010.

www.stmartins.com

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Gelardi, P. Julia.
Born to rule : five reigning consorts, granddaughters of Queen Victoria / Julie P. Gelardi.1st ed.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references (p. 427) and index (p. 441).
ISBN 0-312-32423-5
EAN 978-0312-32423-0
1. QueensEuropeBiography. 2. QueensRussiaBiography. 3. Victoria, Queen of Great Britain, 1819-1901Family. I. Title.

D352.3.G46 2005
940.280922dc22 [B]

2004057021

First Edition: March 2005

10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

For my children, Victoria and Gabriella,
whose patience with their busy mother
and curiosity about this project never abated,
I happily dedicate this book to them both.

CONTENTS

Thirty From Exile to Viva la Reina!

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

I N THE COURSE OF RESEARCHING AND WRITING THIS BOOK, I HAVE been fortunate in receiving help from many individuals. Without them, it would never have come to fruition. I therefore wish to express my debt of gratitude to the following who have helped me through the years.

I acknowledge and thank Her Majesty, Queen Elizabeth II , for granting permission to quote from unpublished material and to reproduce photographs from the Royal Photographic Collection. The collections curator, Frances Dimond, was cordial and helpful during my visit to Windsor Castle. I also wish to thank the Registrar of the Royal Archives, Pamela Clark, for her assistance.

For inviting me to his home near Geneva where he shared his impressions of his two grandmothers, Queen Marie of Romania and Queen Sophie of Greece, I am deeply indebted to His Majesty, King Michael of Romania. The king and his wife, Queen Anne, were most gracious and accommodating. King Michaels secretary, Constanza Iorga, was unfailing in assisting me as well.

I wish to express my gratitude to H . R . H . Crown Prince Alexander of Yugoslavia for taking the time to discuss his two great-grandmothers, Queen Marie of Romania and Queen Sophie of Greece, during a visit I made to London.

For graciously inviting me to her home in Buckinghamshire to give her reminiscences, I would like to thank Queen Sophies daughter, Lady Katherine Brandram. Her kindness and generosity in sharing her memories of her mother were invaluable. I also wish to thank Lady Katherines son, Paul Brandram, for his help.

To the staff of the numerous archives and university libraries, a sincere thank-you. These include in the United Kingdom: the Bodleian Library and Nuffield College at the University of Oxford; the British Library; the National Archives of Great Britain (formerly the Public Record Office); G. M. C. Bott of the University of Reading; the Hartley Library at the University of Southampton; Cambridge University Library, Department of Manuscripts and University Archives; the Cumbria Record Office; the Public Record Office of Northern Ireland; the Hampshire Record Office; the House of Lords Record Office; and the Isle of Wight Record Office. In the United States: the Hoover Institution at Stanford University and in particular R. Bulatoff; Nancy Birk at Kent State University; Colleen Schaforth and Betty Long of the Maryhill Museum; the New York Public Library and Western Washington University Library. In Canada: Simon Fraser University Library and the University of British Columbia Library.

The following individuals have also kindly helped with my queries: H.R.H. the Duke of Edinburgh, H.R.H. Princess Alexandra, Sir Brian McGrath, and Jean Mazar. A special thank-you is extended to Hugo Vickers and Marlene Eilers Koenig; also to Ian Shapiro and J. Hanson of Argyll Etkin.

Friends and acquaintances who have shown interest and given help include: Leo de Adrian, Art Beeche, Paul Gilbert, Jan Hill, Dee Ann Hoff, Cedric Jeffery, Greg King, Linda Obermeier, Roy Stephenson, and John Stubbs. Thanks as well to my translators: Dan Manarovici, Mette Drager, and Hans R.W Goksyr. To all the many others who have been helpful and supportive, a sincere thank-you.

My agent, Julie Castiglia, of the Castiglia Literary Agency, was encouraging and ever ready to answer my queries and offer sound advice. I greatly appreciate the enthusiasm and support of my editor, Charles Spicer, whose knowledge and expertise were equally matched by his kindness. I am also indebted to Michael Homler and the hardworking staff at St. Martins Press who steered this book through the process of publication.

Lastly, I wish to thank my family: my parents for their help in a variety of ways and my husband, Alec, for his unwavering support, be it in evaluating the numerous drafts of the text or in accompanying me to half a dozen countries and numerous libraries and archives during my research.

DRAMATIS PERSONAE

Alexandra (1872-1918) Tsarina of Russia, consort of Nicholas II, Tsar of Russia (18681918). Born at Darmstadt on 6 June 1872, she was the sixth child and fourth daughter of Princess Alice of Great Britain and Louis, Grand Duke of Hesse. Christened Alix Victoria Helena Louise Beatrice, upon converting to the Russian Orthodox faith in 1894, Alix took the name of Alexandra Feodorovna. Formal title until marriage: H.G.D.H. Princess Alix of Hesse and By Rhine. Married H.I.M. Tsar Nicholas II of Russia on 14 November 1894 (o.s.) at the Chapel of the Winter Palace in St. Petersburg.

Children:

1. Olga Nikolaevna (18951918), Grand Duchess of Russia
2. Tatiana Nikolaevna (18971918), Grand Duchess of Russia
3. Marie Nikolaevna (18991918), Grand Duchess of Russia
4. Anastasia Nikolaevna (19011918), Grand Duchess of Russia
5. Alexei Nikolaevitch (19041918), Tsarevitch of Russia

Alexandra was brutally murdered along with her family on the night of 16/17 July 1918 at Ekaterinburg. Eighty years later she was buried at the imperial mausoleum in the Fortress of St. Peter and Paul, St. Petersburg. See Nicholas II.

Alfonso XIII (1886-1941) King of Spain, 1886-1931, third child and only son of King Alfonso XII and his wife, the Archduchess Maria Cristina of Habsburg-Lorraine. As the posthumous son of Alfonso XII, Alfonso XIII was king at birth. Born on 17 May 1886 at Madrid, he married H.R.H. Princess Victoria Eugenie of Battenberg on 31 May 1906 at the Church of San Jernimo. Alfonso left Spain without abdicating for a life in exile on 14 April 1931, never to return. He died in Rome on 28 February 1941 and is buried at El Escorial in Spain. His grandson, Juan Carlos I, is the present King of Spain. See Victoria Eugenie.

Constantine I (1868-1923) King of the Hellenes (or of Greece), 1913-17 and again 192022. Constantine was born on 2 August 1868 in Athens. He was the eldest son of King George I of the Hellenes and the Grand Duchess Olga Con-stantinovna of Russia. On 27 October 1889, in Athens, he married H.R.H. Princess Sophie of Prussia, daughter of the Emperor Frederick III and Victoria (referred to after her widowhood as the Empress Frederick). Constantine succeeded his assassinated father as king on 6 March 1913. Forced to flee into exile on 11 June 1917, Constantines second son, Alexander, became king in his absence. Constantine was recalled to the throne by a plebiscite in 1920. However, a military revolt forced him to flee for a second time in 1922. He was then succeeded by his eldest son, George II. Constantine died on 11 January 1923 at Palermo, Sicily. See