Queen Victoria's Daughters, Part 1

Queen Victoria's nine children the daughters Queen Victoria gave birth to nine children in 17 years but she wasn't exactly the world's greatest mother she despised pregnancy and didn't like babies calling them frog like the Queen had had a cold and difficult relationship with her own overbearing mother and in turn tried to control her daughters and held them up to impossible standards Victoria recognized that her traditionally female education had ill-prepared her for the demands of government affairs so the royal couple decided that all of their offspring male and female would receive a well-rounded education Victoria's older daughters were married to important future monarchs and scaled the peaks of European politics but when her beloved husband Albert died at 42 Victoria fell into an intense depression and used her younger daughters as an emotional crutch selfishly stunting their lives and freedom nonetheless they all lived compelling lives an outspoken advocate for progress a dedicated nurse a promoter of public good a sculptor and suffragette and a devoted daughter here are the stories of Queen Victoria's five fascinating daughters Victoria upon the birth of her first child the Queen remarked never mind next time it will be a prince the Queen had a loving but slightly icy relationship with her namesake Vicki idolized her father who inspired her liberal views he in turn doted on his precocious eldest child Vicki was always hungry for knowledge and learned several languages science and literature in 1851 the Queen invited her cousin Prince Wilhelm of Prussia and his family to London for the Great Exhibition 11 year old Vicki was encouraged to escort the princes son Frederick around the exhibition Frederick was impressed with Vicki's perfect German compared to his few words of English as well as the close family of the British Royals compared to his own strict and formal family four years later the Prince visited the British Royals at Balmoral Castle and he and Vicki hit it off again Frederick asked Albert and Victoria for permission to marry their daughter and they enthusiastically agreed the match was not popular in either's home country as prussia was allied with Russia Britain's archrival when Vicki was 17 she wed Frederick in London and then moved to Berlin she found life there difficult and the Prussian Court rigidly formal she was required to attend constant tedious duties and receptions her correspondence home was no consolation as her mother was demanding and critical of her every move Vicki gave birth to her first child Wilhelm in a difficult delivery that nearly cost the lives of both mother and child and left Wilhelm with a damaged arm in 1861 Prince Albert died suddenly of typhoid fever and Vicki was grief-stricken shortly afterward Frederick's father now King Wilhelm ii dissolved parliament and appointed otto von bismarck as prime minister liberal Vicki and Frederick objected to the new conservative regime so bismarck turned the king and the people against them he accused Vicki of conspiring with the British government against Prussia when Prussia went to war with Denmark Vicki's physician was further damaged as her brother Edward had just married Alexandra of Denmark Vicki supported Prussian troops and promoted their medical care a la Florence Nightingale but these efforts were ignored by the press who preferred to paint her as the enemy of the people the couple's fourth son Ziggy's munde died of meningitis just short of his second birthday and Vicki was heartbroken Queen Victoria famous for her decades of mourning for Prince Albert offered no sympathy telling her daughter that the death of a child was much less severe than the loss of a husband Vicki had four more babies totaling eight and while the older children had been raised by governesses she raised the younger ones herself in 1871 the princes of the many German states proclaimed Wilhelm the first emperor of a united Germany the crown prince and princess continued to speak out about their liberal beliefs they opposed increasing anti-semitism in Germany and made public appearances in synagogues vicki also worked to promote education for women the couple's eldest son raised under the influence of a puritanical tutor grew to despise his parents and emulate the conservative beliefs of his grandfather and namesake in 1887 the ninety-year-old king's health began to fail and Vickie and Frederick thought they might finally get a chance to bring Germany into a more enlightened age but Frederick was struck with laryngeal cancer and lost the power of speech Wilhelm the first died and Frederick and Victoria were Emperor and Empress but Frederick gravely ill had time only to make a few symbolic political changes before succumbing to cancer after just 99 days on the throne their son now wilhelm ii had his parents rooms searched for incriminating documents and fired his father's advisers he kicked his mother out of her home in berlin and wanted her to leave the country but instead she built a castle named Friedreich's wolf in honor of her late husband where she lived with her younger daughters as her daughter's moved away for their own royal marriages and wilhelm ii continued to block his mother from political and social life Vicki became increasingly isolated she died of breast cancer at the age of 60 just a few months after the death of her mother Alice on the birth of Victoria's second daughter the Privy Council sent messages of congratulations and condolence obviously another son was hoped for from an early age Alice showed an interest in the lives of common people she often escaped her governess to visit families living on the estate and to sit in the public pews at Chapel during the Crimean War eleven year-old Alice visited wounded soldiers with her mother and was deeply moved she was the most sensitive and compassionate of siblings she formed close bonds with her brothers and sisters particularly Vicki and Edward teenage Alice was the family caregiver and nursed her ailing grandmother Victoria Duchess of Kent through her final months of life then turned around and lent emotional support to her grieving mother Prince Albert wrote of her dear good Alice was full of intense tenderness and affection at seventeen a search began for an eligible husband the Queen expressed desire that her children marry for love but only to a shortlist of candidates of which she approved Prince Louis of Hesse a minor German royal was suggested by Vicki and the Prince was invited to London to watch the Ascot races he and Alice got on well and upon departing he asked if he could take a picture of her with him the couple were engaged the following May in December Prince Albert died of typhoid fever and Alice was by his side at the end she was a rocked her devastated mother as the Queen fell into a deep depression and shut herself away Alice acted as her unofficial secretary and was the representative of the monarchy in all royal business for six months Alice was keen to go ahead with the marriage to Louis though