Alexandra, Queen, consort of Edward VII, King of Great Britain, 1844-1925

Alexandra of Denmark; Alexandra Caroline Marie Charlotte Louise Julia; born 1 December 1844, Yellow Palace, Copenhagen, Denmark; Died 20 November 1925 (aged 80), Sandringham House, Norfolk; Queen consort of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions and Empress consort of India as the wife of King Edward VII; Alexandra's family had been relatively obscure until 1852, when her father, Prince Christian of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glücksburg, was chosen with the consent of the major European powers to succeed his distant cousin, Frederick VII of Denmark. At the age of sixteen, she was chosen as the future wife of Albert Edward, Prince of Wales, the heir apparent of Queen Victoria. They married eighteen months later in 1863, the same year her father became King Christian IX of Denmark and her brother was appointed as King George I of Greece. She was Princess of Wales from 1863 to 1901, the longest anyone has ever held that title, and became generally popular; her style of dress and bearing were copied by fashion-conscious women. Largely excluded from wielding any political power, she unsuccessfully attempted to sway the opinion of British ministers and her husband's family to favour Greek and Danish interests. Her public duties were restricted to uncontroversial involvement in charitable work; when sailed to Britain in 1863 Sir Arthur Sullivan composed music for her arrival and Poet Laureate Alfred, Lord Tennyson, wrote an ode in Alexandra's honour; Children Prince Albert Victor, Duke of Clarence; George V; Louise, Princess Royal; Princess Victoria; Maud, Queen of Norway; Prince Alexander John of Wales