Did Queen Victoria & Edward VII have a German Accents?

[straz]

Did Queen Victoria have a German Accent? Just as it is claimed in 'Blackadder goes Fourth'. After all her Mother was German and as I understand it was a bit of a control freak. Also did she and her husband, Prince Albert, pass their accent onto their son Edward VII? I've heard a story of Kaiser Wilhelm II mocking his uncle's habit of pronouncing his 'W's' as 'V's', (the Kaiser's English spoke flawless English) during Cowes Week.

[straz]

Re: "the Kaiser's English spoke flawless English" unlike my England!!!!

[froggequene]

Technically Germany didn't actually exi

[froggequene]

How are we supposed to know? Even among the English themselves there were so many accents they weren't in a position to judge anyone. I think you'll also find that as Germany didn't exist until the latter part of the nineteenth century I think technically it would damn near impossible for them to have German accents. You do know that 'Blackadder' is actually a comedy and not a work of fact?

[Cpt Black]

I heard a phonograph recording of both Queen V and Ed VII and they sounded pretty English to me in a sort of crusty old buffer type of way. They certainly did not sound like Herr Flick in Allo Allo

[straz]

Yes I know Germany did not exist until 1871. HOWEVER the German Language did, or do you think it just materialised the moment Bismarck announced the creation of Germany? Bismarck's objective was to bring all "GERMAN" speaking people into one nation. Germany the political state many only be a recent thing but Germany the ethnic entity has been around for a good long while! And Yes I do know Blackadder was a comedy not a work of fact but Richard Curtis & Ben Elton did enjoy putting little snippets of factual information (e.g. people crapping out of their upstairs windows in Tudor London).

[emandvee]

Royalty seldom educated their own children and Victoria was no exception. She was raised in Kensington Palace and had an English tutor. She not only spoke English but was fluent in Greek, Latin, French and the language of her eventual husband.

[pcbeeson]

Queen Victoria did not have a German accent. She was raised in England and although her mother was German, her father was the Duke of Kent, brother of King William of England. Her mother was a complete control freak, but one of her strategies was to prepare Victoria (or Drina as she was known to her closest relatives) for the English crown by ensuring that she spoke flawless English to save her from the criticism the mother herself had received for having a German accent and not fitting in at court. Victoria did speak flawless German, however, as well as French, I believe. Her nanny/governess, Baronness Leizen (sp?) her closest confidant and beloved childhood mentor was also German but ensured that Victoria's English was perfect. King Edward VII (Bertie), her eldest son, did not have a German accent. He was born and raised in England and did not acquire an accent from his father, Prince Albert.

[elsplendido]

dears, since 300 years ago all Kings of England mastered German. Remember: the Principal House of Hanover ruled England and Hanover in a personal union from 1714 until 1837, and thence Victoria till 1901 just as Queen of England (as the old German law didn't allow the House of Hanover to be ruled by a woman; the Kingdom of Hanover was thence ruled by another line of the Hanovers). The descendants of Victoria & Albert are obviously of the Princely House of Saxe-Coburg, likewise of German descent - even though it might not be so present in England - as the Family adopted during World War I the somewhat fancy Name "Windsor" - because of anti-German ressentiments in England. Other German family names were simply anglicized (Battenberg = Mount Batten, etc.). Of that dynasty, it is Elisabeth II, who is still alive. Her husband, and accordingly her issue incl. Prince Charles, is also of German descent: their family name is Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg (ultimately tracing back their lineage to the House of Oldenburg). Accordingly, if you follow the usual male line ascendancy, the rulers of England are pretty German. And as they entertain Relations with their relatives in Germany and elsewhere, they are still fluent in German too - even if today of course their mother language is English. Don't forget, the rural population in Northwestern Germany (Lower Saxony) still speak their local dialect, which is quite closely related to the pure old English. Even nowadays English could be considered a kind of Saxon dialect - rather than a genuine language - as it is ultimately a mix of grammar and vocabulary coming fm the Angles, the Saxons - and from 1066 heavily mixed up with French vocabulary.