by Susan Flantzer  © Unofficial Royalty 2012

It is probable that the royal hemophilia appeared because of a spontaneous mutation in Queen Victoria. Her father, Edward, Duke of Kent, was not a hemophiliac and there was no history of hemophilia in the family of her mother, Princess Victoria of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld. Spontaneous mutations are the cause of about 30% of hemophilia cases. However, in her biography of Prince Leopold, Queen Victoria’s hemophiliac son, Prince Leopold: The Untold Story of Queen Victoria’s Youngest Son, Charlotte Zeepvat puts forth a theory that there may have been unrecognized hemophilia in the ancestors of Queen Victoria’s mother. Many boys in the family were particularly fragile and died young. Zeepvat includes a genealogical chart showing the potential carriers and sufferers.

Using the remains of the Romanovs killed in 1918, it was determined that the royal hemophilia was the rare, severe form of hemophilia, known as Hemophilia B or Christmas disease. The results showed that Tsarevich Alexei had Hemophilia B and that his mother Empress Alexandra Feodorova (born Princess Alix of Hesse and by Rhine, a granddaughter of Queen Victoria) and his sister Grand Duchess Anastasia were carriers for the disease.

• What is Hemophilia?
• Royal Hemophilia Sufferers in Queen Victoria’s Descendants

All photos from Wikipedia unless otherwise noted.

Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom (carrier)

• Parents: Edward, Duke of Kent (son of King George III) and Princess Victoria of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld
• Married: Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha
• Affected Children: Leopold (hemophiliac), Alice (carrier), Beatrice (carrier)

Princess Alice of the United Kingdom, Grand Duchess of Hesse and by Rhine (carrier)

• Parents: Queen Victoria (carrier)  and Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha
• Married: Ludwig IV, Grand Duke of Hesse and by Rhine
• Affected Children: Friedrich (hemophiliac), Irene (carrier), Alix (carrier)

 

Princess Beatrice of the United Kingdom, Princess Henry of Battenberg (carrier)

• Parents: Queen Victoria (carrier)  and Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha
• Married: Prince Henry of Battenberg
• Affected Children: Leopold (hemophiliac), Victoria Eugenie (carrier)

Princess Irene of Hesse and by Rhine, Princess Heinrich of Prussia (carrier)

• Parents: Princess Alice of the United Kingdom (carrier) and  Ludwig IV, Grand Duke of Hesse and by Rhine
• Married: Prince Heinrich of Prussia, her first cousin, son of Victoria, Princess Royal and Friedrich III, German Emperor
• Affected Children: Heinrich (hemophiliac), Waldemar (hemophiliac)

Princess Alix of Hesse and by Rhine, Alexandra Feodorovna, Empress of All Russia  (carrier)

• Parents: Princess Alice of the United Kingdom (carrier) and Ludwig IV, Grand Duke of Hesse and by Rhine
• Married: Nicholas II, Emperor of All Russia
• Affected Children: Alexei (hemophiliac), Anastasia (carrier, determined by DNA testing)

Princess Victoria Eugenie of Battenberg, Queen of Spain (carrier)

• Parents: Princess Beatrice of the United Kingdom (carrier) and Prince Henry of Battenberg
• Married: King Alfonso XIII of Spain
• Affected Children: Alfonso (hemophiliac), Gonzalo (hemophiliac)

Princess Alice of Albany, Countess of Athlone (carrier)

• Parents: Prince Leopold of the United Kingdom, Duke of Albany (hemophiliac) and Princess Helena of Waldeck and Pyrmont – Note: Sons of a hemophiliac will never have hemophilia while daughters of a hemophiliac will always be carriers. See What is Hemophilia? for an explanation.
• Married: Prince Alexander of Teck, later Earl of Athlone
• Affected Children: Rupert (hemophiliac)

Tracing the Hemophilia Gene

Born in 1914, Infante Gonzalo of Spain, great-grandson of Queen Victoria, was the last hemophiliac among her descendants. What follows below is a tracing of the hemophilia gene – where it cannot be and where it possibly could be. Because there has been no hemophilia in Queen Victoria’s descendants since 1914, it can probably be assumed that the hemophilia gene has died out.

It is surmised that Queen Victoria’s daughters Victoria, Helena, and Louise were not carriers. Louise was childless, Helena has no living descendants, and there has been no hemophilia in the descendants of Victoria except the children of her son Heinrich who got the gene through their mother Irene of Hesse and by Rhine. The assumption is being made that these three daughters were not carriers although we do not know that for certain.

Victoria, Princess Royal, German Empress had four sons and none of them were hemophiliacs. No possibility of hemophilia in their descendants. Note that the Princess Royal’s son Heinrich married his cousin Irene (Princess Alice’s daughter).  Irene was a carrier and two of her three sons had hemophilia.

