Queen Victoria and Prince Albert of England. Queen Victoria and Prince Albert. Queen and Prince Consort. almighty crown

The royal disease is often called hemophilia, precisely because of its most famous carrier, Queen Victoria. The fact is that hemophilia is a genetic disease associated with a violation of the blood coagulation process, and it appears due to a change in one gene on the X chromosome. Accordingly, girls practically do not get sick with it, but can only be carriers.

Queen Victoria turned out to be such a carrier. Apparently, this mutation occurred in her genotype, de novo, since no hemophilia was registered in the families of her parents. Theoretically, this could happen even if Victoria's father was not actually Edward Augustus, Duke of Kent, but some other man (sick with hemophilia), but there is no historical evidence in favor of this and it is not worth it in vain direct.

A queen with an altered X chromosome and a healthy Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha could have been born - healthy boys, healthy girls, carrier girls, and boys with hemophilia.

What actually happened... Queen Victoria and Prince Albert (Photo ca. 1858)

1. Victoria, Princess Royal, later Empress of Germany and Queen of Prussia, most likely was a bearer hemophilia - her two sons and grandson died with very similar symptoms. (photo 1875)

2. Albert Edward, Prince of Wales, later King Edward VII, judging by absolutely healthy offspring, was healthy .

(photo 1861)

3. Alice, later Grand Duchess of Hesse, was definitely a carrier of hemophilia, her son, Prince Frederick and three grandchildren - Heinrich, Waldemar and Tsarevich Alexei, were hemophilic.

(photo approx. 1865)

4. Prince Alfred, Duke of Edinburgh, later Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha apparently was healthy .

(photo approx. 1866)

5. Princess Elena appeared to be healthy and was not a carrier .

(photo approx. 1866)

6. Princess Louise, later Duchess of Argyll. It is not known if there were no children in the marriage.

7. Prince Arthur, later Duke of Connaught and Straharne apparently was healthy .

8. Prince Leopold, later Duke of Albany, was sick with hemophilia and passed the disease through his daughter Alice to his grandchildren.

9. Princess Beatrice, unequivocally was a bearer, two sons and two grandchildren (through daughter Victoria Eugenia, who became Queen of Spain) were hemophilic.

Here, perhaps, a diagram is appropriate, which shows the four branches of the descendants of Victoria - three bearing hemophilia and one healthy, which gave today's ruling dynasty of England.

Consider. Victoria (1840-1901), Princess Royal of Great Britain, the first-born of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert, married in 1858 the Prussian prince Friedrich, who later, in 1888, was proclaimed Emperor of Germany and King of Prussia. The family had 8 children, but two died in childhood, Prince Sigismund from meningitis, Prince Waldemar from diphtheria. Prince Sigismund Prince Waldemar

It would seem that ordinary childhood diseases, the cause of depressing child mortality in those days. But the death of the grandson of the royal princess, the son of Sophia's daughter, Alexander I of Greece from a monkey bite in 1920, made scientists think and their research allegedly showed that Alexander had hemophilia. Alexander I King of GreeceAlice, Grand Duchess of Hesse, the third child of the reigning Queen Victoria and her husband, Prince Albert. Princess Alice was a carrier of hemophilia, as was her mother, Queen Victoria. her son Friedrich (Fritti) was a hemophiliac and died in childhood from internal bleeding after falling from a window, he was not even three years old. After Fritti's death, Alice's brother Leopold, who also suffered from hemophilia, sent her a letter with these words: " I know very well what it means to suffer the way he would have suffered. What does it mean to live and not be able to enjoy life ... It hardly sounds comforting, but perhaps he was thus spared from the trials that a person with my illness is subject to ... " Prince Friedrich

At least two of her daughters (nothing can be said about Mary who died in childhood and the childless Elizabeth) were also carriers, since Irena's sons, Princes Waldemar and Henry of Prussia, and Alice's grandson, Russian Tsarevich Alexei suffered from blood clotting. Daughter Victoria and son Ernst Ludwig were not carriers hereditary disease. Irena Hesse-Darmstadt carrier of hemophilia

Her sons:

Prince Heinrich fell out of his chair, as small children often fall, but as he was a hemophiliac, internal bleeding began and he died a few hours later. He was 4 years old.

Prince Waldemar died in a clinic in Tutzing, Bavaria due to lack of blood transfusion facilities. He and his wife left their home due to the approach Soviet troops approaching Tutzing, where Waldemar was able to receive his last blood transfusion. American army captured the region a day later, on May 1, 1945, and took away all medical supplies for the treatment of the wounded. Prince Valdemar died the next day. Victoria Alice Elena Louise Beatrice of Hesse-Darmstadt (Empress Alexandra Feodorovna), wife of Emperor Nicholas II, carrier of hemophilia.

Her son Tsarevich Alexei:

His sad fate known, I will only say that before the execution he was repeatedly ill, as he was an active boy, as a result he often had internal bleeding and joint inflammation. Leopold, Duke of Albany, the eighth child and younger son Victoria and Albert, himself was a hemophiliac. And the first in the family, it became clear from him that something was wrong. Terrible pains and inflammations with minor bruises, constant care of the mother, he experienced all this in full. But he was careful, so he lived to be 30 years old and even got married.

