Author Topic: Queen Alexandra (1844-1925), Part II  (Read 241713 times)

0 Members and 1 Guest are viewing this topic.

Offline Martyn

  • Velikye Knyaz
  • ****
  • Posts: 7022
  • Martyn's Chips
    • View Profile
Re: Queen Alexandra (1844-1925), Part II
« Reply #15 on: August 24, 2005, 12:26:54 PM »
From David Duff's 'Alexandra, Princess and Queen'.....

"Fever, 'white leg' and rheumatism in the knee joint were not the sum of Alexandra's troubles.  Her preganancy [with Louise] and illness had brought out in her the otosclerosis inherited from her mother.  With each passing week she became more deaf.  She was adult now, had endured long agony and been near to death.  The deafness came down as a curtain between her and those who did not know her well.  No longer could she keep pace with the smart chatter at social gatherings.  She retreated into the small world which she knew best and loved the most, the world of her children and family, of her home and animals.  Her interest also turned to the care of those who had suffered as she had done, to the help of those in trouble, to a love which covered all in need.  She fought to stop the curtain falling between herself and Bertie, but she was hard pressed."

I haven't managed to ascertain what caused the scar on her neck; it was alleged, at the time of the negotiations for the marriage, when various people were attempting to discredit the Glucksburgs and so prevent the match, that it had been caused by scrofula, which was a complaint that, at that time, was synonymous with poverty and negligence.  Apparently this information originated from a source close to Ernst of Coburg and Baron Stockmar; I think however it was , along with all the other falsehoods being perpetrated about Alexandra and her family, ultimately disproved.
« Last Edit: December 31, 1969, 06:00:00 PM by Martyn »
'For a galant spirit there can never be defeat'....Wallis Windsor

'The important things is not what they think of me, but what I think of them.'......QV

Offline Prince_Lieven

  • Velikye Knyaz
  • ****
  • Posts: 6570
  • To Be Useful In All That I Do
    • View Profile
    • Edward III's Descendants
Re: Queen Alexandra (1844-1925), Part II
« Reply #16 on: August 24, 2005, 12:59:12 PM »
Poor Alix . . . she was not physically robust, unlike QV and family, and she passed this on to her children - of them all, only George reached 70 and all were outlived by three of QV's children!

Martyn, is Alexandra, Princess and Queen a good book? Would you recommend it? (my birthday is tomorrow, you see, so I will soon be a man of means!  :))
"How often have I said to you that when you have eliminated the impossible, whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth?"
-Sherlock Holmes

"Men forget, but never forgive; women forgive, but never forget."

Offline Martyn

  • Velikye Knyaz
  • ****
  • Posts: 7022
  • Martyn's Chips
    • View Profile
Re: Queen Alexandra (1844-1925), Part II
« Reply #17 on: August 24, 2005, 01:10:59 PM »
PL, it isn't a bad book at all, and I think that David Duff is a good writer.  His work, 'Hessian Tapestry', which deals with Alice and her family is superb.

I think that there is another on Alix by Georgina Battiscombe, but I don't know how the two compare.

Please allow me to wish you all the very best for your birthday and to hope that you receive all that wish for.  :)
'For a galant spirit there can never be defeat'....Wallis Windsor

'The important things is not what they think of me, but what I think of them.'......QV

Alicky1872

  • Guest
Re: Queen Alexandra (1844-1925), Part II
« Reply #18 on: August 25, 2005, 12:52:51 PM »
In another thread, it was noted that Prince Philip's mother Alice who also suffered from deafness, had a slightly perturbed (or what you call 'guarded') look on her face in pictures. As Alix's deafness was more advanced by 1894, she would have been doing her best to follow the photographer's instructions with her eyes, as his voice would have been been a muffled hum in the distance, at best. Although Grace is right...she lost that certain something in her eyes after her darling Eddy died... :'(
« Last Edit: December 31, 1969, 06:00:00 PM by Alicky1872 »

Offline grandduchessella

  • Global Moderator
  • Velikye Knyaz
  • *****
  • Posts: 13039
  • Getting Ready to Move to Europe :D
    • View Profile
    • Facebook page
Re: Queen Alexandra (1844-1925), Part II
« Reply #19 on: August 25, 2005, 06:11:04 PM »
Prince_L happy belated birthday. I would get the Duff, Battiscombe and Pope-Hennessey books. They are all really inexpensive if you look at the online stores.

