Frederick was childless, had been through two unsuccessful marriages, and was assumed to be infertile. In 1848, Christian VIII of Denmark died and his only son Frederick ascended the throne. Occasionally, Hans Christian Andersen was invited to call and tell the children stories before bedtime. They did not possess great wealth her father's income from an army commission was about £800 per year, and their house was a rent-free grace and favour property. Although they were of royal blood, the family lived a comparatively modest life. Her father's family was a distant cadet branch of the Danish royal House of Oldenburg, which was descended from King Christian III.

She had five siblings: Frederick, William (later George I of Greece), Dagmar (later Empress of Russia), Thyra and Valdemar. Her father was Prince Christian of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glücksburg and her mother was Princess Louise of Hesse-Kassel. Princess Alexandra Caroline Marie Charlotte Louise Julia, or 'Alix', as her immediate family knew her, was born at the Yellow Palace, an 18th-century town house at 18 Amaliegade, immediately adjacent to the Amalienborg Palace complex in Copenhagen. She became queen mother on Edward's death in 1910, at which point their son George V ascended the throne. On the death of Queen Victoria in 1901, Albert Edward became king-emperor as Edward VII, with Alexandra as queen-empress. Her public duties were restricted to uncontroversial involvement in charitable work. Largely excluded from wielding any political power, she unsuccessfully attempted to sway the opinion of British ministers and her husband's family to favour Greek and Danish interests. Alexandra was Princess of Wales from 1863 to 1901, the longest anyone has ever held that title, and became generally popular her style of dress and bearing were copied by fashion-conscious women. The couple married eighteen months later in 1863, the year in which her father became king of Denmark as Christian IX and her brother William was appointed king of Greece as George I.

At the age of sixteen, Alexandra was chosen as the future wife of Albert Edward, Prince of Wales, the son and heir apparent of Queen Victoria. Alexandra Caroline Marie Charlotte Louise JuliaĪlexandra of Denmark (Alexandra Caroline Marie Charlotte Louise Julia 1 December 1844 – 20 November 1925) was Queen of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Empress of India, from 22 January 1901 to as the wife of King-Emperor Edward VII.Īlexandra's family had been relatively obscure until 1852, when her father, Prince Christian of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glücksburg, was chosen with the consent of the major European powers to succeed his second cousin Frederick VII as king of Denmark.

Queen victoria parents family tree