The Lives and Deaths of the Princesses of Hesse cover art

The Lives and Deaths of the Princesses of Hesse

The curious destinies of Queen Victoria's granddaughters

Preview

£0.00 for first 30 days

Try for £0.00
Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection - including bestsellers and new releases.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, Originals, celeb exclusives, and podcasts.
Access exclusive sales and deals.
£7.99/month after 30 days. Renews automatically. See here for eligibility.

The Lives and Deaths of the Princesses of Hesse

By: Frances Welch
Narrated by: Jilly Bond
Try for £0.00

£7.99/month after 30 days. Renews automatically. See here for eligibility.

Buy Now for £12.99

Buy Now for £12.99

Confirm Purchase
Pay using card ending in
By completing your purchase, you agree to Audible's Conditions of Use and authorise Audible to charge your designated card or any other card on file. Please see our Privacy Notice, Cookies Notice and Interest-based Ads Notice.
Cancel

About this listen

A gripping family saga and a portrait of a world in turmoil

The Princesses of Hesse were Queen Victoria's grandchildren. After the sudden death of her daughter Alice, Queen Victoria took an obsessive interest in the marriage prospects of the four girls she left behind. Very little went according to plan. Fortunately, Queen Victoria did not live to see her direst fears for the girls spouses being realised. She died in January 1901, just before her beloved Hesse granddaughters became caught up in the maelstrom of early 20th century Europe.

The youngest sister, Alix, married Tsar Nicholas II of Russia; she was assassinated, along with the rest of her family, in a cellar in Ekaterinburg.
The second, Ella, married the Russian Grand Duke Serge. After he was assassinated, she became a nun, only to be assassinated by the Bolsheviks twenty-four hours after Alix in 1918.
The third, Irene, married the Kaiser's brother, Prince Henry, and was entangled in the 1918 German uprisings.
The eldest sister, Princess Victoria, married Prince Louis Battenberg, and became the mother of Lord Louis Mountbatten and grandmother of Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh.

Their lives were all dramatic, and this group biography shows how they interacted as sisters, forever jostling for status and relaying the politics and intrigues that surrounded them.

Drawing on hundreds of previously unseen letters from the sisters as well as from their grandmother Queen Victoria, The Princesses of Hesse takes us on a sweeping journey across the tumultuous landscape of the turn of the century - from the dramas of the Russian Court to the Russian Revolution, and through both World Wars in which they often found themselves on opposing sides.

Both intimate and epic in scope, Frances Welch's biography sheds new light on the four sisters' lives, illuminating a remarkable period of history in the process.©2024 Frances Welch (P)2024 Octopus Publishing Group
Europe Royalty Women War
activate_Holiday_promo_in_buybox_DT_T2

Listeners also enjoyed...

Catherine de' Medici cover art
Grandmama of Europe cover art
Once a Grand Duchess cover art
The Life and Death of Ella Grand Duchess of Russia cover art
The Last Grand Duchess cover art
The Dissolution of the Monasteries cover art
War of the Windsors cover art

What listeners say about The Lives and Deaths of the Princesses of Hesse

Average customer ratings

Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.