Art, obsession, and identity
Queen Victoria, renowned for her lengthy 64-year reign, dedicated a significant portion of her rule to cultivating alliances with other influential European states. This endeavor involved marrying her numerous children and grandchildren into other royal families across the continent. As a result, British royalty became dispersed throughout Europe, and Queen Victoria became known as the "Grandmother of Europe."
To discover the remarkable number of marriages she orchestrated and the influential positions her descendants attained, click through the following gallery.
Europe was in the process of recovering from decades of brutal conflicts during the early years of Queen Victoria's reign, such as the French Revolution and the Napoleonic wars, which resulted in the loss of millions of lives.
European leaders reconstructed major European countries like Germany and France, fostering peace and a fresh equilibrium in terms of political power. Great Britain remained one of the most formidable states during this period.
Queen Victoria and Prince Albert devised an unconventional strategy to uphold harmony and unity within Europe.
They had a total of nine children, and even more grandchildren. Throughout their lives, they arranged numerous unions between their successors and notable European royals.
Germany, being a highly divided and unstable nation during that period, prompted Queen Victoria to strategically marry most of her children to the royalty of various German states, with the expectation of uniting them in the future.
Princess Victoria's firstborn married Prince Frederick III, who later became the King of Prussia.
At that time, Prussia was the strongest among the German states. Queen Victoria held the belief that it would be Prussia who would most likely unify and govern Germany.
Prince Arthur wedded Princess Louise Margaret of Prussia, another royal from Prussia.
Princess Alice wedded Louis IV and became the Grand Duchess of Hesse through marriage.
Princess Beatrice wed Prince Henry of Battenberg.
Prince Leopold wedded Princess Helena of Waldeck and Pyrmont.
Princess Helena wed Prince Christian of Schleswig-Holstein.
Complications emerged when the second son of Queen Victoria expressed his desire to marry the daughter of the Russian tsar. The Queen held serious reservations regarding a potential alliance with Russia.
The Russian monarchy functioned as an autocracy, with a single leader holding absolute power. On the other hand, the British monarchy adopted a constitutional monarchy system, ensuring their accountability to the constitution.
Despite the Queen's apprehensions, Alfred wed Maria Alexandrovna, the Grand Duchess of Russia.
Queen Victoria's firstborn son, the future King Edward ViI, wedded Alexandra of Denmark.
Alexandra's brother (on the right) was King George I of Greece, therefore this marriage forged a connection between the British royals and two significant European monarchies.
By the 1880s, Queen Victoria had managed to arrange marriages for all her children with influential European royal families. However, her ambitions for peace and harmony were not fully realized. Germany did achieve unification, but at the cost of a violent conflict. Meanwhile, the Russian royal family faced a decline in power, culminating in the assassination of the tsar in 1881.
However, Queen Victoria persisted in arranging advantageous marriages for her 42 grandchildren, resulting in the ascent to the throne for seven of them.
Wilhelm II, her eldest grandchild, wed a German princess and became Emperor of Germany.
King George V was next in line to become the King of Britain and he wed a lesser-known member of a royal family, Mary of Teck.
Queen Victoria's granddaughter, Princess Alice's daughter, wed Nicolas II of Russia, thus becoming the tsarina of Russia.
They tragically died, along with their children, during the Russian Revolution. The rumor of a possible escape by one daughter inspired the 1997 animated children's movie 'Anastasia,' which portrayed their story.
Maud of Wales, the daughter of King Edward VII, wedded King Haakon VII and assumed her role as the Queen of Denmark.
Marie, the daughter of Prince Alfred of Edinburgh, wed King Ferdinand I and was crowned Queen of Romania.
Queen Victoria's numerous alliances, though powerful, failed to achieve lasting peace and unity in Europe. She passed away 13 years prior to the outbreak of World War I.
Her grandchildren engaged in a huge and historical war against each other, resulting in the loss of 10 million lives and destroying any semblance of peace in Europe.
The World Wars resulted in the downfall of many monarchies in Europe. The British royals recognized the importance of being relatable and accessible to their citizens to ensure their own survival. Consequently, marriages gradually shifted from strategic political alliances to ones based on love.
The British royal family is now closely related to nearly all the other European royal families, which further explains why they began seeking love elsewhere!
Sources: (Vox)
Royal weddings that defined the course of European history
Queen Victoria's matchmaking had a huge impact on European politics
LIFESTYLE History
Queen Victoria, renowned for her lengthy 64-year reign, dedicated a significant portion of her rule to cultivating alliances with other influential European states. This endeavor involved marrying her numerous children and grandchildren into other royal families across the continent. As a result, British royalty became dispersed throughout Europe, and Queen Victoria became known as the "Grandmother of Europe."
To discover the remarkable number of marriages she orchestrated and the influential positions her descendants attained, click through the following gallery.