Queen Alexandra

by Georgina Battiscombe

Biography. First printing stated. Purple cloth covers very nice, spine ends bumped. Dust jacket rubbed, moderate edge wear. Owner's name on the first endpaper, otherwise the interior is clean and tight.

Genres: Biography, Royalty, Nonfiction, History

336 pages, Paperback

First published October 6, 1969

Reviews

[Wealhtheow · Rating 4 out of 5]

A biography of Queen Alexandra of England. She was born Alexandra Caroline Marie Charlotte Louise Julia to Prince Christian of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glücksburg (these names!). They lived simply in a little house, mending their own clothes and quite out of the social whirl of most European royalty. But Alexandra was so beautiful and wholesome, and her pedigree so good, that Queen Victoria and her daughter Princess Victoria (at the time Princess of Prussia thanks to her marriage to Frederick) chose her to marry the future king of England, Albert Edward. She was just sixteen when they were engaged, and at age nineteen was married and immediately pregnant. She had a child every year or two until her health gave out. Despite all the pregnancies, she and Prince Edward led a sparkling social life. He cheated on her continually, but in almost every case she forbore judgement or comment. Alexandra had been a beauty since childhood, and seemingly charmed all who met her. Although she was poorly educated, intellectually incurious, seemingly chose her politics almost entirely based on who she personally liked, and financially uncontrolled, she was also generous, kind-hearted, and exceedingly empathetic. Queen Victoria and various ministers, dignitaries, etc. could become annoyed with her, but the moment she sent a badly punctuated but effusive letter, or met them in person, their frustrations were put aside. This pattern happened again and again through this biography; I almost grew scared she had mind control powers.

Queen Alexandra loved to travel and all her life regretted not being able to visit India. Like many other royals, she was closely related to royalty in nearly every European nation: her father ruled Denmark, her brother ruled Greece, her sister ruled Russia...She distrusted and hated Germany ever after it attacked her native land of Denmark (which she retained close ties to and visited at least once a year nearly all her life), which led her to accurately predict some of their later wartime tactics. Her charitable interests were varied but primarily based in nursing; apparently she was very good in a sick room.

All I remembered about Queen Alexandra before I started this book was that she'd popularized thick collar-like jewels to hide a scar on her neck. I had not known that her limp was also copied by others in fashion, or that she was considered one of the most beautiful princesses in Europe, or that she was very charming, kind, obstinate, and completely deaf by middle age.

The most interesting thing about this book is not really the subject, but the writing. Although this was published in 1969, it feels like it was written in a far gone age, with its untranslated French and Latin and its sardonic, long-winded style. For instance, "Here it was that an English Princess, Mary, daughter of George II, had withdrawn herself and her outraged Protestant susceptibilities when her husband, the Landgrave of Hesse-Cassel, unaccountably and inconveniently lapsed into the errors of the Roman Catholic faith."

[Maryanne · Rating 5 out of 5]

What and eye opener this book was.not much is really known about Alexandra as like her husband their private papers were burned after their deaths.Alexandra who became queen of England was the antithesis of the English aristocracy.Raised in Denmark in regal poverty she was an endearing and dignified woman whom the English took to their hearts.Although seen by many as boring she was not ,but congenital deafness precluded her from many of the conversations and happenings around her.Although the book showed her husband as a skirt chaser ,Alex never stopped loving him or caring for him as he also loved her ,her own feelings never were allowed to colour her life.Her open hearted dignity was and is a revelation.Beautiful and graceful she was first a mother and wife ,her hands were always open to those whose lives were difficult.She was enthralled by the changing world and loved photography.
Although this book is out of print ,read it if you can,it is worth it to see this wonderful woman as not the silent sufferer through her marriage but rather as a woman who found happiness in the lives around her......and her beauty both inside and out are never in question.

[Anna · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really loved this book, couldn't put it down. The writing was great - the author found the middle between giving interesting, reliable information and making her story entertaining without it reading like a novel.

Queen Alexandra comes out as a woman, not a monarch. The book shows the different sides of character - and even though the author will side with the Queen, she was also not afraid to point out her faults and errors.

My only problem was that the book focused mostly on her life as Princess of Wales, a bit on her life as Queen but almost nothing afterwards. I was really surprised that the Russian Revolution got only one paragraph, especially since she was the Tsar's aunt! But overall, lovely book, highly recommended.

[Nadine Sutton · Rating 4 out of 5]

It is old fashioned but well written

[Rachel Boothe · Rating 4 out of 5]

Finally, I finished this book. I started reading it early in 2018 and finished it today (July 12, 2019). It is a great and pretty detailed biography on Queen Alexandra. The author did a wonderful job covering Queen Alexandra's childhood, courtship with King Edward, marriage and marriage difficulties, and widowhood as well as her service as Queen and Princess of Wales. I was reading the book and making good progress until I hit Chapter 16 (Naval and Military). I don't know if it was because I was already suffering from a little burnout from reading or that I just found the chapter tedious, but I just could not get through that chapter at that time. It was endless details about Queen Alexandra's work with the Red Cross and nursing. While that was obviously an important service, I felt that a lot of the chapter just consisted of listing all that she did instead of discussing it in a conversational way. I put it down and took a break from reading for awhile. Then when I began again, I could not bear the thoughts of picking up the book and reading more of that chapter. I started a different book and continued to read other books. I hate to leave anything unfinished so I picked it up today and made myself get through that chapter. After I finished that chapter, I began enjoying the book again. I gave it 4 stars, but really I feel that it is 4.5 stars. Since my lack of enjoyment of that chapter could have been my burnout at the time I began reading it, I will add on half a star. It really is a good book that I highly recommend.

[Mary Beth · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very informative. Have read Heir Apparent on Edward VII and his life. This one had a different perspective being on his wife. Easy read not boring.

[Alessandra Urbani · Rating 5 out of 5]

Bella biografia su un personaggio molto amato, molto interessante ma poco conosciuto.

[Margo Thaxton · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book! I was never bored! She was quite the character! I’ll never forget her.

[Dorothy · Rating 2 out of 5]

A "nice" biography, (i.e. bland, soft-focused and not terribly compelling). The author was afraid to be terribly frank with either Alexandra or Edward leaving the reader feeling the narrative was wrapped in gauze. For those unfamiliar with Alexandra this provides an introduction and soft history. As I reflect on it, I have to say there is no particular reason to read this. In fact, I may want the hours spent reading it back.

[Bw Palm · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am currently rereading this book. She was a lovable woman who moved to England and had to cope with all of Victoria's oddities. On top of that, she had a philandering husband. Up to the end, she kept her dignity and grace.

[Nate · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was an interesting book exploring much of Queen Alexandra's life using primary sources. This was well written and comprehensive, showing all facets of her personality while not stressing her saintliness or horribleness, treading the thin line to show her as a real person.