Alexandrine of Mecklenburg

Queen Alexandrine

Alexandrine Auguste, Duchess of Mecklenburg [-Schwerin] (* December 24, 1879 in Schwerin ; † December 28, 1952 in Copenhagen ) was crown princess by marriage and from 1912 to 1947 queen of Denmark and from 1918 to 1944 also queen of Iceland .

Origin and education

Alexandrine's childhood home, Schwerin Castle

Alexandrine Auguste was the eldest daughter of Grand Duke Friedrich Franz III. von Mecklenburg-Schwerin (1851–1897) and his wife, Grand Duchess Anastasia Michailowna Romanowa (1860–1922), and a great-granddaughter of the Russian Tsar Nicholas I.

Alexandrine grew up with her siblings Friedrich Franz and Cecilie in Schwerin Castle . Because of the poor health of their father, the family also stayed in Italy and especially in Cannes, France . Alexandrine also spent time in Russia , her mother's homeland.

Alexandrine received a comprehensive education. In addition to German and Russian, the mother tongues of her parents, she spoke French and English very well. Alexandrine was very musical and an excellent pianist. Sport also played a major role in her upbringing: she learned tennis, golf, rowing and sailing, among other things.

Marriage and offspring

Crown Prince couple with son Frederik, 1900

On April 26, 1898, in Cannes, she married the Danish Crown Prince Christian (X) (1870–1947) from the Glücksburg family , the eldest son of King Frederik VIII and Princess Louise of Sweden-Norway . From the marriage, which according to all reports was considered to be harmonious, had two sons:

Frederik (IX.) (1899–1972)

⚭ 1935 Princess Ingrid of Sweden (1910–2000)

Knud Christian (1900–1976)

⚭ 1933 Princess Caroline Mathilde of Denmark (1912–1995)

Her grandchildren are the reigning Danish Queen Margrethe II , the former Greek Queen Anne-Marie , Princess Benedigte zu Sayn-Wittgenstein-Berleburg , Princess Elisabeth of Denmark , Ingolf Graf von Rosenborg and Christian Graf von Rosenborg († 2013)

queen

Alexandrine became queen in 1912. She fully fulfilled her representative role. Together with her husband, she traveled to all parts of the country and also visited the Danish outskirts of Greenland , Iceland and the Faroe Islands . The royal family's annual tour of Denmark on the yacht Dannebrog , which still takes place today, was founded by Christian X. and Alexandrine. Alexandrine named the ship in 1931.

There is no evidence that Alexandrine ever sought political influence. Her work concentrated on the areas of charity work that had long been common at the time. She showed great interest in this and took a lively interest. She showed her enthusiasm for music as patron of the Musikforeningen i Köbenhavn and the Danske Richard Wagner-Forening .

During the holidays, the royal couple often stayed in Cannes and also frequently visited other European royal houses, to which they had many family connections.

During the German occupation in World War II, the royal family became a national symbol, and Alexandrine was utterly loyal. In the period afterwards, the population therefore treated Alexandrine with particular warmth.

The Dronning Alexandrines Bro is named after her.

Residences

Marselisborg Castle in Aarhus

Castle Amalienborg served Alexandrine and Christian X as Copenhagen residence. They also spent a lot of time at Sorgefri Castle in Lyngby near Copenhagen. Her two sons were born here. One of her grandchildren, Count Christian von Rosenborg, lived in one of the palace complex's buildings until his death in 2013. Other residences were in Jutland : in Aarhus they had Marselisborg Castle at their disposal, which was built for them when they were still the Crown Prince couple. In Skagen they had the small Klitgården castle built.

Late years

When the king died in 1947, Alexandrine was the first in Danish history to retain her title as queen and did not have to call herself a queen widow, as it would have been according to previous etiquette. Alexandrine stayed longer and longer at Marselisborg Castle in Jutland in her later years. She remained very active until the end of her life and continued her work as a patron and charity; She was also an avid golfer and photographer, and made excellent handicrafts.

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.

literature

Grethe Jensen: Danmarks dronninger . In: Danske dronninger i tusind år. Edited by Steffen Heiberg. Gyldendal Verlag, Copenhagen 2000. pp. 95-97: ALEXANDRINE .

