This image expands when opened.*** She wears a spectacular combination of dress and jewels. As the Wikipedia narrative in the following pictures will demonstrate, she came from a less opulent family. Her wedding gown is on display, minus the wonderful flounces that she recycled for other uses. See the Grand Brides album that begins with pictures of her wonderful wedding gown.*** Continuing her Wikipedia article - "Marriage and family - Queen Victoria and her husband, Prince Albert, were already concerned with finding a bride for their son and heir, Albert Edward, the Prince of Wales. They enlisted the aid of their daughter, Crown Princess Victoria of Prussia, in seeking a suitable candidate. Alexandra was not their first choice, since the Danes were at loggerheads with the Prussians over the Schleswig-Holstein Question and most of the British royal family's relations were German. Eventually, after rejecting other possibilities, they settled on her as "the only one to be chosen."* On 24 September 1861, Crown Princess Victoria introduced her brother Albert Edward to Alexandra at Speyer, but it was not until almost a year later on 9 September 1862 (after his affair with Nellie Clifden and the death of his father) that Albert Edward proposed to Alexandra at the Royal Castle of Laeken, the home of his uncle, King Leopold I of Belgium.* A few months later, Alexandra travelled from Denmark to the United Kingdom aboard the HMY Victoria and Albert II for her marriage and arrived in Gravesend, Kent on 7 March 1863.[14] Sir Arthur Sullivan composed music for her arrival and Alfred Tennyson, the Poet Laureate, wrote an ode in Alexandra's honour: 'Sea King's daughter from over the sea, Alexandra! - Saxon and Norman and Dane are we, - But all of us Danes in our welcome of thee, - Alexandra!" - Welcome to Alexandra, Alfred Tennyson* The couple were married on 10 March 1863 at St. George's Chapel, Windsor Castle by Thomas Longley, the Archbishop of Canterbury. The choice of venue was criticized in the press (as it was outside London large public crowds would not be able to view the spectacle), by prospective guests (it was awkward to get to and, as the venue was small, some people who had expected invitations were not invited) and the Danes (as only Alexandra's closest relations were invited). The court was still in mourning for Prince Albert, so ladies were restricted to wearing grey, lilac or mauve. The couple were seen off on their honeymoon at Osborne House on the Isle of Wight by the schoolboys of neighboring Eton College, including Lord Randolph Churchill.* By the end of the following year, Alexandra's father had ascended the throne of Denmark, her brother George had become King of the Hellenes, her sister Dagmar was engaged to the Tsarevitch of Russia, and Alexandra had given birth to her first child. Her father's accession gave rise to further conflict over the fate of Schleswig-Holstein. The German Confederation successfully invaded Denmark, reducing the area of Denmark by two-fifths. To the great irritation of Queen Victoria and the Crown Princess of Prussia, Alexandra and Albert Edward supported the Danish side in the war. The Prussian conquest of former Danish lands heightened Alexandra's profound dislike of the Germans, a feeling which stayed with her for the rest of her life.* Alexandra's first child, Albert Victor, was born two months premature in early 1864. Alexandra was devoted to her children: 'She was in her glory when she could run up to the nursery, put on a flannel apron, wash the children herself and see them asleep in their little beds.' Albert Edward and Alexandra had six children in total: Albert Victor, George, Louise, Victoria, Maud, and John.* In public Alexandra was dignified and charming, and in private affectionate and jolly. She enjoyed many social activities, including dancing and ice-skating, and was an expert horsewoman and tandem driver. She also enjoyed hunting, to the dismay of Queen Victoria, who asked her to stop, without success. Even after the birth of her first child, she continued to behave much as before, which led to some friction between the Queen and the young couple, exacerbated by Alexandra's loathing of Germans and the Queen's partiality towards them. All of Alexandra's children were apparently born prematurely; she did not want Queen Victoria to be present at their births, so she deliberately misled the Queen as to her probable delivery dates. During the birth of her third child in 1867, the added complication of a bout of rheumatic fever threatened Alexandra's life, leaving her with a permanent limp. (Continued)*** This is from the For the Love of Opera Gloves sites "The Queen Alexandra Glove Gallery, Part 2."