4. Queen Victoria May Have Spread Hemophilia Throughout European Royalty
Much of European royalty in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries could be traced to Queen Victoria in some way or another. Her daughter, Princess Alice, was the mother of Tsarina Alexandra Romanov, the last Tsarina of Russia; grandmother of the last Viceroy of India; and great-grandmother of the Duke of Edinburgh. Victoria’s genes went all over Europe.
Her besotted lover, Prince Albert, was actually her first cousin, meaning that all of her children were inbred. She also had the blood-clotting disorder hemophilia, which she passed on to her children before it went all throughout European royalty. She did not suffer significantly from the disease, but one of her children and five of her grandchildren died from complications caused by it.
Hemophilia is caused by both parents having the recessive gene for it, and Queen Victoria’s was a very unique subtype known as Haemophilia B. Speculations have been raised as to whether Edward, the Duke of Kent was actually her biological father. Prince Albert and Victoria had to have both had hemophilia for it to be passed on to their children. For such a rare, recessive disease to be so strongly present among cousins, there is speculation that the queen herself may have been the product of inbreeding.
Age: 82 (1819-1901)
Birthplace: Kensington Palace, London