Alexandra of Denmark and Ireland, 1863-1925
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Western University Scholarship@Western Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository 1-24-2017 12:00 AM The Happy Secret: Alexandra of Denmark and Ireland, 1863-1925 Shawn J. McCarthy The University of Western Ontario Supervisor Brock Millman The University of Western Ontario Graduate Program in History A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the equirr ements for the degree in Doctor of Philosophy © Shawn J. McCarthy 2017 Follow this and additional works at: https://ir.lib.uwo.ca/etd Part of the European History Commons, History of Gender Commons, Political History Commons, and the Social History Commons Recommended Citation McCarthy, Shawn J., "The Happy Secret: Alexandra of Denmark and Ireland, 1863-1925" (2017). Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository. 4500. https://ir.lib.uwo.ca/etd/4500 This Dissertation/Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by Scholarship@Western. It has been accepted for inclusion in Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository by an authorized administrator of Scholarship@Western. For more information, please contact [email protected]. Abstract For many years the notion of Princess Alexandra of Denmark’s political sympathy with Ireland has persisted among her biographers, while historians have been much more reserved in their endorsement and aware that the historical basis for Alexandra’s image as a supporter of Ireland is very tenuous. Nevertheless, Alexandra’s supposed feelings toward Ireland have never been discussed in-depth and have rather been taken for granted as having been useful to her husband for a time. The origin of this affinity has never been fully explained, short of suppositions concerning her political sensibilities and similarities between Denmark and Ireland. What follows is an attempt to discover the roots of the affinity between Alexandra and Ireland by looking at it in a different way; as being a construct of the 19th century popular press in Britain. As a bride in 1863 Alexandra was subjected to different portrayals in the media, but was presented as an influential figure set to play a significant part upon the national stage. When she visited Ireland in 1868, questions were raised as to whether or not her presence or her actions were her greatest asset in aid to the faltering Irish polity. In the midst of the fiery visit of 1885 she became a model for a more active relationship between the Irish populace and the Crown. As Queen in 1903, press writers looked to bind her image together and twin the successes of previous visits with her superb conduct most recently. The image created by the reporting of her actions in Ireland was such that upon her death in 1925 she was remarked as having been unique in the dynasty and proclaimed a true friend of Ireland. Keywords: Alexandra of Denmark, House of Saxe-Coburg, Ireland, Irish Home Rule, Irish Unionism, popular press, King Edward VII, Queen Victoria, loyalism, monarchy, queens, celebrity, motherhood, nationalism, royal ceremony, newspapers, royal visits i Table of Contents List of Figures……………………...………..................................................................iii Introduction ...................................................................................................................1 Chapter 1: The Royal Wedding of 1863……….…………………………………......22 Chapter 2: The Royal Visit to Ireland – 1868...........................................................…54 Chapter 3: The Royal Visit to Ireland - 1885 ........................................................…...89 Chapter 4: The Royal Visit to Ireland - 1903 .............................................................136 Conclusion: Alexandra’s Death - 1925 .......................................................................179 Bibliography ................................................................................................................208 Curriculum Vitae……………………………………………………………………..219 ii List of Figures Mentions of Alexandra in Anglo-British Newspapers................................................23 Mentions of Alexandra in Irish Newspapers ..............................................................24 Alexandra’s Offering to Erin (April 18, 1868)............................................................74 An Irish Balmoral or a Vision of 1869 (May 2, 1868) ................................................81 A Step in the Right Direction (March 7, 1885)...........................................................100 Ceàd Mìle Fáilthi !!! (April 11, 1885)……………………………………………….104 Sunrise (July 22, 1903)………………………………………………………………145 iii iv 1 .Introduction Alexandra, Princess of the Danish House of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glücksburg and consort