Editing Alexandra of Denmark (section)

==Marriage and family==
{{main|Wedding of Prince Albert Edward and Princess Alexandra}}
{{See also|Wedding dress of Princess Alexandra of Denmark}}
[[File:The Landing of HRH The Princess Alexandra at Gravesend, 7th March 1863 by Henry Nelson O'Neil.jpg|thumb|right|''[[The Landing of Princess Alexandra at Gravesend]]'', by [[Henry Nelson O'Neil]]]]
[[File:Princess Alexandra of Denmark and the Prince of Wales engagement photograph.jpg|thumb|right|Princess Alexandra of Denmark and the Prince of Wales, 1863]]

Given that Albert Edward, the [[Prince of Wales]], would reach the age of twenty in November 1861, his parents [[Queen Victoria]] and her husband, [[Albert, Prince Consort|Prince Albert]], were taking steps to find a bride for him. They enlisted the aid of their eldest (and already-married) daughter, [[Victoria, Princess Royal|Crown Princess Victoria of Prussia]], in seeking a suitable candidate. Alexandra was not their first choice because the Danes were at loggerheads with the Prussians over the [[Schleswig-Holstein Question]], and most of the [[British royal family]]'s relations were German. Eventually, after rejecting other possibilities, they settled on her as "the only one to be chosen".<ref>Prince Albert, quoted in Duff, p. 31.</ref>

On 24 September 1861, Crown Princess Victoria introduced her brother Albert Edward to Alexandra at [[Speyer]]. Almost a year later on 9 September 1862 (after his affair with [[Nellie Clifden]] and the death of his father Prince Albert), Albert Edward proposed to Alexandra at the [[Royal Castle of Laeken]], the home of his great-uncle, King [[Leopold I of Belgium]].<ref>{{harvnb|Battiscombe|1969|pp=27–37}}; {{harvnb|Bentley-Cranch|1992|p=44}}; {{harvnb|Duff|1980|p=43}}</ref>

A few months later, Alexandra travelled from Denmark to Britain aboard the royal yacht [[HMY Victoria and Albert (1855)|''Victoria and Albert'']] and arrived in [[Gravesend, Kent]], on 7 March 1863.<ref>[http://www.npg.org.uk/live/search/portrait.asp?LinkID=mp05859&rNo=0&role=sit ''The Landing of HRH The Princess Alexandra at Gravesend, 7th March 1863''] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081211192745/http://www.npg.org.uk/live/search/portrait.asp?LinkID=mp05859&rNo=0&role=sit |date=11 December 2008 }}, National Portrait Gallery, retrieved on 16 July 2009.</ref> Sir [[Arthur Sullivan]] composed music for her arrival and [[Poet Laureate]] [[Alfred, Lord Tennyson]], wrote an ode in Alexandra's honour:

{{blockquote|<poem>Sea King's daughter from over the sea,
Alexandra!
Saxon and Norman and Dane are we,
But all of us Danes in our welcome of thee,
Alexandra!</poem>
|''A Welcome to Alexandra'', [[Alfred, Lord Tennyson]]}}

[[Charles Longley|Thomas Longley]], the [[Archbishop of Canterbury]], married the couple on 10 March 1863 at [[St George's Chapel, Windsor Castle]]. The choice of venue was criticised. As the ceremony took place outside London, the press complained that large public crowds would not be able to view the spectacle. Prospective guests thought it awkward to get to and, as the venue was small, some people who had expected invitations were disappointed. The Danes were dismayed because only Alexandra's closest relations were invited. The British court was still in mourning for Prince Albert, so ladies were restricted to wearing grey, lilac, or mauve.{{sfn|Duff|1980|pp=48–50}} As the couple left Windsor for their honeymoon at [[Osborne House]] on the [[Isle of Wight]], they were cheered by the schoolboys of neighbouring [[Eton College]], including [[Lord Randolph Churchill]].{{sfn|Duff|1980|p=60}}

By the end of the following year, Alexandra's father had acceded to the throne of Denmark, her brother William had become [[King George I of Greece]], [[Maria Feodorovna (Dagmar of Denmark)|her sister Dagmar]] was engaged to [[Nicholas Alexandrovich, Tsesarevich of Russia]],{{efn|Nicholas died within a few months of the engagement and she married his brother [[Alexander III of Russia|Alexander]] instead.}} and Alexandra had given birth to her first child. Her father's accession gave rise to [[Second War of Schleswig|further conflict over the fate of Schleswig-Holstein]]. The [[German Confederation]] successfully invaded Denmark, reducing the area of Denmark by two-fifths. To the great irritation of Queen Victoria and the Crown Princess of Prussia, Alexandra and Albert Edward supported the Danish side in the war. The [[Prussia]]n conquest of former Danish lands heightened Alexandra's profound dislike of the Germans, a feeling which stayed with her for the rest of her life.<ref name=purdue>Purdue, A. W. (September 2004). [http://www.oxforddnb.com/view/article/30375 "Alexandra (1844–1925)"], ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'', Oxford University Press, {{doi|10.1093/ref:odnb/30375}}, retrieved 16 July 2009 (subscription required).</ref>
[[File:Alexandra with her first born child Albert Victor.jpg|thumb|left|Alexandra with her firstborn child, [[Albert Victor]], 1864]]
Alexandra's first child, [[Albert Victor]], was born two months premature in early 1864. Alexandra showed devotion to her children: "She was in her glory when she could run up to the nursery, put on a flannel apron, wash the children herself and see them asleep in their little beds."<ref>Mrs. Blackburn, the head nurse, quoted in Duff, p. 115.</ref> Albert Edward and Alexandra had six children in total: Albert Victor, George, [[Princess Louise, Princess Royal and Duchess of Fife|Louise]], [[Princess Victoria Alexandra of the United Kingdom|Victoria]], [[Maud of Wales|Maud]], and [[Prince Alexander John of Wales|Alexander]]. All of Alexandra's children were apparently born prematurely; biographer [[Richard Hough]] thought Alexandra deliberately misled Queen Victoria as to her probable delivery dates, as she did not want the Queen to be present at their births.{{sfn|Hough|1993|p=116}} During the birth of her third child in 1867, the added complication of a bout of [[rheumatic fever]] threatened Alexandra's life and left her with a permanent limp.<ref>{{harvnb|Battiscombe|1969|pp=82–86}}; {{harvnb|Duff|1980|pp=73, 81}}</ref>

In public, Alexandra was dignified and charming; in private, affectionate and jolly.<ref>{{harvnb|Battiscombe|1969|pp=127, 222–223}}; {{harvnb|Priestley|1970|p=17}}</ref> She enjoyed many social activities, including dancing and ice-skating, and was an expert horsewoman and [[Tandem#Horse driving|tandem driver]].{{sfn|Duff|1980|p=143}} She also enjoyed [[Hunting and shooting in the United Kingdom|hunting]], to the dismay of Queen Victoria, who asked her to stop, but without success.{{sfn|Hough|1993|p=102}} Even after the birth of her first child, she continued to socialise much as before, which led to some friction between the Queen and the young couple, exacerbated by Alexandra's loathing of Prussians and the Queen's partiality towards them.<ref name=purdue/>