Princess Alice of the United Kingdom papers to and from her government ministers, while the Queen secluded herself from all public life. Alice was aided in this task by her younger sister Princess Louise. Although Princess Helena, Louise's elder sister, would normally have been selected to assist, her inability to go long without crying was held against her. Alice's matrimonial plans were begun in 1860 by her mother. Queen Victoria had expressed her wish that her children should marry for love, but this did not mean that her choice of suitors would necessarily be extended to anybody outside the royal houses of Europe. Raising a British
Princess Helena of the United Kingdom and Gotha to Windsor. He also disposed of his family's German titles and styles, so Christian, Helena and their daughters simply became "Prince and Princess Christian; Princess Helena Victoria and Marie Louise" with no territorial designation. Helena's surviving son, Albert, fought on the side of the Prussians, though he made it clear that he would not fight against his mother's country. In the same year, on 28 October, Prince Christian died at Schomberg House. Helena's last years were spent arguing with Commissioners, who tried to turn her out of Schomberg and Cumberland Lodge because of the expense of running her