Alexandra Feodorovna is probably Princess’ Alice most known daugther. However she had five in total… Who where they?
Victoria
Victoria was born April 5, 1863. Her mother died while her brother and sisters were still young, which placed her in an early position of responsibility over her siblings.
At a family gathering, she fell in love with her Prince Louis of Battenberg. Over her father’s disapproval, they married. The couple had four children:
- Alice (25 February 1885 – 5 December 1969)
Married Prince Andrew of Greece and Denmark and is the mother of Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, the consort of Queen Elizabeth II.
For more information about her, read my blog about her. - Louise (13 July 1889 – 2 March 1965)
Married King Gustaf VI Adolf of Sweden - George (6 November 1892 – 8 April 1938)
Married Countess Nadejda Mikhailovna de Torby and had 2 children - Louis (25 June 1900 – 27 August 1979)
Married Edwina Cynthia Annette Ashley and had 2 children
During World War I, she and her husband abandoned their German titles and adopted the British-sounding surname of Mountbatten, which was simply a translation into English of the German “Battenberg”.
Elisabeth
Born on November 1, 1864, Elisabeth was considered by many historians and contemporaries to be one of the most beautiful women in Europe at that time. She had many suitors, among them her elder cousin, Prince Wilhelm of Prussia. Her dit propose to her, but she rejected him.
She eventually fell in love with a Grand-Duke of Russia, Sergei. Her great-aunt, Empress Maria Alexandrovna of Russia, was a frequent visitor to Hesse. During these visits, she was usually accompanied by her youngest sons, Sergei and Paul. The serious Sergei was attracted by her and the couple married in 1884.
The couple never had children of their own, but they eventually became the foster parents of Grand Duke Dmitry Pavlovich and Grand Duchess Maria Pavlovna, Sergei’s niece and nephew.
Grand Duke Sergei was assassinated with a bomb in 1905, and surprisingly Elisabeth publicly forgave Sergei’s murderer, Ivan Kalyayev, and campaigned without success for him to be pardoned. She then left the Imperial Court and became a nun, founding the Marfo-Mariinsky Convent dedicated to helping the downtrodden of Moscow. In 1918 she was arrested and ultimately murdered by the Bolsheviks.
In 1981 Elisabeth was canonized by the Russian Orthodox Church Abroad, and in 1992 by the Moscow Patriarchate.
Irene
Born on July 11, 1866, she married Prince Henry of Prussia, the third child and second son of Frederick III, German Emperor and Victoria, Princess Royal (Queen Victoria’s eldest daughter) on 24 May 1888. As their mothers were sisters, Irene and Henry were first cousins.
The couple had three children:
- Prince Waldemar (20 March 1889 – 2 May 1945)
- Prince Wilhelm (27 NOvember 1896 – 14 November 1978)
- Prince Henry (9 January 1900 – 26 Februayr 1904)
Unfortunately, Irene passed the sickness haemophilia on to two of her three sons: Prince Waldemar and Prince Henry.
Due to World War I and being on different sides of the war, hthe relationship with her sisters was strained. After the war, Irene and her husband were allowed to stay and live a ttheir estate, Hemmelmark, in northern Germany. She died in 1953.
Alix
Born on June 6, 1872, Alix is the most famous of Princess Alice’s daughter, being the tragic Empress of Russia who was murdered with her family in 1918.
After four daughters, she finaly bore a son, Alexei, who unfortunately had haemophilia.
The couple had five children:
- Olga (1895-1918)
- Tatiana (1897-1918)
- Maria (1899-1918)
- Anastasia (1901-1918)
- Alexei (1904-1918)
Her faith in the Russian mystic Grigori Rasputin severely damaged her popularity and her bad advices to her husband gave her a really poor reputation. After the Russian Revolution, the whole family was murdered by the Bolsheviks.
May
Marie was known as “May” in the family and was born on May 24, 1878. Alix was her constant companion. The two girls were dressed alike and shared the nursery. Tragedy struck the Grand Ducal family in 1878. First Victoria was diagnosed with diphtheria; the rest of the family, except Alice and Elizabeth – who was sent away – fell ill. Alice and the doctors nursed the family round the clock.
On the morning of 16 November, Marie choked to death. For weeks, Alice concealed Marie’s death from the other sick children. When eventually they heard the news, Alice tried to console her ten-year-old Ernest, despite the risk of infection. On 7 December Alice recognized the symptoms of diphtheria in herself. She died on the morning of 14 December…
A statue by Joseph Boehm was placed on the tomb of Alice holding Marie in her arms:
What a tragic lives some of these women led. Do you want to see more pictures, have a look at my Pinterest Board:
Bax of Things 