Queen Victoria's Granddaughters: 1860-1918
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Queen Victoria's Granddaughters: 1860-1918
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Narrated by:
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Fleur Edwards
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By:
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Christina Croft
About this listen
On 6 July 1868, when told of the birth of her seventh granddaughter, Queen Victoria remarked that the news was "a very uninteresting thing for it seems to me to go on like the rabbits in Windsor Park". Her apathy was understandable - this was her 14th grandchild, and, though she had given birth to nine children, she had never been fond of babies, viewing them as "frog-like and rather disgusting...particularly when undressed".
The early years of her marriage had, she claimed, been ruined by frequent pregnancies, and large families were unnecessary for wealthy people since the children would grow up with nothing worthwhile to do. Nevertheless, her initial reaction to the birth of Princess Victoria of Wales belied the genuine concern that Queen Victoria felt for each of her 22 granddaughters. "As a rule," she wrote, "I like girls best," and she devoted a great deal of time to their well-being and happiness, showering them with affection she had seldom shown her own children.
By 1914, through a series of dynastic marriages, the queen's granddaughters included the empress of Russia; the queens of Spain, Greece, and Norway' and the crown princesses of Rumania and Sweden. As their brothers and cousins occupied the thrones of Germany, Britain, and Denmark, Prince Albert's dream of a peaceful Europe created through bonds of kinship seemed a real possibility. Yet in little more than a decade after Queen Victoria's death, the prince consort's dream would lie shattered in the carnage of the First World War. Royal cousins and even siblings would find themselves on opposing sides; two of them would die horrifically at the hands of revolutionaries, and several others would be ousted from their thrones. They had lived through the halcyon days of the European monarchies, but their lives, like the lives of millions of their people, would be changed forever by the catastrophe.
©2013 Christina Croft (P)2017 Christina CroftListeners also enjoyed...
What listeners say about Queen Victoria's Granddaughters: 1860-1918
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance2 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Campesque
- 29-04-19
Fascinating insight into the most complicated of families.
An engaging and interesting look into the lives of the female offspring of Queen Victoria's children. These girls were the product of European royal dynastic marriages, and were expected to follow suit - love, if it happened, was a happy byproduct of these political unions. It's hard not to pity these women.
Awful narration. It's a testament to the story that I didn't give up and send it back. Correct pronunciation is rather important.
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance4 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Franklymydarling
- 26-04-17
A whole lot of Princesses
If you are a royal history lover this is a book for you. You'll learn more about minor European royalty and family ties. The granddaughter who became a saint, 2 who supposedly married gay men, and the dedication to hospital works and causes. But be warned the name listing of family members at the start of each chapter is about irritating at first, but you soon find you need the lists to keep up with whose who.
An interesting and engaging listen.
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8 people found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Jamie
- 19-07-17
Lovely listen
Really interesting account of the trials and tribulations of Queen Victoria's Granddaughters. Fascinating insights and stories too.
Lovely read by the narrator too, really helped to make the subject come alive. Spot on with the variety of strange pronunciations and names.
Would highly recommend.
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4 people found this helpful
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Overall3 out of 5 stars
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Performance4 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- Annie
- 06-03-21
Excellent book
Found this to be a really informative book about many royals you would not normally hear about. The tedious cast list announced at the beginning of each chapter should never have been included and insults the reader's ability to keep up with the flow. Some oddly pronounced words included.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Amazon Customer
- 10-12-18
Informative book
Love this book, the story of the lives of Victoria's granddaughters (unfortunately the same book on her grandsons is not yet available as an Audible book). Good narration too, an easy listen.
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1 person found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance3 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Mrs
- 04-07-18
Fantastic content - annoying reader
This is a really great book for anybody interested in early 20th century European monarchy. It really is detailed and pretty easy to follow (they repeat who is who at the beginning of each chapter, which is lovely). But the person reading it doesn’t know how to pronounce quite a few fairly important words, which is a jarring irritation throughout.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Lara
- 12-04-19
A must read
Amazingly, although it is a big book, with lots of information about lots of people, it is incredibly interesting for anyone who is curious to what happened to Queen Victoria's children and their children. I trully enjoyed every chapter and found out an incredible amount of new information.
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1 person found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- kjerstin gledhill
- 19-07-22
If you have an interest in Royalty and European history you will love this book
This book tells the fascinating story of the dynasty of Queen Victoria and Albert. Their grandchildren mainly, but it covers much more. This is the most interesting period in Royal history ever. Queen Victorias decedents married into most of Europes royal families and influenced history and tradition from the UK to Russia and from Norway to Italy. It is thanks to Queen Victoria that we today have the Christmas tree and white wedding dresses. The book is long but then there is a lot to tell, and when I had finished reading it, it just left me wanting more. So I have purchased more books by the same author and I am looking forward to learning more about the individual families and what happened around them culturally and politically. If you have an interest in the Royal Family and in history, you will love this book.
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Overall3 out of 5 stars
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Performance2 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- Alison
- 18-07-17
Victoria's Granddaughters
What did you like best about Queen Victoria's Granddaughters: 1860-1918? What did you like least?
Interesting story - how can it not be? Let down by the dreadful narration.
Would you be willing to try another one of Fleur Edwards’s performances?
No. She seemed to manage the tough Prussian and German names really well and then spent a period of times pronouncing 'Cannes' as 'Cans'. It just threw me completely. And she also seemed to need to take breathy pauses in the wrong places. Not impressed at all. Great shame.
Any additional comments?
This will never fail to be interesting as a history - the way that Victoria knitted Europe together with her breeding programme, but I really feel it was let down by the narrator, and very badly so. Such a shame.
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5 people found this helpful
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance2 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Hilary
- 01-01-18
Excellent content, bizarre narration
Clear and well written. The repetition of relevant genealogy at the beginning of each chapter was really helpful.
The only downside was the robotic style of the narration with some strange emphasis in some sentences and bizarre pronunciation of some words. Not enough to put me off listening, but not a narration I’d go out of my way to hear again.
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2 people found this helpful