![]() Today, Britain’s monarch exercises less power over royal marriages. By then, Queen Victoria had been dead for 17 years, but the marriages she pushed for with such authority and optimism still reverberated through Europe.Īs Victoria’s granddaughter, Victoria Melita of Saxe Coburg and Gotha wrote to her cousin, Marie of Romania in 1917, there was nothing to look forward to- “neither pride, nor hope, nor money, nor future.” For many of Victoria’s grandchildren, the war meant the end not just of their happiness, but their reigns: By the war’s end, the monarchies of Turkey, Austria-Hungary, Germany and Russia had fallen. ![]() The consequences were astonishing: World War I left more people dead than any war in history and left Europe in shambles. “Cousin could betray cousin, husband was set against wife and even sister against sister,” says Cadbury. German Emperor Wilhelm II (1859-1941), King of Prussia, 1911.Īs the forces that would eventually cause World War I bore down on Victoria’s grandchildren, says Cadbury, the bonds of royal cousinhood became “essentially powerless.” The result was nothing short of tragic. George V opposed Kaiser Wilhelm’s policies (as did Czar Nicholas before his murder), and the diplomatic ties Victoria hoped she had helped form with her meddling matchmaking began to break down. As the balance of power in Europe threatened to break down, they took sides-sometimes against their own family members. This misery crept across Europe as Victoria’s grandchildren, their spouses and their countries became more and more nationalistic and fragmented. ‘It makes one mad to think of all the misery that may yet come.’” ‘I think with fright and horror of the future’ she confided to her mother in 1897. But unlike many of Victoria’s grandchildren, Wilhelm couldn’t be controlled by a word from his grandma.Īs he veered closer and closer to war, says Cadbury, his mother Vicky “was driven almost to treason in her letters to her British mother, so alarmed was she by the actions of her son. He was the product of what Victoria once thought was one of her most successful matches: the marriage of her daughter, Vicky, to Prince William of Prussia. Victoria’s most contentious grandchild was Kaiser Wilhelm II, the volatile ruler of the German empire. Once these first cousins took their thrones, they often found themselves at cross purposes. The wedding of Tsar Nicholas II and the Princess Alix of Hesse, 1894. The imperial family-Nicholas II, Czarina Alexandra and their five children-were executed by Bolshevik troops in 1918. Their love was strong, but fated for tragedy: During Nicholas’ reign, Russia collapsed into revolution and war, and his British cousin, George V, declined to offer aid to the Romanovs, as he thought it would be politically unpalatable. Though Alix turned down Nicholas twice, she eventually got Victoria’s grudging approval and married him right after he became Tsar of Russia. “Granny was right of course,” says Cadbury, “but Alix was in love.” She thought the Russians were barbaric and corrupt, and forbade the match. Victoria’s favorite granddaughter, Alix of Hesse, fell in love with Nicholas Romanov, heir apparent to the Russian throne. She accepted and, as queen consort of George V, became a beloved ruler.īut not everyone listened to their grandmother’s warnings. Victoria then pressured Albert’s brother, George, who was now second in line to the throne, to propose to Princess Mary. Queen Victoria with the Duke and Duchess of York (later King George and Queen Mary) while on their honeymoon at Osborne House in the Isle of Wight, 1893. Then, tragedy struck and he died suddenly of influenza in 1892. Victoria liked the German princess, who was also a cousin, because of her level-headedness, and pressured Albert to marry her even though he was rumored to be gay. Her grandson Albert Victor was second in line for the throne and, at Victoria’s behest, asked Princess Mary of Teck to marry him. Some of Victoria’s grandchildren followed their grandma’s orders without complaint. Eventually, seven of them sat on European thrones in Russia, Greece, Romania, Britain, Germany, Spain and Norway-and all would take sides during World War I with disastrous consequences. Victoria had nine children and 42 grandchildren. Luckily, she had plenty of family members with which to do it. Victoria wanted to spread stable constitutional monarchies like Britain’s throughout Europe. ![]() “Each marriage was a form of soft power,” says Cadbury. She thought that she could influence Europe by controlling who her family members married. But Victoria didn’t stop at just saying no. The Royal Marriage Act of 1772 gave Britain’s monarch the chance to veto any match. It wasn’t unusual for a monarch to be involved in her family’s marriages.
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