Helena: Queen Victoria's Third Daughter

by John van der Kiste

Princess Helena (1846-1923) was the third daughter of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert. A steady, dependable young woman, known as ‘Lenchen’ within the family, she was particularly ‘useful’ to her demanding and recently widowed mother, who could not bear to lose her to a marriage which would oblige her to move and live abroad with her husband. In 1866 she married Prince Christian of Schleswig-Holstein, a kindly but penniless bachelor fifteen years older than her. Despite the difference in ages, it was the only marriage among the Queen’s children in which both partners lived long enough to celebrate their golden wedding anniversary. For nearly sixty years Helena was a tireless supporter of good causes, particularly in the field of nursing and education. This biography examines her life, work and relationships with her family. (Approx. length, 40,000 words, 6 illustrations)

Genres: History, Biography, Royalty, Nonfiction, British Literature

126 pages, Kindle Edition

First published August 14, 2013

About the author

John Van der Kiste, British author, was born in Wendover, Buckinghamshire, on September 15, 1954, son of Wing Commander Guy Van der Kiste (1912–99). He was educated at Blundell's School, Tiverton, where he briefly formed a rock band Cobweb with fellow pupil Miles Tredinnick, later vocalist with new wave band London and subsequently playwright and scriptwriter, and read Librarianship at Ealing Technical College, where he edited the librarians’ student magazine.
He has worked for several years in public and academic libraries, but is best known as a writer. His first book, Frederick III, appeared in 1981, and since then he has published over twenty historical biographies, as well as books on local history, true crime, rock music, a novel and a play. He is also a contributor to Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Guinness Rockopaedia, and has produced articles on historical, musical and art subjects in national and local journals, including Illustrated London News, Royalty Digest, European Royal History Journal, Best of British, BBC History Magazine, Record Collector, Antique Collector, This England, The Independent, and Gibbons Stamp Monthly. He has reviewed books and records for the press, written CD booklet notes, and between 1991 and 1996 edited the 70s rock fanzine Keep on Rockin.
In 2002 he was a consultant for the BBC TV documentary 'The King, the Kaiser and the Tsar', first screened in January 2003.
He married professional musician and teacher Kim Graham (née Geldard) in 2003 and lives in Devon.

Reviews

[Marley · Rating 3 out of 5]

Rather dry, but if you;re interested in VR's daughters this is a good place to look. Good steady bougie Helena is a bigger asskicker than one might imagine. Philanthropist and very early advocate of the nursing profession,Helena was one of the first Royals and maybe the first, to actually work setting an example for others to follow. Of course the queen drove her crazy as she did all her children.

[Nate · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very basic with few new insights. I was not aware of her close(r) relationship with the Kaiser, hadn't made the connection between Kaiserin and Christian. I liked that he addressed her drug problems and financial issues later on, as some biographers would have glossed over those. Not a bad biography, if a little dry.

[Kristen · Rating 3 out of 5]

A superficial account of Helena's life, highlighting her obstinance and her often fractious relations with her siblings. I didn't see any new research or profound observations in this book.

[Frumykle · Rating 4 out of 5]

For me quite interesting

[Susann · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fascinating

This author has written many books about royalty and English history in general. This is the first one I have read but not the last. This third daughter of Queen Victoria is as interesting as all the others I have read about. Happily married for the longest of any of Victoria's children, she needed to find a man who wouldn't mind being at the Queen's beck and call as Helena was too necessary to be allowed to live in Germany, Christian's homeland. She was a devoted daughter, mother, wife and patron of her numerous charities. Quite the organizer, she used her influence for ambulance trains, homes for orphans and older women who had served in war, hospitals and support for trained nurses, to name a few. She was passionate that women be allowed to choose a career in nursing and was instrumental in having training opportunities to make that possible. A lovely, strong willed, kind hearted royal who set the standard for those to come. Great insights into Victorian and German life through her many relatives. I very much admire her and her tremendous energies for social improvement.

[Yooperprof · Rating 3 out of 5]

Perfectly acceptable. Nothing really earth-shattering in this account of the ever-faithful, loyal Princess Helena - the third of Queen Victoria's five daughters - and perhaps the least interesting of the lot. But if you look at it another way, dullness can be interesting in itself.

