The future Edward VII does not marry Alexandra

In 1863 Prince Albert Edward of Wales married Princess Alexandra of Denmark.
Suppose Albert Edward does not wed Alexandra.
Who should he marry?
 
There weren't a whole lot of candidates AFAIK.

The only ones that were ever under serious consideration were Alix of Denmark and Marie of the Netherlands. Marie even Victoria despaired of as being far too plain to hold Bertie's attention. As far as Alix was concerned, when it became clear she was the only suitable candidate, Victoria glanced at her portrait and said: "What a pity she is who she is". However, darling Albert was full-on in favor of the match, which meant Victoria went along with the idea full-steam ahead. However, that doesn't mean Victoria was thrilled, since when the future Frederik VIII was proposed for one of her daughters Helena or Louisa, she flat out refused, because one match with Denmark was (in her opinion) one match too many.
 
Albert became obsessed with marrying Bertie off quickly, which rather restricted the pool of candidates.

It was quite unusual for a prince to marry quite so young, in contrast his brother-in-law Fritz of Prussia was in his late 20s when he married the 17 year old Princess Royal.

Alexandra proved to be something of the Royal Family's saving grace in the late 1860s and 1870s when Queen Victoria and the Prince of Wales's popularity was often very low. She was often viewed as the most beloved member of the Royal Family as she was very committed to social causes, something which Victoria admired on the one hand but was irked by on the other. It helped of course that she was percieved as very beautiful by the standards of the time.

Its interesting to speculate how a a replacement Princess of Wales would have managed.

Had Alexandra and Bertie not married, she would have probably ended up as Tsarina of Russia or at the very least widow of the Tsarevich, assuming Grand Duke Nicholas still dies tragically young.

Tsar Alexander II was quite annoyed that Bertie had snagged Alexandra and made it clear to Christian IX that he wanted Dagmar and didn't want her to be matched with anyone else.
 
Princess Elizabeth of Wied was the daughter of Hermann, Prince of Wied. She became the spouse of King Carol I of Romania.
Princess Marie Gasparine of Saxe-Altenburg was the daughter of Prince Eduard of Saxe-Altenburg. She married Prince Charles Gonthier of Schwarzburg-Sondershausen.
 
Princess Elizabeth of Wied was the daughter of Hermann, Prince of Wied. She became the spouse of King Carol I of Romania.
Princess Marie Gasparine of Saxe-Altenburg was the daughter of Prince Eduard of Saxe-Altenburg. She married Prince Charles Gonthier of Schwarzburg-Sondershausen.

I've got the feeling that a heir to the British throne at that particular time would not marry a member of a relatively minor house such as the Saxe-Altenburgs (daughter of a 'mere' Reuss princess), and certainly not a member of a mere mediatized house just as the Wieds.

Then again, Edward VII's heir did marry a morganaut, and some of the marriage of his younger siblings (to a Waldeck-Pyrmont and even to a Campbell) were not that prestigious either. But then again, theywere 'just' younger siblings.
 
I've got the feeling that a heir to the British throne at that particular time would not marry a member of a relatively minor house such as the Saxe-Altenburgs (daughter of a 'mere' Reuss princess), and certainly not a member of a mere mediatized house just as the Wieds.

Then again, Edward VII's heir did marry a morganaut, and some of the marriage of his younger siblings (to a Waldeck-Pyrmont and even to a Campbell) were not that prestigious either. But then again, theywere 'just' younger siblings.

I don't know if Elisabeth of Wied was ever a serious candidate for Edward VII, but she was certainly a serious candidate for his brother Alfred, Duke of Edinburgh.

Queen Elisabeth of Romania liked to tell her niece by marriage and Duke Alfred's daughter, Queen Marie of Romania of the time in the 1860s when her father came to Wied to court her. Apparently Alfred was so frightened by Elisabeth's unusual behaviour, as well as her unorthodox family, he left as soon as he could.

