Maud of Wales

Born in 1869 as the youngest daughter of the future Edward VII, Maud grew up in a warm, informal household — spirited, outdoor-loving, less constrained than her older siblings. In 1896 she married her first cousin Prince Carl of Denmark, a union that seemed unremarkable until November 1905, when Norway dissolved its union with Sweden and elected Carl as King Haakon VII. Maud stepped into a role no woman had held since the Middle Ages: queen consort of an independent Norway. She kept one foot in Britain, the other in her adopted country, supporting Norwegian charities focused on children, women…