Princess Alice, Grand Duchess of Hesse

Oh, yes--I do agree that there was a strong element of guilt in QV's response to the deaths of Albert and Alice, although I greatly doubt she consiously recognized it.  

QV seems to have been much more relaxed as a grandmother than she had been as a mother.  One cannot imagine her letting her own children play with the red boxes as blocks under her desk as it is recorded she let her grands do!!

In my experience, that's typical of many grandparents-they're super strict as parents, but spoil the grandkids and let them get away with murder.  It was certainly true with MY grandparents.  

Look at May and George-very strict parents, but George used to carry the present Queen around on his back and crawl around on the floor as her horse, and May used to make mudpies with Lilibet!

Fabulous photos Sissi, thanks for sharing them.  In honor of 4th of July I post this series of Alice from the daybook of photographer Camille Silvey, taken 4 July 1861.



Ooh, just noticed that photo 4747 "C" looks very similar to Sissi's last photo of Alice with the mirror.  Perhaps the same sitting?

Dear Speedycat you are right they are from the same sitting!! nice photos thanks!!!!

As part of the project to 'clean up' the Forum and make finding things easier, I combined various Princess Alice threads. The first one is about at the magic 20 page thread so the others went into this combined thread. The link to the other is:

http://forum.alexanderpalace.org/index.php/topic,156.0.html

When threads get to the point where they need a new thread created (ala the various Windsor Jewels and Queen Alexandra threads) I'm going to lock them (to prevent new discussion and confusion) and provide links. Hopefully this will allow people to know how many threads there were previously and where to find them. There's often a good deal of information provided there. If someone sees an old post and wants to continue that discussion on the new thread, they can still quote the pertinent photo/question/comment on the new one.

I am putting this here (as well as in the pertinent Discussion Forum thread) so no one wonders why I suddenly bumped up this thread with a new post.

hello friends, i am so glad to have found this beautiful forum, and especially this section.  as you can see by my name, the Princess Alice is my favorite in royal history!   i collect antique European royalty postcards and just have one of her, but i bid on them often on Ebay!  unfortunately, with three children in Catholic school, most of my extra Ebay $$ goes that way!   still, i am happy to be here and love the shared pictures of Alice and her beautiful family!

Welcome to the forum!!! Princess Alice is one of my favourites too. One of my favourite photos is the one of Alice with her sisters surrounding the bust of their father. And on television once I saw some of just Alice and her mother with the bust.  Wonder if that bust of Prince Albert is still in the royal family.

I think it must be. 

why?

I have seen quite a few bust like that around royal residences. There is one that looks exactly like that in Osborne House.

Because I will be out of town on Dec. 14, I wanted to post tonight my remembrance of Princess Alice of England, Grand Duchess of Hesse.

Princess Alice was the 3rd child, second daughter of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert.  She was, in my humble opinion, one of the most interesting members of royal history and my personal favorite.  I take my screen name in her memory.

Princess Alice, God rest her soul.

Born 25 April 1843
Died 14 December 1878

What a grand and noble woman!  I think she is one of the bravest women of her time.  It's a shame she isn't remembered more outside our Forum.

May she rest in peace.

lori, what a nice response, thank you!!

Alice was indeed incredible, I think, in history, outside of Jesus Christ, she is the one figure I would love to have been able to sit down and talk with!!!  her death at age 35 was a terrible loss for so many, but i don't think it was realized at the time, or perhaps even now.....

I think she was the most gentle & spirirtual of all QV's children. However she also had good sense and ability to laugh at herself. Quite an impressive woman by all standards. 

She was also very spirited and intellectual.  Far ahead of the times for Darmstadt.  She took a great deal on her shoulders from the time of her father's death until her own (on the anniversary of his).  She truly was the least self absorbed of QV children. The others never gave the same impression that one gets from poor Alice.

I think in Hesse Darmstadt she was very much realized at the end of her life and the duchy morned the loss of it's Landsmutter a long w/the Ducal family.  Unfortunately, time and the lives of her descendants have far eclipsed the good deeds of our poor  Princess.

Yes...she was indeed unigue. Forward looking but also gentle and intelligent.