her mother was morose at the thought of losing her favourite child and emotional crutch a sparse and dreary wedding went ahead in the dining room of Osborn house Alice wore a simple white dress and a wreath of orange blossoms and Myrtle but her mother required her to change back into black immediately following the ceremony the Queen wept through the service and remarks that it was more like a funeral than a wedding despite the mother of the bride's dramatics Alice and Louis were elated to be together and in their own home but tried not to act too happy when the Queen came to visit after the honeymoon Alice travelled with her new husband to his home in Dom stopped there she was greeted by cheering crowds the couple moved into a modest house in town and Queen Victoria was shocked that a princess of Great Britain was not granted a grand palace but Alice was very happy there in 1863 she travelled home for the wedding of her brother the Prince of Wales while staying with her mother she gave birth to her first child aurilla Alberta Alice decided to breastfeed which disgusted the Queen who called her daughter a cow Alice further outraged her conservative mother by her friendship with theologian David Friedrich Strauss with whom she shared atheistic views he even dedicated a book to her in 1866 has sided with Austria putting Alice on the opposing side of her sister Vicki in the austro-prussian war Alice heavily pregnant sent her two daughters to her mother in England for safekeeping and kissed her husband goodbye as he went off to war she dedicated herself to nursing the troops and spent tireless hours in hospitals she was advised on the benefits of cleanliness in medicine by her good friend Florence Nightingale at the wars conclusion has surrendered to Prussia and was forced to pay a heavy indemnity Alice wrote to Vicki pleading for the welfare of her adopted country but she was unable to help on this count though she was able to convince her father in law to allow Alice's uncle to keep his throne as grand duke of hesse tragedy struck Alice when her youngest son Friedrich called fritti died after falling from a window he survived the fall but he suffered from hemophilia and died later from internal bleeding she wrote to her mother of her deep sorrow but the Queen as usual was dismissive in 1877 both Lewis father and uncle died making him and Alice Grand Duke and Duchess of Hesse Alice found her new royal duties to be overwhelming and strenuous the following year the family fell ill with diphtheria and the youngest child four-year-old Maria died a month later the family was recovering when Alice who had nursed them all without showing symptoms suddenly became seriously ill on the anniversary of her father's death she died her last words were dear Papa she was 35 and the first of Queen Victoria's children to die Helen helena was born after the queen's most difficult delivery prince albert wrote that his third daughter came into the world quite blue but she was quite well now the family called her by the german nickname helen chen later shortened to lynchin she was a lively and outspoken child when teased by an older brother she punched him in the nose she excelled at drawing and piano and shared her father's interest in science and technology at fifteen she developed a romantic attachment to her father's German librarian Karl rueland the pair kept their affair a secret and exchanged many romantic letters though it is not clear how far the relationship went physically when her beloved father died Helena was nearly as distraught as her mother she could not go long without bursting into tears when Alice left her mourning mother to be married Victoria and Helena became partners in grief and misery Victoria was loathe to lose another daughter and companion to marriage so she refused to speak of arrangements for Helena when Victoria discovered Hell in his relationship with Karl rueland she banished him back to Germany and felt that she had no choice but to arrange nuptials with a suitable bachelor the Queen insisted that Helen as groom be willing to live in Britain so that she could remain close Prince Christian ously schwag Holstein was eventually settled on as a younger son of a Duke he had no foreign commitments and could remain in England he was 15 years older than Helena and when he was invited to Britain he thought that it was so the widowed Queen could inspect him as a possible second husband for herself as schleswig and holstein were territories fought over between russia and denmark victoria's older children were enraged by the match Alice accused her mother of sacrificing Helle and his happiness for her own convenience Alexandra Princess of Wales in particular shunned Christian angering the Queen despite the family rift Helena liked Christian very much and was determined to marry him the couple were devoted to each other and led a happy quiet life Christian enjoyed improving the mini park lands owned by the royal family and was named Ranger of Windsor Park they has six children though their fifth son died at eight days old and their sixth was stillborn the Queen commissioned this statue to honor her five grandchildren who died in childhood Helen his health was never robust and she was a hypochondriac to boot she was a heavy user of opium and laudanum but she maintained a busy schedule of royal engagements and was founding president of the Royal School of needlework like her older sisters she was deeply interested in nursing and was a founder of the British Red Cross in 1900 Helen his oldest son was killed in action during the Boer Wars in South Africa the following year her mother died King Edward's wife now Queen Alexandra was not a fan of her sisters-in-law Helena in particular and cut her out of most royal affairs in 1916 Helena and Christian celebrated their golden wedding anniversary and he died the following year Helena lived another six years dying in 1923 at the age of 77 in the next episode we'll meet Victoria's two youngest daughters Louise the rebel of the family who studied sculpture and was a suffragette and Beatrice who was utterly devoted to her mother and also became a young widow a very special thank you goes to my patron Kendra Holliday thank you so much for supporting my work if you enjoyed this video please consider supporting me on patreon and help me make more fascinating videos a link to my patreon is in the description thank you for watching

Channel: Lindsay Holiday

Views: 2,555,696

Rating: 4.8749061 out of 5

Keywords: history, game of thrones, documentary, royal family, nobility, royalty, sex, bbc, the crown, british history, england, scandal, murder, queen elizabeth, royal wedding, princess charlotte of wales, pregnancy, feminist, women, victorian era, Queen victoria, prince albert, hemo, hemophilia, incest, inbreeding, inbred, europe, wwi, world war 1, 1800s, historic costumes, victoria empress of germany, Alice, Helena, Louise, Beatrice, canadian history, princess, duchess, bride

Id: tysr2GAGeBQ

Length: 14min 42sec (882 seconds)

Published: Tue Oct 15 2019