Maud Of Wales

Notable

Queen of Norway as spouse of King Haakon VII. She was the youngest daughter of Edward VII of the United Kingdom and Alexandra of Denmark. Maud of Wales was the first queen of Norway since 1380 who was not also queen of Denmark or Sweden. Princess Maud was a high-spirited child, a quality that earned her the nickname Harry. She was brought up with relative freedom, which was somewhat disliked by her grandmother, Queen Victoria. On 22 July 1896, Princess Maud married her first cousin, Prince Carl of Denmark, at Buckingham Palace. The couple's only child, Prince Alexander, was born on 2 July 1903 at Sandringham Estate in England. When Prince Carl ascended the Norwegian throne, he took the name of Haakon VII. He and Queen Maud were crowned at Nidaros Cathedral in Trondheim on 22 June 1906, that being the last coronation in Scandinavia. Queen Maud never lost her love of Britain (visited Great Britain every year), but she quickly adapted to her new country and duties as a queen consort. Maud played a strong and dominant role within the court and family, but a discreet role in public. Her influence over her spouse and politics is not much examined, but she is described as a forceful and dominant person within the royal court, though her public role was less visible. Maud acquired a reputation for dressing with fashionable chic. An exhibition of numerous items from her elegant wardrobe was held at the Victoria and Albert Museum in 2005 and published in the catalogue Style and Splendour: Queen Maud of Norway's Wardrobe 1896-1938. She died unexpectedly of heart failure in England on 20 November 1938. Link to Wikipedia biography