Alexandra was born on 1 December 1844, at the Yellow Palace – Det Gule Palæ – in Copenhagen. She was the second of six children born to Christian and Louise.

Alexandra was born a minor royal, but when she was 8, her father was elected heir presumptive to the Danish throne.

By royal standards, Alexandra’s parents, Christian and Louise, ran a simple household in the Yellow Palace. And Louise was a very close and hands-on mother.

Alexandra brought her parents’ gentle parenting-style with her when she married the Prince of Wales in 1863, and became part of Queen Victoria’s strict British court.

Alexandra adored her children – and was not afraid to shower them with her endless affection.

Alexandra was also a fashion icon and was renowned for her beauty – well into her ageing years. She was a much-respected figure in her new homeland, the United Kingdom.

Despite her husband’s – the later Edward VII – hurtful and humiliating philandering, she pushed through – and thrived.

At the family’s country house – Sandringham House – Alexandra created a warm and exciting world for Maud and her siblings.

Alexandra was the sister of Princess Dagmar of Denmark, the later Empress Consort Maria Feodorovna of Russia, who was the mother of the last and ill-fated Russian tsar, Nicholas II. Tsar Nicholas was thus Maud’s first cousin.

Alexandra was also the sister of Prince William of Denmark, who later was elected King Geórgios I of Greece. He was assassinated in 1913. King Geórgios was thus Maud’s maternal uncle.

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