The Princess Royal had four daughters.  If the Princess Royal was a carrier, here are the possibilities:

• Princess Charlotte of Prussia, Duchess of Saxe-Meiningen had one daughter who had no children. No possibility of hemophilia.
• Princess Viktoria of Prussia, Princess Adolf of Schaumburg-Lippe and Mrs. Alexander Zoubkov had no children.  No possibility of hemophilia.
• Princess Sophia of Prussia, Queen of Greece had three sons and none of them were hemophiliacs. No possibility of hemophilia through the sons.  She had three daughters.
  • (1) Princess Helen, Queen Mother of Romania had one son (King Michael of Romania) who was not a hemophiliac. No possibility of hemophilia in her descendants.
  • (2) Princess Irene, Duchess of Aosta had one son who was not a hemophiliac. No possibility of hemophilia in her descendants.
  • (3) Princess Katherine, Lady Katherine Brandram had one son who was not a hemophiliac. No possibility of hemophilia in her descendants.
• Princess Margaret of Prussia, Landgravine of Hesse had six sons and none of them were hemophiliacs. No possibility of hemophilia in her descendants.

Princess Helena, Princess Christian of Schleswig-Holstein had two surviving sons who were not hemophiliacs. No possibility of hemophilia. Helena had two daughters and neither had children. No possibility of hemophilia.

Princess Louise, Duchess of Argyll was childless. No possibility of hemophilia.

One of Queen Victoria’s four sons, Leopold, was a hemophiliac:

Prince Leopold, Duke of Albany: Out of her four sons, only Queen Victoria’s youngest son Leopold was a hemophiliac.  Leopold died from a cerebral hemorrhage at age 30 after a fall. He married and had a son and daughter. 

• Prince Charles Edward, Duke of Albany, later Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha could not have been a hemophiliac because he received a Y-chromosome from his father and hemophilia is carried only on the X-chromosome. No possibility of hemophilia in his descendants. 
• Princess Alice of Albany, Countess of Athlone had to be a carrier because she inherited her father’s X-chromosome with the hemophilia gene. She married Queen Mary’s brother Prince Alexander of Teck, later Earl of Athlone. They had two sons and one daughter. One son died in infancy. The other son Rupert Cambridge, Viscount Trematon was a hemophiliac.  He died unmarried from head injuries received in a car accident at age 20. 
  • Lady May Cambridge, Lady May Abel Smith after her marriage, daughter of Princess Alice of Albany, had one son and two daughters.  Her son was not a hemophiliac. No possibility of hemophilia in his descendants. Her elder daughter had four sons and none were hemophiliacs. No possibility of hemophilia in their descendants. Her elder daughter also had one daughter who had a daughter. She is in a female line descent and could possibly have the hemophilia gene. Lady May’s younger daughter had one daughter who has a daughter. She is also in a female line descent and could possibly have the hemophilia gene.

Two of Queen Victoria’s daughters, Alice and Beatrice, were carriers:

Princess Alice, Grand Duchess of Hesse and by Rhine was a carrier.  Her son Friedrich (Frittie) had hemophilia and died of a brain hemorrhage at age 2 ½ after falling out a window.  Princess Alice had one other son who was not a hemophiliac. No possibility of hemophilia in his descendants.

Alice had five daughters, here are the possibilities:

• Princess Victoria, Marchioness of Milford Haven had two sons who were not hemophiliacs. No possibility of hemophilia in their descendants.   She had two daughters.
  • (1) Alice of Battenberg, Princess Andrew of Greece had one son (Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh) who is not a hemophiliac. No possibility of hemophilia in his descendants.  Alice’s daughter Cecilie had no surviving issue. No possibility of hemophilia.  Alice’s daughter Margarita had four sons and none had hemophilia. No possibility of hemophilia in their descendants.  Margarita had one daughter who had no children. No possibility of hemophilia.  Alice’s daughter Theodora had two sons who were not hemophiliacs. No possibility of hemophilia in their descendants.   Theodora had one daughter who had one child, a daughter.  She is in a female line descent and could possibly have the hemophilia gene.  Alice’s daughter Sophie has several sons and none have hemophilia. No possibility of hemophilia in their descendants.  Sophie had four daughters and all four have daughters. They are in a female line descent and could possibly have the hemophilia gene.
  •  (2) Lady Louise Mountbatten, Queen of Sweden had no children. No possibility of hemophilia.
• Princess Elisabeth, Grand Duchess Elisabeth Feodorovna of Russia had no children. No possibility of hemophilia.
• Princess Irene, Princess Heinrich of Prussia was a carrier.  One son was not a hemophiliac. No possibility of hemophilia in his descendants. Two of her sons were hemophiliacs.  Prince Heinrich died of a brain hemorrhage at age four due to a fall.  Prince Waldemar married but had no children. He died at age 56 due to a lack of blood transfusion facilities as the Russians and Americans advanced on Germany at the very end of World War II. No possibility of hemophilia.
• Princess Alix, Empress Alexandra Feodorovna of Russia was a carrier.  She married Emperor Nicholas II of Russia and their son Alexei was a hemophiliac.  She had four unmarried daughters but DNA analysis showed that Anastasia, the youngest daughter, was a carrier.  The whole family was executed in 1918. No possibility of hemophilia.
• Princess May died of diphtheria at age four.