I knew that Princess Helena had resigned herself to a life where her prime responsibility was serving as companion and secretary for her mother the Queen. The choice of a husband/partner was predicated on the requirement that he not take his wife away from her daughterly "responsibilies".
Fortunately for the British Royals, Prince Christian of Schlesweg-Holstein was suitable dull - and lazy. He was satisfied with her new English life in the shadow of his wife, who herself was in the shadow of the Queen.

I hadn't been aware that Princess Helena was so actively involved in the running of committee dedicated to gaining honor and respect for nurses, who were gradually becoming "professionalized" in the late 19th century.

[Shawn Thrasher · Rating 2 out of 5]

Only people who like reading about Victoria and her brood will find this book even remotely interesting. Helena, unfortunately, was the dullest of Victoria’s daughters. Van der Kiste does the best with what he has, and is able to add a few new details to pot au Victoria. Helena was addicted to opium and laudanum; her brother had an illegitimate child and historians made up a fake Hungarian royal as the mother to hide the true identity of the parentage. Most intriguing was Helena’s “tomboy” childhood; I wondered if as a 21st century princess of England, she would have grown up a different sort of person (intriguing thought: a trans princess? Now THAT would have made a fascinating book).

[Brian · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good, if short, biography of Princess Helena, the most little known of Queen Victoria's children. The book, though small, gives us a refreshing portrait of the elusive princess, and tells us of her skills at translating works from German into English, and work as a pioneer of the nursing profession in Britain. The book also talks about her addiction to medication, the result of her search to cure her various maladies. Princess Helena and her family remained at the center of the British royal family for many years.

All in all a good book to read.

[Carolyn Harris · Rating 4 out of 5]

A short biography of Princess Helena with a strong emphasis on her charity work and advocacy of nursing as a career for women in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. There are lots of excerpts of her correspondence with friends and family and she seems have maintained a surprisingly cordial rapport with her difficult nephew Kaiser Wilhelm II. I was hoping that the book would include more material about her children and especially her little known granddaughter Valerie Marie.

[Diana Cheal · Rating 3 out of 5]

I’ve given this 3 stars because for me, there’s not enough information. In fact I don’t think there is an authorised biography of Princess Helena, but one would be fascinating as she was so involved in her mother’s life, yet created her one as well.
I want to know more about this unknown Princess! So far though, she had quite a sad life. She lost three sons in her lifetime and suffered from addiction too. Her moral compass was amazing and what she did for nursing too was incredible.

[Grinning Cat · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a well-researched biography of Princess Helena, daughter of Queen Victoria. Princess Helena is one of the lesser-known, but hardest working royals. Her public and charitable works set an example that is still followed by the British Royal Family today. If you are interested in the Royal Family or the Victorian Era, you will like this book. It’s not going to set the world on fire, but it’s good reading and accessible to the non academic.

[Janet Russell · Rating 4 out of 5]

Informative but plodding at times!

The story of queen Victoria's third child Princess Helena, always put down upon by Victoria as being less than pretty & forced to marry a man twice her age so that she would always stay close to her mother! Eventually she finally made her mark as a great charity helper & organiser! A good account of her life but a little plodding in places!

[Stan Bartosiak · Rating 2 out of 5]

Plodding, often just a catalogue of life events with few insights into what appears to me to have a rather ho hum life. Except for the fact that she was the daughter of Victoria, there appears to be not much to recommend a bio of her.

[Cheryl Vore · Rating 4 out of 5]

Solid

While not ground breaking, this book gave me what I wanted: a solid, true depiction of a solid, true royal. I thoroughly enjoyed it, despite some minor editing issues with the ebook. Well dome, worth the read!

[Kimberly Krauch · Rating 5 out of 5]

Princess Helena

Great read, I found new and interesting details about not just HRH but about her family as well. Relationships in a large family is never easy, thank goodness she was a peacemaker.

[Kate · Rating 3 out of 5]

Rather dull. A bit of it is the writing, but a bit of it is that Helena not that interesting after her marriage. Or if she is, the writer doesn't share what makes her so.

[Barbara · Rating 3 out of 5]

Review

Not much is written about Princess Helena so it was interesting to learn more about her. Writing style very easy to read.