Queen Victoria's Matchmaking

A captivating exploration of the role in which Queen Victoria exerted most international power and influence: as a matchmaking grandmother.

By the 1890s, Queen Victoria had over thirty grandchildren, 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 Russia and Europe, 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.

O explorare captivanta a rolului in care regina Victoria a exercitat cea mai mare putere si influenta internationala: ca bunica potrivitoare. In anii 1890, regina Victoria avea peste treizeci de nepoti si, pentru a mentine si a creste puterea regala britanica, a fost hotarata sa-i manevreze intr-o serie a casatoriilor dinastice cu casele regale din Europa. Cu toate acestea, pentru toata ascultarea lor aparenta, nepotii ei aveau deseori planuri proprii, alimentati de vointe puternice si inimi romantice.