Childhood at Court 1819-1914

by John van der Kiste

What was childhood like for the princes and princesses in the Victorian and Edwardian period? Here their education, recreation and general upbringing is discussed, from Queen Victoria's isolated and lonely childhood, to the children of King George V and Queen Mary. We see glimpses of Prince Waldemar of Prussia, who enjoyed collecting fossils on the Isle of Wight and terrifying his grandmother with a pet crocodile; Prince Christian Victor of Schleswig-Holstein, who was the first prince to attend public school despite enjoying cricket much more than education; and Prince Louis of Battenberg, who introduced the 'Katuf' into his family, and recorded his voice on a wax cylinder. Contrasts are drawn between childhood at the English court and that of the Queen's decendants at European capitals, as well as the differing attitudes of royal parents. For example, Queen Victoria found babies to be "very froglike", whereas Queen Alexandra still gave children's parties to her children when they were adults.

Genres: History, Nonfiction, Royalty, British Literature, 19th Century, Historical

208 pages, Kindle Edition

First published September 1, 1997

About the author

John Van der Kiste, British author, was born in Wendover, Buckinghamshire, on September 15, 1954, son of Wing Commander Guy Van der Kiste (1912–99). He was educated at Blundell's School, Tiverton, where he briefly formed a rock band Cobweb with fellow pupil Miles Tredinnick, later vocalist with new wave band London and subsequently playwright and scriptwriter, and read Librarianship at Ealing Technical College, where he edited the librarians’ student magazine.
He has worked for several years in public and academic libraries, but is best known as a writer. His first book, Frederick III, appeared in 1981, and since then he has published over twenty historical biographies, as well as books on local history, true crime, rock music, a novel and a play. He is also a contributor to Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Guinness Rockopaedia, and has produced articles on historical, musical and art subjects in national and local journals, including Illustrated London News, Royalty Digest, European Royal History Journal, Best of British, BBC History Magazine, Record Collector, Antique Collector, This England, The Independent, and Gibbons Stamp Monthly. He has reviewed books and records for the press, written CD booklet notes, and between 1991 and 1996 edited the 70s rock fanzine Keep on Rockin.
In 2002 he was a consultant for the BBC TV documentary 'The King, the Kaiser and the Tsar', first screened in January 2003.
He married professional musician and teacher Kim Graham (née Geldard) in 2003 and lives in Devon.

Reviews

[Sally · Rating 4 out of 5]

From the lonely childhood of Queen Victoria, who was denied the company of children her own age, up to the 20th century children of the British court, priviliged lives were not always so priviliged.

[Denise · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting look at the upbringing and education of royal children starting with Queen Victoria's childhood and continuing through her descendant until the eve of World War I. Informative if you like that sort of thing, though eventually there are so many branches of the family tree involved that it all gets a bit too muddled.

[MissyLynne · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very informative. Great insight on how the royal children were brought up and educated. None were perfect but had their faults and weaknesses.
A few times I was confused because there were too many people to keep track of. The family free was not the best. It could have been better.

[Briansmom · Rating 4 out of 5]

Every few years I re-read some favorite books, both fiction and non, which deal with English history during this period. This one is a keeper and will be added to that shelf.

A really fun and fairly quick read for fans of the Victorians, the Edwardians, and anything having to do with court life during that period. The fact that royal children are the subject matter just adds to the enjoyment! (Yes this American girl is an unabashed Anglophile)!

Added bonus: Reading this book will help you understand better the who's who of Queen Victoria's myriad of children, grandchildren, in-laws, etc. etc. etc.)

[Doris Raines · Rating 5 out of 5]

I LOVE THIS TITLE GREAT BOOK 🤙

[Colleen · Rating 2 out of 5]

Queen Victoria's childhood to the generation of World War I. Parents want children to be learned and normal, tutors want children in regular school, parents veto, rinse, repeat. Not really a biography, since most everyone gets just a brief sketch.

[Lauren · Rating 3 out of 5]

I started on this topic with Carolyn Harris' Raising Royalty: 1000 Years of Royal Parenting, which I ended up abandoning in favor of this book when I noticed it at the library. Covering the Victorian age: Victoria's childhood through to those of her great grandchildren, some 100 years in the making, Van der Kiste draws on lush historical research to portray the subject matter in careful detail. Written anecdotally, Childhood at Court is clear and concise right up until it isn't, and then it becomes a bit of a slog.

The trouble with royalty is that there are so damn many of them -- and they all tend to have multiple names. Unfortunately, given the scope of the time period, when Van der Kiste relies on titles things get a little convoluted. We have the Clarences, the Waleses, the Battenbergs, etc. and they change with each successive generation as the tree blossoms from Victoria's nine children to forty-two grandchildren to eighty-seven great grandchildren. It's a lot to keep track of and the same names tend to repeat from generation to generation. While the facts are all very interesting and there are some truly delightful stories within, after a certain point it all tends to blur together and the way the subject matter is presented is no help. In one breath, Van der Kiste will discuss one set of grandchildren, then segue to a different set and then find some grasping similarity with which to go back to the first. Told in a divided, more linear fashion, it might not be so confusing.

An enjoyable read, but keep a copy of the family tree handy.

[Vincent Solomeno · Rating 3 out of 5]

Standard John Van der Kiste.

[Loretta · Rating 5 out of 5]

The main reason I wanted to read this book was because a great, great, ever so many greats, grandparent of mine was actually living, with his wife and family, at the lodge in Frogmoor on the Windsor estate at the time of Queen Victoria. From all accounts he was a well respected member of the staff, and Queen Victoria had been know to drop into the Lodge for tea with him and his wife. He also taught one of our future kings and his brother to swim. In his youth he had served on the Royal Yacht. I was rather hoping to catch a mention of him in this book but, sadly, there was nothing. I enjoyed the book though

[Andrea Engle · Rating 3 out of 5]

Curious insight into the often lonely, and invariably isolated childhoods of British royals, beginning with Queen Victoria and ending with Lord Louis Mountbatten ...