View source for Princess Victoria of the United Kingdom

{{short description|British princess (1868–1935)}}
{{For|other people named Princess Victoria of the United Kingdom}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=November 2025}}
{{Infobox royalty
| name         = Princess Victoria
| image        = Victoria de Gales.jpg
| caption      = Portrait by [[W. & D. Downey]], {{circa}} 1890
| full name    = Victoria Alexandra Olga Mary
| house        = [[House of Windsor|Windsor]] (from 1917)<br />[[House of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha|Saxe-Coburg and Gotha]] (until 1917)
| father       = [[Edward VII]]
| mother       = [[Alexandra of Denmark]]
| signature    = PrincessVictoriaOfUKSignature.svg
| birth_name   = Princess Victoria of Wales
| birth_date   = {{Birth date|1868|7|6|df=y}}
| birth_place  = [[Marlborough House]], London, England
| death_date   = {{Death date and age|1935|12|3|1868|7|6|df=y}}
| death_place  = [[Coppins]], [[Iver]], [[Buckinghamshire]], England
| burial_date  = 7 December 1935
| burial_place = [[St George's Chapel, Windsor Castle]]; <br />8 January 1936 <br />[[Royal Burial Ground, Frogmore]]
}}

'''Princess Victoria''' (Victoria Alexandra Olga Mary; 6 July 1868 – 3 December 1935) was the fourth child and second daughter of King [[Edward VII]] and [[Alexandra of Denmark|Queen Alexandra]] and the younger sister of King [[George V]].

== Early life and education ==
[[Image:The three daughters of King Edward VII and Queen Alexandra by Sydney Prior Hall.jpg|thumb|260px|Princess Victoria of Wales (left) as a teenager, together with her sisters [[Maud of Wales|Maud]] (centre) and [[Louise, Princess Royal|Louise]] (right)]]
Victoria was born on 6 July 1868 at [[Marlborough House]], London. She was the fourth child of [[Edward VII|Albert Edward, Prince of Wales]], and his wife [[Alexandra, Princess of Wales]]. Victoria's father was the eldest son of [[Queen Victoria]] and [[Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha|Prince Albert]]. Her mother was the eldest daughter of King [[Christian IX]] and [[Louise of Hesse-Kassel|Queen Louise of Denmark]]. Among those close to her, the princess was known as Toria.<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=m84QEAAAQBAJ&pg=PT168|title=Princess Mary: The First Modern Princess|isbn=9780750997003|last1=Basford|first1=Elisabeth|date=5 February 2021|page=168|publisher=The History Press }}</ref> From birth, as the granddaughter of the British monarch, she had the title ''Her Royal Highness Princess Victoria of Wales''.<ref name="Oxford Dictionary National Biography">{{cite ODNB |url=http://www.oxforddnb.com/view/article/36655?docPos=6|title=Oxford Dictionary National Biography|author=Dimond, Frances|date= 2004| doi=10.1093/ref:odnb/36655|language=en}}</ref>{{sfn|Eilers|1987|p=176}}{{sfn|Weir|2008|p=320}}

Victoria was [[Infant baptism|baptised]] at Marlborough House on 6 August 1868 by [[Archibald Campbell Tait]], [[Bishop of London]].{{efn|Her godparents were: her paternal grandmother [[Queen Victoria]] (for whom the [[Princess Augusta of Hesse-Kassel|Duchess of Cambridge]] stood proxy), Tsar [[Alexander II of Russia]] (for whom the Russian ambassador [[Philipp von Brunnow|Philipp, Count Brunnow]], stood proxy), the [[Alexander III of Russia|Tsarevich of Russia]] (her maternal uncle-by-marriage), [[Prince Arthur, Duke of Connaught and Strathearn|Prince Arthur]] (her paternal uncle), [[Louis IV, Grand Duke of Hesse and by Rhine|Prince Louis of Hesse and by Rhine]] (her paternal uncle-by-marriage), [[Landgrave Frederick of Hesse-Cassel#Children|Prince George of Hesse-Cassel]] (her maternal great-granduncle), her maternal aunt-by-marriage, [[Queen Olga of Greece]] (for whom the [[Princess Augusta of Cambridge|Grand Duchess of Mecklenburg-Strelitz]] stood proxy), the [[Caroline Amalie of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Augustenburg|Dowager Queen of Denmark]], the [[Princess Marie of Hesse-Cassel|Dowager Grand Duchess of Mecklenburg-Strelitz]], the Queen's cousin [[Princess Francis of Teck]] and [[Princess Marie Luise Charlotte of Hesse-Kassel|Princess Frederick of Anhalt]].}}

