
Queen Victoria's Matchmaking
The Royal Marriages That Shaped Europe
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Narrated by:
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Charlotte Strevens
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By:
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Deborah Cadbury
A captivating exploration of the role in which Queen Victoria exerted the most international power and influence: as a matchmaking grandmother.
As her reign approached its sixth decade, Queen Victoria's grandchildren numbered over 30, and to maintain and increase British royal power, she was determined to maneuver them into a series of dynastic marriages with the royal houses of Europe.
Yet for all their apparent obedience, her grandchildren often had plans of their own, fueled by strong wills and romantic hearts. Victoria's matchmaking plans were further complicated by the tumultuous international upheavals of the time: revolution and war were in the air, and kings and queens, princes and princesses were vulnerable targets.
Queen Victoria's Matchmaking travels through the glittering, decadent palaces of Europe from London to Saint Petersburg, weaving in scandals, political machinations, and family tensions to enthralling effect. It is at once an intimate portrait of a royal family and an examination of the conflict caused by the marriages the Queen arranged. At the heart of it all is Victoria herself: doting grandmother one moment, determined Queen Empress the next.
©2017 Deborah Cadbury (P)2018 Hachette AudioListeners also enjoyed...




















Critic reviews
"[An] absorbing book... The fall of the Romanovs occupies the superb last pages of Cadbury's book... Dynastic mergers, we may deduce from Deborah Cadbury's account, offer no defence against the whims of history. This catastrophe-laced slice of royal history offers a ripping read." (Miranda Seymour, The Observer)
"A rich history of Queen Victoria's canny use of political power." (Bookpage)
"Engrossing...Cadbury engagingly presents [Queen Victoria] as a mesmerising Mrs Bennet, summoning her children and then her grandchildren to Balmoral. ..The stories of [Queen Victoria's] descendants are mesmerising and often stranger than fiction...From the pen of a writer of skill and style, this surprising narrative leaves you wanting more." (Paula Byrne, The Times)
More interesting than I expected
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Wow that was very good
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Much more interesting than I thought it would be
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Interesting perspective on history
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Beautifully written and narrated
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Much more serious than you might think
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Very Interesting
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Narrator Charlotte Strevens brings an understated British cadence and quiet authority to this account of the glittering, yet not always happy lives, of several royalties. I found myself rooting for
Princess Victoria Mary Augusta Louise Olga Pauline Claudine Agnes, daughter of Duke Franz von Teck, better known as Queen Mary, consort of George V and grandmother to the late Queen Elizabeth II. She was the proverbial poor relation who was headed for certain spinsterhood or at best a marriage to a very minor member of a German ducal house or cadet branch of a royal house. Due to an interesting set of circumstances she became engaged to Albert Victor, Duke of Clarence and Avondale. Upon his sudden death, the engagement was reassigned to his brother George who had hoped to marry the woman who would become Marie of Romania. Queen Victoria did have five granddaughters who became monarchs themselves: tsarina of Russia, and queens of Romania, Greece, Norway, and Spain. Had another lived, she’d have become queen of Sweden. I suspect Dr. Lucy Worsley OBE must surely have considered a BBC documentary about these illustrious, even tragic, women!
Readers might also enjoy Queen Victoria's Granddaughters: 1860-1918 by Christina Croft, Born to Rule: Five Reigning Consorts, Granddaughters of Queen Victoria by Julia P. Gelardi. Other biographies exist that tell the story of individual granddaughters. The royalties were so entangled and intermarried, but it was not enough to prevent WWI.
The Royal Marriage Merry-Go-Round!
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A note on the audiobook version - while really well done, many of the people discussed in this book were named Victoria, Margaret, Mary, Elizabeth, Albert, etc., and while there is a good effort to keep them all sorted, it could be confusing at times to keep track of who exactly was being referred to.
A surprisingly thorough and interesting read
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• When it came to the Royals I knew a little, I feel like I learned more about them and the book held my interest.
• When it came to the Royals I knew nothing about, I was completely lost!
Extremely interesting and full of new tidbits
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