Queen Alexandra in 1863
From the Painting by Lauchert, published by Colnaghi
“On the evening of Easter Eve,” he writes, “the Princess came to me in a corner of the drawing-room with her Prayer Book, and I went through the Communion Service with her, explaining the peculiarities and the likenesses and differences to and from the Danish Service. She was most simple and fascinating.… My visit to Sandringham gave me intense pleasure. I was there for three days. I read the whole Service, preached, then gave the first English Sacrament to this ‘angel in the Palace.’ I saw a great deal of her, and can truly say that she is as charming and beautiful a creature as ever passed through a fairy tale.”
Much satisfaction was felt by the nation when the interesting fact became known that Queen Victoria hoped to welcome the first of her British grandchildren in the month of March. One Friday evening, early in January, shortly after Queen Alexandra, who was staying, had been skating on Virginia Water, near Windsor, her eldest child appeared so unexpectedly that for a while the Royal baby had to be wrapped in cotton wool, for all the beautiful layette which was in course of preparation was at Marlborough House.
The rejoicings over the event, both in this country and in Denmark, were naturally very great, more especially when it became known that the Royal infant was none the worse for his early arrival. Among the two Royal families most immediately concerned the interest and excitement were intense. Princess Alice wrote to Queen Victoria on 9th January 1864, “I was aghast on receiving Bertie’s telegram this morning announcing the birth of their little son.” But this feeling of trepidation quickly gave place to one of relief when the bulletins announced the steady progress of both mother and babe, and soon the British public saw many charming photographs and portraits of Queen Alexandra in her new rôle of mother. At the time of the birth of the Duke of Clarence Queen Alexandra was not yet twenty, but, like Queen Victoria, she seems to have been wholly absorbed in her maternal duties, and at any moment she would joyfully give up attending a State function or ball in order to spend an hour in her nursery.
It need hardly be said that the first portion of the Prince and Princess’s married life was overshadowed by the war between Denmark and Prussia. The young Princess was naturally strongly patriotic in her sympathies. At breakfast one morning a foolish equerry read out a telegram which announced a success of the Austro-Prussian forces, whereupon Her Royal Highness burst into tears, and the Prince, it is said, thoroughly lost his temper for once, and rated his equerry as soundly as his ancestor, King Henry VIII., might have done. An amusing story went the round of the clubs about this time. It was said that a Royal visitor at Windsor asked Princess Beatrice what she would like for a present. The child stood in doubt, and begged the Princess of Wales to advise her. The result of a whispered conversation between the two was that the little Princess declared aloud that she would like to have Bismarck’s head on a charger!
In July 1864 the Prince laid the foundation-stone of the new West Wing of the London Hospital. He was accompanied by the Princess. This was one of the first occasions on which King Edward showed his great interest in hospital management. The fact that there was a separate ward for the Jews aroused his keen interest. In the same month King Edward and his Consort went to the Fourth of June at Eton, and also stayed at Goodwood for the races. In the middle of August they went to the Highlands, visiting Stirling Castle on the way. They spent some weeks at Abergeldie, entertaining a great deal. Dr. Norman Macleod stayed with them there. It was during this stay in Scotland that the Prince and Princess first became intimate with the family of their future son-in-law, and the Countess of Fife, his mother, gave a great picnic in their honour.
That autumn they went from Dundee to Denmark, being accompanied by their baby, now nearly a year old. This was King Edward’s first visit to his wife’s home. They received a most enthusiastic welcome, and were splendidly entertained. At Bernsdorf, where the Royal party spent several days, a number of shooting parties were organised in honour of the Prince, who, certainly for the first time in his life, was invited to shoot foxes. He bagged two, and some of the teeth of the animals were set as breast-pins for him.
From Elsinore the Prince and Princess went in their yacht to Stockholm in order to pay a visit to the King and Queen of Sweden. In Sweden also the Prince was invited to take part in several hunting expeditions. One odd bag resulted in ten foxes, six hares, and seventeen stags.