The Children of King Edward VII of Great Britain

King George V, Queen Maud of Norway, and Their Siblings

Oct 8, 2009

King Edward VII of Great Britain and his wife Queen Alexandra had six children, including King George V and Queen Maud of Norway.

King Edward VII and Queen Alexandra of Great Britain had six children. They both liked their children and tried to be good parents. Queen Alexandra in particular was very possessive of her children, and kept them as close to home as possible, which caused many of them to be quite shy.

Of their three sons, two predeceased them and one became King George V of Great Britain. Of their three daughters, one married a king, one married a commoner, and one stayed single. King Edward VII, unlike other monarchs of the time, was not particularly interested in arranging ambitious marriages for his children, and was content to let them marry whom they chose, as long as the proposed spouse was relatively suitable. The descendants of King Edward VII and Queen Alexandra live on in the royal families of Great Britain and Norway, as well as among English nobles and commoners.

Prince Albert Victor, Duke of Clarence (1864–1892)

Prince Albert Victor, called “Eddy” by his family, was made the Duke of Clarence and was the heir to the throne after his father. He was very close with his brother George, but did not have much to recommend himself as a future king. The Duke of Clarence wasn’t very smart and was bad at school. He was also connected to a homosexual brothel scandal and was even a possible Jack the Ripper suspect.

It was difficult to find him a wife. He had fallen in love with Princess Helene d’Orleans, daughter of the pretender to the French throne, but as a Catholic she was unacceptable. Queen Victoria wanted Prince Eddy to marry one of her favorite granddaughters, Princess Alix of Hesse, but Princess Alix instead married Tsar Nicholas II. It was finally arranged for Prince Eddy to marry his distant cousin Princess Mary of Teck. However, Eddy died of influenza a month before the wedding.

King George V (1865–1936)

King George V became heir to the British throne upon the death of his elder brother. He also “inherited” his brother’s fiancée, and married Princess Mary of Teck, who was still considered a most appropriate marriage partner. King George V and his wife Queen Mary were popular monarchs and very pro-British. Neither liked traveling throughout the dominion, and encouraged their children to marry British citizens instead of foreign royals. King George V was also the monarch who changed the royal family’s name from Saxe-Coburg and Gotha to Windsor amidst anti-German feeling during World War I.

King George V was very shy and insular. As a young man he had served under his uncle Prince Alfred of Edinburgh as a junior lieutenant in the navy. As heir to the throne, he worked closely with his father. King Edward VII was particularly careful to treat his son well and, unlike his mother Queen Victoria, made sure to include his heir in the running of the government.

Princess Louise of Great Britain, Princess Royal (1867–1931)

Princess Louise of Great Britain fell in love with a Scottish nobleman. Although he was eighteen years older than Louise and a Liberal in the House of Commons, Queen Victoria liked him and approved of the marriage. After they married, she even raised Duff’s title from Earl to Duke. By special decree, their two daughters were granted the title of Princess, and by special permission their eldest daughter Princess Alexandra was able to inherit her father’s dukedom. When she married her cousin Prince Arthur of Connaught, their son inherited the title, but when Prince Alistair died without an heir the title went to Princess Maud’s son.

Princess Victoria of Great Britain (1868–1935)

Princess Victoria of Great Britain remained unmarried and lived with her mother her whole life. As she grew older it was said that she grew more bitter, saying that she was not allowed to marry the man she loved, who apparently was a commoner.

Princess Maud of Great Britain, Queen Maud of Norway (1869–1938)

Princess Maud of Great Britain married her maternal cousin Prince Carl of Denmark, a younger son of King Frederik VIII of Denmark. At the time of the marriage it was considered an inconsequential union as Prince Carl had dim prospects. In 1905, however, Prince Carl was elected King of Norway. The new king, who took the name King Haakon VII of Norway, and his wife Queen Maud were very popular in Norway, as they shared this country’s quasi-republican sentiments and lived very unassuming lives as monarchs. The present King Harald V of Norway is their grandson.

Prince John of Great Britain (1871)

Prince John, the youngest son of King Edward VII and Queen Alexandra, lived only for a day.

Source:

Eilers, Marlene A. Queen Victoria’s Descendants. Falkoping, Sweden: Rosvall Royal Books, 1997.

Kiste, John van der. Queen Victoria’s Children. Gloucester: Alan Sutton Publishing, 1986.

The copyright of the article The Children of King Edward VII of Great Britain in Edwardian History is owned by Emily Chauviere. Permission to republish The Children of King Edward VII of Great Britain in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.