to King Edward VII of Great Britain, was, at the height of her popularity, recognized as a model of 19th century fashion, a generous donor to charity, and, alongside the Empresses Elisabeth and Eugénie, considered one of the most beautiful royal women in Europe. Regardless of how politically active or aware she might have been, both scholarly texts and romantic biographers have argued that beginning during her time as Princess of Wales, and later as Queen, Alexandra had an affinity for Ireland. Archival evidence suggests that she enjoyed her trips to Ireland and welcomed the adulation of the Irish people, but speaks very little about the agency she possessed or wished to exert. From an evidentiary standpoint, the entire notion that she was in any way sympathetic to the cause of Irish Home Rule has long been grounded on a conversation in 1892 where she noted her support for Home Rule when dining with William Gladstone. As a result, Alexandra’s supposed feelings toward Ireland have never been discussed in-depth and have rather been taken for granted as having been useful to her husband for a time. The origin of this affinity has never been fully explained, short of suppositions concerning her political sensibilities and similarities between Denmark and Ireland. This dissertation will argue that the friendship was, in large measure, a construct of the 19th century popular press in both Britain and Ireland, and that newspapers interpreted and reinterpreted Alexandra’s actions in Ireland so as to present her as being sympathetic in a time when the Saxe-Coburg dynasty seemed increasingly distant or, alternatively, inclined toward coercive measures in dealing with Irish political agitation. The absence of Queen Victoria, and 2 the profligate image of the Prince of Wales, left room for Alexandra to become a focus for Irish loyalty, whether for the pro-Union conservative press or more liberally-minded publications espousing Irish nationalism within the constitutional monarchical framework. Beginning as an ingénue in 1863, Alexandra’s friendly status in Ireland grew in the course of her subsequent visits as her popularity spread and her benevolence was chronicled. Though the image of Alexandra as open to the Irish people at large was enduring across newspapers of varying political motivations, excepting the radical and republican press, what her friendship meant was up for interpretation. Columnists saw Alexandra’s popularity, charity, and ability to connect with individuals, and drew conclusions ranging from her ability to inspire Irish loyalty, her unique sympathy for Irish social causes, or her enjoyment of Ireland as pointing to its favoured place within the United Kingdom. Though the practical effect of this friendship was dubious, a fact often pointed out by contrary-minded newspapers, it was presented in the loyalist and home rule press alternatively as partly curative of Irish political discontent, or creating an atmosphere in which mutual understanding between the discontented and Westminster could be reached. When considering her political power, such as it was, certain authors and historians note that Alexandra had a measure of influence with her husband, and likewise, in later life, upon her son, George V.1 This outlook is in keeping with historiographical trends that claim that role of 1 Roderick R. McLean, Royalty and Diplomacy in Europe, 1890-1914 (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2001), pp. 82-4, 190; Simon Heffer, Power and Place: The Political Consequences of Edward VII (London: Weidenfeld & Nicholson, 1998), p. 269; Frank Hardie, The Political Influence of the British Monarchy (New York: Harper & Row, 1970), p. 78; David Cannadine, “In Churchill’s Shadow” (New York: Oxford University Press, 2003), p. 58; Sir Sidney Lee, King Edward VII: A Biography Vol I: Birth to Accession (Toronto: Macmillan Company of Canada, 1927), p. 323: Sir Sidney Lee, King Edward VII: A Biography Vol II: The Reign (Toronto: 3 the consort queen has too often been dismissed as being of peripheral importance and that consort queens have played a valuable role within the royal court and were influential in the nation at large. 2 Obviously, what follows is in agreement with these arguments, but only in so far as the press coverage of the royal visits discussed remark on the central nature of Alexandra. While it is true that columnists and newspapers often needed her action for their discourse, it was their reaction, and the consistent construction of her friendly image across the Irish Sea, that is the focus here, rather than Alexandra’s own active role, if any, in the creation of this representation. Other representations of Alexandra note her charm and generosity as elements in her success as a member of the royal family. Alexandra’s less formal style of monarchy was noted as having been more appealing