Leopold's wife, Helena of Waldeck-Pyrmontskaya (1861-1922), gave birth to his daughter Alice, and she, of course, became the carrier of the disease. Leopold's wife was pregnant with her second child, and Leopold went to Cannes alone. On March 27, while at the yacht club, the prince slipped and fell, injuring his knee. Leopold passed away early morning next day. Son Charles, born after the death of his father, was healthy. Young widow with children, Alice and Charles Alice, Countess of Athlone, carrier of hemophilia

Alice married Alexander of Teck, brother of Queen Mary. The family had three children: Lady May of Cambridge - was healthy; Rupert Cambridge, Viscount Trematon - was a hemophiliac and at the age of 21 did not suffer a car accident (doctors concluded that for ordinary person it would be minor injuries); Prince Maurice (Mauritius) Thek - died in infancy, may also have been ill. Rupert Cambridge, Viscount TrematonBeatrice of Great Britain , last child Victoria and Albert, was a carrier and brought the disease to the Spanish royal family. She married Prince Henry of Battenberg, gave birth to four children, and if the eldest son, Alexander Mountbatten 1st Marquess of Carisbrooke, was healthy, then the younger sons Leopold and Moritz were hemophilic and died early. Lord Leopold Mountbatten died unmarried and childless during a minor knee operation, and Moritz Battenberg died of a minor wound during the First World War. Princes Leopold and Moritz, hemophiliacs

The only daughter of Beatrice of Great Britain, the carrier of the disease, Victoria Eugenia, married in 1906 King Alfonso XIII of Spain. Victoria Eugenia Battenbergskaya, carrier of hemophilia

Queen Victoria Eugenie and King Alphonse XIII had seven children: five sons (two of whom were hemophilic) and two daughters, none of whom were carriers of the disease gene. Both hemophilic sons - Alphonse and Gonzalo - died as a result of minor (for healthy person) car accidents from internal bleeding.

In 1938, thirty-year-old Prince Alfonso had an accident with his girlfriend, who was driving and lost control. His injuries were not severe, but he died a few hours later.

A similar accident occurred with his younger brother and sister - in 1934, Princess Beatrice, saving the life of a cyclist, drove the car into a fence. Her injuries and those of Gonzalo were minor, but alas... the twenty-year-old prince died. Alfonso and Gonzalo, Spanish princes with hemophilia

So, 10 people from the royal families have taken the disease for sure, four are questionable. Throw in more babies whose cause of death is unknown. Such is the sad result of one mutation.

More terrible disease in the descendants of Victoria has not yet manifested itself. Hope it doesn't show up...
Queen Victoria of England, Prince Albert, and their children (photo 1857)

Albert became indispensable assistant in the affairs of the queen. Getting up before sunrise, he set to work: writing letters, compiling answers to requests from ministers. And when Victoria joined him, she could only sign the papers he had prepared. She noticed that every day Albert was becoming more and more interested in politics and public affairs and was well versed in everything. “But I,” she admitted, “lose interest in business. We women are not made to rule, if we were honest with ourselves, we would refuse men's occupations ... Every day I am more and more convinced that women should not take over the reign of the kingdom.

It was five o'clock in the morning when the nineteen-year-old Princess Victoria was awakened by her mother, the Duchess of Kent (the girl was forbidden to sleep separately from her, as well as to talk to strangers in her absence).

The Archbishop of Canterbury and the First Chamberlain of England would like to see you immediately. They are waiting in the great hall.

As soon as the princess entered, the first chamberlain knelt down. Victoria understood: the king was dead. Now she was to become Queen of England.

"I love him more than I thought"

The date on the calendar was June 20, 1837. The first thing Victoria did was to order her bed removed from her mother's room. The great queen began her reign.

With particular acuteness the question of her marriage arose. Of course, she would like to solve this state and not a simple issue herself. Although her mother and uncle Leopold, King of Belgium, was already in mind the candidacy of the groom - Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg. Mother and uncle belonged to the Saxe-Coburg dynasty and wanted to strengthen the union of the two countries with a dynastic om.

Victoria understood that they wanted to sacrifice her for the sake of the interests of the crown. The crown of England will undoubtedly be the best decoration of the Coburgs.

Victoria remembered that two years ago she met with Prince Albert, who was her cousin. Then she found him very attractive. Victoria liked his blond hair, beautiful eyes, alluring lips.

His main charm is in his facial expression, both gentle and noblely restrained, - Victoria noticed after the meeting. She was not afraid of his seriousness, his entire German - from head to toe - strict look.

She liked the prince even now, but now, after two years, after mature reflection, the queen decided to assure everyone that it was too early for her to marry.

I'm still too young, she said.

In fact, she did not want to give consent to a marriage conceived without her participation. When she became queen, she wanted to make her own decisions. Every single one.

Uncle Leopold tried to change the situation. He took care of a new meeting of young people. In October 1839, Albert came to visit his cousin.

Already on the first day of her cousin's arrival, Victoria wrote in her diary: “Meeting him stirred up my feelings. How beautiful he is! His lips are mesmerizing, he has such an adorable mustache and sideburns.”

Two days later young queen wrote to her uncle, King Leopold: "Albert's beauty is impressive, he is so amiable, so simple: in short, he is seductive."

