Grand Cross of the Order of Saint Catherine awarded in 1865 to Queen Alexandra (when Princess of Wales)

Awarded on May 25, 1865.

Gold, diamonds, enamel.
Size 92 x 62 mm.

Royal collection.

 

Silver, gold, diamonds, enamel.
Size 85 x 82 mm.

Sash.

 

Alexandra of Denmark (Alexandra Caroline Marie Charlotte Louise Julia; 1 December 1844 – 20 November 1925) was Queen of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Empress of India, from 22 January 1901 to 6 May 1910 as the wife of King-Emperor Edward VII.

Queen Alexandra wearing breast star and cross of Saint Catherine order.

Alexandra's family had been relatively obscure until 1852, when her father, Prince Christian of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glücksburg, was chosen with the consent of the major European powers to succeed his second cousin Frederick VII as king of Denmark. At the age of sixteen Alexandra was chosen as the future wife of Albert Edward, Prince of Wales, the son and heir apparent of Queen Victoria. The couple married eighteen months later in 1863, the year in which her father became king of Denmark as Christian IX and her brother was appointed king of Greece as George I. Alexandra was Princess of Wales from 1863 to 1901, the longest anyone has ever held that title, and became generally popular; her style of dress and bearing were copied by fashion-conscious women. Largely excluded from wielding any political power, she unsuccessfully attempted to sway the opinion of British ministers and her husband's family to favor Greek and Danish interests. Her public duties were restricted to uncontroversial involvement in charitable work.

On the death of Queen Victoria in 1901, Albert Edward became king-emperor as Edward VII, with Alexandra as queen-empress. She held the status until Edward's death in 1910, at which point their son George V ascended the throne. Alexandra died aged 80 in 1925.​