Pope-Hennessey is the best bio on QM though, as Martyn says, is a bit reverential. Still the access to the archives was great. Matriarch by Anne Edwards has a lot of errors. I'd love a new bio. I like the P-H so much because he gives a comprehensive look at her life not just the 'good part' when she had jewels and was Queen.
They also serve who only stand and wait--John Milton
Come visit on Pinterest--http://pinterest.com/lawrbk/

Booklady

  • Guest
Re: Queen Alexandra (1844-1925), Part II
« Reply #20 on: August 27, 2005, 08:28:07 PM »
I can't get enough photographs of my royal favorite, Queen Alexandra.  I always wanted to do a photo-book about her, and would love to get into the royal archives!Can anyone post a few of the early photos of her shortly before and after her engagement to Bertie?

Offline Prince_Lieven

  • Velikye Knyaz
  • ****
  • Posts: 6570
  • To Be Useful In All That I Do
    • View Profile
    • Edward III's Descendants
Re: Queen Alexandra (1844-1925), Part II
« Reply #21 on: August 28, 2005, 07:04:12 AM »
I found this while looking around. It's listed as Alix, but I don't know if it is . . . perhaps someone else knows?

"How often have I said to you that when you have eliminated the impossible, whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth?"
-Sherlock Holmes

"Men forget, but never forgive; women forgive, but never forget."

Offline Martyn

  • Velikye Knyaz
  • ****
  • Posts: 7022
  • Martyn's Chips
    • View Profile
Re: Queen Alexandra (1844-1925), Part II
« Reply #22 on: August 28, 2005, 09:11:51 AM »
Well it does look like her.......

Do you have any idea of the name of the artist?
'For a galant spirit there can never be defeat'....Wallis Windsor

'The important things is not what they think of me, but what I think of them.'......QV

Offline Prince_Lieven

  • Velikye Knyaz
  • ****
  • Posts: 6570
  • To Be Useful In All That I Do
    • View Profile
    • Edward III's Descendants
Re: Queen Alexandra (1844-1925), Part II
« Reply #23 on: August 28, 2005, 09:17:06 AM »
I wish I could tell you, Martyn but I was pottering around on google images, and I put in 'Queen Alexandra' and this showed up on page 5. It is from a website called antiquemapsandprints.com or something like that.
"How often have I said to you that when you have eliminated the impossible, whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth?"
-Sherlock Holmes

"Men forget, but never forgive; women forgive, but never forget."

Offline Prince_Lieven

  • Velikye Knyaz
  • ****
  • Posts: 6570
  • To Be Useful In All That I Do
    • View Profile
    • Edward III's Descendants
Re: Queen Alexandra (1844-1925), Part II
« Reply #24 on: August 28, 2005, 09:37:28 AM »
Sorry.  :( There was also this pic of George V on the site:

"How often have I said to you that when you have eliminated the impossible, whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth?"
-Sherlock Holmes

"Men forget, but never forgive; women forgive, but never forget."

Offline Prince_Lieven

  • Velikye Knyaz
  • ****
  • Posts: 6570
  • To Be Useful In All That I Do
    • View Profile
    • Edward III's Descendants
Re: Queen Alexandra (1844-1925), Part II
« Reply #25 on: August 28, 2005, 09:38:32 AM »
A piece of text above the pics reads:  VANITY FAIR CARTOONS 1906-1912
Very collectible coloured lithographs by Spy, Ape and others.
Becoming increasingly hard to find. These years include :-

I don't know if this helps at all . . .
"How often have I said to you that when you have eliminated the impossible, whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth?"
-Sherlock Holmes

"Men forget, but never forgive; women forgive, but never forget."

Offline Martyn

  • Velikye Knyaz
  • ****
  • Posts: 7022
  • Martyn's Chips
    • View Profile
Re: Queen Alexandra (1844-1925), Part II
« Reply #26 on: August 28, 2005, 09:49:38 AM »
Is it the hardback edition?  

Because it doesn't feature anywhere in my paperback edition of this book.....

Would you have a look Blanche and see if there is an attribution, please? [I hate mysteries like this.....lol]
'For a galant spirit there can never be defeat'....Wallis Windsor

'The important things is not what they think of me, but what I think of them.'......QV

Offline Grace

  • Velikye Knyaz
  • ****
  • Posts: 3126
    • View Profile
Re: Queen Alexandra (1844-1925), Part II
« Reply #27 on: September 01, 2005, 03:30:19 AM »



Offline Grace

  • Velikye Knyaz
  • ****
  • Posts: 3126
    • View Profile
Re: Queen Alexandra (1844-1925), Part II
« Reply #28 on: September 01, 2005, 03:47:49 AM »



Alicky1872

  • Guest
Re: Queen Alexandra (1844-1925), Part II
« Reply #29 on: September 01, 2005, 08:17:42 AM »
Thank you so much dear Grace, for posting those beautiful pictures of Alix! I espcially love the second one, of her looking through the "window." I love those old studio props! What a unique hairstyle! Suits her very well, don't you think? I prefer that look to the "fringe" of the 1880's. Such beauty, elegance and refinement...there will never be another like Alix...