Queen Alexandra (1844-1925)

[basilforever]

It had the strong approval of Eddy's family, although Bertie was sensible enough to have concerns about Helene being a Catholic. You can read about it in the Helene thread more.

[grandduchessella]

The Orleans family had strong connections to the British royals, being in exile in England, and Bertie & Alexandra were very close friends with many members of the family--including Helene's sister Queen Amelie of Portgual. Even after the aborted engagement, these ties remained strong. The famous group photo of 1907 showing so many royals, including Helene, visiting Windsor (?) was because many of them had come over for the wedding of Princess Louise of Orleans to Prince Carlos of Bourbon. Many of them stayed on during the Kaiser's visit shortly thereafter when the photo was taken.

[aussiechick12]

Was this also the Helene that was suggested to marry Nicholas II?

[grandduchessella]

Yes, the same.

[Grace]

From what I know about Helene, I think she probably would have made a very good Tsarina.  She had a strong personality and seemed quite a determined woman.  Any opinions? 

I am just considering the role here - I know that Nicholas was not interested in her though.

[grandduchessella]

She certainly would've enjoyed the position--or that of Queen of England. There was quite a lot of turmoil in the Italian royal house because for years, until Queen Elena produced a son (after a series of daughters, shades of AF), the Aostas were next in line for the throne. Helene had 2 healthy sons and was apparently anxious to become Queen and the 2 branches were rather at odds--especially since Helene apparently felt superior to 'the Shepherdess' (as Kaiser Wilhelm once called her) as a French princess. Much like Miechen in Russia, she was a woman who was clever, cultured, enjoyed society and the duties of her position and had to watch a shyer, stiffer woman assume the role of consort. Unlike Miechen, she didn't have the comfort of a happy marriage. It must've been very frustrating to make a dynastic marriage only to achieve neither personal happiness nor the throne. At least if she'd married Nicholas, loveless or not, she would've been Empress. After she was widowed in 1931, she remarried a commoner. But not to get too off-topic. 

[basilforever]

To get back on topic, I'm not sure if any of you have noticed, but Queen Alexandra (I think only after Prince Eddy's death) often wore a brooch in the shape of the letter ''E".

You can see it clearly in these pictures:







Mirrored image so it's back to front



It was an E with a crown on top.

Did HM wear this in honour/memory of Eddy or for Edward VII? I think it is for Eddy as why would she wear this for her unfaithful husband who she called Bertie anyway?

I wonder where this special piece is now.

[Eddie_uk]

Well spotted Felicia dear!!! The chair she is sitting on can still be seen at Sandringham!

[Duke of New Jersey]

think it is for Eddy as why would she wear this for her unfaithful husband who she called Bertie anyway

Did you forget that Eddy's real name was Albert Victor?

She probably wore it for Edward VII because he was the reigning monarch, faithful or not. 

-Duke of NJ

[basilforever]

No of course I didn't forget that his real name was Albert Victor, that would be impossible! In case you can't tell, Eddy is my chiefest of interests. 

QA always called him Eddy. As did the rest of the family, even in time QV.

I don't think she'd wear an E brooch for Bertie. This could have been before his accession to the throne anyway. Much more likely it's a token of rememberance for her darling Eddy. What do others think?

[grandduchessella]

It was in the one set of photos, I don't know if that's really 'often'. Good catch, though. I would think it's more likely for Eddy than Bertie--she always called him Bertie--and Eddy was always called that rather than Albert Victor. (George even had to explain the naming of his first son, though he was called David, 'Edward' after 'dear Eddy'. Queen Victoria reminded him that Eddy's name was Albert Victor but George said that's not what he was called within the family.) I can't think of what else the brooch might symbolize but we'll never really know--it could be something completely insignificant that we'd have no way of guessing. Too bad she wasn't more like Queen Mary who cataloged everything. 

[basilforever]

I can't think of what else the brooch might symbolize but we'll never really know--it could be something completely insignificant that we'd have no way of guessing.

Personally I don't think that's the case at all. Because it is a letter, I think it must symbolize somebody. Remember that Alix never wanted him to be called Albert Victor, neither really did Bertie. It was forced upon them. So I think she would never commemorate her Eddy with an AV brooch as well. The more I read about Alix and Eddy the more I feel she adored him much more than is normal for a mother. But that is a good thing. It was Queen Alexandra who commissioned that big stained glass portrait of Eddy as a saint. I found a big version of that, I'll put it into the Eddy thread later. As well as all her other mourning rituals, visiting his room, etc. Wearing a lot of amethysts rather than bright jewels, wearing mauve and ''mourning colours'' for years. Carrying on at George's coronation, supposedly acting depressed at his wedding. It seems she couldn't get Eddy out of her head. So it makes sense to me she wore this brooch for him. But you are right, I haven't seen her wear it other than in this photo shoot, however often it is hard to tell what she is wearing (jewellery that is) because it is blurry, or she had SO much of it on.

I found a high quality picture of Alix wearing the brooch:


 
Please click.

You can see it is made up of stones of a dark colour - rubies or amethysts maybe. With a crown on it symbolizing Eddy's role as future King, or just his Royal status. I wonder if it is still in the Royal Collection. I like it a lot. 

[Keith]

Does anyone know what year the picture was taken? With a crown on top, it may have been of gift of Bertie after becoming King and hence the E initial.

As to why she would wear an initial for an unfaithful husband, because as she herself said he loved her best of all. I would imagine Alexandra realised that Bertie's unfaithfulness was the norm rather than the exception among their set.

[grandduchessella]

The crown is interesting--if it commemorates Bertie becoming King, it could've been a gift of someone's--a coronation gift or something along those lines. Lafayette's website has a copy of the photo and it says it was taken in 1902 to commemorate the Kaiser's visit to Sandringham. Perhaps he presented it as a gift of Bertie becoming King? (The site often tells about jewelry worn but only notes it's a crown-crested brooch in an E shape. It does point out the Prince of Wales feather motif of the chair, though.) If an older gift, could it have been a gift to commemorate her first grandson, Prince Edward?

[Keith]

I hadn't thought of it being for Prince Edward. Does anyone know about any other type of initial jewelry worn by the Royal Family. Were they done by proper name or nicknames? My guess would be the initial would be by proper name as opposed to nickname.