The appearance of a cousin-prince was so seductive that Victoria announced to her prime minister, Lord Melbourne, that she had decided to marry Albert.

Perhaps you should let him know?

Certainly.

But how to do that? - the lord was confused. - Usually men ask a woman for a hand, and not vice versa.

“And will he still accept my offer? thought Victoria. And then she calmed herself: - Of course, yes! Princes and princesses are brought up in such a way that they know in advance that marriage of their own choice is impossible for them, marriage in public interests- that's their lot.

Albert, of course, guessed what Victoria liked, and, somewhat changing his usual restraint, during the royal hunt he was, if not cheerful, then at least looked animated.

After the hunt, the queen asked her cousin to visit her. She was waiting for him in her office. For the first time, they were alone. Victoria looked at him benevolently, smiling, but Albert pretended not to understand anything, forcing her to speak first. Victoria didn't get angry at his reticence - a reticence that another might have interpreted as a desire to avoid conversation. But she did not for a moment admit the possibility that Albert would refuse to marry the Queen of England. Although she was somewhat embarrassed that she herself would have to ask him to marry her, nevertheless, as a sovereign, she was pleased that the prince did not speak first. As a sovereign, she should have regarded this as a liberty. So Victoria herself assessed the whole situation in a letter to her aunt, the Duchess of Gloucester.

Having overcome her excitement, Victoria spoke:

Of course, you can guess why I invited you. I will be happy if you agree to what I want, that is, become my husband.

Albert stood up and, kneeling down, kissed her hand.

I'm not worthy of you, he whispered.

Then, just as primly, he said:

I will be happy to spend my life next to you.

These words filled Victoria with joy!

“I love him more than I thought,” she writes in her diary, “and I will do everything in my power to facilitate his sacrifice.”

Albert's sacrifice

To some extent, it really was a sacrifice. The husband of the Queen of England did not even have the right to bear the title of Prince Consort in the first years of their marriage. The constitution of the country completely ignored his existence, the wife-queen could only call him a field marshal. But Victoria fell more and more in love with her fiancé, she wanted to see him as king.

Albert's position will be very difficult, she told the Prime Minister. “If he is to follow my uncles in the matter of succession, then at least he should have the title of king. What power do I have if I can't even give him the title that should be his?

Lord Melbourne objected indignantly:

Only the decision of Parliament can make him king. And for God's sake, don't bring it up now. Those who make kings can also overthrow them.

Victoria did not dare to insist. In the evening, she wrote in her diary: “I can’t even make Albert the guardian of our children. If after my death my son will be of age, he will become the guardian of younger brothers and sisters, and not their father. And if the children do not reach the age of majority by that time, then a regent will be appointed.

At the same time, Victoria herself, though unconsciously, made her future husband a hostage to her duties. His entourage, retinue, house - everything was chosen by Victoria. Albert tried to resist. “Think about my position,” he wrote to Victoria, “I am leaving my homeland, all my dear memories, my real friends for the sake of a country where everything is unfamiliar and alien to me: people, language, customs, way of life, my position. Besides you, I will have no one to trust. And I’m not even allowed to keep two or three people with me who should take care of my personal affairs and whom I trust ... "

Far from being touched by his lamentations, Victoria replied: “I was very angry at your disappointment at my desire to choose a house for us and very pleased that you finally agreed to trust my choice!”

Albert made another request: to live in Windsor, not in London. “My dear friend,” the bride replied, “you do not understand this issue at all. You have forgotten, my friend, that I am a queen. Nothing should hinder or slow down the decision of public affairs. Parliament is in session, and almost every day urgent business requires my presence. I cannot leave London. Even two or three days of absence is too long.”

The passion he kindled in Victoria's heart surprised Albert and even somewhat puzzled him. For him, it should have been a reasonable and worthy feeling. Will he be able to share the fiery feelings of the queen?

"Me and Albert - Alone"

The wedding ceremony, as expected, was magnificent, in compliance with all the traditions and rules of centuries-old British etiquette. It took place on February 10, 1840. Immediately after the ceremony, the young people went to Windsor in a carriage - an old and faithful Berlin.

There was nothing to go, some fifteen miles.

Victoria loved to visit the castle built on the banks of the Thames in the 11th century by William the Conqueror. More than once the castle served as the residence of kings. His stones were witnesses to many events that took place at the court: secret conspiracies, murders, intrigues and love affairs. Henry I, the youngest son of William the Conqueror, lived here, and both James I and Edward III, who started the Hundred Years War, lived here. During the time of Charles II, in the 17th century, the castle was thoroughly rebuilt and became known as the palace. Luxurious apartments, expensive paintings appeared. Large banqueting hall adorned with portraits of British kings different eras. The chapel was transformed, where knights of the Order of the Garter were knighted. All this was done primarily to please the king's mistresses - Nell Guin, an orange seller and an actress who struck the heart of Charles II, and then - Louise de Kerual, an intriguing cocotte with almond-shaped eyes. When the king lost interest in her, she staged a suicide attempt and received what she wanted - the title of Duchess of Portsmouth, and her son became known as Earl of Albemarle.

Victoria especially liked the magnificent park and its terrace, from where beautiful view to the Thames. Here she, a girl, dreamed so well.

Once in her room at Windsor Palace, Victoria, without waiting for tomorrow morning, wrote in her diary: "Me and Albert alone."

