Queen Victoria's Grandsons

by Christina Croft

Born into eight very different families, the upbringing and fortunes of Queen Victoria's grandsons varied widely. Some died in childhood, some were killed in action, and others lived to see grandchildren of their own. There were heroes and villains, valiant soldiers and dissipated youths, but their lives were interconnected through the tiny Queen for whom their welfare and happiness was a constant preoccupation. As part of a wide, extended family, they lived through the halcyon days of the late nineteenth century European monarchies, witnessing the most spectacular and the most tragic events of the age.

Genres: History, Biography, Nonfiction, Royalty

328 pages, Paperback

First published December 31, 2014

About the author

Christina Croft was born in Warwickshire, England, and grew up in Yorkshire. Educated at Notre Dame Grammar School, Leeds, she graduated in English and Divinity in Liverpool and obtained teaching and nursing qualifications. She began her writing career as a poet but moved on to biography and novels as well as giving talks about the Romanovs, Habsburgs, Queen Victoria and other late 19th and early 20th century royalties. Her other interests include general history, spirituality, herbs, nature and animals.

Reviews

[Nate]

Again with this duo of books, the fact that it did not go past 1918 diminished from it, as certain people like Charlie, Drino, Arthur, and even the Kaiser, had interesting lives after, particularly Charlie with his Nazi connections. This book focused a little too much on the Kaiser, Albert Victor, and George. Henry, Drino, Arthur, and a few others had barely any mentions because as stated previously, their lives got more interesting after the war. Also, the errors on the kindle edition were harmful for the experience. as certain times I had to infer what happened due to the awful grammar. Not impressed

[Deborah Terrill]

Needs a good editor

Croft's book about Queen Victoria's family are interesting reading. They are marred, however, at least in the Kindle versions, with errors and, shall we say, creative punctuation and grammar.

[Dawn Daniel]

Very good

Great information. Learned a great deal about these descendants that I did not know before. Hope to read more from this author.

[Ron Staines]

Poorly edited - bad grammar, inappropriate word usage, typing errors

[Charles]

In the latter part of the nineteenth and first part of the twentieth, royalty was generally forbidden from marrying anyone but royalty. Some potential marriages between royals were frowned upon because one of the parties was considered too low a class of royalty for the other. Queen Victoria had nine children, all of which survived to adulthood. These children produced 42 grandchildren, 20 of which were male.
Given their parentage, the (grand)children were considered prime stock for marriages into other royal families. Therefore, the Queen Victoria family tree was extensive and extended into the royal courts throughout Europe. Most notably for the first decades of the 20th century, many of the autocrats were cousins or cousins in law. Kaiser Wilhelm II of Germany was a grandchild, granddaughter Alix married Nicholas II, the last Czar of Russia, granddaughter Maud married King Haakon VII of Norway, and granddaughter Sophie married King Constantine I of Greece are the most notable figures. Others were married into the lesser royal families of the German princely states.
Given this historically significant family tree, it is easy to create a book about the leaves on that tree. With so much material, only the high points can be covered. Yet, what is present in this book is fascinating to read. The childhood experiences of the children and grandchildren and how they were reared is an amazing story. Their distinct personalities and how they played, studied and grew into their royal personalities is a look back at how the royal families lived and acted when they were in power and treated as royalty.
There is a natural end to the story in 1918, when the First World War ended. Wilhelm II and Nicholas II were both deposed, with Nicholas’ family being executed by the Bolsheviks. Born into some of the most privileged positions in the world, the descendants of Victoria once ruled, or were the spouse of the rulers of most of the world. Their story is an essential component of any study of history.

[Susann]

Excellent

A very interesting book and well researched and written. I have now read four of this author's books and will continue to read more. She makes history and the characters that created it very palatable. I especially liked learning about the various cousins, their interrelationships and their personalities. The book is organized in a way that makes sense of the various factions, even when it doesn't always follow a chronological path. She presented Kaiser Wilhelm in a very positive, sympathetic light and seemed to suggest that he was not the evil agent behind the horrors of WWI. In fact, if anything, he tried to prevent it and then mitigate some of the atrocities. Because of all the family connections and friendships, it gave a good back story and another point of view as to the cause of the war. With so many family affections and occasions during which they met, it seemed a double tragedy that many had to choose sides against these same people and often their country of origin. The book gives so much more context to the dry family trees one usually has to navigate.

[Carolyn Osborne]

Very interesting!!!

The stories of Queen Victoria's grandsons were varied. Some lead full exciting lives, others had short tragic lives. Truly the story of Europe is told through the family of Victoria and Albert. Definitely well worth the time for someone who loves the English monarchy.

[Debi Emerson]

Having read the author's "Queen Victoria's Granddaughters" I was delighted to find she had written about the grandsons as well. I wasn't disappointed. This is a very well written, quite comprehensive look at 8 very different families and their fates.

[Marguerite]

Very interesting information for look-up.

[Kathleen Cochran]

Interesting details

Full of personal antedotes usually left out of histories.

Inclusive to the point of confusion. Too many cousins and in-laws to keep straight.

[Ruth]

interesting

[Claudia Munn]

Very informative

This book gives a comprehensive look at Queen Victoria 's grandsons, without being too bogged down in minutia. It's an enjoyable read.

[Doris Raines]

THIS IS A SPECULATOR BOOK.

[Vita]

Interesting

It was a decent read I must say I learned a lot about Willythe Kaiser. I may read his biography soon

[Ghazala Khan]

Very good book

[Victoria]

I've read books about Queen Victoria's descendants before. There are so many of them, it's good to review. I enjoyed it and found it informative. One feature I particularly liked is that each chapter began with a recap of the characters described in the chapter including their name, nickname, title, and relationship to Queen Victoria. This is very helpful. I liked this enough that I ordered its companion book 'The Granddaughters of Queen Victoria'.

[Kristen]

Nothing new in this book; mainly repeats stories told better and more completely in other books. Much of the focus in this is on Kaiser Wilhelm, without much discussion about the other grandsons, apart from a few anecdotes.

[Patricia Coe]

Good book for history buffs

As a one who enjoys history books as much as fiction I think this book was a good depiction of Queen Victoria's grandson's. People today forget that they weren't all heads of state and some were "ordinary" people in an extraordinary family.

[Kimberly Krauch]

Where are the stories.

Good book. I enjoyed this book but it was lacking. I wanted more details on the grandsons but this book seem to be more about Wilhelm II. I would say it did have me seeing him in a better light instead of the monster that history makes him out to be.

[Kevin Richards]

Peace through marriage

Queen Victoria's plan of European peace through intermarriage of royal cousins falls apart after her death and produced many haemophiluc heirs.

[Simon]

The chief fault in this pedestrian book is that it focuses on the Kaiser, almost to the exclusion of everyone else. There is no need, really. His life has been exhaustively documented. Where is a good examination of Ernst Ludwig, the Battenbergs and the rest of the lesser known? It would have been helpful if she had extended the book until 1960, when Drino died. There is a precis of everyone's lives after World War I, but again too much about Wilhelm and George V.

Recommended if you absolutely have to read everything about Victoria and her extended family.