View from east Digital image of E 15379 cn

Description View from east Digital image of E 15379 cn

Date 24/7/2001

Collection Records of the Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Scotland (RCAHMS), Edinbu

Catalogue Number SC 769260

Category On-line Digital Images

Copy of E 15379 CN

Scope and Content Memorial to Princess Alice, Balmoral Estate, Aberdeenshire This granite memorial stands in gently wooded, raised ground overlooking the River Dee. The two granite seats on either side of the rough stone base take full advantage of the views across to the river. The Celtic cross, carved with entwined leaves and stems, was erected in memory of Princess Alice by 'her sorrowing mother, Queen Victoria'. Princess Alice, the first of the queen's nine children to die, died from diphtheria in 1878. Princess Alice was born in 1843, and at the age of 18 married Prince Ludwig or Louis of Hesse, later to become Grand Duke Louis XIV. They had seven children, including a daughter, Alix, who was to become the wife of Russia's last tsar, Nicholas II. Alix, like her mother and grandmother, was a carrier of haemophilia, a genetic disorder that prevents the blood from clotting properly. Her son, Alexis, heir to the Russian throne, was born a haemophiliac, an event that helped to bring about the fall of the Russian royal family, and a series of political events that had repercussions throughout Europe. The Balmoral estate was bought in 1852 by Prince Albert and Queen Victoria at their own expense as a Highland retreat from the stresses of London life. Prince Albert initiated many improvements, including the building of a new Balmoral Castle in 1853-5 that became Queen Victoria's 'dear place'. The queen's evident pleasure in the local landscape gave rise to the many statues and memorials that were built in the woods around the castle. Source: RCAHMS contribution to SCRAN.

Permalink http://canmore.org.uk/collection/769260

File Format (TIF) Tagged Image File Format bitmap