Queen Alexandra who was consort from 1901 to 1910 - her fragile features could soon be the most familiar in the world, if only for a day
Alexandra has a lot going for her as a role model for the new royal. The baby will be born into austerity Britain at a time when economic problems are assailing much of Europe and the rest of the world so who better as an example than a princess known for her thriftiness? The future queen and empress spent much of her childhood sewing her own clothes and living in homes lent to her parents until a quirk of fate turned them from the relatively poor relations to a power house of modern European royalty.
Alexandra of Denmark began life as Princess Alexandra Caroline Marie Charlotte Louisa Julia on December 1st 1844. She had a lot of names but her family had hardly any money. Her father was Prince Christian of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glucksberg who had an army pension and a grace and favour residence from his richer, royal relatives but not much else. His family was very much a junior wing of Danish and German royalty and his girls shared a bedroom and even served the food at the dinner table - there was no retinue of staff to look after this minor royal family.
The thrifty royals - Princess Alexandra with her parents Christian and Louise and her three brothers and two sisters
The Danish king at the time, Frederik VII, had no children and as he was in his mid forties and on wife number three it was widely expected he would die without an heir. After an amazing struggle for the throne, a strange peace treaty was signed in London in 1852 that made Alexandra's father the heir to the Danish throne. At the age of eight, Alix as she was known, went from minor princess of Denmark to eldest daughter of the future king.
Alexandra's father, Christian, who began life as a lowly German prince and ended up known as the Grandfather of Europe. Most of Europe's modern monarchs are descended from him.
So far, so Cinderella. Her father's elevation didn't do much for Alexandra's pocket money - the family just moved to a slightly grander grace and favour residence. But it did make her very attractive on the royal marriage market. Princess Vicky, eldest daughter of Queen Victoria, thought she would make the perfect match for her brother who would one day be king of England. Edward had had a pretty good youth with plenty of time for drinking and lady friends. But at the grand old age of 20 it was decided he should settle down and Alexandra was seen as 'the only one to be chosen'
Victoria, Princess Royal of Great Britain. By 1861 she was also Crown Princess of Prussia and tasked by her mother, Queen Victoria, with finding a suitable bride for her brother, the Prince of Wales
She married Edward in 1863 at Windsor - much to the annoyance of her Danish relatives who thought the chapel was too small and were annoyed that only those closest to the bride could be fitted in. Alix also had to contend with a rather drab dress code. She wore a fashionable white dress copied by hundreds. All the other women wore black, mauve or lilac as Victoria was still in mourning for her husband, Albert, who had died in December 1861.
Princess Alexandra on her wedding day in a dress trimmed with Honiton lace and one of the longest trains ever attached to a royal wedding dress
The new Danish royal family needn't have worried about being excluded for too long. Within twelve months of finding themselves limited to the cheap seats at the royal wedding, Alexandra had given birth to an heir to the throne of England while her father had succeeded as King of Denmark and her brother, George, had been chosen as Greek king. Her sister, Dagmar, became engaged to the heir to the Russian throne and the family's transformation was complete. In just a decade they had gone from royal also rans to one of the most important families in Europe.
An oil painting of Princess Alexandra of Denmark and her sister, Dagmar, from 1856 - four years after their father was named as heir to the throne. Dagmar married the heir to the Russian throne soon after Alexandra became Princess of Wales
Alexandra settled into her new royal role quickly. She enjoyed being Princess of Wales which was lucky as she would hold the position longer than any other woman before or since. In her 38 year tenure she redefined the role and that of princess. She became known for her love of fashion and her choice of clothes started off many trends. In particular her love of high pearl choker necklaces took off - she had started wearing them to cover a childhood scar. She was zealous in her royal duties - Queen Victoria remarked on how hard she worked, taking the burden off her own royal shoulders, and commented that Alexandra even spoke of how much enjoyment she got from activities the old queen said would bore anyone else And she was devoted to her children. In all the very pattern of a princess and a model that many have tried to follow since.
But perhaps the greatest change she made was her dedication to charity. While charitable work had been a mainstay of royal life for centuries Alexandra took it to new heights. She founded nursing corps, raised public funds for a hospital ship and a barge to bring home war wounded and was the main instigator of Alexandra Rose Day when roses were sold to mark the 50th anniversary of her arrival in England. Her very public dedication to helping others became a mainstay of royal duty in the 150 years after her marriage. In fact one of the first announcements linked to the Duchess of Cambridge after her wedding was which charities she would give her patronage to - four were chosen, among them the East Anglia Children's Hospice.
A cigarette card showing Queen Alexandra, by then Queen Mother, accepting one of the pink roses that bear her name and which she asked to be sold for charity to mark the 50th anniversary of her arrival in England
She was also seen as a model of public grace and dignified behavior. Alix lost two children but never withdrew from public life. In April 1871 she gave birth to her last child, a little boy called Alexander John, but he died a day later. Almost 21 years later her eldest son, Albert Victor, caught flu in the epidemic sweeping England and developed pneumonia. He died aged 28. While Alexandra's public mask never cracked, in private she was devastated and kept his room as a shrine to her beloved boy.
Alexandra pictured in 1864 with her baby son, Albert Victor, born earlier that year and her husband, the Prince of Wales. Alex and Edward were devastated when Albert Victor died in 1892 aged 28.
So all in all there's not a lot to be said against Alexandra inspiring the name of a girl who would be guaranteed to be Queen Regnant. Thrifty, generous, kind, charitable, fashionable, inspirational....the press never turned on Alix either. But despite this often the first thing said about her is that she tolerated her husband's many infidelities. Edward VII had several mistresses including Lily Langtry and Alice Keppel and his queen allowed Mrs Keppel to come to the king as he lay dying. She may have had to endure open gossip about his preference for other women but it was all born with grace and dignity and she made sure she made the best of her own life, refusing to allow his infidelities to dominate her existence.
Queen Alexandra and Edward VII in their later years - the last decade of their marriage was spent as King and Consort
A new Alexandra would also surf a bit of a European royal fashion wave. The Netherlands have just got King Willem-Alexander and his second daughter is Alexia in his honour. The current Crown Prince of Denmark gave his youngest son Alexander as a middle name while the future Queen of Norway is Ingrid Alexandra. It's the middle name of Queen Elizabeth II and popular among the royal Kents. And the first Alexandra would no doubt approve of the fact that Lexie is growing in popularity all the time as a name for 21st century English babies. If the next monarch of England does bear her name, she of all people would like the popular touch it would give the person called on to wear the crown.
Alexandra at the height of her beauty - just a year after marrying Edward and settling in as Princess of Wales
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