Albert, whom women's society discouraged, and ladies in love simply tormented, was not a passionate lover - he performed his duty with a solemn air, without any ardor ... But the young wife adored him so much that she was still happy.

In the morning, barely waking up, she wrote to Uncle Leopold: “I hasten to inform you that I am the happiest of women, the happiest of all women in the world. I really think that it is impossible to be happier than me and even as happy.” And added: “My husband is an angel, and I adore him. His kindness and love for me is so touching. It is enough for me to see his bright face and look into my beloved eyes - and my heart overflows with love ... "

There are also such entries in her diary: “I read and sign papers, and Albert gets them wet ...” Immediately after the wedding, a second desk was placed in Victoria's office - for Albert. But from the very beginning he decided not to touch state affairs. His duty, he believed, was to immerse his own "I" in the personality of his wife, the queen. Little by little, he became her indispensable adviser, a walking encyclopedia and, when needed, a caring nanny. So, on the eve of the birth of their first child, Albert “with maternal tenderness” looked after Victoria, which touched her. At the same time, the famous lace shirt was sewn, which will serve to this day as the baptismal shirt of all princes and princesses of England.

Cute angel…

In a word, they lived together, in harmony. Only once did a conflict arise because of a child - their first child, a girl. The little one was sick. The couple argued which treatment is better. The first to flare up was the mother. She ran out of the room in tears. Albert sat down at the table and wrote her a message, warning that the death of the child would be on her conscience if she persisted in her recommendations. After that, eight more children were born to them, but disputes about their treatment and upbringing were not repeated.

Under the influence of her husband, the queen changed her views on many things. For example, she began to use the railway built in the north of the country. Thanks to this, Balmoral Castle in Scotland became more accessible, where the queen and her family spent the happiest time - they played skittles, hide and seek, and made excursions.

“The heavier and stronger the chains of marriage, the better,” Albert wrote to his brother. - Spouses should be chained to each other, inseparable and live only for each other. I would like you to come and admire us - an ideal married couple, united by love and harmony. Of course, Victoria is ready to make some sacrifices for me...”

What did he mean? What are these victims? It turns out that he wanted to make their lives more diverse. Invite famous people and at least slightly revive this "landscape in gray tones", as he called court life. Of course, it was not a question of turning Windsor or Buckingham Palace into a literary or musical salon, but Albert managed to get consent so that whist, other card and board games. He even tried to play a little music: piano pieces for four hands enjoyed particular success. Sometimes he played works by Bach on the organ or sang songs to the music of Mendelssohn.

Albert became an indispensable assistant in the affairs of the Queen. She called him now "my precious, my incomparable Albert." Getting up before sunrise, he set to work: writing letters, compiling answers to requests from ministers. And when Victoria joined him, she could only sign the papers he had prepared. She noticed that every day Albert was becoming more and more interested in politics and state affairs and was well versed in everything. “But I,” she admitted, “lose interest in business. We women are not made to rule, if we were honest with ourselves, we would refuse men's occupations ... Every day I am more and more convinced that women should not take over the rule of the kingdom.

Indeed, Albert became almost a king. As the writer André Maurois says: “Some politicians found that he had too much power. And his ideas about royalty are considered by many to be incompatible with the English constitution ... He led England to an absolute monarchy.

In early December 1861, "the dear angel," as Alberta Victoria called it, fell seriously ill. The queen, who could not even imagine that her idol could fall ill, did not attach importance to his indisposition. Only on December 14, at five o'clock in the evening, did she realize that he was dying. Already losing consciousness, he kept whispering:

Liebes Frauchen... my dear wife...

After the death of Albert, Victoria felt completely alone in this world. “I firmly decided,” she wrote to her uncle, “I irrevocably decided that all his wishes, projects, thoughts would be a guide to action for me. And no human laws will turn me off this path ... "

Victoria was in inconsolable grief. Shut up in four walls, refused to take part in public ceremonies. Some were dissatisfied with her behavior: the queen must do her duty no matter what. When she returned to business, she was again determined to rule with a firm hand. She wrote in her diary that she would not let anyone dictate what she should do.

Life went on as if Albert were alive. Every evening the servant put pajamas on his bed, every morning he brought hot water for his master, put fresh flowers in vases, wound clocks, prepared a clean handkerchief... It was rumored that the queen became a spiritualist, that she "contacts" with Albert during séances. Be that as it may, the mausoleum where Albert is buried still stands in Windsor Park. By order of the inconsolable wife, several more monuments were erected in memory of the deceased. This is the Albert Memorial and the Albert Hall, not far from the Victoria and Albert Museum, founded on the initiative of Albert.

Forty years after Albert's death, Victoria was reunited with her "sweet angel". It happened on January 22, 1901. The long victorian era. The Great Queen was buried next to her husband, her closest friend and adviser.

An era is named after her, and he became the founder of the Saxe-Coburg-Gotha ruling dynasty of Great Britain, later renamed Windsor.

Their marriage was made in heaven, and their love story was legendary. They were praised and hated, they were worshiped and admired, webs of intrigue and slander were woven behind their backs. But nothing affected the love and life of the spouses. They loved, each in their own way, passionately and strongly, honored each other and could not imagine life apart. Few of the members of crowned families could boast of such luck - royal marriages were often arranged.

