She was the daughter-in-law of Queen Victoria and the longest-reigning Princess in British history;
Even queen Mary, known as the "woman with the most jewels in the world", has inherited many of the collections from her;
George IV Crown
From a princess in a fairytale kingdom to a queen above ten thousand people in Britain, she and her husband Edward VII saved the precarious British monarchy, dominated the desirable Belle Epoque, and witnessed Britain's prosperity.
She is the protagonist of today's article: Queen Alexandra of England.
Queen Alexandra
The fairytale princess of the Kingdom of Denmark - Alexandra
On December 1, 1844, a little girl named Alexandra was born in the royal palace in Copenhagen, Denmark.
Alexandra
Although of royal blood, because his father Christian was only a humble little prince in the Danish royal branch at the time, the family could only rely on his father's meager army to survive. Therefore, Alexandra's childhood life was not rich.
Alexandra was often crammed into the same room as her sister Dagmar (empress of Alexander III of Germany), and lived only to maintain food and clothing, no different from ordinary people.
(Related reading: Lost her son at the age of 22, the British royal family coveted her jewelry, trench to the blinding Russian last empress dowager)
Alexandra with her sister Dagmar
Although life was a little hard, father Christian and mother Louise were extremely fond of their six children, especially Alexandra, and the relationship between brothers and sisters was very harmonious.
As the eldest daughter in the family, Alexandra often took her younger siblings to learn languages, arts, horseback riding, archery, etc.
Graph source network
Without the restrictions of red tape, Alexandra, who grew up in such a free environment, also developed a lively and cheerful, optimistic and sunny personality.
In 1852, due to the childlessness of the then Danish king, her father Christian was elected heir to the Danish throne, and Alexandra became a Danish princess, and her life was better than before.
Father Christian
Edward VII, who had high hopes
In Britain, more than 1,000 kilometers from Denmark, there is a little prince who is 3 years older than Alexandra, he is of noble birth, named Edward, the second child of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert, the eldest son of the family.
Prince Edward
As britain's future heir to the throne, Edward was placed high hopes by the British royal family from an early age and received a strict educational arrangement.
But he was not a reading material at all, fooling around with his friends all day, and being a clumsy boy in the eyes of outsiders, which made Queen Victoria and her wife brain-wrenching.
In 1859, Edward was sent to Oxford University to study, and later transferred to the prestigious University of Cambridge.
During this time, Queen Victoria allowed him to serve briefly in the Irish Army, but the restless Edward was still in trouble, and the scandal with an unknown actress was overshadowed.
Prince Albert went to Cambridge to advise his son, but soon after his return, he died of illness. Queen Victoria blamed her husband's death on Edward, and the two's already unfriendly relationship was on the verge of erupting.
Queen Victoria and Edward VII
In order to further restrain her son Edward, she decided to find a suitable princess for him, and the gentle and cheerful Danish princess Alexandra became queen Victoria's object.
In 1861, Edward and Alexandra met for the first time, and although the two did not fall in love at first sight, they did not hate each other.
Edward felt guilty about the death of his father, Prince Albert, so he agreed to the arranged marriage arranged by his mother.
Became Princess of England
On March 10, 1863, 21-year-old Edward and 18-year-old Alexandra were married at St. George's Church in Windsor.
Wedding ceremony of Edward VII and Alexandra
Edward specially customized a pearl diamond set as a wedding gift to Alexandra.
This set is made up of crowns, necklaces, brooches, earrings and gentle rounded pearls set on sparkling diamonds for ultimate luxury.
Pearl diamond set
This suit was later inherited by Queen Mary, Queen Elizabeth, and Elizabeth II.
Elizabeth II wore the brooch in the suit
In addition to the jewelry sent by her husband Edward, her mother-in-law, the Danish royal family, also sent a congratulatory gift.
This Byzantine-style necklace, commissioned by the Danish royal family to British jeweler Garrard, is set with more than 1,000 diamonds and more than 100 pearls.
Byzantine style necklace
Underneath the necklace is also a cross with a strong religious flavor, which is intricate and exquisite, and the necklace has been worn by Alexandra on many important occasions.
Since it was the funeral of Prince Albert at that time, the wedding was much simplified in terms of both pomp and number of invitees, and the people's dress was relatively dull, without the slightest wedding atmosphere.
Queen Victoria with The Edwards
But Alexandra didn't care about it, and for her, it was a blessing to go from a fallen Danish princess to a princess of the British Empire.
It was also in this year that her father Christian ascended the throne as King of Denmark, which gave Alexandra a little bit of confidence in the life of the British royal family.
Husbands are mercurial and work hard to get the queen's approval
Edward is humorous and funny, Alexandra is clever and clever, the two lived a warm and sweet life after marriage, and in the second year after marriage, Alexandra gave birth to her eldest son, Prince Albert Victor, and Alexandra's position was further consolidated.
But as soon as the passion of marriage passed, the restless Edward exposed his mercurial nature.
Edward VII and Alexandra
From his marriage in 1863 to his death in 1910, for 47 years he frequently went to various balls, became ambiguous with many celebrities in social circles, and later went to court for having an affair with a married woman, which greatly damaged the reputation of the British royal family.
Of course, Alexandra was also a clever woman, and she did not get into trouble with Edward because of this, but did her best to do her duty as a princess.
On the one hand, she is actively involved in charitable causes and public events, and on the other hand, she attends various celebrations and helps the elderly Queen Victoria with various affairs;
Soon, her efforts were recognized by Queen Victoria, and the British people praised the people-friendly princess.
Choker, which has led the fashion trend for hundreds of years
Due to Edward's frequent cheating after marriage, the media and the public have felt pity for this kind and people-friendly princess.
But in front of the public, Alexandra will always be a noble and dignified image, without a trace of sadness.
From her numerous photographs, it can be seen that in order to cover up the scars left by childhood surgery, Alexandra always wears a Choker necklace around her neck whenever and wherever she is.
But what she did not expect was that her way of wearing it actually caused the imitation of celebrities and aristocrats, and the Choker necklace became popular among the aristocratic class, and since then it has led the fashion trend for hundreds of years.
Madame de Pompadour and Marie Antoinette carry Choker-style ornaments
Of course, as a member of the royal family, Alexandra's Choker necklace can be said to be quite trench, and the Choker necklace set with diamonds, pearls, and various colored treasures is innumerable.
Choker necklace
The stacking of diamonds and pearl necklaces, the combination of long necklaces and short necklaces, and the necklaces of various styles and styles are all piled on the chest, looking luxurious and noble.
Although Edward VII was very careful, in the 7 years after the marriage, Alexandra gave birth to 3 princes (one of whom died prematurely) and 3 princesses for Edward VII.
Perhaps out of guilt, Edward VII was very indulgent to Alexandra in terms of daily expenses such as jewelry and clothing, and the jewelry given to her was innumerable, and it is said that many of the jewelry of the current Queen Elizabeth II were inherited from her.
Mr J said:
So, what do these extravagant jewels look like?
See you in the next article
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