Named for Queen Alexandra, the elegant Danish princess who married Edward VII and was adored by the Victorian public
The Alexandra in Clapham holds twelve hundred and ninety-five reviews and a 4.3 – a large, solid sample – and it is named, like so many Victorian and Edwardian pubs, after a royal figure: in this case Queen Alexandra, the elegant and beloved Danish princess who married the future King Edward VII and was adored by the public for decades.
The Danish princess
Alexandra of Denmark was a Danish princess who, in 1863, married Albert Edward, the Prince of Wales – the eldest son of Queen Victoria and the future King Edward VII, whom we met at the Prince of Teck and elsewhere in the Kensington survey. The marriage made her Princess of Wales, and eventually, on Edward’s accession in 1901, Queen Alexandra, consort of the King.
She was, for the better part of half a century, one of the most visible and beloved women in Britain. Renowned for her beauty, her elegance, her grace and her charitable works, Alexandra was enormously popular with the public throughout the long years as Princess of Wales and then as Queen. She set fashions, championed good causes, and bore, with famous dignity, the very public infidelities of her husband. She was a genuinely beloved figure, and countless things were named in her honour – hospitals, roads, and, of course, pubs.
The name Alexandra
“Alexandra” is the feminine form of “Alexander,” one of the great names of history – the name of Alexander the Great, the Macedonian king who conquered much of the known world before the age of thirty-three. It comes from the Greek meaning “defender of men” or “protector of mankind” – “alexein” (to defend, protect) and “andros” (man). It is a name of power, nobility and protection, and its royal and heroic associations made it a fitting name for a queen.
Alexandra’s popularity made the name itself fashionable, and “Alexandra” spread widely as a girls’ name during and after her lifetime. The name has remained a royal favourite – borne by various princesses down to the present day – and carries an air of elegance, dignity and royal grace, much as the queen herself did.
The Alexandra rose
Queen Alexandra left one particularly charming legacy: Alexandra Rose Day. In 1912, to mark fifty years since her arrival in England, she founded a charity flower day, on which artificial roses were sold to raise money for hospitals and the needy. “Alexandra Rose Day” became a beloved annual institution, and the charity she founded continues its work to this day, over a century later. It is a lovely memorial – the beloved queen remembered in roses sold for charity, a gentle and generous legacy entirely in keeping with her reputation for kindness and good works.
The pub
A large, popular pub doing a fair 4.3 across a large and real sample, named after Queen Alexandra – the elegant, beloved Danish princess who became Britain’s queen and was adored by the public for half a century.
Verdict
Large, popular, and named after the beloved Queen Alexandra – Danish princess, elegant consort, and founder of the charitable rose day that still bears her name.
Have a pint at the Alexandra, and raise it to the Danish-born queen – beautiful, dignified, and so beloved that pubs, hospitals and a charity of roses still carry her name.
Alan Nafzger was born in Lubbock, Texas, the son Swiss immigrants. He grew up on a dairy in Windthorst, north central Texas. He earned degrees from Midwestern State University (B.A. 1985) and Texas State University (M.A. 1987). University College Dublin (Ph.D. 1991). Dr. Nafzger has entertained and educated young people in Texas colleges for 37 years. Nafzger is best known for his dark novels and experimental screenwriting. His best know scripts to date are Lenin’s Body, produced in Russia by A-Media and Sea and Sky produced in The Philippines in the Tagalog language. In 1986, Nafzger wrote the iconic feminist western novel, Gina of Quitaque. He currently lives in Holloway, North London. Contact: [email protected]
Peter Sellers would have performed this in increasingly bewildered cross tones. The delivery would have made everything more apparent.