Albert and Victoria. All-consuming love of the century

She is an emotional and fragile autocrat, he is a prince consort, brought up in strictness and adhering to puritanical views. They were different, like earth and sky. No one could have thought that one day young people could fall in love with each other and stay together forever. Yes, their marriage was beneficial to individuals in high society, but no one could have imagined that they would become lovers. Too different, too freedom-loving, too proud and temperamental. Could they themselves imagine that once they met, they would no longer be able to live without each other?

Protector and winner. Alexandrina Victoria

Such strong name the girl received at baptism. Alexandrina is the defender, Victoria is the winner. The girl's father was only the fourth son of King George III and was far from being in the forefront of heirs claiming the throne. It so happened that the girl's father and grandfather died, later the three eldest sons of the king passed away, not having time to leave offspring, and young Victoria remained the only heir to the crown.

She ascended the throne at the age of 18 and even then had a strong and independent character. Her childhood could not be called joyful: her mother kept her in solitude and under constant supervision, she never spoiled her. The young princess often wore the same outfits until they fell into disrepair, and even slept in the same room with her mother until she came of age.

Victoria was never close to her mother, who was also called Victoria. The eldest Victoria was a despotic person and dreamed of using her crowned daughter for her own selfish purposes, allowing her to influence internal politics countries. However, the mercantile plans of the duchess were not given to come true. Having become queen, Victoria immediately excommunicated the intriguer from herself, ordering her to live in separate chambers, no longer interfering in her life.

Possibly childhood. future queen it would have been different if her father had lived well. She would not have to lead a modest lifestyle, not typical for a girl blue blood. However, the girl's father caught a cold and died when she was less than a year old. The absence of a solid family male hand also affected during the years of Victoria's marriage. At the beginning of her marital relationship, the girl had no idea how to behave with her husband: where to get around sharp corners, where to insist on her own, and where to give in. She only acquired this worldly wisdom over the years.

A good mentor and friend of the princess in childhood was the nanny Louise, who in many ways replaced the mother of the girl, she also brought up many worthy qualities in the future queen. In adult life the place of sweet Louise was taken by Prince Albert, who became a soulmate and adviser to the queen.

Meeting Prince Albert

The German subject Albert was born with Victoria in the same year 1819 and was related to her by blood: he was her cousin. Literally two centuries ago, marriages between brothers and sisters were considered in the order of things and therefore were not condemned by society. Albert was brought up in the spirit of characteristic German traditions, grew up as a strong and inquisitive boy, had a great craving for exact sciences and innovation. From childhood, the boy learned unshakable truths: the family is the foundation, and the husband and wife must not only love each other, but also be faithful. The principle of fidelity was contrary to the morals of the time, but the prince was unshakable and considered statesmen who cheated on their wives to be lost and empty people.

And the future prince-consort was tall and pretty, any girl would be happy to become his wife. Only not picky Victoria at first.

They met at a ball at Windsor. This first meeting was an unfortunate mistake for both of them. The young prince and so young princess did not find anything in each other that would be worth attention. Victoria considered the prince to be a snob and a German snob, and Albert did not convince her of this, condescendingly and coldly reacting to barbs future wife. It never occurred to them then that their marriage, so cherished by some close relatives, would take place in a few years and bring them great happiness.

The second meeting turned their lives upside down. The girl was already 21 then, she was a queen and did not even think about marriage. And then he appeared - the man of her sweet dreams, her kind and charming Albert. The prince has changed a lot in a few years: matured, stronger, prettier. He used to be handsome, but now he has become just a dazzling handsome man. Ardent Victoria, who had previously had tender feelings for the heir to the Russian throne, fell in love with Albert irrevocably and completely. Realizing this, the bride herself made a marriage proposal to her chosen one, since it was forbidden for the queen to make an offer, only she herself could offer to marry. On February 10, 1840, the young people got married.

Victoria unconsciously became a trendsetter, wearing a white dress with a long train for the wedding. It was after the queen that the tradition of marrying in a white wedding dress became widespread. Albert did not lag behind his crowned wife and later also became a trendsetter, but not in fashion, but in Christmas tree decorations, when he began to decorate a Christmas tree for his children. Following Albert, this tradition was picked up by the British, and then by the inhabitants of other countries.

The royal family was considered exemplary. In the very first year of a carefree married life, Victoria gave birth to her husband a daughter, Victoria, and a year later gave the long-awaited heir - Albert Edward. In the end, the queen gave birth to her husband, four boys and five girls, whom Albert adored with every fiber of his soul. There was no more worthy pope in the kingdom. Even the queen, deprived of maternal affection in childhood, did not treat her children with the love and sincerity that their father gave them. She just couldn't do it.

The path to family happiness is thorny. And the happiness of the newlyweds would be incomplete if it were not for the test of power, prepared for them by fate.

Queen and Prince Consort. almighty crown

Victoria was a powerful woman, but Albert was used to the idea that a man should be the head of the family. Flesh from flesh, wife from husband - this was the custom in ordinary families, but could not be applied in the royal family. Even as the queen's husband, Albert was below her in status and was only a prince, not a king. How could he put himself above the monarch, be a man at the head of the family? Could not.

