King Charles' female relative born 160 years ago looks exactly like him

19 February 2024 , 11:01

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King Charles bears an uncanny resemblance one of his royal relatives (Image: Getty Images)

King Charles has a royal doppelganger, according to his loyal fans.

Royal followers have been quick to point out the similarities he shares with his late great-grandmother, Princess Victoria of Hesse - and the resemblance is uncanny.

Yvette Henson took to X, formally Twitter, to share two pictures of the King alongside Princess Victoria. On her post, which was shared before Charles became King, she wrote: "It's amazing how much Prince Charles looks like his great-grandmother (Prince Philip's grandmother) Princess Victoria of Hesse and by Rhine later Victoria Mountbatten, Marchioness of Milford Haven."

But who was Charles's relative? Princess Victoria was born on 5 April, 1863. She was the granddaughter of Queen Victoria, and the daughter of Princess Alice of the United Kingdom (Victoria's third child and second daughter), and Louis IV, Grand Duke of Hesse and by Rhine.

Princess Victoria was the grandmother of Charles's father, Prince Philip (Getty Images)

In 1884, the princess married her first cousin once removed, Prince Louis of Battenberg, in her home city of Darmstadt and together they went on to welcome four children: Alice, Louise, George and Louis.

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Princess Victoria was highly intelligent and a keen reader. She taught all four of her children. Her younger son, Louis, recalled in a 1968 interview that she was a "walking encyclopedia".

"All through her life she stored up knowledge on all sorts of subjects, and she had the great gift of being able to make it all interesting when she taught it to me," he said.

According to Tatler, in 1906, Princess Victoria daringly flew in a biplane even though it was "not made to carry passengers". And she had strong opinions on the monarchy, regularly visiting her relatives abroad in both Germany and Russia.

In 1917, she took the title Marchioness of Milford Haven after the title was created for her husband Prince Louis, who abandoned the use of his German surname and titles and adopted the surname Mountbatten. He passed away September 1921 at the age of 67.

The couple's eldest daughter, Alice, went on to marry Prince Andrew of Greece and Denmark. Their five children included Philip, the future Duke of Edinburgh and husband of the late Queen. Prince Philip would later recall: "I liked my grandmother very much and she was always helpful.

"She was very good with children... she took the practical approach to them. She treated them in the right way – the right combination of the rational and the emotional."

In December 1948, Princess Victoria attended the christening of the future King, then-Prince Charles, both her great-grandson and godchild. His other godparents included King George VI and Princess Margaret.

In the summer of 1950, the Marchioness fell ill with bronchitis (she had been a chronic smoker since the age of 16) and moved back to Kensington Palace, saying "it is better to die at home". She passed away on 24 September at the age 87 and is buried next to her husband at St. Mildred's Church on the Isle of Wight.

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