== Personal life ==
In 1885, Victoria was a bridesmaid at the wedding of her aunt [[Princess Beatrice of the United Kingdom|Princess Beatrice]] to [[Prince Henry of Battenberg]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.npg.org.uk/collections/search/portrait/mw145863/Prince-and-Princess-Henry-of-Battenberg-with-their-bridesmaids-and-others-on-their-wedding-day?LinkID=mp89748&role=art&rNo=2|title=Prince and Princess Henry of Battenberg with their bridesmaids and others on their wedding day|publisher=National Portrain Gallery|language=en}}</ref> She was also a bridesmaid at the [[Wedding of Prince George, Duke of York, and Princess Mary of Teck|wedding]] of her brother [[George V|George, Duke of York]] and [[Mary of Teck|Victoria Mary of Teck]], the future King and Queen of the United Kingdom.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.npg.org.uk/collections/search/portrait/mw189219/The-Duke-and-Duchess-of-York-and-Bridesmaids?LinkID=mp55463&role=sit&rNo=3|title=The Duke and Duchess of York and Bridesmaids|publisher=National Portrain Gallery|language=en}}</ref>

Victoria was educated at home with her sisters. She grew up at Marlborough House and [[Sandringham House|Sandringham]] under the supervision of tutors. She occasionally spent the summer in Denmark, her mother's homeland. In her youth, she was described as "a lively, mischievous girl ... smart, tall and elegant; she had a wonderful sense of humour and was a good friend to everyone; she had big expressive blue eyes; there was no pretense or hint of a high position in her." Victoria loved horse riding, cycling, reading, listening to music and dancing. Victoria's particular passion was photography. She compiled several albums of family photographs. Her works have been displayed at several different exhibitions. She was very fond of animals. Her favorites were dogs named Sam, Mas and Punchy. For six years Victoria had a tamed pigeon, which she took with her on walks and travels in a small basket.<ref name="Oxford Dictionary National Biography"/>

Victoria maintained friendly relations with her cousins in Russia and Greece.<ref name="Oxford Dictionary National Biography"/> The future Emperor [[Nicholas II of Russia]], who was her first cousin (her mother's sister's son), and exactly the same age, was in love with her in his youth. The Tsarevich liked Victoria for her seriousness, thoroughness, and "unfeminine mind." In 1889, describing Victoria, Nicholas told his close friend and brother-in-law, [[Grand Duke Alexander Mikhailovich]]: "She is a truly wonderful creature, and the more and deeper you delve into her soul, the clearer you see all her virtues and qualities. I must confess that it is very difficult to figure it out at first, i.e. to learn her view of things and people, but this difficulty is a special charm for me, which I am unable to explain."{{sfn|Bokhanov|2008|p=79}} She also caught the eyes of Grand Duke Alexander Mikhailovich, and later, [[Grand Duke Michael Alexandrovich of Russia|Grand Duke Michael Alexandrovich]] was fascinated by her.{{sfn|Bokhanov|2008|p=79}}

Another candidate to seek Victoria's hand in marriage was her cousin, Crown Prince Christian of Denmark, who later became [[Christian X]]. She rejected him, much to the disappointment of her parents. Yet another contender for marriage was the Portuguese king [[Carlos I of Portugal|Carlos I]]. He demanded that Victoria accept the Catholic faith, which did not sit well with her parents. The [[5th Earl of Rosebery]] also attempted to win her attention, in vain. Victoria never married, and her mother was said to be supportive of this decision.<ref name="Oxford Dictionary National Biography"/>

Victoria was particularly close to her parents, and if she appeared in public, it was usually in their company, as was usual in those days for an unmarried adult woman. She accompanied her parents during official events and ceremonies, and helped them in private life. Her first cousin, the [[Grand Duchess Olga Alexandrovna of Russia]], remarked in later life that she "felt so very sorry" for Victoria, as she seemed within her family to be "a glorified maid to her mother," attributing her staying unmarried to a disinclination to oppose her mother. "I'd something of a rebel in me. Toria had not."<ref>{{cite book |last=Vorres |first=Ian |date=1965 |title=The last grand duchess: Her Imperial Highness Grand Duchess Olga Alexandrovna 1 June 1882–24 November 1960 |publisher=Charles Scribner's Sons |page=39 }}</ref>