And the first years of the couple's life together were overshadowed by the fact that the prince yearned. He had nothing to do. He was a bored man who was not allowed to enter politics. Only later did the queen realize how much she had lost, not seeing in her husband a support and assistant in solving state affairs. Seeing that her husband could be an excellent manager, Victoria trusted her husband and ordered to install another table in her office, at which Albert worked until the end of his days.

Unprecedented before, such an action of the queen was perceived in society ambiguously. The approximate queens feared that instead of the English foundations, German traditions would appear in the state, and the queen would only formally become the bearer of the crown of the monarchy, while the country would actually be ruled by a German upstart.

However, Albert was a far-sighted and wise politician. The crown was of little interest to him. He prompted his beloved the right decisions in many matters, but tried not to interfere in the process of governing the country. In his free time, he took up the arrangement of Buckingham Palace: he equipped good system heating, built new halls, gave his wife a delightful ballroom of enormous size. The Prince Consort taught his soul mate a lot, relieved many fears, became a caring husband and devoted life partner.

The queen idolized the prince throughout her life. Albert loved the queen, but not the one passionate love experienced by Victoria herself. His love was cold and flaring with years. Love-self-sacrifice, love-respect, love-friendship, love-admiration - this is how his contemporaries would describe his feelings. Albert protected his beloved from sorrows, protected from the bullets of crazed mercenaries. He was ready at any moment to sacrifice his life for the queen. He loved her so much that he resigned himself to the second role in which he was, and never reproached his beloved for royal manners. In their entire lives, they quarreled only once, when they did not agree on the treatment of their sick daughter, but quickly reconciled and never quarreled again. They had nothing to share. Only all-consuming love.

A queen for a prince, a prince for a queen

Their unearthly love lasted 21 happy years, exactly as many years as the queen turned in the year of her marriage. The irony of fate or fate is unknown, but when the prince died, Victoria killed a woman in herself who was able to feel and love. She remained faithful to him throughout her life and wore mourning until her death - another 40 painful years of life. And dying, she left an instruction to bury her next to her husband in white wedding dress in which she married him, so that when she met him in another life, she would certainly be beautiful.

Albert died at the end of 1861, having contracted typhus. At first, no one attached importance to his illness, the alarm was sounded when it was already too late. After the death of her husband, the queen's life lost its meaning. Victoria forbade the servants to touch and clean Albert's belongings and work supplies, not wanting to come to terms with his death. She closed herself in her grief and mourning, abandoning state affairs for a long time and leaving Buckingham Palace for Windsor Castle, where she met young Albert and buried him within the walls. The Queen hated Buckingham Palace, everything in which reminded her of happy life with Albert.

In Windsor, she mourned her irretrievably lost happiness, her beloved and prayed to God to take her to him as soon as possible. But fate was unshakable. She still had to overcome her grief and cope with the unrest of the Republicans, build the famous Albert Hall and many monuments in honor of her husband, marry her sons and marry her daughters, become a wise ruler and the "Grandmother of Europe".

She endured everything. Didn't break. Constantly grieving for her husband who passed away early, she carefully fulfilled her public duty. After all, her very name meant victory. Victory over any misfortune. And Victoria won for the sake of her beloved man. The unfortunate widow retired in January 1901, having marked the next anniversary of her husband's death a month before. Thus ended the happy story eternal love queen and prince.

Franz Xavier Winterhalter

Victoria, Princess Royal of Great Britain Victoria Adelaide Mary Louise; November 21, 1840, Buckingham Palace - August 5, 1901, Friedrichshof) was eldest daughter(and generally the first-born) of Queen Victoria of Great Britain and Albert of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha.

before birth younger brother(future Edward VII) November 9, 1841 little Victoria was heir to the throne. Diminutive name"Vicki".

In 1851, Victoria met her future husband, Prince Frederick William of Prussia, when he and his parents were invited to England by Queen Victoria and Prince Albert for the opening of the World's Fair in London. At that time, Frederick, son of Prince Wilhelm of Prussia and Princess Augusta of Saxe-Weimar, was the second successor to the Prussian throne.

The couple announced their engagement in 1855 while Friedrich was on a visit to Balmoral; Victoria was only fourteen at the time she future husband was a young man of twenty-four. Prussian Court and Buckingham Palace publicly announced their marriage on May 19, 1857.

Seventeen-year-old Vicki and the young prince were married, at the request of Queen Victoria, at St. James's Palace on January 25, 1858.

The marriage was concluded both for love and for dynastic reasons.

The Queen and Prince Albert hoped that Victoria's marriage to the future King of Prussia would strengthen ties between London and Berlin, and possibly lead to a united and liberal Germany.

She was Empress Consort of Germany and Queen of Prussia for only 99 days in 1888 (her husband's reign was short-lived, dying of cancer), and then became Empress Dowager.

In court circles, she was accused of remaining an Englishwoman and being alien to the interests of Germany.

Children:

Emperor Wilhelm II last emperorGerman Empire (Kaiser) and kingPrussia.

Wilhelm was Victoria's favorite grandson, in whose arms she died in 1901. military rank Admiral of the British Royal Navy.

Born with a damaged arm (shorter than the other); in photographs, the Kaiser usually hid his handicap by placing one hand on the other or sitting at an angle to the camera. He ascended the throne at the age of 29Year of the Three Emperorshis grandfather diedWilhelm Iand father Frederick III.

