She was born 150 years ago and is a name you've probably never heard before — but the remarkable likeness between King Charles and his great-grandmother has been highlighted. Princess Victoria of Hesse and by Rhine, who went on to become The Marchioness of Milford Haven, was born at Windsor Castle in 1863 and was a granddaughter of Queen Victoria.
She married Prince Louis of Battenberg and they had four children, Princess Alice (Prince Philip's mother), Queen Louise of Sweden, George Mountbatten, 2nd Marquess of Milford Haven and Lord Louis Mountbatten.
During World War One, the Battenberg family abandoned their German surname and took up the more English-sounding Mountbatten. Now it has been pointed out how her great-grandson has inherited very similar looks, which you can see in this video:
Princess Victoria became a widow in 1921 and ultimately ended up helping to raise and educate Prince Philip following his mother's institutionalisation and subsequent divorce. Prince Philip would later recall: "I liked my grandmother very much and she was always helpful. She was very good with children. She took the practical approach to them. She treated them in the right way—the right combination of the rational and the emotional."
Her son Lord Mountbatten remembered her fondly: "My mother was very quick on the uptake, very talkative, very aggressive and argumentative. With her marvellous brain she sharpened people's wits."
Victoria spent much of her life living at Kensington Palace and sadly died there on September 24, 1950. She is buried next to her husband at St. Mildred's Church on the Isle of Wight.
Another relative that King Charles is a dead ringer for is his great-great-grandfather, King Edward VII. Albert Edward was born in 1841 and was the second child and eldest son of Queen Victoria and her husband Prince Albert. He was born at Buckingham Palace and grew up to be known for his rotund figure.
'Bertie' - as he was known by his family - had to wait over 60 years before he eventually came to the throne as King Edward VII following the death of his mother on January 22, 1901, but his reign was relatively short lasting as he died in 1910. King Charles III took the throne on the death of his mother, Queen Elizabeth II, on September 8, 2022.
To get the latest email updates from WalesOnline straight to your inbox click here.
