The Last Princess (35 page)

On 23 November 1886, Beatrice gave birth to the first of four children, a son, Albert Alexander, known as ‘Drino'.

At the baptism of the Queen's ‘little Jubilee grandchild', Beatrice's only daughter Ena, in December, it was the Queen who characteristically took centre stage.

Despite the apparent intimacy of this photograph, Beatrice found that she was not unduly maternal.

Beatrice's sons Leopold, Maurice and Alexander, photographed at Balmoral.

‘A particularly pretty child', Beatrice's second son Leopold – like the uncle after whom he was named – suffered from haemophilia.

This photograph of Beatrice with Maurice was taken in the early days of her widowhood.

Despite consistently placing her mother's needs before those of her children, Beatrice would later draw comfort from her children in her widowhood. From left: Maurice, Ena, Leopold, Alexander.

The three Princes of Battenberg in uniform on the eve of the First World War: Maurice (who most closely resembled his handsome father), Alexander and Leopold.

Among engagements undertaken by Beatrice and Liko was a visit in 1889 to the Wynnstay Collieries in North Wales, ‘regarded by all members of the royal party as capital fun'.

Below:
On Twelfth Night, 1888, Beatrice appeared as the Queen of Sheba alongside Sir Henry Ponsonby's King Solomon in a typically lavish tableau vivant of the sort that characterized court entertainments in the years of Beatrice's marriage.

By the time of her death, Queen Victoria's family encompassed four generations. Beatrice was ever present at family gatherings – like this group of mostly grandchildren and great-grand-children pictured on the lawn at Osborne (Beatrice fourth from right).

After the birth of her children, Beatrice became a decidedly stately figure.