Princess Alice of the United Kingdom

Princess Alice (25 April 1843 – 14 December 1878) was the Grand Duchess of Hesse and by Rhine from 1877 until her death in 1878 as the wife of Grand Duke Louis IV. She was the third child and second daughter of Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom and Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha.

For the wife of her great-nephew Prince Henry, see Princess Alice, Duchess of Gloucester.
Princess Alice of the United Kingdom
A photo of Alice aged 28
Photograph by Franz Backofen, 1871
Grand Duchess consort of Hesse and by Rhine
Tenure13 June 1877 – 14 December 1878
Born(1843-04-25)25 April 1843
Buckingham Palace, London, England
Died14 December 1878(1878-12-14) (aged 35)
New Palace, Darmstadt, Grand Duchy of Hesse, German Empire
Spouse
Issue
Full name
Alice Maud Mary
HouseSaxe-Coburg and Gotha
FatherPrince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha
MotherQueen Victoria
SignaturePrincess Alice of the United Kingdom's signature

She was the sister of Edward VII of the United Kingdom and German Empress Victoria and the mother of Alexandra Feodorovna of Russia.

Biography

Early life

Alice was born on April 25, 1843 as Alice Maud Mary at Buckingham Palace in London.[1]

Alice's birth prompted her parents to find a larger family home. In 1844, her parents purchased Osborne House on the Isle of Wight as a family holiday home.

At Osborne, Alice and her siblings were taught skills such as housekeeping, cooking, gardening and carpentry, as well as daily lessons in learning English, French and German.[2][3]

Alice was said to be fascinated with the world outside at Balmoral, where she visited the tenants living and working on the estate.[4] In 1854, during the Crimean War, Alice visited hospitals in London for wounded soldiers with her mother and her older sister.[5]

Marriage

Alice was engaged to Prince Louis of Hesse on April 30, 1861.[6] On July 1, 1862, Alice and Louis got married in a private ceremony in the dining room of Osborne House.

Illness and death

On December 14, the 17th anniversary of her father's death, Alice became seriously ill with the diphtheria that she caught from her son. She died in the early morning hours, she was 35 years old.[7] Alice was buried on 18 December 1878 at the Grand Ducal mausoleum at Rosenhöhe outside Darmstadt.[8]

Honours
  • 1 January 1878: Companion of the Order of the Crown of India[9]
  • 26 June 1871: Cross of Merit for Women and Girls[10]
  • Dame of the Order of Louise, 1st Division[11]
  • Russian Empire 1864: Grand Cross of the Imperial Order of Saint Catherine

Issue
Name Birth Death Ref(s).
Victoria Alberta Elisabeth Mathilde Marie 5 April 1863 24 September 1950 [12][13]
Elisabeth Alexandra Luise Alix 1 November 1864 18 July 1918 † [13][14]
Irene Louise Marie Anne 11 July 1866 11 November 1953 [13][15]
Ernest Louis Charles Albert William 25 November 1868 9 October 1937 [13]
Friedrich William Augustus Victor Leopold Louis 7 October 1870 29 May 1873 [13][16]
Alix Viktoria Helene Luise Beatrix 6 June 1872 17 July 1918 † [13][17]
Marie Victoria Feodore Leopoldine 24 May 1874 16 November 1878 [13][18]

References
  1. Packard, p. 25
  2. Hubbard, Kate (2012). Serving Victoria: Life in the Royal Household. London, UK: Clays. p. 132. ISBN 9780701183684.
  3. Van der Kiste, p. 22
  4. Packard, p. 64
  5. Van der Kiste, p. 28
  6. "No. 22507". The London Gazette. 3 May 1861. p. 1889.
  7. Packard, p. 167
  8. Noel, p. 241
  9. "No. 24539". The London Gazette. 4 January 1878. p. 113.
  10. "Königlich Preussische Ordensliste", Preussische Ordens-Liste (in German), 3, Berlin: 1255, 1877 – via hathitrust.org
  11. "Königlich Preussische Ordensliste", Preussische Ordens-Liste (in German), 1, Berlin: 1028, 1877 – via hathitrust.org
  12. Hough, Richard (1984). Louis and Victoria: The Family History of the Mountbattens. Second edition. London: Weidenfeld and Nicolson. p. 28. ISBN 0-297-78470-6.
  13. Weintraub, Stanley (1997). Uncrowned King: The Life of Prince Albert. New York, USA: The Free Press. pp. 460. ISBN 0-6848-3486-3.
  14. Sell, K. (2014). Alice, Grand Duchess Of Hesse. Wisconsin, USA: Book on Demand Ltd. p. 72. ISBN 978-5-5191-0649-8.
  15. Mager, p. 27
  16. Mager, pp. 45-46
  17. Gelardi, Julia (2007). Born to Rule. London, UK: St Martin's Press. pp. 5. ISBN 978-0-3123-2423-0.
  18. Persson, Sheryl (2009). Smallpox, Syphilis and Salvation: Medical Breakthroughs that Changed the World. Wollombi, Australia: Exisle Publishing Ltd. pp. 142. ISBN 978-1-9214-9706-3.
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