Victoria (24 May 181922 January 1901) was Queen of the United Kingdom from 1837 to 1901. She and her prince consort, Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha (26 August 181914 December 1861), became the ancestors of many members of European royalty.

Victoria married Albert, her first cousin, on 10 February 1840, less than three years after she acceded to the throne. Although Victoria and Albert had a loving and intimate marriage, she struggled with pregnancy and motherhood. Her relationship with her eldest son, Albert Edward, Prince of Wales (later Edward VII) was notably strained, and her animosity intensified following Albert's death in 1861.

Eight of Victoria and Albert's nine children had children of their own. Through these marriages, their descendants married into royal families across Europe, where many became either monarchs themselves or royal consorts, earning Victoria the nickname "grandmother of Europe." Their grandson Wilhelm II, for instance, became the Emperor of Germany, while their granddaughter Alix became the empress consort of Russia.

Background Queen Victoria The daughter of Prince Edward, Duke of Kent and Strathearn and Princess Victoria of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld, Victoria experienced the death of her father at eight months of age. Consequently, she was raised in isolation by her mother until becoming Queen of the United Kingdom in 1837.

In the early years of her reign, Victoria's first prime minister, William Lamb, 2nd Viscount Melbourne, influenced her to govern as a constitutional monarch. Throughout her reign, events such as the passing of the Reform Act 1867 and the introduction of the secret ballot in 1872 broadened the British electorate.

Following Albert's death in 1861, Victoria withdrew from public life, eroding the popularity of the British monarchy. However, by the time of her Golden Jubilee in 1887, she had restored her public popularity. Victoria celebrated her Diamond Jubilee a decade later, eventually dying in 1901.

Prince Albert The younger son of Ernest I, Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha and Princess Louise of Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg, Albert spent his childhood at Schloss Rosenau, Coburg. His uncle, Leopold I of Belgium, hoped that Albert would marry Victoria. Leopold arranged the first meeting between Albert and Victoria in 1836, with the latter two eventually marrying four years later.

After marrying Victoria, Albert had considerable influence over her in foreign affairs, freely corresponding with European monarchs. In addition, Albert believed that the United Kingdom should be at the forefront of modern science and art education.

During the 1850s, overwork caused Albert to become increasingly tired and suffer from ill health. Eventually, Albert died from typhoid fever in 1861, with Victoria and five of his children at his side.

Marriage Victoria was married to Albert on 10 February 1840 by William Howley, the Archbishop of Canterbury, in the Chapel Royal of St James's Palace in Westminster.Elizabeth Longford, The Oxford Book of Royal Anecdotes, 1989 (), pages 368–369

+ Family of Victoria, Queen of the United KingdomPortraitNameBirthDeathDescendantsWhitaker's Almanack, 1900, Facsimile Reprint 1999 (), page 86 Victoria, Queen of the United Kingdom 24 May1819 22 January19019 children, including Victoria, German Empress Edward VII, King of the United Kingdom Alice, Grand Duchess of Hesse Alfred, Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha 26 August1819 14 December1861

Children Queen Victoria, at times, had contentious relations with her children. Possibly due to her own childhood isolation, Victoria struggled to connect with and relate to her own children, particularly in their younger years.King, Greg Twilight of Splendor: The Court of Queen Victoria in Her Diamond Jubilee Year (John Wiley & Sons, 2007) pg. 46 She also, occasionally, resented that they interfered with time that she would prefer to spend with Albert.King, pg. 46 According to one modern author, both Victoria and Albert habitually displayed undisguised favouritism amongst their children. Both Victoria and Alfred were the favourites of Albert, and Arthur enjoyed the favouritism of both his parents.