Close as she was to her parents, the person to whom Victoria was closest was her older brother [[George V|George]], who in 1910 became king and emperor. Throughout their lives, which ended within a month of each other, the king-emperor and his sister maintained a warm relationship. They had similar characters and a mutual sense of humour. When Victoria died in 1935, the king said: "How I will miss our daily phone calls. Nobody had such a sister as I had."{{sfn|Gore|1941|p=436}} The king died a month after the death of his sister. She was not close to his wife, Queen Mary, née Princess Victoria Mary of Teck, whom she described as "terribly boring".{{sfn|Pope-Hennessy|1959|p=279}} This was attributed to their different characters, education and interests.<ref name="Oxford Dictionary National Biography"/>

== Later years and death ==
[[Image:Princess Victoria Alexandra Olga Mary of Wales by Philip Alexius de László.jpg|thumb|right|upright|Portrait by [[Philip de László]], 1907]]
Between 22 and 24 March 1905, Victoria, along with her mother, her younger sister [[Maud of Wales|Maud]] (future Queen Maud of Norway) and her cousin / brother-in-law [[Haakon VII|Carl]] (future Haakon VII, King of Norway), made an official visit to Portugal on the royal yacht [[HMY Victoria and Albert (1899)|HMY ''Victoria and Albert'']] following a visit by the Portuguese monarch to the United Kingdom a year prior. On the first day of her arrival, Victoria stayed on the royal yacht due to poor health.{{sfn|Nobre|2002|p=122}} Queen Alexandra with her daughter Princess Maud and Prince Carl met with [[Amélie of Orléans|Queen Amelia]] and [[Maria Pia of Savoy|Queen Dowager Maria Pia]]. The next day, accompanied by her sister, Victoria paid a visit to the king, queen and their sons.{{sfn|Nobre|2002|p=124}} On 24 March the British guests left for their homeland.{{sfn|Nobre|2002|p=125}}

After [[Death and state funeral of Edward VII|her father's death]] in 1910, Victoria remained in the shadow of her mother. Queen Alexandra suffered from constant depression and was practically deaf. Victoria accompanied her mother during her visits to various institutions and on holidays. Once, when the dowager queen was unable to attend the charity event [[Alexandra Rose Day]], she sent her daughters [[Louise, Princess Royal|Louise]] and Victoria together, and the latter later recorded in her diary that "it was terrible to be there without dear Mama." With continuing public hostility toward Germany during [[World War I]], King George V decided to renounce all German titles and honours. He asked all members of the royal family to do the same. The king renamed the ruling dynasty from [[House of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha|Saxe-Coburg and Gotha]] to [[House of Windsor|Windsor]], after his favourite castle. Victoria followed suit and adopted the surname Windsor.<ref name="Oxford Dictionary National Biography"/>{{sfn|Nicolson|1952|p=310}}

[[File:Princess Victoria of Wales1.jpg|thumb|upright|left|Victoria, {{circa}} 1917]]

After the [[death of Queen Alexandra]] in 1925, Victoria moved to [[Coppins]], in the village of [[Iver]], [[Buckinghamshire]], where she lived until her death. In her final years, Victoria enjoyed listening to music, gardening, and taking an active part in addressing local issues and problems. Victoria became a patron to the young cellist [[Beatrice Harrison]] and her sisters May and Margaret, who also studied music, and she paid for Harrison's valuable [[Pietro Guarneri|Guarneri]] cello.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://tarisio.com/cozio-archive/property/?ID=30406 |title=Pietro Guarneri of Venice, Cello, Venice, c. 1739, the 'Beatrice Harrison' |publisher=Tarisio |accessdate=17 April 2022}}</ref><ref name="blogs.bl.uk">{{Cite web | url=https://blogs.bl.uk/sound-and-vision/2019/08/the-nightingale-sings-again-the-life-career-and-recordings-of-beatrice-harrison.html | title=The nightingale sings again - the life, career, and recordings of Beatrice Harrison }}</ref> Victoria received the Harrison sisters regularly at her home and at Sandringham, and attended concerts at the [[Wigmore Hall]] with them.<ref name="blogs.bl.uk"/><ref>https://www.delius.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/journal87-1.pdf The Harrison Sisters Issue,  ''The Delius Society Journal''</ref> She also commissioned [[His Master's Voice (British record label)|His Master's Voice]] to make her some private recordings in August 1928: the recordings, capturing Victoria at the piano accompanying Beatrice Harrison on the cello and May Harrison on the violin, would many years later be commercially released, though Victoria's musicianship would generate mixed reviews.<ref name="blogs.bl.uk"/><ref>{{cite web|author=Recordings |url=https://searchworks.stanford.edu/view/312651 |title=Concerto for cello and orchestra. Adagio; Salut d'amour [sound recording&#93; in SearchWorks catalog |publisher=Searchworks.stanford.edu |date=25 August 1928 |accessdate=17 April 2022}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Elgar Remastered |url=https://www.classical-music.com/reviews/orchestral/elgar-remastered-2 |access-date=31 July 2024 |website=www.classical-music.com |language=en |quote=Among the many appetising miniatures, perhaps the best is the performance of the Cello Concerto's slow movement by Beatrice Harrison with piano accompaniment from Princess Victoria – HRH's contribution not blemish-free, but very touching.}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=The Harrison Sisters An English Musical Heritage |url=https://www.gramophone.co.uk/reviews/review?slug=the-harrison-sisters-an-english-musical-heritage |access-date=31 July 2024 |website=Gramophone |language=en |quote=Truth to tell, the royal playing is almost comically inept and Princess Victoria is brought back from a wrong turning in Salut d'amour in an amusingly adroit fashion by her string-playing colleagues.}}</ref>

