Queen Victoria was known as the grandmother of Europe for good reason. She had nine children and forty-two grandchildren, and the entire family focused on marrying into other royal families. (That is not even touching her great-grandchildren.) This means that even the kings and queens among the family do not particularly stand out, even though they should. (The more tragic grandchildren tend to steal the attention.) Without any further waiting: our November Consort of the Month: Queen Maud of Wales!
Consort of the Month: Queen Maud of Wales
Birth Date: 26 November 1869
Death Date: 20 November 1938
Tenure: 18 November 1905 – 20 November 1938
Birth Name: Maud Charlotte Mary Victoria
Spouse: Haakon VII of Norway
House: Saxe-Coburg and Gotha
Father: Edward VII
Mother: Alexandra of Denmark
Why Do We Know Queen Maud of Wales?
The answer to this question depends on where you live, at least partially. Maud is better known in Norway- she was the first Queen of Norway after the personal union between Sweden and Norway was dissolved. You will see places and buildings named after Maud (and elsewhere), and there is a statue of her outside the Royal Palace in Oslo.
Outside of Norway, Maud is largely limited to those interested in the Victorian and Edwardian British Royal Family, and those interested in Edwardian fashion history. We will discuss that more below but she was a trendsetter in her time and many of her dresses still survive.
Queen Maud of Wales’ Early Life
Maud was born to the Prince and Princess of Wales at Marlborough House on 26 November 1869. As one would expect for her family, her godparents included King Charles XV of Sweden, Empress Maria Feodorovna of Russia, and the future Queen Louise of Denmark. Maud and her siblings were particularly well-connected; while Queen Victoria was the grandmother of Europe, her maternal grandfather, King Christian IX of Denmark, was considered the “grandfather of Europe”.
Maud was a tomboy and the family called her Harry. She was fairly well-travelled as a child and frequently visited Denmark to see her mother’s family. (You can see photographs from the family meeting up together in Queen Alexandra’s Christmas Gift Book, her mother’s charity photo album.) While Maud did have a crush on Prince Francis of Teck, her feelings were not reciprocated.
A Princess Moves to Denmark
While her relationship with Prince Francis was a non-starter, another European prince caught Maud’s eye. Prince Carl of Denmark was the second son of the Crown Prince of Denmark and expected to spend his career in the military. In 1889 he began studying at the Royal Danish Naval Academy and in 1893 he began serving as a second lieutenant.
Maud and Carl were very familiar with one another, given that many of their childhood family vacations were spent together.
The Prince of Wales proudly announced their engagement on 29 October 1895 and they married at Buckingham Palace in the Private Chapel on 22 July 1896. Her parents gifted her Appleton House, a home on their estate at Sandringham, and she would continually return to Britain and stay there. (Sadly it was demolished in 1984- why must all of these places be torn down?) The couple actually spent their honeymoon at Appleton House.
The couple moved to Copenhagen after they married where Carl continued his career with the Royal Danish Navy.
The Norwegian Throne
To arrive at Maud being Queen of Norway, we need to move back a few generations quickly. Carl’s grandfather, Christian, was born to a cadet branch of the Danish Royal Family. Due to a number of factors, Christian became heir to the Danish throne and would go on to be King Christian IX of Denmark. Carl’s father, Frederick, then became Crown Prince of Denmark and would go on to be King Frederick VIII of Denmark.
In 1905, the Norwegian Storting (parliament) voted to dissolve the personal union between Sweden and Norway, meaning that there would not be a King (or Queen) of Sweden AND Norway, but rather a King of Sweden and a separate King of Norway.
Carl became a leading candidate as the second son of the Danish king, in no small part due to Maud’s strong connections to the British Royal Family. The couple already had a son by this time, making him an even stronger option. (The future King Olav V was actually born at Appleton house.) The couple arrived in Oslo in late November 1905.
The Fashionable Queen
Maud was a dedicated queen. While she was not as outgoing as some other royal spouses, she took her role seriously. She was a fairly private person but committed herself to her new role. Some people referred to her as “Her Royal Shyness” due to her introverted and quiet public behaviour. There actually are no records of Maud ever giving a speech publicly. However, she was known widely for her dedication to philanthropy and notably supported both women’s rights and the welfare of unmarried women.
Queen Maud was known for her taste in fashion, much like her mother. Much of her wardrobe, including her coronation gown, has survived. The Museum of Decorative Arts and Design in Oslo, now the National Museum, received over 600 items from her wardrobe during the Second World War. The V&A hosted an exhibition of Maud’s fashion in 2005.
Sadly, Maud died on the thirteenth anniversary of her mother’s death, 20 November 1938. She was in the UK and died of heart failure a few days after having emergency surgery.
Queen Maud of Wales: Interesting Facts
– Maud embraced her new nation and learned to ski.
– She was never able to become fluent in Norwegian.
– Queen Maud was responsible for introducing the miniature pinscher to Norway!
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Further Readings/Listenings on Queen Maud of Norway
Gelardi, Julia P. Born to rule: Five reigning consorts, granddaughters of queen victoria. United States: St. Martin’s Publishing Group, 2007.
Kjellberg, Anne, and Susan North. Style & splendour: The wardrobe of queen maud of Norway, 1896-1938. London, NY: V & A Publications ; Distributed in the U.S. by Harry N. Abrams, 2005.
Looking for my earlier Consort of the Month posts? Read about:
Queen Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz
Queen Marie Antoinette
Catherine de Medici
Queen Adelaide
Catherine de Valois
Marie de Guise
Queen Alexandra of Denmark
Empress Josephine of France
Queen Elizabeth of York
Queen Elisabeth de Valois
Queen Catherine of Braganza
Queen Josephine of Leuchtenberg
Queen Elisabeth of the Belgians
I hope you have enjoyed Consort of the Month: Queen Maud of Wales!
Cheers,
The Historian
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