Wilhelm II is best known for his active foreign policy Germany.

Under him, the vast colonial empire of Germany, which arose shortly before his accession to the throne, developed, which resulted in military clashes in Africa (the Herero genocide) and in China (as part of the Yihetuan uprising).

The Kaiser's desire to create Navy, which was not inferior in power to the fleet of the British Empire, was extremely painfully perceived in London and led to the Anglo-German naval arms race that unfolded at the beginning of the 20th century.

Wilhelm's support for the expansionist course of his main ally, the Austro-Hungarian Monarchy, in the Balkans and his patronage Ottoman Empire caused a serious deterioration in relations with Russia.
The contradictions between the European powers led, despite warm personal and family relations Wilhelm with the monarchs of Great Britain and Russia, to the First World War.

Germany, having lost its colonies, was forced to hard war on two fronts economic situation in the rear deteriorated sharply.

The defeat in the war (November 1918) was synchronous with the revolution in Germany, after which Wilhelm abdicated and left the country, settling in the neutral Netherlands.

Princess Charlotte of Prussia ( Victoria Elizabeth Augusta Charlotte), Duchess of Saxe-Meiningen.
Born in Potsdam on July 24, 1860, died in Baden-Baden on October 1, 1919.
In 1876 she was engaged to Prince Bernhard of Saxe-Meiningen, whom she married in 1878. In 1914, after the death of her father-in-law and her husband's accession, she received the title of Duchess of Saxe-Meiningen.

Prince of Prussia Heinrich Albert Wilhelm (1862-1929) was 3 years younger than his brother-emperor and did not resemble him at all in character. He was a born diplomat. Heinrich made a career naval officer. He was loved by his subordinates. One of the first to receive a pilot's license, he easily mastered technical innovations. Since 1888, married to Princess Irene of Hesse (sister of Empress Alexandra Feodorovna - wife of Emperor Nicholas II).

Prince Francis Friedrich of Prussia (1864–1866) - his mother believed that he was much smarter and more educated than her three older descendants and predicted a bright future for him, but he died in early age from meningitis.

Princess Victoria of Prussia (1866 - 1929) was more commonly referred to as Moretta or young Wicca. Like her sisters, Princess Sophia and Princess Margaret, she was very devoted to her mother and shared her pro-English views. In her youth, Victoria fell in love with Prince Alexander of Battenberg, who later became Prince of Bulgaria. Her parents wanted young people to get married, but her grandfather, Emperor Wilhelm I and his Chancellor Otto von Bismarck were against this wedding for political reasons - they were afraid that this marriage would displease Russia. In 1890 she married Prince Alfred of Schaumburg-Lippe. Alfred died in 1916, they had no children. In 1927, Victoria married a Russian emigrant, Alexander Zubkov, who was 35 years younger than her. She was about to divorce him, but died suddenly in November 1929.

Prince Waldemar of Prussia (1868–1879) died of diphtheria.

A princess Sophia of Prussia (1870 - 1932) - later Queen of Greece - since 1889 married to King Constantine I (maternal great-grandson of Emperor Nicholas I)

When Emperor Wilhelm II found out that Princess Sophia had converted to Orthodoxy before her marriage, and during her stay in Berlin, on Sundays she attended services in the church of the Russian Embassy, ​​he demanded younger sister Be sure to visit Lutheran churches. When she resolutely refused, the enraged emperor forbade her entry into Germany.

Princess Margaret of Hesse (1872 - 1954) - since 1893 she was married to Prince Friedrich Karl of Hesse

Queen Victoria and Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha

Princesses are supposed to marry princes - this rule in the old days acted almost immutably. And to consider other marriage options for the future queen, besides the only heir to the throne in conservative Britain of the 19th century, it would never have occurred to anyone!

Princess Alexandrina Victoria was born in May 1819 in the place where royal blood is supposed to be born - in the palace. The baby lost her father when she was only eight months old, and grew up under the supervision of her mother, as well as numerous court nannies, bonnes and governesses. The conditions under which the one whose reign was later called great were brought up were the most severe: the girl was forbidden to sleep separately from her mother, and also to talk in her absence with any person she did not know!

The tyranny of a demanding and excessively strict mother ended in one day: one morning, a nineteen-year-old princess and the only legitimate contender for the throne woke up as a queen. The first thing that she, who on June 20, 1837, the Bishop of Canterbury declared the new queen, ordered to be done was to remove her bed from her mother's bedroom. It was a decisive step, and how many more such steps will Victoria have to take in her life!

The new queen was almost twenty - a fair age for those times, and the kingdom needed an heir to the throne. Actually, Victoria had no choice as such: the only candidate proposed to her by her mother and uncle, the Belgian King Leopold, was Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha. The marriage was planned to be purely dynastic, leading to the strengthening of both parties involved, but ...

Victoria had already seen Albert before, and he seemed to her not only cute, but damn attractive! The prince was good-looking, amiable, nobly simple in communication, however ... The spirit of contradiction and long-tolerated dependence on an imperious mother - exactly what made her at one time order her own bed to be taken out to a room that belonged only to her, did not allow Victoria to immediately say " Yes". And, after all, she was a queen! She wanted to make herself not only state decisions, but above all those that concerned her personal life.