Other friends of Victoria included members of the [[Musgrave family]], the widowed [[5th Earl of Rosebery]], and Violet Vivian, a former lady-in-waiting to Queen Alexandra. [[Charles Harbord, 5th Baron Suffield#Family|Lady Musgrave]] was Victoria's lifelong friend and lady-in-waiting. Victoria assisted Violet Vivian in the design of the [[Cestyll Garden]] near the village of [[Cemaes]] on the northwest coast of Anglesey.

Victoria died in the early hours of 3 December 1935 at the age of 67 at her home. She had been in poor health over the previous month, culminating in a severe stomach haemorrhage on 1 December.<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=aTvKUukyrRoC&pg=PP115|title=Elizabeth, the Queen Mother|isbn=9781448150724|last1=Vickers|first1=Hugo|date=31 March 2013|publisher=Random House }}</ref> The State Opening of Parliament, planned for 3 December, was cancelled in response to her death, and instead the already-written King's Speech was read to Parliamentarians by the Lord Chancellor without ceremony.<ref>[https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/32974544 Princess Victoria Dead: Sister of King George] Owing to the lateness of the hour when the cancellation was decided, the only course was to broadcast the news by wireless.</ref>

Her funeral took place on 7 December 1935 at [[St George's Chapel]], [[Windsor Castle]], where she was initially buried. The mourners at the funeral included Victoria's brother George V. George himself was in poor health, and his doctor pushed for the funeral service to be shortened; he was unsuccessful, and George's final deterioration and death soon after would later be blamed on the physical strain of the long event.<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=aTvKUukyrRoC&pg=PP115|title = Elizabeth, the Queen Mother|isbn = 9781448150724|last1 = Vickers|first1 = Hugo|date = 31 March 2013| publisher=Random House }}</ref> Victoria's remains were later moved and reburied at the [[Royal Burial Ground, Frogmore]], [[Windsor Great Park]], on 8 January 1936.<ref name="Oxford Dictionary National Biography"/>{{sfn|Weir|2008|p=320}} Her will was sealed in London in 1936. Her estate was valued at £237,455 (or £11.7 million in 2022 when adjusted for inflation).<ref>{{cite web |last1=Evans |first1=Rob |last2=Pegg |first2=David |title=£187m of Windsor family wealth hidden in secret royal wills |url=https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2022/jul/18/187m-pounds-of-windsor-family-wealth-hidden-in-secret-royal-wills |website=The Guardian |access-date=19 July 2022 |language=en |date=18 July 2022}}</ref>

==Titles, styles, honours and arms==
{{more citations needed|date=June 2022}}

===Titles and styles===
*6 July 1868 – 22 January 1901: ''Her Royal Highness'' Princess Victoria of Wales
*22 January 1901 – 3 December 1935: ''Her Royal Highness'' The Princess Victoria

===Honours===
*[[Imperial Order of the Crown of India]], ''6 August 1887''<ref>{{London Gazette|issue=25732|page=4580|date=23 August 1887}}</ref>
*[[Order of Saint John (chartered 1888)|Dame Grand Cross of the Order of the Hospital of St. John of Jerusalem]]
*[[Royal Order of Victoria and Albert|Member First Class of the Royal Order of Victoria and Albert]]
*[[Royal Family Order of King Edward VII]]
*Royal Family Order of Queen Alexandra<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.rct.uk/collection/441474/family-order-of-queen-alexandra | title=Rowland & Frazer - Family Order of Queen Alexandra }}</ref>
*[[Royal Family Order of King George V]]

