Behind Gallery

Queen Victoria and children in mourning at Windsor

Queen Victoria with her daughters, Vicky (Crown Princess of Prussia, standing behind), Alice (kneeling) and her son Prince Alfred, mourning Prince Albert. Taken at Windsor in March 1862, shortly after the Queen's return from Osborne, where she had taken refuge in the first weeks of her widowhood. The group is dominated by a large bust of Albert, gazing out of the picture towards the light. Under one print of this photograph Victoria wrote, Day turned into night

© Charlotte Zeepvat/ILN/Mary Evans Picture Library

The Hesse-Cassel and Greek royal families

The youngest daughters of Vicky, Princess Royal of Great Britain and Empress of Prussia, the Princesses Sophie and Margarete of Prussia with their husbands and children at Friedrichshof in 1904. Sophie is in the darker dress, standing beside her husband Constantine, Duke of Sparta. Margarete ('Mossy') is on the right, next to her husband Friedrich Karl of Hesse-Cassel. The children are, from the left, George of Greece (standing), Philipp of Hesse-Cassel, Helen of Greece, Maximilian of Hesse-Cassel, Paul of Greece (behind, in a dress), Wolfgang of Hsse-Cassel, directly in front of his elder brother Friedrich Wilhelm, Alexander of Greece in front of Richard of Hesse-Cassel and Christoph of Hesse-Cassel. Margarete was unusual in that out of her six sons, four of them were sets of twins

© Charlotte Zeepvat/ILN/Mary Evans Picture Library

Princess Beatrice of Saxe-Coburg with family

Princess Beatrice of Saxe-Coburg (1884-1966), fourth and youngest daughter of Prince Alfred of Edinburgh and his wife, Maria Alexandrovna (later Duke and Duchess of Saxe-Coburg), shown here with her husband, Alfonso, 5th Duke of Galliera (1886-1935) and her three sons, from left, Alonso (1912-1936), Ataulfo (1913-1974) and Alvaro, 6th Duke of Galliera (1910-1997). Known as Baby Bea in the family, she married King Alfonso XIII's cousin but refused to convert to Catholicism. Alfonso was compelled to take away his cousin's army commission and titles. After spending time at homes in Coburg and Switzerland, the couple returned to Spain in 1912 where Beatrice aggravated tensions between Alfonso and his wife Queen Ena (Beatrice's cousin), openly flirting with the king and allegedly procuring mistresses for him. Eventually, she was ordered to leave Spain once more, although she did return, bravely remaining behind in 1931 after the proclamation of the Spanish Second Republic, to look after the King's elderly aunt

© Charlotte Zeepvat/ILN/Mary Evans Picture Library