The Families of Queen Victoria and King Christian IX of Denmark by Tuxen

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The most famous is certainly the one with Queen Victoria and her entire family on the occasion of the Golden Jubilee, but it is not the first painting commissioned from Laurits Tuxen by a royal family. A few years earlier Tuxen had painted the Danish royals : King Christian IX and his wife Queen Louise, together with their children, sons-in-law, daughters-in-law and grandchildren. Following our discussions on the common Descendants of Queen Victoria and King Christian IX of Denmark, this work certainly serves as a model and inspiration for the English one given the close bond between the two courts. In both paintings in fact there are the “Wales”: the future King Edward VII, son of Queen Victoria, and his wife Alexandra, daughter of Christian IX

The large painting (7 x 5 metres) is displayed in the Fredensborg Hall in Christianborg Palace. The scene is set in the Garden Room of Fredensborg Palace, the place where during the summer the many members of the large family used to meet and spend their holidays together, which included, in addition to the Danes, the English, the Russians, the Greeks, the Germans and, after 1885, also the French. The “Fredensborg days” were moments of particular relaxation, especially for some family members (such as the Romanovs) who habitually lived under a regime governed by strict safety and protocol rules.

The Russian couple Maria Feodorovna (Dagmar) and Tsar Alexander III (who ascended the throne a couple of years earlier) dominate the scene in a central position. On the sofa immediately to the left are King Christian IX and Queen Louise with their grandchildren George William and Marie Louise of Hanover and Cumberland (she is the future wife of Margrave Maximilian of Baden, the last chancellor of the German Empire). Still to the left Alexandra with her son Eddy beside her and her husband Bertie, Prince of Wales, in front. Behind Alexandra we see her niece Ingeborg (maternal grandmother of King Harald V of Norway, great-grandmother of King Phillipe of Belgium and great-great-grandmother of Grand Duke Guillaume V of Luxemburg) and nephew Harald of Denmark. Behind the sofa is Thyra, Crown Princess of Hanover and Duchess of Cumberland, holding her daughter Alexandra (future Grand Duchess of Mecklenburg Schwerin), next to her is Valdemar (who in 1885 married the French princess Marie of Orleans, daughter of the Duke of Chartres; with whom he had four sons and a daughter). In front of the door stand two children dressed in sailor clothes: Tsarevich Nicholas of Russia (future Tsar Nicholas II) and his cousin Christian of Denmark (future King Christian X). Michael (Misha), Nicola’s brother, is next to his mother, while their sister Olga is in the foreground, crawling in front of a book. The seated woman dressed in red is Lovisa, wife of the Crown Prince Frederick (future King Frederick VIII), who is behind the sofa with her brother King George I of Greece (born Wilhelm of Denmark). George’s wife, Queen Olga (born Grand Duchess of Russia, and first cousin of her brother-in-law Tsar Alexander III) is standing in the foreground, with her daughter Alexandra on the right, while her other daughter Maria (Greek Minnie, to distinguish her from her aunt Maria/Dagmar, the Tsarina of Russia, who was also nicknamed Minnie) is leaning against her aunt Lovisa. The group of young boys and girls in the background, on the right side of the painting include: Louise, Victoria and Maud of Wales (daughters of Bertie and Alexandra); Carl, Louise and Thyra of Denmark (children of Frederick and Lovisa); and George and Xenia of Russia (children of Alexander and Dagmar). Carl and Maud married in 1896, and he became King of Norway in 1905 as Haakon VII.

Several family members are absent from the painting: Ernest Augustus, Crown Prince of Hanover and Duke of Cumberland (Thyra’s husband), George of Wales (future King George V) and the sons of King George I of Greece: Constantine (Tino, future King Constantine I), George (Goggy), Nicholas (Greek Nicky, to distinguish him from his cousin, the Tsarevich) and Andrew (the future father of Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh).

As will be the case in the next canvas for Victora’s Jubilee, here too children play a central role and are depicted naturally while looking at illustrated books or playing. Olga Alexandrovna (the little girl in the foreground) recalls in her autobiography how Fredensborg’s days were among the happiest moments of her childhood: King Christian, whom they called Apapa, often played with them, while Queen Louise, whom they called Amama, tended the garden. In particular these reunions were very important for Alexandra, Dagmar/Maria and Wilhelm/George who had left Denmark when they were under twenty and had maintained a very strong bond with their homeland. The same enthusiasm was probably not shared by their sister-in-law Lovisa, who was not much appreciated by members of the Danish royal family, as she was not particularly beautiful and far too rich (her arrival significantly replenished the Danish jewel box). If the constitution had not been changed in 1809, she would have become Queen of Sweden, instead, had to “settle” for becoming the future Queen consort of Denmark, and moreover alongside a husband who was anything but faithful.

