Queen Victoria had all died, leaving no surviving legitimate children. The United Kingdom was already an established constitutional monarchy, in which the sovereign held relatively little direct political power. Privately, Victoria attempted to influence government policy and ministerial appointments; publicly, she became a national icon who was identified with strict standards of personal morality. Victoria married her first cousin Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha in 1840. Their nine children married into royal and noble families across the continent, tying them together and earning her the sobriquet "the grandmother of Europe". After Albert's death in 1861, Victoria plunged into deep mourning and
Grandchildren of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha Princess Helena of Waldeck and Pyrmont (1861–1922) on 27 April 1882 at St George's Chapel, Windsor Castle. They had 1 daughter and 1 son. He inherited the disease of haemophilia from his mother, Queen Victoria, and spent most of his life as a semi-invalid. His daughter, Princess Alice of Albany married Prince Alexander of Teck, the younger brother of Queen Mary, in 1904 and became Countess of Athlone when her husband was created Earl of Athlone in June 1917. She has so far been the longest-lived Princess of the Blood Royal of Britain and was the last surviving grandchild of