Queen Victoria's Matchmaking

The Royal Marriages That Shaped Europe

By: Deborah Cadbury

Narrated by: Charlotte Strevens

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 Audio

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

Good vivid writing with beautiful narration. Lots Interesting nuggets of information and little details that I didn’t know before even though I was familiar with most of stories

Wow that was very good

That was possibly one of my favourite history books I ever read. I loved how the author brought the story and these historical figures to life using their own words and about a million sources. It made Queen Victoria’s attempt at matchmaking seem like a narrative story told like an episode of Downton Abbey. Then the downfall of all the European families that Queen Victoria’s grandchildren had married into was told beautifully like a cascading avalanche of fate that could not be avoided. Although Prince Albert and Queen Victoria had a vision of royal European marriages that could facilitate peace in Europe, the world of the 20th century was so different from that of the 19th century that their grandchildren could not outrun their fate as these monarchies fell. Prince Albert who died in 1861 could never have foreseen the world he was sending his descendants into. I enjoyed this book immensely.

Much more interesting than I thought it would be

I have read a lot about Q. Victoria and her children. I did not expect to much, but this shed some interesting today bits on the minor branches and how all of the interactions amongst the cousins ended up impacting WWI.

Interesting perspective on history

The upheavals in Europe from the admittedly perspective of one family. I gained new appreciation for Victoria’s capabilities and aspirations despite the ultimate failure of her and Albert’s aim (self-serving but not entirely without general benefit) to keep the peace on the continent.

Beautifully written and narrated

Loved the peek into the last, especially the letters to and from the Queen and her family members

Much more serious than you might think

I bought this expecting a light entertaining listen but I got much more than I anticipated. Well written and researched. I enjoyed it much more than I thought I would. There was much more to Victoria’s matchmaking than just a meddling granny. I loved how it was wrapped up at the end. Much to consider.

Very Interesting

This is a nonfiction discussion of European politics during the late Victorian era as seen through the lens of the marriages of Queen Victoria's children and grandchildren. The title suggests that it will tell of the Queen's personal involvement in the marriages, which was not actually a lot, but the subtitle truthful shows that it only features those marriages that affected European politics. I found both aspects to be somewhat disappointing, as I would have enjoyed learning about some of the Queen's lesser-known children and grandchildren. Nonetheless, I found it generally well-written and thoroughly entertaining and informative; I would certainly recommend it to other armchair historians also interested in this area.

The Royal Marriage Merry-Go-Round!

The British Empire was in its glorious high noon. It is considered the largest empire the world has ever known. It’s Queen-Empress, Victoria, was determined to arrange strategic marriages for her grandchildren to the heirs of various European royalties. It was the Golden Age of the European monarchies; none of the gracious majesties, royal highnesses, and serene highnesses had yet experienced the meatgrinder that was World War I. Several imperiums would fall by war’s end; that of the Russian tsars, that of the Austro-Hungarian archdukes, and that of the German kaisers. That of the Ottoman sultans would also fall, an empire that had been seriously diminished by the beginning of the 20th century.
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.

A surprisingly thorough and interesting read

To be honest, I went into this book - having read several books related to the period in general, and biographies of several of the people involved in particular - not expecting a whole lot. Given the topic, I expected more interfering, old-biddy grandmama, and no serious scholarship about the political situation in the generations leading up to the First World War. I was pleasantly surprised! While there was a bit of interfering old-biddy (because let's be honest, that is well documented), there was also some really good perspectives of the complex family and political relationships that were occurring, and some quite humanizing details as well.

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.

Extremely interesting and full of new tidbits

• When it came to the Royals I knew well, I was riveted to learn new details about them.

• 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!