A Most English Princess

Author/Guide: Clare McHugh

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1858: The daughter of Queen Victoria has her own story to tell….

ISBN: 978-0062997609
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What you need to know before your trail

January 1858: Princess Victoria glides down the aisle of St James Chapel to the waiting arms of her beloved, Fritz, Prince Frederick, heir to the powerful kingdom of Prussia. Although theirs is no mere political match, Vicky is determined that she and Fritz will lead by example, just as her parents Victoria and Albert had done, and also bring about a liberal and united Germany.

Brought up to believe in the rightness of her cause, Vicky nonetheless struggles to thrive in the constrained Prussian court, where each day she seems to take a wrong step. And her status as the eldest daughter of Queen Victoria does little to smooth over the conflicts she faces.

But handsome, gallant Fritz is always by her side, as they navigate court intrigue, and challenge the cunning Chancellor Otto von Bismarck, while fighting for the throne—and the soul of a nation. At home they endure tragedy, including their son, Wilhelm, rejecting all they stand for.

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Discover the life of Queen Victoria’s Daughter

Victoria was the eldest child of Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom and Albert, Prince Consort. She became Princess Royal in 1841.

Victoria was married at age 17 to Prince Frederick of Prussia, with whom she had eight children. Victoria shared with Frederick her liberal views and hopes that Prussia and the later German Empire should become a constitutional monarchy, based on the British model. She was criticised for this attitude and for her English origins, and suffered ostracism by the Hohenzollerns and the Berlin court. This isolation increased after the rise to power of Otto von Bismarck (one of her most staunch political opponents) in 1862.

Victoria was empress for only a few months, during which she had opportunity to influence the policy of the German Empire. After her husband’s death, she became widely known as Empress Frederic . Letters written by her to her parents at this time give a detailed insight into life at the Prussian court between 1858 and 1900.