Albert had political ambitions and believed these could be achieved through marriage. Victoria had lower standards for marriage than Prince Albert. Its fairly certain had he lived Helena, Louise and even Beatrice would have made far grander marriages but it suited Victoria's agenda to have them marry minor royals and even into the nobility to keep them close by. The Crown Princes of The Netherlands and Denmark were both keen on Helena and Louise but were rebuffed by Victoria.
 
I've got the feeling that a heir to the British throne at that particular time would not marry a member of a relatively minor house such as the Saxe-Altenburgs (daughter of a 'mere' Reuss princess), and certainly not a member of a mere mediatized house just as the Wieds.

Then again, Edward VII's heir did marry a morganaut, and some of the marriage of his younger siblings (to a Waldeck-Pyrmont and even to a Campbell) were not that prestigious either. But then again, theywere 'just' younger siblings.

It's worth noting that in the UK there is no such thing as morganatic marriages. Whilst Royals would prefer higher born nobles it had no legal bearing on the type of nobility
 
It's worth noting that in the UK there is no such thing as morganatic marriages. Whilst Royals would prefer higher born nobles it had no legal bearing on the type of nobility

True, but as a cadet Prince of Saxe-Coburg he might still harken to Germanic notions of equality when contracting a marriage alliance.
 
Queen Victoria was quite keen on Princess Anna of Hesse and by Rhine, though Victoria, Princess Royal was deeply against it.

A possibility?
 
It's worth noting that in the UK there is no such thing as morganatic marriages. Whilst Royals would prefer higher born nobles it had no legal bearing on the type of nobility

I know. And even under the very strict Ebenbürtigkeit rules the various German sovereign houses followed, a marriage with Saxe-Altenburg and a Wied would not be considered morganatic. But I still doubt it would be acceptable to Prince Albert, especially for a firstborn son.
 
I know. And even under the very strict Ebenbürtigkeit rules the various German sovereign houses followed, a marriage with Saxe-Altenburg and a Wied would not be considered morganatic. But I still doubt it would be acceptable to Prince Albert, especially for a firstborn son.

I tend to agree on Wied, less so on Saxe-Altenburg.

Basically Alexandra was leaps and bounds ahead of everyone else.
 
There's Princess Marie of Saxe-Altenburg (born 1854) and Princess Marie Elisabeth of Saxe-Meiningen (born 1853), a cousin of the rulers of Germany, Russia and the Netherlands. Despite the insignificance of both families, both Maries are well connected and of the sort of family which intermarried quite frequently with the Hanoverians and Saxe-Coburgs.
 
There's Princess Marie of Saxe-Altenburg (born 1854) and Princess Marie Elisabeth of Saxe-Meiningen (born 1853), a cousin of the rulers of Germany, Russia and the Netherlands. Despite the insignificance of both families, both Maries are well connected and of the sort of family which intermarried quite frequently with the Hanoverians and Saxe-Coburgs.

Both are too young.

Albert was pushing for Alix of Denmark as early as 1859/1860, he was intent on getting Bertie married ASAP.
 
Both are too young.

Albert was pushing for Alix of Denmark as early as 1859/1860, he was intent on getting Bertie married ASAP.

What about Victoria's own half-niece Princesss Feodora of Hohenlohe-Langeburg (born 1839)? Or else Princess Cecilie of Baden, born the same year.
 
What about Victoria's own half-niece Princesss Feodora of Hohenlohe-Langeburg (born 1839)? Or else Princess Cecilie of Baden, born the same year.

Princess Feodora comes with the ideal name. Feodora is the same name that her mother, Princess Feodora, has. Victoria is the same name as that of the Queen.
Suppose Princess Feodora has artistic attainments.
 
Princess Feodora comes with the ideal name. Feodora is the same name that her mother, Princess Feodora, has. Victoria is the same name as that of the Queen.
Suppose Princess Feodora has artistic attainments.

Do you have any info on what life was like for the Hohenlohe-Langeburgs? Feodora's existence seems remarkably obscure for the niece of so powerful a monarch - you'd have thought some English duke or other would have wanted her hand in marriage.
 
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