Queen Victoria's Matchmaking

Prince Albert and Queen Victoria saw dynastic marriages between their children and European royalty as a safeguard against war, and as a way of creating a balance of power, in Europe, as well as spreading British values across the continent. With Prince Albert’s death, Queen Victoria was determined to make his vision come true and, with forty two grandchildren, the ‘cousinhood’ formed a unique club at the very top of European society. This book looks at Queen Victoria’s desire to be involved in matchmaking marriages for her grandchildren and looks, in greater depth, at seven of her grandchildren who were elevated to the throne at a crucial time in Europe’s history. These include Kaiser Wilhelm (her oldest, and most troublesome, grandson), Sophie, Queen of Greece, George V, Princess Maud, Queen of Norway, Alix, Empress of Russia, Marie ‘Missy’ Queen of Romania and Victoria Eugenie or ‘Ena’, Queen of Spain.

There is no doubt that Queen Victoria felt that, through her grandchildren, she could shape the political landscape of Europe. Although much of this book was familiar to me, such as Victoria’s desperate attempts to stop the marriage of Nicholas and Alexandra, Deborah Cadbury does include many snippets from personal letters from Queen Victoria and these make fascinating reading – especially her long correspondence with her eldest daughter, and mother of the Kaiser, Vicky. She does sometimes quote from other research , or authors, and I was not impressed by her taking one small piece of information from Patricia Cornwall; whose odd ranting about Jack the Ripper leads to any research she comes across being biased to concur with her bizarre theories and so is suspect in my eyes... That aside, the majority of the research comes from sources which are obviously directly from Victoria herself and makes the book, which could be all too familiar, come alive.

Queen Victoria comes across as a figure who is feared, and respected, in her family; the central character in a spider web which spreads across Europe. Her letters are manipulative, she is often insensitive and she is extremely demanding. Nor is she always successful in her attempts and some of the most interesting parts of this book deal with her failed attempts to create a marriage; such as her wishes to marry Prince Albert ‘Eddy’ to her beloved ‘Alicky,’ the later Empress Alexandra. However, even here, you can see how perceptive Victoria was; she thought Alicky’s ‘gauche’ qualities, such as her shyness and her dislike of social occasions, would be seen in England as a positive and make her liked by the press, and public, whereas they would be failings in the Russian Court. She correctly sensed danger for her favourite grand-daughter in Russia, and was also well aware of the dangers that being royal meant. Her ability to deal with Kaiser Wilhelm was not passed on by her son, who disliked the Kaiser, and, by her death, Europe was changing. Anarchy, revolution and war were in the air and Europe was on the brink of danger.

Overall, this is a very interesting read. The author really makes the time come alive and there are some very moving stories in this book, such as Prince Eddy’s attempts to find a bride and the fluctuating fortunes of Princess May of Teck; plus a lot of detail about other members of the royal family, as well as those featured. For anyone with an interest in British history, this is an enjoyable, well written, account of Queen Victoria’s attempts to manipulate her children’s, and grandchildren’s, marriages and to influence politics in Europe with mixed success. I received a copy of this book from the publisher, via NetGalley, for review.