Queen Alexandra (1844-1925), Part II

[amani]

A place to post pics and info. about Alix. Share your favorite photos of her.

[grandduchessella]

There were a series of photographs from that sitting. Some she's seated in the chair, others she's standing. It was first published in the ILN in 1905 'The Latest Picture of Her Majesty'. It was widely reproduced on postcards.

[Richard_Maybery]

As Princess of Wales, date unknown.

[emeraldeyes1969]

First, it's a pet.

Now, it's a stole!

Sorry for quoting photos :-/

[LenelorMiksi]

Whenever I see photos of QA with her daughters grown-up I'm always amazed at how young A looks.  If I didn't know, I would think all four were sisters.

[Richard_Maybery]

Very nice pics, blanche. I suspect many of the photos of Alexandra as queen were retouched. No-one could look as unlined as that at 62 (the 1906 photo).

[Martyn]

Yes Richard, we know that was the case.  The famous photograph from the time of Coronation that has not been retouched gives us an idea of what she actually looked like a mere five years later........

[Donielle]

She was lovely.Certainly loved animals,tiny spaniels,The Borzoi and even a tiny kitten.Although her marriage was difficult.She was a good mother?-D

[Prince_Lieven]

A good mother . . .? It depends on your point of view, Donielle. Certainly absolutely adored her children - they were the centre of her world, and she gave them all her attention. At the same time, their education was not particularly taxing, and she had a tendency (like most of her family) to stop them growing up. She was so childlike herself - she both looked and thought like a young woman well into old age - she always wanted her children to stay as young as possible. She suffocated Toria with her possessivness, and when someone would suggest a marriage for Toria, Alix would appear amiable and agreeable, but later she would protest that she had not heard a word of the conversation. So whether or not she was a good mother depends on your definition of a good mother . . .

[Donielle]

She did indeed have a hearing problem ,correct ,that she was  partially or fully deaf?A good mother in my estimation is one who genuinely wants children,nurtures and devotes considerable time and effort into their upbringing and disciplines them appropriately when necessary.Oh,one more requirement.A good mother is one who does not devour her children when pre-menstrual.-D

[Prince_Lieven]

She inherited hereditary deafness from her mother, Queen Louise. It atarted out not too bad but the older she got the worse it got, and it was always aggravted in stressful situations. Her bout of rheumatic fever in 1867 excerberated it, and by the time she died she was both blind and deaf. 'How very sad,' her daughter-in-law Queen Mary wrote 'For this beautiful woman to have come to this.'

[Prince_Lieven]

As is well known, Queen Alexandra started the fashionable 'Alexandra Limp' after her bout with rheumatic fever. however, she also started another fashion craze. She was very self-conscious about a scar on her neck, and as a result wore dresses with high necks and plenty of neck jewelry. Immediately, society ladies began emulating her. The origin of the scar is not clearly known - it was apparently the result of a childhood accident, but some people suspected a suicide attempt . . .

[emeraldeyes1969]

Suicide attempt?  What??  You can't just leave us all hanging like that!  More details s'il vous plait.

[Prince_Lieven]

Suicide attempt?  What??  You can't just leave us all hanging like that!  More details s'il vous plait.

I wish I could give you more details, emeraldeyes, but that's all I know . . .  :-/

The scar was rumoured to be the result of a suicide attempt, but it was surely just a rumour . . .

[Prince_Lieven]

Prince_Lieven where did you hear this?

That most reliable of sources, wikipedia! I had read it somewhere before too, but I don't know where (head like a sieve!)  :-/