Alexandrine of Mecklenburg-Schwerin
Alexandrine Auguste Duchess of Mecklenburg ( born December 24, 1879 in Schwerin, † December 28, 1952 in Copenhagen) was by marriage and Crown Princess 1912-1947 Queen of Denmark and from 1918 to 1944 and Queen of Iceland.
Background and education
Alexandrine Auguste was the eldest daughter of Grand Duke Friedrich Franz III. of Mecklenburg (1851-1897) and his wife, the Grand Duchess Anastasia Mikhailovna Romanova (1860-1922), and great-granddaughter of Tsar Nicholas I..
Alexandrine grew up with her siblings Frederick Francis and Cecilie on the Schwerin Castle. Due to the poor health of her father, the family also held up in Italy and especially in Cannes, France. In Russia, the homeland of her mother, Alexandrine regularly spent time.
Alexandrine received a comprehensive education. In addition to German and Russian, the native languages of their parents, they spoke very good French and English. Alexandrine was very musical and an excellent pianist. In their upbringing also sports played an important role: they learned as tennis, golf, boating and sailing.
Marriage and issue
On April 26, 1898, she married in Cannes the Danish Crown Prince Christian ( X ) ( 1870-1947 ) from the House of Glücksburg, the eldest son of King Frederik VIII and Princess Louise of Sweden - Norway. From the marriage, which by all accounts was considered harmonious, two sons went forth:
- Frederik ( IX ) ( 1899-1972 )
- Knud Christian (1900-1976)
Your grandchildren are the reigning Danish Queen Margrethe II, the former Queen of Greece and Anne- Marie, Princess Benedikte of Sayn -Wittgenstein- Berleburg, Princess Elizabeth to Denmark, Count Ingolf of Rosenborg and Count Christian of Rosenborg († 2013).
Queen
Alexandrine filled their representative role to the full. Together with her husband she undertook journeys in all Danish parts of the country and also visited the Danish Foreign Greenland, Iceland and the Faroe Islands. The up to now held yearly Denmark - tour of the royal family on the yacht Dannebrog was founded by Christian X and Alexandrine. Alexandrine christened the ship in 1931.
There is no indication that Alexandrine has ever sought political influence. Their work focused on the long time already common areas of charity work. To this end, they showed great interest and took active part. Her enthusiasm for music she showed as patroness of music Foreningen i Köbenhavn and Danske Richard Wagner Forening.
During the holidays, the royal couple held often in Cannes and also frequently visited other European royal houses, to which they had many familial connections.
During the German occupation in the Second World War, the royal family became a national icon, and Alexandrine showed wholeheartedly loyal. The population encountered in the Alexandrine period thereafter therefore with special affection.
Residences
Amalienborg Palace served Alexandrine and Christian X as Copenhagen's residence. A lot of time she also spent at Castle Sorgenfri in Lyngby near Copenhagen. Here her two sons were born. One of her grandson, Count Christian of Rosenborg, lived until his death in 2013 in one of the buildings of the castle. More residences were in Jutland: in Aarhus them stood Marselisborg available, which was built for them, when they were still the Crown Prince Couple. In Skagen they let the little lock Klitgården build.
Later years
When the king died in 1947, Alexandrine retained as the first in Danish history its title as queen, and did not have to call the Queen Dowager, as it would have met the previous label. Alexandrine remained in their late years, more and more on Marselisborg in Jutland. She remained very active until her death and continued her work as a patron and her charity work continued.
Queen Alexandrine died on December 28, 1952 after a long illness and was buried at the traditional burial place of the royal family in Roskilde Cathedral.