Princess Beatrice, Princess Henry of Battenberg was a carrier. She had two sons who were not hemophiliacs, one died unmarried during World War I and one married and had descendants. No possibility of hemophilia in his descendants. Beatrice’s son Leopold was a hemophiliac.  He died unmarried at age 32 during a hip operation. No possibility of hemophilia.

Princess Beatrice’s daughter Princess Victoria Eugenie (Ena), Queen of Spain was a carrier.  She married King Alfonso XIII of Spain and had four sons and two daughters.  Two of Ena’s sons were not hemophiliacs. No possibility of hemophilia in their descendants. Two of Ena’s sons were hemophiliacs. Alfonso married but had no children. He died at age 31 from internal bleeding after a minor car accident. No possibility of hemophilia. Gonzalo died unmarried at age 19 from internal bleeding after a car accident. No possibility of hemophilia.

Here are the possibilities with Ena’s two daughters:

• Infanta Beatriz of Spain, Princess di Civitella-Cesi had two sons and they were not hemophiliacs. No possibility of hemophilia in their descendants.   Beatriz had two daughters:
  • Princess Sandra Torlonia of Civitella-Cesi had one son who was not a hemophiliac and one daughter who had two sons who are not hemophiliacs. No possibility of hemophilia in their descendants.
  • Princess Olimpia Torlonia of Civitella-Cesi had one son who died at age four. I have seen some suspicions that he could have been a hemophiliac, but nothing definite. Olimpia has three surviving daughters. One daughter died at age six. Olimpia’s three surviving daughters are in a female line descent and could possibly have the hemophilia gene.
• Infanta Maria Cristina of Spain, Countess Marone had four daughters
  • Vittoria Marone-Cinzano had three sons who are not hemophiliacs.  No possibility of hemophilia in their descendants.  She has one daughter who has daughters.  They are in a female line descent and could possibly have the hemophilia gene.
  • Giovanna Marone-Cinzano had one son who is not a hemophiliac.  No possibility of hemophilia in his descendants.
  • María Theresa Marone-Cinzano has three daughters who have daughters.   They are in a female line descent and could possibly have the hemophilia gene.
  •   Anna Sandra Marone-Cinzano has two daughters. They are in a female line descent and could possibly have the hemophilia gene.

On page two of the following article, there is a pedigree chart showing the hemophilia carriers and sufferers in Queen Victoria’s descendants: Hemophilia: The Royal Disease

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Works Cited for Hemophilia Articles

• Aronova-Tiuntseva, Yelena, and Clyde Freeman Herreid. “Hemophilia: The Royal Disease.” National Center for Case Study Teaching in Science. University at Buffalo, State University of New York., Web. 7 Apr. 2012.
• “Haemophilia in European royalty.” Wikipedia. Web. 7 Apr. 2012.
• “Hemophilia.” Genetic Diseases. Web. 7 Apr. 2012.
• “Hemophilia B.” PubMed Health. U.S. National Library of Medicine, Web. 7 Apr. 2012.
• “History of Hemophilia.” Hemophilia Information.com. Homecare for the Cure, Web. 7 Apr. 2012.
• Eilers Koenig, Marlene, 2020. Hemophilia And Queen Victoria. [online] Royalmusingsblogspotcom.blogspot.com. Available at: <https://royalmusingsblogspotcom.blogspot.com/2019/08/hemophilia-and-queen-victoria.html?fbclid=IwAR3mL87V_4CQG9hQd7VwDk-M8Z1Oc1EmUHTj2G74z4dzQz6M7aBlXxdfdt8> [Accessed 24 July 2020].
• Price, Michael. “Case Closed: Famous Royals Suffered From Hemophilia.” Science. Web. 7 Apr. 2012.
• Raymond, Allan. “Haemophilia in Queen Victoria’s Descendants.” Monarchies of Europe. Web. 7 Apr. 2012.
• Rogaev, E., Grigorenko, A., Faskhutdinova, G., Kittler, E. and Moliaka, Y. (2009). Genotype Analysis Identifies the Cause of the “Royal Disease”.
• Zeepvat, Charlotte. Prince Leopold: The Untold Story of Queen Victoria’s Youngest Son. Phoenix Mill, UK: Sutton Publishing Limited, 1998. Print.