Alexandra

Alexandra (1844-1925), queen of Edward VII. Born in Copenhagen, eldest daughter of the future Christian IX of Denmark, Alexandra retained warm Danish sympathies all her life. Her marriage to Edward, then prince of Wales, took place in 1863. The couple, popular with the public, took much of the attention shunned by the widowed Victoria, and became society figures. The marriage was affectionate, though Edward was far from faithful. Family life was the focus of her existence, partly because of her initial difficulty with English, and then her growing deafness. She devoted much of her time to nursing and hospitals: Alexandra Day was instituted in 1913 to sell paper roses for hospital funds. Following Edward's death in 1910 she led a quiet, private life, mainly at Sandringham.