Putting all these people together to make the picture was no easy feat. Tuxen recounts in his autobiography that the general sketch of the composition was made by him in 1883 on the occasion of Queen Louise’s birthday, but for the portraits he had to go to Gatchina (the Tsar’s residence), Sandrigham (for the Wales) and Gmunden (for the Cumberland). It seems that Bertie, who in reality almost never went to Denmark, did not pose at all but sent a photo of one of his attendants wearing the uniform of the portrait that he could no longer wear having become too big.

There are several versions of the painting, which was not completed until 1886: a smaller copy is at the National Museum in Frederiksborg, a version is at Marlborough House commissioned by Alexandra, while other smaller versions were made for Dagmar and Thyra.

From left to right: Prince Eddy of Wales, The Prince of Wales, The Princess of Wales, Princess Ingeborg of Denmark, Prince Harald of Denmark, Prince George William of Hanover, Princess Marie Louise of Hanover, Crown Princess Thyra of Hanover with Princess Alexandra of Hanover, Queen Louise of Denmark, Prince Valdemar of Denmark, King Christian IX of Denmark, Tsarevich Nicholas of Russia, Prince Christian of Denmark, Grand Duke Michal of Russia, Tsarina Maria of Russia, Grand Duchess Olga of Russia, Tsar Alexander III of Russia, Crown Prince Frederick of Denmark, Crown Princess Lovisa of Denmark, King George I of Greece, Princess Marie of Greece, Princess Alexandra of Greece, Queen Olga of Greece, Princess Thyra of Denmark, Princess Louise of Wales, Prince Carl of Denmar,Grand Duke George of Russia, Princess Maud of Wales, Grand Duchess Xenia of Russia and Princess Louise of Denmark

Lauris Tuxen’s large painting “The Family of the Queen Victoria 1887”, executed on the occasion of the Golden Jubilee, portrays almost all of her numerous descendants around the sovereign. As is well known, these are figures who at that time or in subsequent years would occupy the thrones of a large part of Europe. The environment represented is the green room of Windsor Castle. Victoria’s Jubilee was a great national and family event and this large painting is in a way its symbol. Queen Victoria, at the centre in her eternal widowly robes, welcomes her children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren to Windsor, practically all of royal Europe at the time, that is, 1887, the year of the sovereign’s Golden Jubilee.

Victoria’s children are immediately identified in the canvas: to the left of the Queen is her eldest daughter Victoria (Vicky), Princess Royal, with her granddaughter Feodora of Saxe Meiningen (Queen Victoria’s eldest great-granddaughter) and with her husband Frederick (Friz), Crown Prince of Germany, standing behind her, in a pre-eminent position underlined by the white uniform who would become Kaiser (but only for a few months) the following year. Standing in profile in the centre is her first son Albert Edward (Bertie), the future Edward VII, facing his wife Alexandra of Denmark. On the left is Alfred (Affie), Duke of Edinburgh, who in a few years will have to reluctantly abandon his post as Admiral of the English Fleet, his seat on the Privy Council, the seat in the House of Lords, to become Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, succeeding his childless paternal uncle, Ernest II. Between him and Bertie and alongside Alexandra, is Arthur, Duke of Connaught. Alexandra is at safe distance from the hateful Prussians (with whom she was at odds due to the recent conflict between Germany and Denmark known as the “Second Schleswig War”) and Arthur from the Battenbergs (born from a morganatic marriage and therefore considered of lower rank). The Queen’s other daughters are behind her and Vicky: Helena, seated holding the fan, Louise and Beatrice, holding her eldest son Alexander of Battenberg (later Marquess of Carisbrooke).

As for all the others we see starting from the right: George of Wales (future George V) with Wilhelm of Prussia (future Kaiser Wilhelm II) next to him and his firstborn Wilhelm (last German Crown Prince), Maria Alexandrovna of Russia, Duchess of Edinburgh (Affie’s wife), sitting at the piano with her niece Irene of Hesse (future wife of her cousin Henry of Prussia) and her two daughters Marie (Missy, future Queen of Romania) and Victoria Melita of Edinburgh (Ducky, future wife of her paternal cousin Ernie, later Grand Duke of Hesse, and then of her maternal cousin Grand Duke Kirill Vladimirovic of Russia), then Affie with her son Alfred in a kilt (who committed suicide during the celebrations for his parents’ silver wedding anniversary, opening a crisis for the succession to the Duchy of Coburg). On the floor, Affie’s two younger daughters: Alexandra (Sandra, future Princess of Hohenlhoe Langeburg) and Beatrice (Baby Bee, future Duchess of Galliera) play with a dog.

