Young Alix - Before her Marriage

[Helen]

Griff, it would be great if you could make out the words.

I have a copy of Advice to a Grand-Daughter at hand. On 10 December 1881 Queen Victoria wrote to Princess Victoria  of Hesse that she [QV] would go to Osborne on the 16th. She didn't say a word about receiving Alix or her brother or sisters as guests there. 

[Thomas_Hesse]

The stamp says: Archiv - Prince Louis of Hesse

Strange mixture of German and English...definitley a fake...

[Helen]

Thank you Thomas. I couldn't read it well, but this is exactly what I suspected: that the text under the emblem was in English, whereas "Archiv" is clearly a German word - a mixture of languages that makes no sense at all.

As regards Alix staying at Osborne during her Christmas holiday, local newspapers and/or Princess Beatrice's letters to her brother-in-law Grand-Duke Ludwig IV can provide proof that Alix did not visit her grandmother in December 1881.

[Valmont]

Even if the stamp was correct.. it would really be not enough proof, at leat to me.. I can have that very same stamp done by the tomorrow for less than 10 dollars...( if I wanted to)...

[Janet Ashton]

Thank you Thomas. I couldn't read it well, but this is exactly what I suspected: that the text under the emblem was in English, whereas "Archiv" is clearly a German word - a mixture of languages that makes no sense at all.

As regards Alix staying at Osborne during her Christmas holiday, local newspapers and/or Princess Beatrice's letters to her brother-in-law Grand-Duke Ludwig IV can provide proof that Alix did not visit her grandmother in December 1881.

It may be unnecessary my adding another post saying, "I don't think it's real," but I also have the instinct it's a fake, unfortunately. Ilana could correct me if I'm wrong, but I don't think Alix's sister Victoria was ever called "Vicky" as she is in this book.

[griffh]

Helen thanks for your very thorough research and I think that you have established that the children did not visit the Queen in Dec.  Could you see in your copy of, Advice to a Grand-Daughter if the Queen wrote to Princess Victoria in August, around the same time as Anna's letter, of her desire to have the children visit?   If so that might indicate the possibility of plans in Aug. that were later abandoned.  I seem to remember something like that, but I could be mistaken.  I think that stamp is a puzzle, being half German and half English.  If it were all in Geman how would it read?       

[Helen]

The stamp would read: "Archiv - Prinz Ludwig von Hessen".

Preceding the 10 December letter in Advice to a Grand-Daughter are letters: from Osborne House, 7 February 1881; from Osborne House, 3 August 1881; from Balmoral Castle, 27 August 1881; and from Balmoral Castle, 28 October 1881. On 3 August 1881 Queen Victoria did not write anything about wishing to see her Hessian grandchildren in Britain. But even if they had changed plans, there are so many things 'wrong' in this letter, that I consider it to be a fake.

[griffh]

Thanks so much Helen for looking up the references and for the German form of Ernie's title.  Your research, along with the other individuals, seem to be quite conclusive.  It is such a pity for dear Anna.  I do hope that she will still hold on to the book and letter just for the fun of it.

[griffh]

This is the passage in the Queen's letter, Feb. 7, 1881 that I was referring to: 

I am thinking now so much of seeing you again & hope dear Papa will allow you to come & go with us to Scotland again & stay on a little bit afterwards.   [Ref: "Advice to my Grand-daughter," p. 30] 

The invitation to visit the Queen would have fallen in the Autumn of 1881 and it appears that the Queen stayed in Scotland until mid Nov. when she returned to Windsor through the holiday season.  I, therefore, took Queen Victoria's invitation to mean that Princess Victoria and possibly the other children would stay with the Queen in Scotland and then "stay on a little bit" at Windor Palace through Christmas 1881. 

However, I see now in my haste to authenticate Anna's letter, that on closer observation of the passage quoted above does not include the other Hesse children and appears to have included just Princess Victoria. 

 

[Thomas_Hesse]

I think the Queen seldom invited all the Hessians together - most time she invited Victoria and Elisabeth - or one of the others alone. I got the impression that the grand daughters served as a kind of secretary and companion at times - that what she writes about a visit of Princess Irene in the 80ies

[Alexander1917]

I am no expert, but it just doesn't look right to me.  The wording sounds more like the way a 20/21st century child would speak- with the list of "best friends" and the "HM Granny" terminology.  The writing looks more 20th century too- the rounded letters, the straight up and sown slant, and the fact that the capital "A" is written  similarly to a small "a", which I think is not the British or German way of doing it, as the sample Sarushka provided shows.

And IF it were Miss Jackson's writing traced over (which I doubt) , than I would be surprised that a governess would have such childish handwriting! Surely she would have provided a better example for her pupil to learn from!

But I'm no expert.

But Queen Alexandra (Alix) of GB signed also Alexandra more like a small "a"...

Why should it not be an original piece? there are so many royal things on the web for selling...

[royalboy202]

I think i read somewhere that it was Princess Marie-Louise of Schleswig-Holstein. 

[Thomas_Hesse]

I think she ws very close to both Schleswig-Holstein cousins - Princess Helena Victoria frequently visited her in Darmstadt and lateron in Russia. "Thora" is also mentioned in her letters quite often.
I also know some lovely photos of Alix and Thora - showing that they were really close

[Gabriella]

She was very close to Marie Louise and Helena Victoria, as Thomas said. They were of the same age and she saw them regularly in Darmstadt  and Wolfsgarten for after her mother's  (death) Princess Helena and her family spent the summers with the Hesse family in Wolfsgarten, as Ernie wrote in his memoirs.

Gabriella

[royalboy202]

Thomas or Gabriella,

Do you have any pic of Alix with her Schleswig-Holstein cousins?  Did they attend Alix's wedding and did Alix attend
Marie-Louise's wedding?  How often did they visit Alix after she married Nicky?  Did they visit her in Russia?

Thanks, Royalboy