Web links

Commons : Alexandrine zu Mecklenburg - Collection of pictures, videos and audio files

Literature about Duchess Alexandrine in the state bibliography MV

Individual evidence

↑ ^a ^b Queen Alexandrine. Retrieved March 19, 2019 .
↑ Busck, Jens: Christian 10. og Dronning Alexandrine. Biography published by the Amalienborg Museum. Copenhagen 2012. ISBN 978-87-89542-98-0 . P. 18.
↑ Jensen, Grethe: Danmarks dronninger. In: Danske dronninger i tusind år. Edited by Steffen Heiberg. Gyldendal Verlag, Copenhagen 2000. ISBN 87-00-45504-0 . P. 95.
↑ Jensen, Grethe: Danmarks dronninger. In: Danske dronninger i tusind år. Edited by Steffen Heiberg. Gyldendal Verlag, Copenhagen 2000. ISBN 87-00-45504-0 . P. 92.
↑ ^a ^b Jensen, Grethe: Danmarks dronninger. In: Danske dronninger i tusind år. Edited by Steffen Heiberg. Gyldendal Verlag, Copenhagen 2000. ISBN 87-00-45504-0 . P. 97.
↑ Sorgenfri Slot - Kongehuset Official homepage of the Danish royal family.
^ Greve Christian af Rosenborg - Politiken.dk Obituary for Alexandrine's grandson Count Christian in the Danish daily Politiken .
↑ ^a ^b Dansk Kvindebiografisk Leksikon - Alexandrine KVINFO, Danish biographical lexicon.
↑ Busck, Jens: Christian 10. og Dronning Alexandrine. Biography published by the Amalienborg Museum. Copenhagen 2012. ISBN 978-87-89542-98-0 . P. 45, p. 47.

predecessor	Office	successor
Louise of Sweden-Norway	Queen of Denmark 1912–1947	Ingrid of Sweden
-	Queen of Iceland 1918–1944	---

personal data
SURNAME	Alexandrine of Mecklenburg
ALTERNATIVE NAMES	Alexandrine Auguste Duchess of Mecklenburg (full name); Alexandrine Queen of Denmark and Iceland; Alexandrine af Danmark; Alexandrine of Denmark; Queen Alexandrine
BRIEF DESCRIPTION	Queen of Denmark and Iceland
DATE OF BIRTH	December 24, 1879
PLACE OF BIRTH	Schwerin
DATE OF DEATH	December 28, 1952
Place of death	Copenhagen

[:0-1] Queen Alexandrine. Retrieved March 19, 2019 .

[2] Busck, Jens: Christian 10. og Dronning Alexandrine. Biography published by the Amalienborg Museum. Copenhagen 2012. ISBN 978-87-89542-98-0 . P. 18.

[3] Jensen, Grethe: Danmarks dronninger. In: Danske dronninger i tusind år. Edited by Steffen Heiberg. Gyldendal Verlag, Copenhagen 2000. ISBN 87-00-45504-0 . P. 95.

[4] Jensen, Grethe: Danmarks dronninger. In: Danske dronninger i tusind år. Edited by Steffen Heiberg. Gyldendal Verlag, Copenhagen 2000. ISBN 87-00-45504-0 . P. 92.

[auto1-5] Jensen, Grethe: Danmarks dronninger. In: Danske dronninger i tusind år. Edited by Steffen Heiberg. Gyldendal Verlag, Copenhagen 2000. ISBN 87-00-45504-0 . P. 97.

[6] Sorgenfri Slot - Kongehuset Official homepage of the Danish royal family.

[7] Greve Christian af Rosenborg - Politiken.dk Obituary for Alexandrine's grandson Count Christian in the Danish daily Politiken .

[Dansk_Kvindebiografisk_Leksikon_-_Alexandrine-8] Dansk Kvindebiografisk Leksikon - Alexandrine KVINFO, Danish biographical lexicon.

[9] Busck, Jens: Christian 10. og Dronning Alexandrine. Biography published by the Amalienborg Museum. Copenhagen 2012. ISBN 978-87-89542-98-0 . P. 45, p. 47.