As folk wisdom says, “you can’t go round a betrothed and a horse.” You can't go around it even in a royal carriage - especially when you feel such a strong attraction! The cunning uncle Leopold arranged a meeting between the obstinate niece and Albert, and he, without putting any special efforts completely captivated the girl. Two days later, she herself wrote to the Belgian monarch: "Albert's beauty is impressive, he is so kind, so simple: in short, he is seductive."

Victoria's determination could not be denied, and she, without delay, announced to the Prime Minister, Lord Melbourne: “I decided to marry Albert. We need to tell him about it!” The stiff lord was taken aback: “Usually men ask for the hand of a betrothed, and not vice versa!” This sobered Victoria a little - indeed, although their marriage with Albert seemed to be a matter of course, it was somehow not womanly to force things on her own ...

However, it was she who had to talk about marriage first. After the royal hunt, to which Prince Albert received an invitation, Victoria called him into her office. And - for the first time, she was left alone with someone she was already in love with. The prince just looked at her - but he was silent! And then she had to speak. “Do you understand why I called you here? Victoria asked her cousin. “I will be happy if you become my husband!”

Albert knelt down and whispered, “Oh, I'm not worthy of you…” Victoria's cheeks flushed, but it wasn't a refusal. “I will be happy to spend my whole life next to you…”

Prince Albert was well aware that by agreeing to this marriage, he would forever remain in the shadow of his royal wife, would constantly follow one step behind her, because the husband of the Queen of England is not the king. He will only bear the title of prince consort, and he will not receive it immediately after his marriage, but only after a few years. The queen could appoint her husband only as a field marshal, and then only nominally!

Victoria understood how much this state of affairs, clearly spelled out in the country's constitution, humiliates Albert, and even made a note about it in her diary. In addition, she fell in love with her future husband more and more. And this pushed her to more and more decisive steps. She even wanted to demand that parliament give her husband the title of king, but the same wise Lord Melbourne dissuaded her from this reckless step. “Those who make kings can also overthrow them! he remarked. “And I beg you, Your Majesty, do not raise this issue now. It's not time yet."

The wedding, which was celebrated with pomp in 1840, finally connected Victoria with the one she longed for. Her passion, which grew every day, even puzzled the somewhat cold and reasonable prince: could he match such a strong feeling?

But, no matter how much his bride loved him, she did everything in her own way, despite his numerous requests and wishes: she herself chose the house in which they would live, the whole environment, and even offered her future husband ... new friends! Take in them new life Victoria did not want his own retinue ...

Albert was never an ardent lover, and his wife's passion sometimes tired him, but ... she was still a queen! And the queen, whom he made happy. A second desk was placed in her office - for Albert, although he could not make any government decisions. And in her diary, Victoria wrote: “I sign papers, and Albert gets them wet” ...

However, it is foolish to assume that the queen's husband was completely removed from the affairs of government: we can say that Albert wisely and unobtrusively led his wife, gave her good advice, and even ... was a nanny and nurse during the pregnant Victoria! Albert's word has always remained decisive both in the upbringing and in the treatment of children, whom the spouses gave birth to as many as nine.

The marriage of Victoria and Albert was extremely successful, which is the exception rather than the rule for crowned heads. Here is how Albert himself writes about him in a letter to his brother: “The heavier and stronger the chains of marriage, the better. Spouses should be chained to each other, inseparable and live only for each other. I would like you to come and admire us - an ideal married couple, united by love and harmony.

Of course, when you now and then have to carry and give birth to children, which, of course, is also an act national importance orders and laws recede into the background. Albert became more and more involved in the affairs of the kingdom - he got up before sunrise, went to the office and set to work: he read and signed papers, delved into the affairs of the ministries ... Some politicians even resented that the new monarch had too much power in his hands, but Victoria just rejoiced at the current state of affairs!

The queen called her husband "my dear, my incomparable angel", and he answered her with the same tender love. It seemed that nothing could overshadow their family idyll, but ... Suddenly, in December 1861, Albert fell ill. The queen at first did not attach importance to the illness, thinking that her husband’s illness was nothing more than a slight ailment, but everything developed so rapidly that four days later the king was gone ... His last words were: “My dear wife ...”

The king is dead. However, Victoria's love for Albert did not die with him. And although she long years will experience this loss almost as sharply as in the first mournful days, she will devote the rest of her life to perpetuating the memory of her beloved. In addition to the monuments to the untimely deceased spouse, the Albert Hall and the Albert Memorial, Victoria will honor the memory of her beloved daily and hourly: there will always be fresh flowers in his room, pajamas will be put on his bed every evening, and in the morning they will bring hot water for shaving ...

She will never forget or betray her beloved, and she will keep his memory in the way that most befits the queen: she will finish all those undertakings that Albert considered important. No one dared to dictate their will to Victoria, except for the one who, invisibly and until the end of her days, will stand at her shoulder and whisper in her ear: “You are doing the right thing, my dear wife ...”

3. The queen dowager and yet the queen (July 1560 - August 1561) Nothing so sharply turned the line of Mary Stuart's life towards the tragic, as the insidious ease with which fate elevated her to the pinnacle of earthly power. Her rapid ascent resembles a takeoff