Alice Maud Mary was the princess of the United Kingdom, later Princess Louis of Hesse and Grand Duchess of Hesse and by Rhine.
Background
Alice Maud Mary was born on the 25th of April 1843 at Buckingham Palace, London, United Kingdom. She was the third child and second daughter of Queen Victoria and Albert, Prince Consort. She was christened "Alice Maud Mary" in the private chapel at Buckingham Palace by The Archbishop of Canterbury, William Howley, on 2 June 1843.
Education
Alice spent her early childhood in the company of her parents and siblings, travelling between the British royal residences. Her education was devised by Albert's close friend and adviser, Baron Stockmar, and included practical activities like needlework and woodwork and languages like French and German.
Career
When her father, Prince Albert, was diagnosed with typhoid fever in December 1861, Alice nursed him until his death. Following his death, Queen Victoria entered a period of intense mourning and Alice spent the next six months acting as her mother's unofficial secretary. On 1 July 1862, while the court was still at the height of mourning, Alice married the minor German Prince Louis of Hesse, heir to the Grand Duchy of Hesse. The ceremony—conducted privately and with unrelieved gloom at Osborne House—was described by the Queen as "more of a funeral than a wedding". The Princess's life in Darmstadt was unhappy as a result of impoverishment, family tragedy and worsening relations with her husband and mother.
Alice was a prolific patron of women's causes and showed an interest in nursing, especially the work of Florence Nightingale. When Hesse became involved in the Austro-Prussian War, Darmstadt filled with the injured; the heavily pregnant Alice devoted a lot of her time to the management of field hospitals. One of her organisations, the Princess Alice Women's Guild, took over much of the day-to-day running of the state's military hospitals. As a result of this activity, Queen Victoria became concerned about Alice's directness about medical and, in particular, gynaecological, matters. In 1877, Alice became Grand Duchess upon the accession of her husband; her increased duties putting further strains on her health. In late 1878, diphtheria infected the Hessian court. Alice nursed her family for over a month before falling ill herself.
14 December, the anniversary of her father's death, she became seriously ill with the diphtheria caught from her son. Her last words were "dear Papa", and she fell unconscious at 2:30 am. Just after 8:30 am, she died. Alice was buried on 18 December 1878 at the Grand Ducal mausoleum at Rosenhöhe outside Darmstadt, with the Union Flag draped over her coffin.
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Religion
Alice developed a friendship with the theologian David Friedrich Strauss. He was a controversial figure at the time. In 1835, he published The Life of Jesus, which argued that the Bible could not be literally interpreted as God's word, a view akin to heresy in orthodox circles. Alice's view was similar to Strauss's, and she believed that contemporary Victorian society was presenting God in a way that would be "unrecognisable to early Christians". Strauss also offered Alice an intellectual companionship that her husband was not equipped to provide, and he was regularly invited to the New Palace to read to Alice privately. The friendship flourished; Strauss was introduced to Alice's sister Victoria and her brother-in-law Frederick, and he was invited by them to Berlin. In 1870, Strauss wanted to dedicate his new work Lectures on Voltaire to Alice, but he was too afraid to ask her; she spared him the need by asking him to dedicate them to her. However, Alice's relationship with Strauss angered Empress Augusta, who labelled Alice a "complete atheist" after hearing about his promotion.
Connections
Alice was engaged to Prince Louis of Hesse on 30 April 1861, following the Queen's consent. On 1 July 1862, Alice and Louis were married privately in the dining room of Osborne House, which was converted into a temporary chapel.
In a marriage with Ludwig IV, Grand Duke of Hesse, Alisa gave birth to seven children.
Father:
Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha
Mother:
Queen Victoria
Spouse:
Louis IV
Daughter:
Princess Elisabeth of Hesse and by Rhine, later Grand Duchess Elizabeth Feodorovna of Russia
Daughter:
Princess Marie of Hesse and by Rhine
Daughter:
Princess Irene of Hesse and by Rhine
Daughter:
Princess Victoria of Hesse and by Rhine, later Victoria Mountbatten, Marchioness of Milford Haven
Her Royal Highness The Princess Alice, Her Royal Highness Princess Louis of Hesse and by Rhine, Her Royal Highness The Grand Duchess of Hesse and by Rhine