According to one modern author, Queen Victoria was initially jealous of the time that Albert had spent with Princess Victoria, but in her widowhood, Queen Victoria made Princess Victoria something of her confidante.King, pg. 47 For her part, Princess Victoria had accrued hundreds of letters from her mother, to the point that shortly before her death, she had them smuggled out of Germany by her brother's secretary, Sir Frederick Ponsonby.Pakula, Hannah An Uncommon Woman: The Empress Frederick: Daughter of Queen Victoria, Wife of the Crown Prince of Prussia, Mother of Kaiser Wilhelm (Simon & Schuster, 1995), pgs. 593 & 594

Of her sons, Queen Victoria had the most trouble with her eldest, Albert Edward, and her youngest, Leopold. Among her daughters, Victoria clashed often with Louise. She also had an awkward relationship with her second-eldest daughter, Alice, whom the queen, despite praising her thoughtfulness, also criticised as being too melancholy and self-absorbed. In her widowhood, Victoria expected Beatrice, who was only four when her father died, to remain at home with her, and only permitted her to marry on the condition that she and her husband would remain in England.King, pg. 61 Portrait of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert's family

+ Children of Victoria, Queen of the United Kingdom Name Birth Death Family Victoria, Princess Royal 184021 November1840 19015 August1901 Married 1858, Frederick III, German Emperor (1831–1888; ) 8 children (including Wilhelm II, German Emperor and Sophia, Queen of the Hellenes) Edward VII, King of the United Kingdom 18419 November184119106 May1910Married 1863, Princess Alexandra of Denmark (1844–1925) 6 children (including George V, King of the United Kingdom and Maud, Queen of Norway) Princess Alice of the United Kingdom 184325 April1843187814 December1878 Married 1862, Louis IV, Grand Duke of Hesse (1837–1892; ) 7 children (including Alexandra Feodorovna, Empress of Russia) Alfred, Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha 18446 August1844190030 July1900 Married 1874, Grand Duchess Maria Alexandrovna of Russia (1853–1920) 6 children (including Marie, Queen of Romania) Princess Helena of the United Kingdom 184625 May1846 19239 June1923 Married 1866, Prince Christian of Schleswig-Holstein (1831–1917) 6 children Princess Louise of the United Kingdom184818 March1848 19393 December1939 Married 1871, John Campbell, 9th Duke of Argyll (1845–1914) Prince Arthur, Duke of Connaught and Strathearn 18501 May1850 194216 January1942 Married 1879, Princess Louise Margaret of Prussia (1860–1917) 3 children (including Margaret, Crown Princess of Sweden) Prince Leopold, Duke of Albany 18537 April1853188428 March1884Married 1882, Princess Helen of Waldeck and Pyrmont (1861–1922) 2 children Princess Beatrice of the United Kingdom 185714 April18571944 26 October1944 Married 1885, Prince Henry of Battenberg (1858–1896) 4 children (including Victoria Eugenie, Queen of Spain)

Grandchildren Children of Victoria and Frederick III In 1851, at the Great Exhibition, Victoria met her future husband, Frederick. When Victoria was 15 years old, Frederick proposed to her. Eventually, on 25 January 1858, they married.

Upon her husband becoming German Emperor as Frederick III, Victoria became German Empress on 9 March 1888. However, only 99 days later, Frederick died of cancer. Consequently, their eldest son, Wilhelm II, became German Emperor, Victoria’s only grandchild besides George V of her native UK to become a monarch.

