Victoria Princess Royal and Empress Frederick: Encyclopedia II - Victoria Princess Royal and Empress Frederick - German Empress & Empress Friedrich

Victoria Princess Royal and Empress Frederick - German Empress & Empress Friedrich

On the death of his father on 9 March 1888, the Crown Prince ascended the throne as the Emperor Friedrich (as King of Prussia Friedrich III.) and Victoria adopted the title and style of Her Imperial and Royal Majesty The German Empress. Friedrich, however, was terminally ill with throat cancer and died after reigning 99 days. From then on she was known simply as The Empress Friedrich.

The widowed Victoria lived in retirement at Friedrichshof, a country house she built near Kronberg. Politically, she remained a liberal and because of this, her already strained relationship with her son Emperor Wilhelm II deteriorated. In Berlin, Victoria established schools for the higher education of girls and for nurses' training. She patronized the arts and learning, becoming one of the organizers of the 1872 Industrial Art Exhibition.

Throughout her married life and widowhood, Victoria kept in close touch with other members of the British Royal Family, particularly her younger brother, the future Edward VII. She maintained a regular correspondence with her mother. According to the Royal Encyclopaedia, some 3,777 letters from Queen Victoria to her eldest daughter have been catalogued, as well as more than 4,000 from daughter to mother.

Victoria died of cancer of the spine at Friedrichshof in August 1901, eight months after the death of her mother Queen Victoria. She was interred next to her husband at the royal mausoleum of Friedenskirche at Potsdam on 13 August.

Adapted from the Wikipedia article "German Empress & Empress Friedrich", under the G.N U Free Docmentation License. Please also see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki