Was Alix of Hesse disliked by British royals?

[Vanya Ivanova]

In a BBC documentary about Lord Louis Mountbatten (son of the Empress's sister Princess Victoria ) made not long before he was murdered by the IRA in 1977 he discussed his memories of his 'Russian relatives'.

His comment on Empress Alexandra was '' I was very very fond of them..... even my mad aunt was lovely'' !!

I think this comment probably best describes the attitude of many of the Empress's relatives, that Alexandra was not at all disliked but rather seen as being emotionally unbalanced.

[Russka Princess]

hmm i think he didnt mean it so hard that she were mad...

sure she didnt allowed everything her children but i think she was not so mad..

 @ vanya Ivanova :do you have a link of the documentary ?? i would love to see it.

[Thomas_Hesse]

In a BBC documentary about Lord Louis Mountbatten (son of the Empress's sister Princess Victoria ) made not long before he was murdered by the IRA in 1977 he discussed his memories of his 'Russian relatives'.

His comment on Empress Alexandra was '' I was very very fond of them..... even my mad aunt was lovely'' !!

I think this comment probably best describes the attitude of many of the Empress's relatives, that Alexandra was not at all disliked but rather seen as being emotionally unbalanced.

Lord Mountbatten was 14 (in words: fourteen) years old when he saw the Romanovs for the last time...

[historyfan]

I would also like to see the documentary, if possible. I have a feeling he meant that sort of tongue-in-cheek - he would've put air-quotes around the word "mad" had that sort of thing been done then...

[Helen]

Lord Mountbatten was 14 (in words: fourteen) years old when he saw the Romanovs for the last time...

Exactly! Moreover, I believe that he didn't see much of his aunt Alexandra after the 1910 family gathering in Hesse, when he was barely 10 years old.

[Kalafrana]

I will have to check the dates, but I don't think the Battenbergs saw their Russian relations at all after 1912.

Ann

[Brassov]

It is always difficult to avoid the trap of expressing ones personal opinions about Alix of Hesse at every opportunity, and this is not the place.  IMHO it is very clear that the British Royals of the time, particularly those with a higher level of responsibility, felt  "let down' by the lacklustre performance and non-delivery of Alix as a member of the "greater" Royal family of Europe, at a time when it was even more unacceptable than it is now.
The spectre of Queen Victoria still loomed over them, and Alix of Hesse, in my opinion,  was judged by the British standards of sacrifice, slavish devotion to duty, tradition and hard work. In all of these she failed spectacularly. Queen Mary, correctly or incorrectly, expressed the opinion privately that Alix was singularly responsible for the downfall of the Romanovs.
Yes, I think they disliked Alix of Hesse because her failure was an affront to the family as a whole.  The same feeling exists towards Edward VIII, and the late Princess Diana, and others I dont want to mention. Being a failure as a member of the Royal family, or failing to do what you were born to, was the kiss of death. In Alix of Hesse's case it was unfortuanately true.           
   

[Alixz]

I think you put it the best.  That is what, I think, others of us have been trying to say but somehow we didn't have the right words.

[Vanya Ivanova]

Hello Brassov,


I agree with many of your points however is there any documentary evidence that Queen Mary blamed Alexandra for the Revolution? I have read that the British Royal family felt a genuine sense of remorse at the death of the IF as their actions in requesting that the offer of asylum be withdrawn advertantly led to the family being murdered and so George V was left with a sense of guilt (rightly or wrongly) that remained with him until his death.

I think if you contrast just how much hard evidence there is that people (relations) did dislike Kaiser Wilhelm ii with largely anecdotal quotes regarding Alexandra I think its fair to say it shouldn't be given too much credence. After all, all the hesse children were viewed with real sympathy after losing their mother so young.

[Alixz]

Blaming Alexandra for the Revolution before the murders and then feeling remorse after the fact are two quite different things.

We would have to know the date and the source of the Queen Mary quote before we could judge that one.

[Brassov]

Many members post statements on this forum which cannot be backed up by facts. I have 2 huge rooms full of history books, ( 75 kms apart !) so I shall find Queen Mary's comment re Alexandra. I have looked in the Pope-Hennessy biography where I was convinced it was, but cannot find it there. One must remember that a comment made in passing by Queen Mary, is her private opinion. She was not shy to express an opinion about somebody if she did not approve of them. Her own children, even into aldulthood, were not spared either. She was a very straightforward person.
Kind Regards.

[Kalafrana]

Brassov makes a fair point.

Royalty of that era tended to say what they thought about their relations in private and in their letters. And, of course, political correctness had not been invented!

One of the things I like about Queen Victoria's letters is her unsparing comments about members of her family - 'William [the Kaiser] has grown dreadfully fat.'

Ann

[Eddie_uk]

Many members post statements on this forum which cannot be backed up by facts. I have 2 huge rooms full of history books, ( 75 kms apart !) so I shall find Queen Mary's comment re Alexandra. I have looked in the Pope-Hennessy biography where I was convinced it was, but cannot find it there. One must remember that a comment made in passing by Queen Mary, is her private opinion. She was not shy to express an opinion about somebody if she did not approve of them. Her own children, even into aldulthood, were not spared either. She was a very straightforward person.
Kind Regards.

Hmm. That's tricky. I agree that Queen Mary was not shy in expressing her views or feelings in writing, which she could do very well & eloquently. But she experienced difficulty expressing her opinions in person. I am judging this from her relationship with her mother, the early days of her marriage, George V as a father & her relationship with her children, particularly with the Duke of Windsor, & the Duchess of Kent for example.

[Grace]

Many members post statements on this forum which cannot be backed up by facts. I have 2 huge rooms full of history books, ( 75 kms apart !) so I shall find Queen Mary's comment re Alexandra. I have looked in the Pope-Hennessy biography where I was convinced it was, but cannot find it there. One must remember that a comment made in passing by Queen Mary, is her private opinion. She was not shy to express an opinion about somebody if she did not approve of them. Her own children, even into aldulthood, were not spared either. She was a very straightforward person.
Kind Regards.

I cannot agree with your opinion that Queen Mary was "not shy" in expressing her opinions and that she was a very straightforward person.  She actually found it difficult to speak her mind on many subjects, including to her own children, her parents-in-law and especially her husband.  While she was was a person who held strong personal views on most things, she almost always found it difficult to discuss these frankly - as her biographers and even she herself admitted.

[Alixz]

Blaming Alexandra for the Revolution before the murders and then feeling remorse after the fact are two quite different things.

We would have to know the date and the source of the Queen Mary quote before we could judge that one.

What I meant here was that Queen Mary may have felt that Alexandra was the cause of the downfall of the Romanovs and felt free to say that while they were in captivity, but she may have felt remorse for saying that very thing after she heard about the murders.

I don't doubt that it is in a book somewhere and I am not doubting that you read it just that it matters whenshe said it.