===Arms===
Upon her younger sister's marriage in 1896, Princess Victoria was awarded a personal coat of arms, being the [[Royal Arms of the United Kingdom]], bearing an inescutcheon of the shield of Saxony and differenced with a label argent of five points, the first, third and fifth bearing roses gules, and the second and fourth crosses gules.<ref>http://www.heraldica.org/topics/britain/cadency.htm Heraldica – British Royal Cadency</ref>{{self-published inline|date=June 2022|certain=yes}} The inescutcheon was dropped by royal warrant in 1917.
{| border="0"  style="margin:auto; width:80%;"
|-
!width=25% |[[File:Coat of Arms of Victoria of Wales.svg|200px|center]]
|-
|style="text-align: center;" |Princess Victoria's [[coat of arms]] until 1901
|}
{{clear}}

==Ancestors==
{{See also|Descendants of Queen Victoria|Descendants of Christian IX of Denmark}}

{{ahnentafel
|collapsed=yes |align=center
|boxstyle_1=background-color: #fcc;
|boxstyle_2=background-color: #fb9;
|boxstyle_3=background-color: #ffc;
|boxstyle_4=background-color: #bfc;
|1= 1. '''Princess Victoria of the United Kingdom'''
|2= 2. [[Edward VII]] of the United Kingdom
|3= 3. Princess [[Alexandra of Denmark]]
|4= 4. [[Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha]]
|5= 5. [[Queen Victoria]] of the United Kingdom
|6= 6. [[Christian IX]] of Denmark
|7= 7. [[Princess Louise of Hesse-Kassel]]
|8= 8. [[Ernest I, Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha]]
|9= 9. [[Princess Louise of Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg]]
|10= 10. [[Prince Edward, Duke of Kent and Strathearn]]
|11= 11. [[Princess Victoria of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld]]
|12= 12. [[Frederick William, Duke of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glücksburg]]
|13= 13. [[Princess Louise Caroline of Hesse-Kassel]]
|14= 14. [[Prince William of Hesse-Kassel]]
|15= 15. [[Princess Charlotte of Denmark]]
}}

==Notes==
{{notelist}}

==References==
{{reflist}}

=== Bibliography ===
* {{cite book | last = Bokhanov |first=A.N. | title = Сердечные тайны дома Романовых | language = ru | place = Moscow | publisher = Veche | year = 2008 | page = 79 | isbn = 978-5-9533-2760-2 }}
* {{cite book | last = Eilers |first=A. Marlene | title = Queen Victoria's Descendants | language = en | place = Baltimore, Maryland | publisher = Genealogical Publishing Co | year = 1987 | page = 176 | isbn = 9163059649 }}
* {{cite book | last = Gore |first=John | title = King George V: a personal memoir | language = en | location = London | publisher = J. Murray | year = 1941 | page = 436 }}
* {{cite book | last = Nobre |first=Eduardo | title = Família Real - Álbum de Fotografia | language = pt | place = Lisboa | publisher = Quimera | year = 2002 | page = 248 | isbn = 9789725890882 }}
* {{cite book | last=Nicolson |first=Harold |author-link = Harold Nicolson | title = King George the Fifth: His Life and Reign | language = en | location = London | publisher = Constable and Co | year = 1952 | page = 310 }}
* {{cite book | last=Pope-Hennessy |first=James |author-link = James Pope-Hennessy | title = Queen Mary | language = en | place = London | publisher = George Allen and Unwin Ltd | year = 1959 | page = 279 | isbn = 1842120328 }}
* {{cite book | last=Weir |first=Alison |author-link = Alison Weir | title = Britain's Royal Families, The Complete Genealogy | language = en | location = London | publisher = Random House | year = 2008 | page = 320 | isbn = 9780099539735 }}

==External links==
* {{NPG name|name=Princess Victoria}}

{{British princesses}}
{{Princesses of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha}}
{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Victoria of the United Kingdom, Princess}}
[[Category:1868 births]]
[[Category:1935 deaths]]
[[Category:19th-century British women]]
[[Category:20th-century British women]]
[[Category:British people of German descent]]
[[Category:British people of Danish descent]]
[[Category:British princesses]]
[[Category:Burials at the Royal Burial Ground, Frogmore]]
[[Category:Children of Edward VII]]
[[Category:Companions of the Order of the Crown of India]]
[[Category:Dames Grand Cross of the Order of St John]]
[[Category:Daughters of emperors]]
[[Category:Daughters of kings]]
[[Category:House of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha (United Kingdom)]]
[[Category:House of Windsor]]
[[Category:Ladies of the Royal Order of Victoria and Albert]]
[[Category:People from Westminster]]
[[Category:Royal reburials]]
[[Category:Women of the Victorian era]]
[[Category:British patrons of music]]