The lady in white dress is Elizabeth (Ella) of Hesse (wife of Grand Duke Sergei Alexandrovich of Russia, she was killed along with other Romanovs during the revolution) who gives her hand to Augusta Victoria (Dona, wife of the future Kaiser Wilhelm II) seated. On the opposite side is Victoria of Prussia (Moretta, future Princess Adolf of Schaumburg-Lippe), one of Vicky’s daughters. In the background, illuminated by the window, are Helena’s children: Christian Victor, Helena Victoria (Thora) and Marie Louise of Schleswig Holstein (Louie, future Princess Aribert of Anhalt). Standing the imposing bearded gentleman in uniform is Ella’s father, the Grand Duke Louis of Hesse, widower of Alice (Victoria’s third child, who had died nine years earlier).

The group of young people behind Alexandra of Denmark and Arthur of Connaught are: Louise (Lulu, future Princess Royal and Duchess of Fife) and Maud of Wales (Harry, future Queen of Norway), Ernest Louis (Ernie, future Grand Duke of Hesse) and Alix of Hesse (future Tsarina of Russia) and, at the centre, Victoria of Wales (Toria). The group of young ladies between Bertie and his sisters, are three of Vicky’s daughters: Margaret (Mossy, future Landgravine of Hesse Kassel), Sophie (Sossy, future Queen of Greece) and Charlotte of Prussia (Charly, future Duchess of Saxe Meiningen). Behind them her brother Henry of Prussia and Grand Duke Sergei of Russia (Ella’s husband). Between Beatrice and Louise, is their sister-in-law Louise Margaret (Louischen) of Prussia, Duchess of Connaught with her son Arthur.

In the background are a series of husbands of Queen Victoria’s daughters and granddaughters: Henry of Battenberg (Beatrice’s husband), the Marquess of Lorne (Louise’s husband), Louis of Battenberg (Victoria of Hesse’s husband and future Marquess of Milford Haven), Christian of Schleswig Holstein (Helena’s husband), Bernhard of Saxe Meiningen (Charlotte’s husband) and then Albert of Schleswig Holstein (Helena’s son). On the far right, right next to the bust of his grandfather Prince Albert, is Albert Victor (Eddy) of Wales, who at the time was the second heir (and the Queen hoped to marry off his cousin Alix of Hesse). He converses with his cousin Victoria of Battenberg (future Marchioness of Milford Haven), who has her daughter Alice (future Princess Andrew of Greece and mother of Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh) in front of her. Among Queen Victoria’s granddaughters who will ascend the throne, only Victoria Eugenie (Ena) of Battenberg, daughter of Beatrice and future Queen of Spain, who was born a few months after the jubilee, is missing (her brothers Leopold and Maurice will be born in the following four years).

The little girl in the foreground, offering flowers to Queen Victoria, is her grandadughter Alice of Albany (future Countess of Athlone), who partially covers her little brother Charles Edward (Charlie). The two little babies are the children of Leopold, Duke of Albany, Victoria’s youngest (and hemophiliac) son, who died three years earlier, accompanied by their mother Helena of Waldeck and Pyrmont. The two girls next to Victoria, on the sofa, are Margaret (Daisy) and Patricia (Patsy) of Connaught, daughters of Arthur (the first will be the grandmother of Queen Margarethe II of Denmark, who takes her name, the current King Carl XVI Gustaf of Sweden and the last Queen consort of Greece, Anne-Marie).

Leopold’s two children took very different paths: Charles Edward became, upon the death of his uncle Affie and his cousin Alfred, and after the resignation of his uncle Arthur, Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha and the renunciations of both his uncle Arthur, Duke of Connaught, and his cousin Arthur of Connaught. In 1900, the inheritance of the German duchy would be the last point of contention between Queen Victoria and her grandson Wilhelm, who in the meantime had become Kaiser, who wanted to prevent the small state, being within the German Empire, from being assigned to an English prince. Eventually Charles Edward would have the duchy, side with Germany during the two world wars, and be heavily involved with the Nazi regime, so much so that he was sentenced to confiscation of his assets after the war. Before this, however, he will have time to marry his daughter Sybilla to the heir to the Swedish throne, thus becoming the maternal grandfather of the current king of Sweden. His sister Alice will take the opposite path: she will marry the brother of Mary of Teck, future Queen consort of the UK, and, changing her German title of Teck to the English title of Athlone with her husband at the appropriate time, she will accompany her husband as governor general to South Africa and then to Canada and will be one of the most faithful servants of the Empire and of the British royal family. When she died at the age of 97 on 3 January 1981, Queen Victoria’s last granddaughter passed away with her