Portrait of Emperor Frederick III and Empress Victoria's family

+ Children of Victoria, German Empress Portrait Name Birth Death FamilyWhitaker's Almanack, 1999, Standard Edition, The Stationery Office, London, 1998, (), pages 127–129Wilhelm II, German Emperor Married 1881 (1), Princess Augusta Victoria of Schleswig-Holstein (1858–1921) and had 7 children: Wilhelm, German Crown Prince (1882–1951) Prince Eitel Friedrich of Prussia (1883–1942) Prince Adalbert of Prussia (1884–1948) Prince August Wilhelm of Prussia (1887–1949) Prince Oskar of Prussia (1888–1958) Prince Joachim of Prussia (1890–1920) Princess Victoria Louise of Prussia (1892–1980) Mother of Frederica, Queen of the Hellenes Married 1922 (2), Princess Hermine Reuss of Greiz (1887–1947) Princess Charlotte of PrussiaMarried 1878, Bernhard III, Duke of Saxe-Meiningen (1851–1928; ) and had 1 child: Princess Feodora of Saxe-Meiningen (1879–1945) Prince Henry of PrussiaMarried 1888, Princess Irene of Hesse and by Rhine (1866–1953) and had 3 children: Prince Waldemar of Prussia (1889–1945) Prince Sigismund of Prussia (1896–1978) Prince Henry of Prussia (1900–1904) Prince Sigismund of Prussia Princess Viktoria of Prussia Married 1890 (1), Prince Adolf of Schaumburg-Lippe (1859–1916) Married 1927 (2), Alexander Zoubkoff Prince Waldemar of Prussia Princess Sophia of PrussiaMarried 1889, Constantine I, King of the Hellenes (1868–1923; ) and had 6 children: George II, King of the Hellenes (1890–1947; ) Alexander, King of the Hellenes (1893–1920; ) Father of Alexandra, Queen of Yugoslavia Helen, Queen Mother of Romania (1896–1982) Mother of Michael I, King of Romania Paul, King of the Hellenes (1901–1964; ) Father of Sofía, Queen of Spain and Constantine II, King of the Hellenes Princess Irene of Greece and Denmark (1904–1974) Princess Katherine of Greece and Denmark (1913 –2007) Princess Margaret of Prussia Married 1893, Prince Frederick Charles of Hesse (1868–1940) and had 6 children: Prince Friedrich Wilhelm of Hesse (1893–1916) Prince Maximilian of Hesse (1894–1914) Prince Philipp of Hesse (1896–1980) Prince Wolfgang of Hesse (1896–1989) Prince Richard of Hesse (1901–1969) Prince Christoph of Hesse (1901–1943)

Children of Edward VII and Alexandra

Children of Alice and Louis IV Less than a year after her father, Albert, died, Princess Alice married Louis IV, Grand Duke of Hesse. However, Alice later wrote to her husband that she "longed for a real companion, for apart from that life had nothing to offer me in Darmstadt".

Even after moving to Germany, Alice's love of the United Kingdom did not waver. She possessed numerous portraits of her relatives, and she instilled in her children an admiration for the United Kingdom. Even after her death, her family's life was organised with English influences.

Alice devoted her life to her husband and children. Her children followed rules similar to those that Alice's own mother, Queen Victoria, made her follow. Her family spent winters in Darmstadt and summers at either Kranichstein or Seeheim-Jugenheim. Also, Alice and her family made annual trips to the United Kingdom, staying either at Windsor Castle, Osborne House or Balmoral Castle.

Portrait of Grand Duke Louis IV and Grand Duchess Alice's family

+ Children of Alice, Grand Duchess of Hesse Portrait Name Birth Death Family Princess Victoria of Hesse and by Rhine Married 1884, Prince Louis of Battenberg (1854–1921) and had 4 children: Princess Alice of Battenberg (1885–1969) Mother of Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh Louise, Queen of Sweden (1889–1965) Prince George of Battenberg (1892–1938) Prince Louis of Battenberg (1900–1979) Princess Elisabeth of Hesse and by Rhine Married 1884, Grand Duke Sergei Alexandrovich of Russia (1857–1905) Princess Irene of Hesse and by Rhine Married 1888, Prince Henry of Prussia (1862–1929) and had 3 children: Prince Waldemar of Prussia (1889–1945) Prince Sigismund of Prussia (1896–1978) Prince Henry of Prussia (1900–1904) Ernest Louis, Grand Duke of Hesse Married 1894 (1), Princess Victoria Melita of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha (1876–1936) and had 2 children: Princess Elisabeth of Hesse and by Rhine (1895–1903)