Editing Alexandra of Denmark (section)

==Queen mother==
[[File:Alexandra of Denmark.jpg|thumb|left|Queen Alexandra, 1923]]
From Edward's death, Alexandra was [[queen mother]], being a [[dowager queen]] and the mother of the reigning monarch. She did not attend [[Coronation of George V and Mary|the coronation of her son and daughter-in-law in 1911]] since it was not customary for a crowned queen to attend the coronation of another king or queen, but otherwise continued the public side of her life, devoting time to her charitable causes. One such cause was [[Alexandra Rose Day]], where artificial roses made by people with disabilities were sold in aid of hospitals by women volunteers.{{sfn|Duff|1980|pp=251–257, 260}}{{efn|The [[Alexandra Rose Day]] fund still exists; its patron is [[Princess Alexandra, The Honourable Lady Ogilvy]], Alexandra's great-granddaughter.}} During the [[First World War]] the custom of hanging the banners of foreign princes invested with Britain's highest order of knighthood, the [[Order of the Garter]], in [[St George's Chapel, Windsor Castle]], came under criticism, as the German members of the Order were fighting against Britain. Alexandra joined calls to "have down those hateful German banners".<ref name="banners">Alexandra to King George&nbsp;V, quoted in Battiscombe, p. 285.</ref> Driven by public opinion, but against his own wishes, the King had the banners removed; but to Alexandra's dismay, he had taken down not only "those vile [[Prussia]]n banners" but also those of her [[Grand Duchy of Hesse|Hessian]] relations who were, in her opinion, "simply soldiers or vassals under that brutal German Emperor's orders".<ref name="banners" /> On 17 September 1916, she was at Sandringham during a [[Zeppelin]] air raid,{{sfn|Battiscombe|1969|pp=291–292}} but far worse was to befall other members of her family. In Russia, her nephew [[Tsar Nicholas II]] was overthrown and he, his wife and their children were [[Execution of the Romanov family|killed by revolutionaries]]. Dowager Empress Maria was rescued from Russia in 1919 by {{HMS|Marlborough|1912|6}} and brought to England, where she lived for some time with her sister Alexandra.{{sfn|Duff|1980|pp=285–286}}

=== Last years and death ===
{{Main|Death and funeral of Alexandra of Denmark}}

Alexandra retained a youthful appearance into her senior years,<ref>e.g. [[Mary Gladstone]] and [[Charles Wynn-Carington, 1st Marquess of Lincolnshire|Lord Carrington]], quoted in Battiscombe, p. 206, [[Margot Asquith]], quoted in Battiscombe, pp. 216–217, [[John Fisher, 1st Baron Fisher]], quoted in Battiscombe, p. 232.</ref> but during the war her age caught up with her.<ref>Alexandra herself and [[Mary of Teck|Queen Mary]], quoted by Battiscombe, p. 296.</ref> She took to wearing elaborate veils and heavy makeup, which was described by gossips as having her face "enamelled".{{sfn|Priestley|1970|p=17}} She made no more trips abroad, and her health worsened. In 1920, a blood vessel in her eye burst, leaving her with temporary partial blindness.{{sfn|Battiscombe|1969|p=299}} Towards the end of her life, her memory and speech became impaired.{{sfn|Battiscombe|1969|pp=301–302}} She died on 20 November 1925 at [[Sandringham House]] from a heart attack. Queen Alexandra [[lay in state]] at [[Westminster Abbey]] and was interred on 28 November next to her husband in [[St George's Chapel, Windsor Castle]].<ref name="Eilers">Eilers, Marlene A., ''Queen Victoria's Descendants'', p. 171.</ref><ref>{{citation|url=https://www.westminster-abbey.org/about-the-abbey/history/a-history-of-royal-burials-and-funerals|title=A History of Royal Burials and Funerals|work=Westminster Abbey|accessdate=11 September 2022|archive-date=10 September 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220910182531/https://www.westminster-abbey.org/about-the-abbey/history/a-history-of-royal-burials-and-funerals|url-status=dead}}</ref>