This intimate look at the bond between Queen Victoria and her granddaughter is "full of details regarding many European royals... thoroughly engrossing" (Kathryn J. Atwood, author of Women Heroes of World War II).
When Queen Victoria's second daughter Princess Alice married the Prince Louis of Hesse and Rhine in 1862, even her own mother described the ceremony as "more of a funeral than a wedding," thanks to the fact that it took place shortly after the death of Alice's beloved father, Prince Albert. Sadly, the young princess's misfortunes didn't end there and when she also died prematurely, her four motherless daughters were taken under the wing of their formidable grandmother, Victoria.
Alix, the youngest of Alice's daughters and allegedly one of the most beautiful princesses in Europe, was a special favorite of the elderly queen, who hoped that she would marry her cousin Prince Albert Victor, Duke of Clarence and one day reign beside him. However, the spirited and stubborn Alix had other ideas...
Autorentext
Fascinated by history from a very early age, Melanie Clegg graduated from the University of Nottingham with a degree in History of Art. She originally turned to writing historical fiction and her women's history blog, Madame Guillotine, as a means of escaping from the dull admin jobs that she found herself doing, before becoming a full time writer and historian.
Klappentext
Melanie Clegg takes a fresh and intimate look at the close relationship that existed between the last Empress of Russia and her grandmother Queen Victoria.When Queen Victoria's second daughter Princess Alice married the Prince Louis of Hesse and Rhine in 1862 even her own mother described the ceremony as 'more of a funeral than a wedding' thanks to the fact that it took place shortly after the death of Alice's beloved father Prince Albert. Sadly, the young princess' misfortunes didn't end there and when she also died prematurely, her four motherless daughters were taken under the wing of their formidable grandmother, Victoria. Alix, the youngest of Alice's daughters and allegedly one of the most beautiful princesses in Europe, was a special favorite of the elderly queen, who hoped that she would marry her cousin Prince Albert Victor, Duke of Clarence and one day reign beside him as Queen. However, the spirited and stubborn Alix had other ideas…