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Queen Victoria's Favourite Granddaughter

Princess Victoria of Hesse and by Rhine, the Most Consequential Royal You Never Knew

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About this listen

In the fall of 1947, an eighty-four-year-old woman receives an extraordinary invitation. Within is the end of a long journey seeking vindication for a husband who gave his life to the service of the Royal Navy and received, in return, ingratitude.

Thus begins the story of Princess Victoria of Hesse and by Rhine. Victoria, the eldest daughter of Princess Alice and Prince Ludwig of Hesse, was born in April 1863.

Queen Victoria helped her granddaughter shoulder the responsibilities of caring for the motherless family, writing letters of advice and guidance, a correspondence lasting some thirty years.

In April 1884, Victoria married the dashing Prince Louis of Battenberg, an officer in the Royal Navy, who eventually became Britain's First Sea Lord. Their daughter, Alice, was the future mother of Prince Philip and their youngest child, another Louis, was Viceroy of India.

On the eve of World War I, Prince Louis of Battenberg was forced to resign because of his German surname, which he later changed to Mountbatten.

Through cataclysms, both familial and historical, traveling from prerevolutionary Russia to the British Mandate of Palestine, Victoria's life was as exciting as it was triumphant.

©2024 Ilana D Miller (P)2024 Tantor Media 19th Century Europe Great Britain Modern Politics & Activism Royalty Imperialism Russia Marriage
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I did not know anything about Princess Victoria before this book, it was fascinating to learn all about her and her family. The links she had to the royal houses all over Europe and the strong bond that she had with her grandmother Queen Victoria, meant that she knew so many of the leading characters of history in the last half of the 19th century and the first half of the 20th century. Princess Victoria had a life of such highs attending fairytale weddings with royalty in beautiful castles and estates all over Europe, but she also had terrible tragedy in her life losing so many members of her family too young and some in horrific circumstances. Sometimes it was hard to follow the thread of royal relatives and how they were all related, Queen Victoria did have a lot of children who themselves also had lot of children and back then if Cousins in the family want to marry each other, it was not frowned upon. Sometimes it was a bit tricky to try and figure out who was related to who and how, however the lives involved was so fascinating that you wanted to just keep listening to find out what happened next. I would definitely recommend this book if you are a fan of history and especially Royal history. This is the story of a lady with some of the best connections in the world, who was there at the scene, standing in the background, being a witness to history and what a life it was!

Such an interesting life!

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An excellent book about a very interesting woman who was at the centre of royal life arond Europe for nearly 90 years.

Very interesting

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